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Shanna Baker

@shannabaker.bsky.social
385 followers 61 following 45 posts

Senior editor at bioGraphic, focussed on narrative features. Former features editor at Hakai Magazine 🐟

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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Haha, thanks Colin! Considering many of my hed suggestions don't end up as winners, this is gratifying :p
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
This is fantastic news. Congratulations, Daniel! It was a pleasure to work with you.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
I am so honoured! And now I'm twitching to get back to the bog. Thanks for the great flashback, Tyee. I love the story you've written--can't wait to see where it goes
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Thank goodness for levelheaded art directors because I would def publish stories with 100+ photos crammed in them if I were left alone. Here's one of the outtakes from my recent feature story on the Nisga'a eulachon harvest: a fisherman enveloped by pungent steam as he cooks a batch of "grease"
A man is enveloped by steam coming off a vat of cooking fish as he holds the handle of a large ladle
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
What a quote 🙌🏻 “If you’re not really scared by what’s going on in the world, you’re braindead.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
What is this era of calamity we’re in? Some say ‘polycrisis’ captures it
The term ‘polycrisis’ has gained traction as we face one disaster after another. It’s overwhelming – but diagnosing the catastrophe is the first step to addressing it
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
I love that observation. (And thank you for this nice shout out!)
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Thanks for not saying “this story stinks” 😄
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
I knew ants were cool, but the tidbit in here about how they can propel themselves backward just by snapping their mandibles... 🤯
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bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Salmon get all the limelight on the Pacific Northwest coast, but for hundreds of years this tiny, lesser-known fish saved the lives of humans and predators, fueled a vast trade network, and played a critical role in cultural cohesion of Indigenous communities. Our latest feature:
biographic.com
Where the Savior Fish Still Swims
In an era of collapse, a fabled fish keeps coming back to Nisga’a nation.
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Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
"Indigenous peoples relied on eulachon to deliver them from hunger at winter’s end, earning the fish the heady titles of 'savior' or 'salvation fish.'" If you need a break from <waves hands at everything> I recommend this @biographic.bsky.social fish feature. www.biographic.com/where-the-sa...
biographic.com
Where the Savior Fish Still Swims
In an era of collapse, a fabled fish keeps coming back to Nisga’a nation.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
I'm so grateful to the amazing people who welcomed me to their territory and openly shared stories and knowledge. I recognize what an immense privilege it was as an outsider to be invited out on the river fishing and into Nisga'a camps, homes, and smokehouses www.biographic.com/where-the-sa...
biographic.com
Where the Savior Fish Still Swims
In an era of collapse, a fabled fish keeps coming back to Nisga’a nation.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Aw, thank you Ben!!
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Thanks for sharing this!
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
I’m just now wondering what the rental car company must have thought of me when I returned an SUV steeped for days in some very fishy gear 🐟
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Congrats Kate 🎉
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Robert Capa's mantra—"If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough"—runs through the minds of photographers/videographers like tv ticker tape. It can be SO hard to self police and hold back, but when we get too close to wildlife, the animals suffer www.biographic.com/who-watches-...
biographic.com
Who Watches the Watchers? - bioGraphic
The recent charging of prominent documentarians in British Columbia court is raising important questions about the ethics of wildlife videography.
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bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Many of you likely saw "Island of the Sea Wolves", the 2022 Netflix series about British Columbia's coastal wildlife. But what you _didn't_ see was the three minutes of illegally-obtained killer whale footage that a BC court judge barred from being included in the series. 🧵🐙📷📽️🧪
biographic.com
Who Watches the Watchers? - bioGraphic
The recent charging of prominent documentarians in British Columbia court is raising important questions about the ethics of wildlife videography.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
“For me, Hakai was a sure bet for education. I learned about butterflies, bats, urchins, and rats, and loved every minute of it. I could count on awe and delight, often right from the headline”—what a heartwarming tribute to Hakai longreads.com/2025/01/10/l... Thank you @kristastevens.bsky.social
longreads.com
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week - Longreads
Featuring stories from Michelle Shephard, Adrienne Mason, Dylan Levi King, Sara Mitchell, and Saskia Solomon.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
I see you sourced some archival footage from our launch 😜
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
One of my favourite shoots to date!
