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Tom Zeller Jr.

@tomzellerjr.com
921 followers 785 following 50 posts

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

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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.
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 20/08/2026
So exceedingly kind! 🙏
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 20/08/2026
Awww. Thanks, Deb. This means so much coming from you!
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 16/12/2025
Thank you for reading.
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 25/11/2025
... and the book would make a great holiday gift for the headache sufferer in your life: www.amazon.com/Headache-Sci...
amazon.com
The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction―and a Search for Relief
The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction―and a Search for Relief [Zeller Jr., Tom] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction―and a Search for Relief
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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...
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 25/11/2025
Thank you @deborahb.bsky.social !
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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.
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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
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 11/09/2025
From: www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
theatlantic.com
The Horrifying Assassination of Charlie Kirk
The shooting of the conservative activist is the latest act of political violence in the United States.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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...
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 17/08/2025
Thank you!
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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
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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.
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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.
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 13/08/2025
I'm the author of the book being reviewed here, and I can safely say that you are entirely correct—or at least that's one of the biggest reasons.
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 13/08/2025
Sorry to hear that you're going through it, Jessie. I hope the book, at the very least, confirms that you are very much not alone.
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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.
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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…
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 27/07/2025
Truly an honor, @bschillace.brandyschillace.com! 🙏
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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
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 21/07/2025
One ignores the testimony of @deborahb.bsky.social at their peril! :-)
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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.
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 21/07/2025
Thank you, friend!
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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...
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 28/05/2025
undark.org/2025/05/27/j...
undark.org
Amid Turbulence, the NIH's Jay Bhattacharya Era Begins
Pandemic policies prompted his call for public health reform. But allies wonder if he can deliver it as a Trump insider.
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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."
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 24/04/2025
Link: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-headac...
barnesandnoble.com
The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction-and a Search for Relief|Hardcover
"Required reading for anyone with a head."—Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Stiff and FuzzFor the many millions of headache sufferers, a deeply reported, sometimes harrowing, and...
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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.
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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.
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 03/04/2025
interactive version of the chart above is here: infogram.com/1pj2l5xyjpxp...
infogram.com
NIH - Infogram
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 03/04/2025
... and there are signs that the layoffs could be problematic for specific public health programs. BUT: the "people will die" rhetoric that many journalists are propagating seems irresponsible -- particularly when so few have bothered to give readers historical context. (3/3)
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 03/04/2025
Data pulled from Office of Personnel Management's FedScope tool (fedscope.opm.gov). We don't yet know the full scope of the recent firings, nor how deeply they cut into professional vs. administrative staff, nor how aggressively they targeted specific programs... (2/3)
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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
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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…
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 19/03/2025
If you'd like, you can pre-order now: www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
harpercollins.com
The Headache
For the many millions of headache sufferers and fans of Mary Roach, Siddartha Mukerjee, and Ed Yong, a deeply reported, sometimes harrowing, and frequently ...
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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.
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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?
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 15/02/2025
time.com/7225555/trum...
time.com
Trump’s Mass Layoffs Leave Federal Workers Baffled, Angry
Federal workers tell TIME the layoffs feel arbitrary and mismanaged. “We're paralyzed because we don't know what's happening."
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 15/02/2025
Whoopsie.
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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
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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
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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.
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 20/12/2024
Good question!
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Tom Zeller Jr. @tomzellerjr.com · 20/12/2024
Full interview: undark.org/2024/12/20/i...
undark.org
Interview: Overseeing the Research That Might Start a Pandemic
Biosecurity expert Gerald Epstein discusses how certain high-risk science should be regulated.
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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.
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