How to Spot a Bogus Health Fad
Learn what to ask before buying into the latest health fad.
Reader’s Digest,
Author: Christie
Runner’s World: the pill problem
The Pill Problem
The right drug can relieve pain and discomfort—or put you in a world of hurt. Why you should think twice before popping a pain pill before running.
Runner’s World, May, 2009
O, the Oprah Magazine: The problem with plastic
Problems with Plastic
The Controversy Over BPA Heats Up
O, The Oprah Magazine, May 2009
Runner’s World: What’s the best age to run the marathon?
Age Matters
Are you too old—or too young—to run your best marathon? To find out, we asked top scientists, coaches, and elite athletes about the impact of aging on endurance. Their answers might pleasantly surprise you.
Runner’s World, February 2009
Marie Claire: Fertility 101
Fertility 101
What you need to know about biological clocks and fertility.
Marie Claire, Jan 2009
New Scientist: Gene Dopers
Drug scandals in sport would be nothing compared to the potential for genetic engineering to create “super-athletes”. Christie Aschwanden investigates
New Scientist, January 15, 2000.
This appears to be the first media report about gene doping — genetic engineering to enhance athletic performance.
New Scientist: Tread Softly
New Scientist, February 3, 2000 Road networks play havoc with nature. But a new kind of route map will make it easier to treat the land more gently, says Christie Aschwanden
Runner’s World: How to find the running event that best matches your natural talents.
Natural Selection
What kind of runner are you? Were you born to run a fast 5-K, a strong marathon, or something in between? Here’s how to find out—and how to realize your full potential.
Runner’s World, January 2009
New York Times: People stand in line a year in advance for a chance to compete in an Ironman.
When Iron Is a Precious Metal
Ironman competitions are in demand, despite rising entry fees.
The New York Times, September 11, 2008
New York Times: cheaper alternatives to Ironmans
Alternative Race Routes
Cheaper alternatives to Ironman triathlons
The New York Times, September 11, 2008
Runner’s World: Why do runners force ourselves through pain?
Enduring Questions: Why Do We Suffer?
Running can hurt. This is one runner’s quest to understand the bittersweet symphony.
Runner’s World, September 9, 2009
Cell: Teaching management skills to scientists
Managing to Excel at Science
Amid growing recognition that a successful scientific career requires skills beyond scientific acumen, institutions are racing to provide management training for newly minted principal investigators.
Cell, March 2009
Cell: How postdoc associations are improving the postdoc experience.
Professionalizing the Postdoctoral Experience
The first postdoctoral association was launched in the United States 13 years ago. Although postdoctoral associations have made tremendous progress toward improving the lives of postdoctoral fellows, their job is not finished yet.
Cell, February 10, 2006
New York Times: Why have recent triathlon deaths occured during the swim portion?
Deaths Draw Attention to Triathlon Swim
While triathlon deaths remain rare, a puzzling resemblance is beginning to present itself: all recorded deaths in the last two years have happened during the swim portion of the event.
The New York Times, July 31, 2008
New York Times: Should parents give their kids placebos?
Experts Question Placebo Pill for Children
Should deception play a role in helping a child feel better?
The New York Times, May 27, 2008
Bicycling: Do you believe? When our sporting heroes are accused of cheating, how do we choose sides?
Do You Believe?
When it comes to Tyler Hamilton, the most contentious–and, perhaps, most important–question isn’t if he’s guilty or innocent of doping, but why each of us has chosen a side.
Bicycling, November 2007
*It wasn’t a finalist, but this story was nominated for a national magazine award in 2008
New York Times: Agent Orange Lingers in Vietnam
Through the Forest, a Clearer View of the Needs of a People
Vietnamese botanist Phung Tuu Boi is working to help forests and native peoples recover from Agent Orange.
Filmmaker George Lerner produced a video of Christie’s travels with Mr. Boi. Click here to view the video on the New York Times website. Christie’s story was also featured in the New York Times weekly
Science Times podcast on September 18, 2007.
September 18, 2007
This work was funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting. View more of my Pulitzer work here.
Men’s Journal: Ignore this health advice
Health Advice You Can Safely Ignore
Seven bits of conventional wisdom that turn out to be dead wrong.
Men’s Journal
Runner’s World: The fine line between training hard and overtraining
Running On E
Overtraining can turn you into a beast. Backing off can prevent bodily harm.
Runner’s World, October 16, 2007
There’s a fine line between training hard and training too much. Here’s how to know when to much training is hampering your performance.
New York Times: The American Cancer Society’s deceptive awareness campaign about skin cancer
Doctors Balk at Cancer Ad, Citing Lack of Evidence
Some doctors are questioning a cancer society ad campaign on sunscreen because most skin cancer is not life-threatening.
The New York Times, July 10, 2007
High Country News: Why science alone will not settle the West’s endangered species dilemmas
Is It or Isn’t It (Just Another Mouse)?
Why science alone will not settle the West’s endangered species dilemmas
High Country News, August 7, 2006
2007 recipient of an honorable mention for print journalism from the
American Institute of Biological Sciences.
The controversy over the endangered Preble’s meadow jumping mouse is not about science, it’s about values and that’s a dispute that science can’t resolve.
Health Magazine: Biking Across Kansas with My Dad
One Daughter, One Dad, Two Bikes
A test of endurance becomes a journey of discovery
Health
*Winner of the 2007 Outstanding Essay Award from the American Society
of Journalists and Authors.
How a bike ride across Kansas began a new chapter in my relationship with my father.
O, the Oprah Magazine: My Achy-Breaky Parts
My Achy-Breaky Parts
That stabbing pain in your neck. That weird pang in your hips. And, ach your aching back. Can this body be saved, or at least temporarily put out of its misery? Christie Aschwanden tells how to handle the inevitability of aging, from snaps and pops to crackles and crunches.
O, The Oprah Magazine
Bicycling Magazine: The future of doping
Yeah, EPO is nasty-but just wait until you get dropped by riders with mechanical muscles in their shorts and nanoscopic machines in their blood.
Bicycling Magazine
A look into the future of doping. From exoskeletons to gene doping.
Backpacker Magazine: Hiking the Haute Route
Pack light and live large on the storied Haute Route.
Backpacker
Best summer vacation ever: two week hiking in the Alps. We started in Chamonix, finished in Zermatt. It doesn’t get better than this.
Christie Aschwanden 