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
🤗
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Lol, no way, Plank Master!
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Thanks @ridingmybike.bsky.social, @judeisabella.bsky.social and @toughcitywriter.bsky.social for inviting me on to the team 9+ years ago!
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Too many other great mems from assignments and daily life on the editorial team to list. I am prone to gush about incredible colleagues and collaborators, so will stop hogging digital space and save that for another day.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Another unforgettable moment was seeing polar bears up close on assignment with the amazing Cheryl Katz hakaimagazine.com/features/wit...
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Also unforgettable: staring a saltwater crocodile in the eye underwater with only a sheet of thin mesh preventing me from becoming dinner hakaimagazine.com/features/cro...
hakaimagazine.com
Crocodiles Rising | Hakai Magazine
In the Northern Territory of Australia, policymakers and biologists managed the impossible—making the benefits of living with a booming population of deadly crocodiles outweigh the risks. But when two...
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
I will never forget the wild experience of standing inside a blue whale's mouth for this story. Yes the whale was dead and dangling from a ceiling--but, still, surreal! hakaimagazine.com/features/art...
hakaimagazine.com
The Art of Bones | Hakai Magazine
Reconstructing a blue whale skeleton is an art form—so is keeping it clean.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
It was a career highlight when one of those images appeared on the cover of Annie Proulx's Fen, Bog and Swamp! www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fen-Bo...
simonandschuster.com
Fen, Bog and Swamp
*Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker and Literary Hub!* A Finalist for the 2022 NBCC Awards in Nonfiction, the 2023 Phillip D. Reed Env...
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
On a day trip from Hakai Institute's Calvert Island site, I got immersed in photographing bog species and ended up utterly lost. Thank gawd the scientists I went with didn't leave, condemning me to being the subject of a mortifying search and rescue operation hakaimagazine.com/videos-visua...
hakaimagazine.com
The Secret World of Bog | Hakai Magazine
Photos of a lesser-known ecosystem, from British Columbia’s outer coast.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
I got strep throat, nearly passed out from dehydration, split my foot, got hassled by border guards, slipped in camel shit, and had a colony of biting ants up my pants all on day one, but reporting this story was a dream come true hakaimagazine.com/features/whe...
hakaimagazine.com
Where Camels Take to the Sea | Hakai Magazine
In Gujarat, India, a special breed of camel is not constrained by land—but cannot escape the many forces of change.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
While I was flirting with writing a mermaid-adjacent story (some day!), a handful of coworkers volunteered to join me for a mermaid swim lesson at a local pool. One guy showed up resplendent in a coconut bra and red flowing wig
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
After the reporting trip to Chirikof Island, Jude and I visited a site on Kodiak island with the most incredible lupine display I've ever seen. It was a visual delight. (And helped take the sting off of us accidentally driving into a ditch)
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
The fact I was pregnant also didn't stop Jude from having me backtrack to find hiking poles she'd forgotten 😆 (Which I loved. Screw being coddled). Equally awesome in the office, she led Friday dance parties, nerf battles, yoga breaks, staff field trips, and competitive lasagna bake offs
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
For "The Republic of Cows" @judeisabella.bsky.social invited me to a remote Alaskan island with her to witness the impacts of feral cattle. Others might have felt that having a 5-months-pregnant photographer along was too much liability, but Jude didn't flinch hakaimagazine.com/features/the...
hakaimagazine.com
The Republic of Cows | Hakai Magazine
When habitat loss is one of the biggest issues facing wild animals, why has Alaska given an entire uninhabited, remote island to feral cattle?
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Well, @hakaimagazine.com has reached the end of its lifespan. It pains me to see it slip into history, though I'm so grateful I was along for nearly the whole ride. We did important work, but also had a lot of fun. Indulge me in sharing a few fave behind-the-scenes memories, in no particular order?
