Rachel Courtland

Freelance journalists: I'm building up @techreview's coverage of physical technology: chips, materials science, quantum computing, engineering, robotics, a little bit of space, etc. Reach out to say hello! Or send me a pitch technologyreview.com/how-to-pitch-m…

@ScolesSarah @SciCommAwards @ClaraMoskowitz @erichand @michaelroston Well deserved! Congrats, Sarah!

So thrilled and honored to say that @SciCommAwards has given me a surprise prize this year for stories about nuclear weapons. Thanks to editors @ClaraMoskowitz , @erichand, and @michaelroston for taking these stories on and making them better. nationalacademies.org/news/2024/10/n…

A big congratulations to all the winners of this year's @ScienceWriters Science in Society journalism awards. It was an honor to serve as a category judge this year—and also a huge challenge. There were so many great entries. nasw.org/article/nasw-s…

@hanamkiros @TheAtlantic Congrats, Hana! Great news!

never thought the day would come, but i have some very belated ✨personal news. i'm now an assistant editor @TheAtlantic! i focus on science, tech, and health. my first piece is out today. theatlantic.com/health/archive…

People will be like, “generative AI has no practical use case,” but I did just use it to replace every app icon on my home screen with images of Kermit, soooo

Hopping in here real quick to plug the first feature up online from @techreview's upcoming 125th anniversary issue: @KaraPlatoni's look at what the future might hold for a baby born today. It's a fun one! technologyreview.com/2024/08/15/109…

Sadly @NobelPrize didnt follow. One of the great omissions. RIP bj the architect of modern particle physics: quarks and QCD, how to find W bosons and charm and QFD, and more besides which spawned others' awards. And all in a single paper in 1966.

Fourteen years ago, I wondered why my students at @nyu_journalism couldn't have access to embargoed @EurekAlert press releases. Others have also wondered that. Today, they changed their policy. embargowatch.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/so-… via @deborahblum

Simone Biles is now the most decorated US Olympics gymnast, so here is a thread of her as functions y = x

As athletics at #Paris2024 gets underway, it's a good time to share my recent @techreview feature on supershoes and their impact on the sport. With input from current Olympians, past world record holders, top coaches & exercise physiologists, etc. technologyreview.com/2024/06/25/109…

“Why use the Oxford comma?”

@viajoshhunt It is always so surprising to me when I hear about this happening. I can't think of a more cardinal rule for editors working with freelancers. Perhaps you could try talking to them? Maybe (hopefully!) there is more going on than the tracker data would indicate.

At the time, I thought maybe this meant they were reconsidering the pitch. I had no reason to suspect more than that, having worked with this editor long enough to trust them a great deal. Then it slipped off my radar for a bit. But I kept at work on the story.

Just heard through the grapevine that an editor I respect and really enjoy working with stole a pitch I sent them in March. Hopefully it turns out not to be the case. I can't think of anything worse you could do to a freelance magazine writer in this media environment.

Controversial CRISPR scientist promises “no more gene-edited babies” until society comes around trib.al/VSDOcrZ

We are hiring a new managing editor in our Cambridge office! This is a job for people into process, with a real eye for detail and who get satisfaction from things just ... working. technologyreview.com/job/managing-e…

Something is pumping out large amounts of oxygen at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, at depths where a total lack of sunlight makes photosynthesis impossible go.nature.com/3Ly0876

*Cronch* I ran over a rock and found crystals inside! It's pure sulfur. (And no, it doesn’t smell.) Elemental sulfur is something we’ve never seen before on Mars. We don't know much about these yellow crystals yet, but my team is excited to investigate. go.nasa.gov/4bPdSow

NASA is cancelling its already-built VIPER rover to hunt for ice on the Moon because of budgetary pressures - and scientists aren't happy. Story by me @newscientist newscientist.com/article/244024…

we know surprisingly little about the athletes who have been pushed out of sports because of restrictive gender policies for every high-profile story of an athlete told she can't play, there have been more who quietly disappeared my piece for @Slate: slate.com/life/2024/07/o…

Deadline: July 23