Joe Spring

The 25 Best Sports and Adventure Documentaries of the 21st Century My favorite films on climbing, basketball, soccer, surfing, and more

A mixtape of some of my favorite sports and adventure docs... joespring.substack.com/p/the-25-bes...

Is Hawaii’s October Spike in Shark Bites Driven by Postpartum Females? New research suggests a seasonal increase in adult female tiger sharks in the Main Hawaiian Islands—and the body condition of some new mothers—may lead to more bites on humans

A veteran marine biologist has a theory as to what's causing Hawaii's October uptick in shark bites. joespring.substack.com/p/is-hawaiis... @thesundaylongread.bsky.social

Is Hawaii’s October Spike in Shark Bites Driven by Postpartum Females? New research suggests a seasonal increase in adult female tiger sharks in the Main Hawaiian Islands—and the body condition of some new mothers—may lead to more bites on humans

Shark bites in Hawaii are rare, but happen more often in October than any other month. A veteran shark researcher just released a new study offering explanations why. Here's his story... joespring.substack.com/p/is-hawaiis...

When It Comes to Greening the Desert, Rattlesnakes May Be Prolific Gardeners New research shows that seeds excreted by the venomous reptiles germinate at a higher rate

My latest, on a surprising find about rattlesnakes. www.sierraclub.org/Sierra/rattl...

The 25 Best Science and Nature Documentaries of the 21st Century My favorite movies and limited series on creatures, climate change, geology, and more

In case you’re looking for something to watch… open.substack.com/pub/joesprin...

One Sure Sign You’re Dedicated to Celestial Navigation In Hawaiki Rising, Sam Low tells the story of Polynesian navigator Nainoa Thompson and the oceangoing canoe Hōkūleʻa

Polynesian navigator Nainoa Thompson is one of the most revered Hawaiians. This moment captures his early passion for learning how to navigate using the stars. joespring.substack.com/p/one-sure-s...

An Act of Cosmic Sabotage How Donald Trump tried to ground NASA’s science missions

This feature on the impacts of recent cuts at NASA is alarming www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202... @thesundaylongread.bsky.social By @theatlantic.com @rossandersen.bsky.social

When Tiger Sharks Show Up to Hunt Seabirds, Other Sharks Steer Clear Smaller Galápagos and gray reef sharks change their behavior, likely to reduce competition or out of fear

New research shows other sharks stay away when tiger sharks are on the prowl. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/when-... @sierramagazine.bsky.social

90 Minutes to Give Baby Luna a New Heart

Exceptional story about a lead surgeon’s first infant heart transplant. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/w... @thesundaylongread.bsky.social @nytimes.com By Simar Bajaj

Would You Let Someone Bury You Upside Down in Snow for an Hour? What about for science?

How do you simulate a tree well burial to study the body’s response to hanging upside down in snow? Here’s how these scientists did it. open.substack.com/pub/joesprin...

Sports Illustrated's Forgotten Pioneer In the Mad Men era of magazine journalism, Virginia Kraft was a globe-trotting writer and a deadly shot with a rifle. Why hasn't anyone heard of her?

I’m coming to this one late, but what a stellar longform feature on an overlooked sports journalist. @emilysohn.bsky.social’s @longlead.com story on SI’s Virginia Kraft is great. thecatch.longlead.com

From Growl-Rumble-Whoops to Moan-Whines: Hawaiian Monk Seals Have a Vocal Repertoire Full of Surprises The endangered species is the only pinniped known to string together vocalizations with no break

During several years working as a sea turtle field biologist, I heard a few main calls from Hawaiian monk seals. I had no idea they had such a varied vocabulary underwater. My latest for @sierramagazine.bsky.social... www.sierraclub.org/sierra/growl... @noaa.gov

The 25 Best Sports and Adventure Books of the 21st Century My favorite nonfictions books about surfing, exploration, running, and more

If you're looking for a great read this winter... joespring.substack.com/p/the-25-bes...

And sharp copy edits from @goldmannk.bsky.social!

Stream the Beautiful Highs and Violent Lows of Albatross Life With This New 24-Hour Camera on Midway Atoll You can see the large white seabirds dancing, preening, feeding and raising young—though the live feed might show a dark side of island living, too, with potential predation from invasive mice

Midway Atoll has a new cam that allows you to see intimate moments in the lives of Laysan albatrosses. I wrote an article for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social about what to watch for... @friendsofmidway.bsky.social, @explorerwieteke.bsky.social www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

The Ten Best Science Books of 2025 From “experimental archaeology” to the mysterious appeal of exploration, the wide-ranging subjects detailed in these titles captivated Smithsonian magazine’s science contributors this year

Grateful @smithsonianmag.bsky.social's Carlyn Kranking let me share a few of my favorite reads for the year end list of the top science books—titles by @carlzimmer.com, Ben Weissenbach, and Alex Hutchinson. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

Ditto for your pick, Christian.

