Print and online
“Bird nests made with a toxic fungus seem to fend off attacking ants”, ScienceNews
“Ants changed the architecture of their nests when exposed to a pathogen”, ScienceNews
“Scandinavia’s Missing Bronze-Age Boatyards”, Hakai Magazine
“This snake goes to extremes to play dead — and it appears to pay off”, ScienceNews
“In Graphic Detail: Sea Turtle Feminization”, Hakai Magazine
“Interlocking logs may be evidence of the oldest known wooden structure”, ScienceNews
“The surprising source of Turkey's volcanoes lies more than 1,000 miles away”, National Geographic
“Do octopuses dream?”, National Geographic
“Migrating bats use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate in the dark”, New Scientist
“Swarming locusts can deploy a chemical to avoid being cannibalized”, ScienceNews
“‘Flash droughts’ are growing increasingly common”, ScienceNews
“Living in trees may have given great apes vocal skills for consonants”, New Scientist
“The Galapagos Islands Will Be a Cool Refuge in a Warming World”, Hakai Magazine
“In Maya society, cacao use was for everyone, not just royals”, ScienceNews
“Lemurs hug tree trunks to cool down when temperatures top 30°C”, New Scientist
“Humans may have started tending animals almost 13,000 years ago”, ScienceNews
“An award-winning photo captures a ‘zombie’ fungus erupting from a fly”, ScienceNews
“Relocated beavers helped mitigate some effects of climate change”, ScienceNews
“Electrocuted birds are sparking wildfires”, Science
“Ancient Maya tooth sealant glued gemstones in place—and may have prevented tooth decay”, Science
“Blind Mexican cave fish are developing cave-specific accents”, New Scientist
“Lost genes may help explain how vampire bats survive on blood alone”, ScienceNews
“Deep-sea Arctic sponges feed on fossilized organisms to survive”, ScienceNews
“Urban animals may get some dangerous gut microbes from humans”, ScienceNews
“Plants prioritise keeping their flowers cool during hot, dry weather”, New Scientist
“Seaweed Is Putting Sea Turtles in a Hot Mess”, Hakai Magazine
“Albatrosses divorce more often when ocean waters warm”, ScienceNews
“Watch itchy fish rub against worst possible scratching post: hungry sharks”, Science Magazine
“Watch cuttlefish migrate together in a defensive line with a lookout”, New Scientist
“Zebras rolling in pits help give life to the Namib desert in Africa”, New Scientist
“The Macabre and Magical Human-Canine Story”, Sapiens
“The Lost Whales,” Hakai Magazine
“How Extreme Temperature Swings in Deserts Stir Sand and Dust,” Smithsonian
“Ancient, Acidic Lakes May Have Harbored Life,” Eos
“Orangutans create new ways to communicate with each other in captivity”, New Scientist
“Double climate disaster may have ended ancient Harappan civilisation”, New Scientist
“For Amazon’s harpy eagle, nesting trees are also coveted for timber”, Mongabay
“Brazil is sliding into techno-authoritarianism”, MIT Technology Review
“In Brazil, a Sugarcane Rush Poses a New Threat to the Amazon Rainforest”, Sierra Club
“New Pará railway divides the state”, Diálogo Chino
“Ancient Bat Guano Reveals Thousands of Years of Human Impact on the Environment”, Smithsonian
“The Amazon Reef Is Alive, Growing, and Under Threat—Again”, Hakai Magazine
“Should the Story of Homo’s Dispersal Out of Africa Be Rewritten?”, Sapiens
“Fight for the Arctic Ocean is a boon for science”, Science Magazine
“Fat, Not Meat, May Have Led to Bigger Hominin Brains,” Sapiens (Reprinted in The Atlantic; Pacific Standard; Undark; Scientfic American)
“Now Facebook has made an AI that writes bizarre bedtime stories,” Wired UK
“Whodunit? The dinosaurs’ demise,” Economist Espresso
“Killer Whales Are Expanding into the Arctic, Then Dying as the Ice Sets In,” Hakai Magazine
“Terrible drivers could teach autonomous cars how to avoid crashes,” New Scientist
“Sea cucumbers bloat themselves to zoom around the ocean,” National Geographic
“Climate Change Could Be Breaking a Natural Coral Reef Thermostat,” Hakai Magazine
Global warming and coral reefs: “Warming Oceans Are Offering a New Spot for Corals to Colonize,” Hakai Magazine
Artificial homes for beleaguered octopods: “Common Octopuses Get Uncommon Houses”, Hakai Magazine
AI enters Thousand-buddha caves: “AI wades into the debate on age of ancient Chinese cave murals”, New Scientist
Origins of Pictish script: “Ancient tribes of Scotland learned to write after contact with Romans”, New Scientist
Dying stars, robbed: “Interstellar theft: supernovae”, Economist Espresso
Acoustics and conservation: “To Save the Baltic Sea Harbor Porpoise, Scientists Try Listening”, Hakai Magazine
Shazam for animals: “AI eavesdrops on Borneo’s rainforests to check on biodiversity”, New Scientist
Religious buildings preserve biodiversity: “Tending the flock”, Economist
Making slums more efficient: “Road to somewhere: redesigning slums,” Economist Espresso
Windfarms and extreme weather: “Research Shows Wind Farms Could Divert Hurricane Rains,” Hakai Magazine
AI checks CCTV for crimes: “US police testing AI that learns to spot crimes in CCTV footage,” New Scientist
AI enters viticulture: “AI camera to help spot the best grapes for making pesticide-free wine,” New Scientist
Climate change puts archaeological sites at risk “Not cool: Arctic archaeology,” Economist Espresso
Vanishing corals, helpless fish: “As Reefs Disappear, Some Fish Find Themselves Defenceless”, Hakai Magazine
Using AI to tackle Deepfakes: ”AIs created our fake video dystopia but now they could help fix it”, Wired UK
Tagging sharks feeding in the deep: “The Deep-Sea Adventures of Lydia the Great White Shark”, Hakai Magazine
