Erik Vance
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Erik Vance is a science writer native to the Bay Area replanted in Mexico City as a non-native invasive. Like many in his field, he couldn't really hack it as a scientist and now works as a professional groupie. That said, "science groupie" is just the best job he can imagine, especially in Mexico. His work often focuses on interesting characters and has appeared in lots of places that he won't list here - to avoid looking like he's bragging. He often claims the m-dash is superior to the comma but secretly he just wishes the semicolon would come back into fashion.

Redux: Peter Pan Complex

I wrote this last year after a story I wrote for Nature. As the axolotl is inches toward extinction in the wild, along with so many creatures these days, it’s worth it to remember what makes them so cool.  Last month I published a story in Nature about the sad story of the axolotl. It’s […]

The Last Word

This week Cameron ponders the color, shape and purpose of eggs. It sounds like an odd thing to think about until you realize it’s a pretty big deal for the one who laid it. Helen shares a cartoon to commemorate her 20-year anniversary with a very special partner – her sunglasses. Rebecca says that an […]

Easy on the Eyes

A while back I took my toddler for a walk in his stroller to the local café in my old neighborhood. I loved it there because I always felt like a rock star. Everyone would be happy to see me and say nice things to me and want to pinch my cheeks. Okay, so, I […]

The Last Word

May 7 – May 11, 2018 Ann starts off the week by tapping into her inner Aldo Leopold and remembering the forests of her youth in Northern Illinois. The trees and critters and flowers might be the same but you can’t ever really go home again. Jessa discusses the Green Party and the party over […]

Ass Holes in the Desert

Non-native species get a lousy rap. Now don’t get me wrong, often they deserve it. Between the nutrias, peacock bass, eucalyptus trees, and lionfish of the world, environmentalists have a right to be a little xenophobic sometimes. But there are a few exceptions. Honeybees, for instance, are quite handy. Plus Emma’s wattle-necked softshell turtles, if for no […]

Redux: Dirty Norwegians

I wrote this story last year about my ancestors and their reluctance to accept foreigners. I have begun preparations to move from Mexico to Maryland, home to the Hardcastles during the Revolutionary War. I thought it was fitting to return to them one more time.  Having a child changes a man. Perhaps not as much […]

Redux: In Defense of the Antivaxxer

This story ran last year after an especially turbulent trip to the pediatrician. It has since appeared in a different form on the NPR Shots blog. I am a man of science. Okay, perhaps not of science, but certainly near it. I’m science adjacent. But regardless, I consider myself to be bound, in the end, by logic […]