Thanks for the kind words, Ian. I always love working with you. You’re a true pro who made my job easy!

Environmental Filmmaker KT Bryden Shares the Story Behind “The Little Brown Bird” The 31-year-old director, cinematographer, and producer talks about her moving documentary on the Florida grasshopper sparrow

Loved this chat with the talented KT Bryden. open.substack.com/pub/joesprin...

This Ethereal Seabird Recently Became Three Species Scientists have changed the classifications of white terns, elegant seabirds that inspire awe and amusement

Some recent classification changes gave me the chance to write about some of my favorite seabirds, the beautiful and quirky white-terns. joespring.substack.com/p/this-ether...

Early-Career Fellowship Program - The Open Notebook Every year, The Open Notebook offers a paid, part-time fellowship program for early-career science journalists. This ten-month program offers fellows the opportunity to explore their career interests ...

❗Reminder: The application deadline for the @theopennotebook.bsky.social early-career fellowship is this Friday, October 31. This fellowship is:

✅ Paid ($6,600)
✅ Part-time
✅ Remote
✅ Mentored
✅ Open to applicants anywhere in the world

Learn more here: www.theopennotebook.com/early-career...

So Much Depends on a Little Brown Bird By working to save America’s most endangered songbird, a dedicated team is helping to protect Florida’s dry prairie

A brief review of the best environmental documentary I've seen this year—which you can watch for free. joespring.substack.com/p/so-much-de...

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025 Check out The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025 - <p>&#8220;The best science and nature writing&#8212;which these stories represent&#8212;reminds us of the wide world and our connection to...

It's pub day for The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025, and the whole Best American series. I'm so proud of this book and all the brilliant, beautiful writing @susanorlean.bsky.social selected for it. bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

After the L.A. Fires, Locals Turn to Native Plants to Help Shield Homes From Flames and Clean Contaminated Soil Scientists and community members in Altadena are testing ways that California species can assist efforts to rebuild

Another great dispatch here from @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social fellow @amberonradio.bsky.social, on how native species can help Altadena recover after the fires. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

Coming soon! The Best American Science & Nature Writing 2025 Discover the 2025 Best American Science & Nature Writing anthology, curated by Susan Orlean and featuring exceptional science writing that explores the wonders of our natural world.

So cool to see @rudymolinek.bsky.social's @smithsonianmag.bsky.social piece on the long, strange history of Teflon on the notable list for The Best American Science and Nature Writing. Thanks @jaimealyse.bsky.social jaimealyse.beehiiv.com/p/basnw25

The Life, Loss and Lore of the Sea Mink It might be among the first mammals to go extinct in North America after colonization. But can scientists prove it was even a distinct species?

Sometime around the turn of the 20th century, the sea mink disappeared from Maine's coastal waters. Its loss came during a rush of North American extinctions, but many today have never even heard of it.

My latest for Smithsonian:
#wildlife #maine #extinction

www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

I also hadn't heard of the sea mink before your pitch, Ian. You did such a great job with this story! I loved working together on it!

Gulls’ Spit-Up Gunk Can Help Ecologists Understand Human Pollution Researchers and student volunteers pick up what seabirds throw up, then examine it for clues about our impact on the environment

Great dispatch here by @jessicaleighhester.bsky.social on how researchers are studying seagull upchuck to learn about human pollution. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

Field and Lab | Joe Spring | Substack Dispatches on science, sports, adventure, and exploration. Click to read Field and Lab, by Joe Spring, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

After a fun 5+ years, I'm ending my run as digital science features editor at Smithsonian. I’m so thankful to the talented editors and writers I worked with. I’ll be freelancing, writing a newsletter (below), and more. Please reach out if you have any writing or editing needs. joespring.substack.com

A.I. Is on the Rise, and So Is the Environmental Impact of the Data Centers That Drive It The demand for data centers is growing faster than our ability to mitigate their skyrocketing economic and environmental costs

What are the environmental impacts of data centers? @amberonradio.bsky.social answers that question as A.I. increases the demand for more and more of them. @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...