About

I’m an independent writer and audio producer, focusing on stories related to food, farming, and climate change.

I’m currently a contributing correspondent for Science Magazine. From 2011 until 2022, and previously from 1993 to 1999, I was a correspondent on NPR’s science desk. I covered technology, agriculture, and climate change, among many other things. I’ve reported from most states of the U.S. and also from Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe.

I’ve written two books. The first, Lords of the Harvest: Biotech, Big Money, and the Future of Food (Perseus, 2001) was a behind-the-scene account of the creation of genetically engineered crops. The second was Master Mind: The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber, The Nobel Laureate Who Launched the Age of Chemical Warfare (Ecco, 2005).

I got my start in journalism working as a U.S. correspondent for New Scientist, a British science magazine. In 2009-2010, I taught journalism in Ukraine through the Fulbright program, and in 2024 I spent four months in Leipzig, Germany, as a communicator in residence at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research. I’ve also contributed to episodes of several podcasts, including NPR’s Planet Money, The Sporkful, and Gimlet Media’s StartUp.

I grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., and lived and worked for several years in Germany.

You can reach me at dcharlesdaniel [at] gmail [dot] com.