Writer. Author. Scientist.
Curious Conversationalist.
I love to write and have one-on-one conversations with people. Many of my casual conversations, not meant to be “interviews,” end up with the other person saying to me, “I can’t believe I am telling you all of this!”
I’m genuinely curious about other people — I want to know what someone is thinking, why they did this or that thing, what makes them tick, and people tend to open up to me. This is even more fun when those people are scientists and I can help tell their story to a wider audience than they may have reached otherwise.
When I’m writing fiction, a solitary experience, I love punctuating the hours alone with conversations with experts on topics I need to understand more about, like crime scenes and clinical trials, for some recent examples.
What Do You Write?
I write about science and scientists, and about a lot of other things, too. I write about what I see and experience and about what moves me. I write short and long articles, stories, essays, songs, and poems. I hope to soon add “books” to this list. I write in my journal everyday, something as essential to me as brushing my teeth or a drinking a cup of coffee.
What's New?
July 16, 2024
I am hard at work preparing Season Two of the Science Fare podcast! While the goal of Season One was to simply work, i.e., someone presses play and something that sounds decent comes out, the goal of Season Two is to inch this thing closer to something that high school science teachers and students can use. I’m beginning to have conversations with students and teachers about this now — if you or anyone you know would like to chat with me about this, please get in touch!
I did release two bonus episodes last week — first, an interview with the founders of the Fed is Best Foundation who just published a book, Fed is Best. A few days later I released a shorter episode linking their to work on infant feeding to one of the Next Generation High School science standards called Engaging in Argument from Evidence. This standard asks students to evaluate the claims, evidence and reasoning behind currently accepted explanations or solutions to determine the merits of the argument. In this episode, the Fed is Best founders and I talk about how they did this in their work.
In June, the Princeton Alumni Weekly published a piece I wrote about a place near and dear to my heart, the Manor Mill, where I host Prose Nights.
Speaking of the Princeton Alumni Weekly magazine, I am writing a piece for them right now on Liquid Biopsy. I am interested in talking to people who have used Liquid Biopsy for early cancer detection. If this fits you or anyone you know, and you (or your friend) are willing to share your story, please get in touch.
The Latest:
Essays and Other Pieces
Angelo Otterbein ’95 Turnedan Abandoned Mill into a Creative Hub
September 5, 2024
Nestled just next to a winding stretch of Monkton Road, across from the rushing Gunpowder River, sits an old brick grist mill that was once a cornerstone of pre-Revolutionary War life in this part of northern Baltimore County, Maryland. After stints as an antique shop and a cidery, the mill sat abandoned, the 300-year-old walls […]
Podcasts
High School Science Standard: Engaging in Argument from Evidence
June 20, 2024
In this episode, I give a quick summary of the interview with Christie del-Castillo Hegyi and Jody Segrave Daly that aired on Science Fare on Monday, June 17, 2024. Christie and Jody are the founders of the Fed is Best Foundation and authors, along with Lynnette Hafken, of the forthcoming book, Fed is Best. In today’s […]
Podcasts
Fed is Best with Christie del-Castillo Hegyi and Jody Segrave-Daly
June 17, 2024
In this episode of Science Fare, I interview Christie del-Castillo Hegyi and Jody Segrave-Daly, founders of the Fed is Best Foundation and authors, along with Lynnette Hafken, of the forthcoming book, Fed is Best. Links mentioned in the episode: Fed is Best Foundation Fed is Best Book New York Times Parenting article on How to Deal with Low […]
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What Kind of Conversations?
I talk with scientists and writers, and sometimes with the rare person who is both.
I talk with scientists about how they got involved in their research, what is exciting about it, what was hard about it, what was surprising about it, and what they want a reader to take away when I write about it. I often do this as part of background research for an article I am writing, but sometimes the conversation itself is the product.
I talk with writers about their journey and process as a writer. What inspires them? What moves them? Where do the ideas come from? Which parts of writing are easy and which are hard? I do this mainly at the Manor Mill Prose Nights, and informally whenever I have the chance to talk to a writer.
I am seeking opportunities to have more conversations as the end product, whether as a published interview, a live conversation at an event, or as a video or podcast recording. I love connecting with another person in a one-on-one conversation, and building a connection between that person and an audience.
Contact me to start a conversation →
Image: Susan Keatley talks with Madison Smartt Bell about his novel, The Witch of Matongé, at the first Manor Mill Writers Guild Prose Night.