TWENTYSOMETHING: WHY DO YOUNG ADULTS SEEM STUCK?
Robin Marantz Henig (NASW member) and Samantha Henig
Hudson Street Press, November 2012, $25.95
A fiftysomething mother (Robin) and her twentysomething daughter (Samantha) explore challenges of early adulthood for the Baby Boomers’ and the Millennials, telling what has changed and what remains the same.
Organic compounds on Mars! But Curiosity's carbon find might have come from Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, NASA announces another Mars rover for 2020. The National Academy of Sciences says NASA is lost in space and it's all Obama's fault. Meanwhile, in inner space, the backlash against brain porn goes mainstream.
From time to time, all of us will find ourselves wondering whether all of the blood, sweat, and tears that we put into our work are making a difference. There are a lot of academics in the field who are very interested in these questions, and in this issue we feature three articles that we hope will expand your thinking about the ways in which science writers make a difference in their professional, local, and global communities.
A perfectly legal way for freelance writers to trim taxes is to employ their children. Their salaries stay in the family, but are shifted into their lower tax bracket. The jobs also put some “jingle in their jeans,” familiarize them with freelancing, and instill a bit of the old work ethic.
Paul Raeburn: Two years ago, I felt lucky to announce that I had been lured to the Sunshine State by Florida Atlantic University, which offered me a free hand to develop a new master’s program in science writing. Sadly, all has come tumbling down.
The Open Notebook has collected the thoughts of a half-dozen editors who took queries during the popular Pitch Slam at ScienceWriters2012. The six — Laura Helmuth, Amanda Moon, David Corcoran, Beth Quill, Susannah Locke, and Tasha Eichenseher — discuss what they look for (one word: "voice") and whether they prefer short or long queries: "Finally, remember that the best way to figure out what editors are looking for is to read the publication."
Spyfall: Finding a way to bring science to the David Petraeus-Paula Broadwell-Jill Kelley-John Allen-Frederick Humphries II-CIA-FBI-Pentagon-Gmail scandal. Lessons for digital privacy: There isn't any. If only Petraeus had known about oxytocin and the evolutionary trend toward monogamy. An oxytocin variant in C. elegans. A vegetative patient speaks, in a manner of speaking. The people speak too, and vote for legal marijuana. The result: more research and more work for science writers.
Joel Shurkin: Forty-three years ago this summer I covered one of the most important stories in human history: The first human landings on another world. Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong. The moon. It was a different journalism world then, and a different America. The media were concentrated, rich, powerful. America was self-assured, rich, daring. Children, you missed a wonderful time.
Last month in Raleigh, N.C., during the NASW business meeting, three dedicated volunteers were awarded the 2012 Diane McGurgan Service Award. Congratulations to Rick Bogren, Robert Irion, and Mari Jensen. Read on to learn more about their contributions and the award.
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