Essays, Letters, and Op-Eds

Listed by most recent first

How Studying the Humanities Helps Humanity

“As an astrophysicist, I study distant denizens of the dark universe. People often point out that my work is useless. I usually smile and say, ‘I completely agree, but some of the most useless endeavors are among the most important.’”

Letter to the Editor, published in the New York Times, December 6, 2023

Hollywood Can Take On Science Denial: Don’t Look Up Is a Great Example

Opinion piece, published in Scientific American , December 30, 2021.

UFOs and the Search for Alien Life

Letter to the Editor, published in the New York Times, June 6, 2021

Missing Memories of the Universe

Opinion piece, published in Scientific American , May 29, 2020.

Making Sense of the Exoplanet Zoo

News review piece, published in Science, August 12, 2016, pp. 644-645.
This link provides free PDF access and is posted here with permission of the AAAS for personal/educational use.

$100 million to find alien life?

Opinion piece, published in The Guardian , 22 July 2015, pp. 644-645.

Transgender Today: Your Stories

Essay, published in The New York Times, May 4, 2015.

The Limits of Labels, Categories and Classifications

Essay, published in the Women in Astronomy Newsletter, AAS Committee on the Status of Women, 27 April 2015.

Would you be willing to pay 25-cents to understand the cosmos?

Opinion piece, published in The Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2014, p A15.