Sign in

Tom Zeller Jr.

@tomzellerjr.com
919 followers 785 following 50 posts

Journalist; @nytimes.com & @KSJatMIT alum; Editor in Chief, @undarkmag (undark.org); Formidable lyric vault; Scion of #CLE.

PostsRepliesMedia
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 18/09/2026
Trump has just relaxed Biden-era restrictions on the use of lead ammo for hunting. If you're curious about the implications of this, I have a great story for you by @lynnepeeps.bsky.social. undark.org/2017/01/30/l...
undark.org
In the Battle Over Lead Ammunition, Science Collides With Culture
Lead bullets are the preferred ammunition in the U.S. by a wide margin — even though research has linked them to a raft of environmental and health risks.
144
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 20/08/2026
So exceedingly kind! 🙏
010
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 25/11/2025
Not sure why this month-old essay is back on the homepage of the NYT today, but I'm not complaining! www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
110
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 25/11/2025
Thank you @deborahb.bsky.social !
010
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 02/10/2025
This has been such a wild story arc. nypost.com/2025/10/02/m...
nypost.com
Exclusive | Bari Weiss to lead CBS News as part of major Paramount Skydance shakeup: sources
Weiss will report directly to Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison as she helps set the editorial direction at the third-place CBS News, a source close to the situation said.
000
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression @thefireorg.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
“Free speech is what we do instead of violence. Civilization started the day man first cast a word instead of a stone.” We must not lose sight of this civilization-defining distinction. 🎙️: @nicoperrino.bsky.social 📺: @cnn.com
2185
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 11/09/2025
"Periods of political violence do end. But often not without shocking retrenchments of people’s freedoms or catastrophic events coming first. There’s little reason to expect that this period will end differently."
100
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Knowable Magazine @knowablemag.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Migraines and other chronic headache conditions have been noted throughout human history — perhaps as far back as the Paleolithic. “The problem may be as old as our species,” Jerome Groopman writes in the @newyorker.com in a review of a new book about headaches by science journalist @tomzellerjr.com
newyorker.com
Why Hasn’t Medical Science Cured Chronic Headaches?
More than 1.2 billion people worldwide suffer from migraine and other debilitating conditions that are under-studied and often not taken seriously.
152
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 20/08/2025
@brookeborel.bsky.social and @annarothschild.bsky.social are such nimble stewards on these journeys into the thorniest questions facing science and society. Don't miss this inaugural episode of Season Two! undark.org/2025/08/20/p...
undark.org
Podcast: Should We Make Viruses More Dangerous – For Science?
Kicking off Entanglements Season 2, our hosts talk to a microbiologist and a virologist about gain-of-function research.
032
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
The Psychologist @psychmag.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
The role of the Psychologist in treating headache disorders. @tomzellerjr.com, author of ‘The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Disorder’ (HarperCollins/Mariner, 2025). www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
bps.org.uk
The role of the Psychologist in treating headache disorders | BPS
Tom Zeller Jr., author of ‘The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Disorder’ (HarperCollins/Mariner, 2025).
052
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Knight Science Journalism @ MIT @ksjatmit.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
"At any moment it can appear, creeping in like a shadow in some cases, ambushing like a predator in others." "The Headache," by former KSJ Fellow and current @undark.org editor @tomzellerjr.com, gets a review in The New Yorker: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
011
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
TRE - Talk Radio Europe @tre.radio · 13/08/2025
On Hannah Murray's TRE in the Afternoon from 16.00CET - @richardhwrote.bsky.social's 'I'm Fine: A true story of trust, betrayal and exploitation', Franny Joseph-Zywicki's 'Hump Day Happenings' - celebrity gossip, and @tomzellerjr.com's 'The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction
031
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Read an excerpt from “The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction – and a Search for Relief.” buff.ly/GuLxfbq
undark.org
Why Do Headaches Feel So Different From Other Kinds of Pain?
Excruciating migraines and cluster attacks seem to collapse the sense of separation between body and self.
1216
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Science Friday @scifri.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Despite being extremely common, headaches are still something of a neurological mystery. In his new book, journalist @tomzellerjr.com shares his own experience with debilitatingly painful cluster headaches, and chronicles his journey to uncover the science behind this “most confounding affliction.”
sciencefriday.com
When Headaches Are Ruining Your Life, Where Can You Turn?
