science journalist
Michelle Nijhuis is a science journalist who has written for several organizations and publications, including the Food and Environment Reporting Network and the New Yorker.
PROFILE
Michelle Nijhuis
Guest
FROM Michelle Nijhuis
To the Point
The future of federal public lands under Trump This week Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah introduced a bill calling for the immediate sell-off of 3.3 million acres of public lands spread out over 10 states. The total amount is roughly the size of Connecticut. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Photo by Barbara Wheeler, USFWS The Wilderness Society is calling the proposal Step Two in a radical Republican plan to offload federal property. Step One was a quiet change over a week ago to a single line in the House rules which redefined the value of federal land and made it easier for the government to dispose of it. Science writer Michelle Nijhuis has been tracking this for the New Yorker's "Elements" blog .
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Could a Vintage Water Planning Project End the Drought? Half a century ago, the engineer Ralph Parsons came up with a plan to bring Southern California all the water it would ever need. This plan was called the North American Water and Power Alliance, or NAWAPA. NAWAPA never got built, but its promise lingers.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The Caviar Underground Paddlefish Polyodon spathula (Timothy Knepp - US Fish and Wildlife Service) Consider the paddlefish: It’s prehistoric looking, even ugly. It lives in the Osage River in Missouri. And it’s worth about $40,000 on the black market. We take a look at the seedy world that is the caviar underground.
Recommended
Bookworm
Morgan Parker: There Are More Beautiful Things than Beyoncé Morgan Parker says that the poems in her book There Are Things More Beautiful than Beyoncé take a stand against the clichés of the dominant culture.
Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”
The Business
In 'Speechless,' Scott Silveri combines comedy, family & disability Scott Silveri has written and produced sitcoms for more than 20 years. In all that time, he never encountered a TV family that looked anything like the one he grew up in -- with a mom, a dad...and a brother with cerebral palsy. He changed that with his show Speechless on ABC. Silveri tells us about looking to his own past for stories, and why he was determined to make a family comedy and not just a "disability show."
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Gov. Jerry Brown: California and China will fight climate change together President Donald Trump reportedly wants the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and he’s expected to announce a decision soon. California Governor Jerry Brown heads to China to strengthen climate and clean energy ties.