AI pacifies online abuse: "Anti-swearing AI takes the edge off abuse on Reddit and Twitter", New Scientist
Facebook AI fashion: "Need a new look? Facebook’s AI fashion designer has some ideas", New Scientist
Noise pollution harming fish: “Marine Noise Is Mentally and Physically Disturbing Fish,” Hakai Magazine
Wasp version of the "waggle dance": "Wasps drum with their stomachs to tell each other about food", New Scientist
Our increasingly noisy ocean: "Marine Noise Is Mentally and Physically Disturbing Fish", Hakai Magazine
Parasitism and social structures: "Social Dominance Comes At a Cost", The Scientist
Genomic ownership and the blockchain: "Why big pharma might pay cryptocurrency for your DNA", New Scientist
Our versatile ancestor: "We thought gorillas only walked on their knuckles. We were wrong", New Scientist
Non-centrifugal blood separator: "Portable tech for processing blood in the works"", SciDev
Blood-cleaning nano-filter: "Nano-claw snatches bacteria from blood like tiny Venus flytrap", New Scientist
Machine learning and art: "Art history AI sees links between hundreds of years of paintings", New Scientist
Warming world, melting ice: "Warming drives Alaskan glacier to its lowest point in 900 years", New Scientist, 2017
Digital decay, and a ceramic time-capsule for mankind: "All of human knowledge buried in a salt mine", The Atlantic, 2017
Hungary's energy policy, and green-energy potential: "Power failure", Monocle, 2016
Wearable technology and the trucking industry: "Smart wristband tracks vital signs to keep truckers moving", New Scientist, 2016
Sleep spindles and neurological disorders: "Minding the pulse of memory consolidation", The Scientist, 2016
Flat-packed solar power plants: "IKEA of energy", New Scientist, 2016
Competitive growth in vertebrates: "Compare the meerkat", New Scientist, 2016
Detecting earthquakes via smartphones: "Phone Ahead", The Economist, 2015
Animated 3D holographic images: "Light at the end of a tunnel", The Economist, 2015
On the origins of slow solar wind: "Where the slow blow goes", The Economist, 2015
Hunting for UHE neutrinos in the ice of Antarctica: "Balloon with a view", The Economist, 2014
Aluminium-based display screens: "Making Al green", The Economist, 2014
"Highly influential scientists still rare in the developing world", SciDevNet, 2014
"A survey of stats training in UK journalism", Significance, 2014
"UN urges bold action to turn around off-track MDGs", SciDevNet, 2014
A visual time machine into US history: "Slides of time", New Scientist, 2014
Audio
“Femicide” — the killing of women for their gender — has been a persistent problem in Colombia. In 2022, more than 11 women were murdered every week on average. The crime of femicide has been on the books in Colombia since 2012, but a lack of resources, high levels of impunity and deep-seated cultural discrimination are hampering efforts to put a stop to it. Richard Kemeny reports from Medellín
Bison once roamed the United Kingdom freely, but like many native animals, agriculture and human development killed them all off. This month, for the first time in 6,000 years, three wild bison were released into a forest near Kent. The bison have been brought in as ecosystem engineers — they will thrash around the forest, eating bark and killing trees, eating and dispersing seeds, creating new habitats for other species and generally transforming a monoculture forest into a rewilded one, which should sequester more carbon from the atmosphere.
LONG-FORM:
MA final project, 2014
This 15 minute documentary, presented and produced by myself, investigates the genetic impacts of sleep disruption on humans living in an increasingly nocturnal world
"Megatech: Technology in 2050"
Feature-length episode of The Economist's science and technology podcast, exploring the evolution of technology heading towards the year 2050
MAGAZINE SHOWS:
"Babbage: When AI makes music"
An episode of The Economist's science and technology podcast, which I have produced since September 2016
REPORTAGE:
20:34 -- 27:15
SciDev.Net, 2015
My piece in this podcast reports on research from Southampton University detailing the impacts climate change will have on coastal cities, with prescriptions for effective coastal management in the face of rising water levels
STUDIO-BASED:
"Arthur Miller and modern-day witch-hunts"
The Economist, 2015
A roundtable discussion about the immutable nature of Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' and how the play strikingly resonates with whichever society in which it is performed
SCRIPTED:
"Tasting menu: Audio highlights"
The Economist, 2016
A highlights programme using audio clips from The Economist in Audio interweaved with scripted narrative quips and links. I helped pilot and create this podcast in mid-2015, and have scripted and produced it each week since then. It has consistently been one of the most popular Economist Radio podcasts on Soundcloud
Video
"Japan's yakuza: Inside the syndicate"
The Economist, 2015
This audio slideshow showcased the photography of Anton Kusters, a Belgian photographer who was embedded within one of Japan's yakuza crime families for two years. It was The Economist's most popular video of 2015 with over 1,200,000 views on Youtube
Warming oceans and species migration
The Economist, 2015
This short film explores certain unseen aspects of climate change. While the fallout is often framed as a terrestrial problem, global warming is having profound effects on marine life, driving species to migrate to cooler waters at the poles