In “The Headache,” a science journalist documents his quest to understand his own cluster headaches.
3469
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 12/08/2025
Humbled to see "The Headache" receive such expansive and thoughtful coverage in ‪the @newyorker.com‬. Many thanks to Jerome Groopman -- a staff writer, physician, and migraineur himself -- for the deeply insightful read. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
Why Hasn’t Medical Science Cured Chronic Headaches?
More than 1.2 billion people worldwide suffer from migraine and other debilitating conditions that are under-studied and often not taken seriously.
030
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
@tomzellerjr.com explores how medical misogyny impacted the practice of neuroscience (and the treatment of migraines).
buff.ly
How Medical Misogyny Impacted the Treatment of Women’s Migraines
“I get ocular migraines, so they’re behind my eyes. And I can’t do anything when it’s bad. Like, even like the smallest light or the lightest noise sets me off. I wear sunglasses everywhere. It’s j…
093
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 27/07/2025
Truly an honor, @bschillace.brandyschillace.com! 🙏
041
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 22/07/2025
It's not news that women are often taken less seriously than men in health care settings, but the data can be eye-opening — and infuriating. From "The Headache" (amzn.to/44TeSXu). #migraine #headache
141
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 21/07/2025
One ignores the testimony of @deborahb.bsky.social at their peril! :-)
020
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 21/07/2025
"It is not merely a headache, and it deserves our attention." A truly wonderful review from @wsj.com for my new book, "The Headache." www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
wsj.com
‘The Headache’ Review: Of Migraines and Mystery
Billions of people worldwide suffer from headache disorders. Medical science continues to struggle with the difficulty of diagnosing their causes—and relieving the suffering.
010
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 15/06/2025
Seven days left: Enter to win a free copy! bit.ly/goodreads-he...
bit.ly
Book giveaway for The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction―and a Search for Relief by Tom Zeller Jr. Jun 14-Jun 22, 2025
Enter to win one of 70 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Jun 14-Jun 22, 2025. Enter for a chance to win an early copy of this deeply-reported, o...
010
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 28/05/2025
"Some of Jay Bhattacharya's colleagues and supporters have struggled to square the man they know — who arrived at NIH promising to champion free speech — with the policies of the administration he serves."
100
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 24/04/2025
If these trying times are giving you a headache, have I got the book for you! And for a limited time, you can get 25% off @barnesandnoble.com.
121
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 04/04/2025
Uncorrected proofs. It's wild to see this thing emerging from its longtime home in my brain (often in the anxious cauldron of the amygdala), and into the corporeal world. Anyway, one step closer to publication day.
010
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 03/04/2025
Some context on the NIH layoffs.... (1/3)
Chart showing workforce size of NIH over two decades
100
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 21/03/2025
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #measles, amirite? arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
arstechnica.com
Mom of child dead from measles: “Don’t do the shots,” my other 4 kids were fine
The interview downplayed the disease, maligned vaccines…
000
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 19/03/2025
When my book comes out in July, I will be forced to talk about headaches. I've had them for 30 years — a terrible kind that people close to me, but few others, knew about. I will be an imperfect spokesperson for inexplicable pain — and primary headache disorders are just that. But I will do my best.
1113
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 21/02/2025
Is throat cancer research Marxist? A nice joint piece by @undark.org and @notusreports.bsky.social: undark.org/2025/02/21/a...
undark.org
In War Against DEI in Science, Researchers See Collateral Damage
Senate Republicans flagged thousands of grants as "woke DEI" research. But what does that really mean?
052
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 15/02/2025
Whoopsie.