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
Thank you @toughcitywriter.bsky.social for helping @hakaimagazine.com wrap up on such a meaningful note
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
The final @hakaimagazine.com story acknowledges the critical role of First Nations rescuers. Beautifully written, deeply reported, and truly eye opening, this piece encapsulates what we have striven to achieve with our stories over the past 9+ years. hakaimagazine.com/features/the...
hakaimagazine.com
The First First Responders | Hakai Magazine
When disaster strikes along British Columbia’s coast, Indigenous rescuers are often the first on the scene. Government-led initiatives are now formally recognizing that work.
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
Thank you for closing @hakaimagazine.com off with such a compelling and thoughtfully written piece
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
"We are a team of people—flawed and forgetful, but also hopeful and cheerful—with big hearts, motivated by the belief that, through journalism, we can make the world a little bit better..." @judeisabella.bsky.social making me teary with the penultimate @hakaimagazine.com newsletter
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
I’m so glad we could lure you onto the team! Your passion for writing and editing is infectious
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
How adorable is this!? Hakai Magazine stories in quilt form! journeysofdrg.org/2024/12/15/s...
journeysofdrg.org
SciQuilt – Thank you, Hakai Magazine
I have been using Hakai Magazine articles with students in all of my courses, especially my coastal issues and oceanography courses. I am a huge fan of supporting independent journalism, especially…
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Ferris Jabr @ferrisjabr.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
I was deeply disappointed by the lack of nature/science/climate/enviro on many major end-of-year book lists—so I decided to make my own! Introducing: ✨🎁📚 The 2024 Holiday Gift Guide to Nature & Science Books ✨🎁📚 Please share: Let's make this go viral in time for Black Friday / holiday shopping!
A collage of book covers of new nature & science books. Featured here are Atlas Obscura Wild Life, Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party, Every Living Thing, Alien Earths, Becoming Earth, and Deep WaterA collage of book covers of new nature & science books. Featured here are Frostbite, The Inner Clock, How to Kill an Asteroid, The Great River, The Last Fire Season, and Hoof BeatsA collage of book covers of new nature & science books. Featured here are The Serviceberry, Not the End of the World, Nature's Ghosts, Meet the Neighbors, The Light Eaters, and Our MoonA collage of book covers of new nature & science books. Featured here are Turning to Stone, The Weight of Nature, What If We Get It Right?, Waves in An Impossible Sea, The Tree Collectors, and Why We Remember
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
I learned a new-to-me word today that is simultaneously jaunty like a holiday tune and cutting (and oh so timely). Jingoistic: extreme patriotism expressed with aggression.
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Sarah Gilman @sarahmgilman.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Help fund one of the best journalism projects on the internet! So stoked that @hakaimagazine.com found a way to persist, by joining forces with bioGraphic under its banner. Be part of the movement today! They're about halfway to their $150k fundraising goal! www.biographic.com/hakai-magazi...
biographic.com
Hakai Magazine - bioGraphic
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
This is a very fine piece of writing 💛 Emma makes it look easy
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Have you smelled rotting hippo flesh, though? A more vile stench I cannot imagine.
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bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Here’s where you come in. We have enough funding to bring some staff to bioGraphic, but not the whole team. We’re looking everywhere for financial support, and to bring more people over, we need to raise US $150,000. Will you help us? www.biographic.com/hakai-magazi... bsky-sos&c_src2=hakai
biographic.com
Hakai Magazine - bioGraphic
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Erica Gies / SlowWater.world @ericagies.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Two of my fave magazines to read and to write for -- Hakai and bioGraphic -- are joining forces! Journalism is a critical service, and it costs money to do it right. If you care about science and the natural world and can afford it, please subscribe to help keep their merger grow!
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Susan Orlean @susanorlean.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
You guys. I just finished writing a memoir and now I consider myself an expert on the form. *shudders in horror* So I’m teaching a class about it. myfivethings.com/class/writin...
myfivethings.com
Writing a Memoir
Join acclaimed journalist and author Susan Orlean in this live, two-hour class and discover the Five Things She’s Learned while writing her forthcoming memoir, and about the approaches sure to be of h...
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Shanna Baker @shannabaker.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
www.biographic.com/hakai-magazi...
biographic.com
Hakai Magazine - bioGraphic
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