100
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 13/02/2025
Genuinely honored to see @undark.org named a finalist for a General Excellence National Magazine Award — and alongside fabulous publications @motherjones.com, @vqr.bsky.social, @bittersouth.bsky.social, and aperture.org. asme.memberclicks.net/asme-announc...
asme.memberclicks.net
ASME ANNOUNCES NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS 2025 FINALISTS
170
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 07/01/2025
Do you want to run the premier science #journalism program in the country? Do you want to relocate to the staggering brain trust of Cambridge, Mass, and @mitofficial.bsky.social? Apply now to be the next director of @ksjatmit.bsky.social: careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...
careers.peopleclick.com
Director, Knight Science Journalism Fellowship
MIT - Director, Knight Science Journalism Fellowship - Cambridge MA 02139
052
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 04/01/2025
lol. www.axios.com/2025/01/03/t...
axios.com
Scoop: Apple CEO Tim Cook donates $1 million to Trump inauguration
Cook joins other top CEOs and companies in making a seven-figure pledge.
121
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 20/12/2024
Interesting passage in @saratalpos.bsky.social's recent interview with biosecurity expert Gerald Epstein. They set up an elaborate system for reviewing risky gain-of-function research projects, but almost no one submits proposals—even though ~20 percent of institutions report doing such work.
222
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 19/12/2024
I have sad news: Deb Blum, who has spent 10 years reinvigorating the @ksjatmit.bsky.social program at MIT, is retiring. She cannot be talked out of it, alas. So: If you'd like to take the helm at the best science journalism fellowship program in the world, read on: ksj.mit.edu/news/2024/12...
ksj.mit.edu
Knight Science Journalism Director Deborah Blum Announces Retirement Knight Science Journalism @MIT
The director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, Deborah Blum, has announced that she will retire in the summer of 2025.
010
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 14/12/2024
"Such efforts have brought new public attention to some of the basic questions Imperiale and his colleagues agonized over in that conference room 12 years ago: How should society weigh the costs of engineering pathogens in the pursuit of public health goals?" undark.org/2024/12/11/u...
undark.org
The Long, Contentious Battle to Regulate Gain-of-Function Work
For years, experts have tussled over whether — and how — to restrict risky pathogen research. Is a compromise possible?
030
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Undark Magazine @undark.org · 11/12/2024
Supporters argue that gain-of-function studies are key to preparing for pandemics, but critics warn of their dangers. Read more here:
undark.org
The Long, Contentious Battle to Regulate Gain-of-Function Work
For years, experts have tussled over whether — and how — to restrict risky pathogen research. Is a compromise possible?
0137
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 11/12/2024
If you think you know how gain-of-function research is overseen in this country, you're in for an awakening. Don't miss the tour-de-force of reporting from @Sara_Talpos @undark.org #COVID undark.org/2024/12/11/u...
undark.org
The Long, Contentious Battle to Regulate Gain-of-Function Work
For years, experts have tussled over whether — and how — to restrict risky pathogen research. Is a compromise possible?
110
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 25/11/2024
A lab? A wet market? We may never know where Covid-19 came from. What's undeniable is that the discussion around Covid origins has become hopelessly toxic. Can @undark.org's Entanglements podcast get scientists on opposing sides to talk it out? Listen in.... undark.org/2024/11/25/p...
undark.org
Podcast: Is It Likely that Covid-19 Came From a Lab?
This week on Entanglements, our hosts talk to a microbiologist and a scientist who is an avid lab-leak proponent.
030
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Deborah Blum @deborahb.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
It's time to apply for a Knight Science Journalism Program fellowship at MIT! We have 10 openings for a 2025-26 academic year fellowship and one opening for a one semester fellowship for journalists from Africa and the Middle East. Learn more here. ksj.mit.edu/news/2024/11...
ksj.mit.edu
KSJ Opens Application Cycle for 2025-26 Fellowships Knight Science Journalism @MIT
The Knight Science Journalism Fellowship Program at MIT opens applications for the next class of fellows.
03535
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 19/11/2024
Happy for @undark.org to join the @bsky.app community. Please let us know either here or at editorial@undark.org what science stories you'd most like to see in the coming year. undark.org
undark.org
Undark: Truth, Beauty, Science.
Undark is a nonprofit, editorially independent digital magazine exploring the intersection of science and society.
063
Reposted by Tom Zeller Jr.
Undark Magazine @undark.org · 18/11/2024
(1/5) Science has always pushed boundaries, but the stakes are higher than ever in an age of risky science. Our new series dives into AI, genetic engineering, and other high-risk innovations.
1358
Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 14/09/2023
Greetings new and old friends. I don't know what to post here, so I will start with this, from the trail camera in our yard.
2131