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Laura Poppick

@laurapoppick.bsky.social

Maine-based science and environmental journalist with stories in the NYT, Scientific American, Smithsonian, and elsewhere. Author of STRATA: Stories from Deep Time (W.W. Norton, July 2025). www.laurapoppick.com

1,446 Followers  |  680 Following  |  65 Posts  |  Joined: 28.11.2023
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Posts by Laura Poppick (@laurapoppick.bsky.social)

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Three books explore deep time and help us look forward - High Country News Each of these books can, in its own way, teach readers how to think about Earth's history, and how to apply lessons from the past to our future.

For @highcountrynews.org's latest issue on Deep Time, I reviewed 3 books that help us explore Earth's past in different ways: Basin and Range by John McPhee, Strata by @laurapoppick.bsky.social, and When the Earth was Green by @restingdinoface.bsky.social πŸ§ͺβš’οΈ

www.hcn.org/issues/58-1/...

23.01.2026 19:06 β€” πŸ‘ 50    πŸ” 19    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Announcing the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards Longlists PEN America is honored to announce the Longlists for the 2026 Literary Awards, which will confer nearly $350,000 to writers and translators.

Congrats to @laurenmarkham.bsky.social, @laurapoppick.bsky.social, and all the other nominees whose names may or may not begin with L-A-U...!

02.01.2026 19:22 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Pursuit of Life Where It Seems Unimaginable | Quanta Magazine A decade ago, Karen Lloyd discovered single-celled microbes living beneath the seafloor. Now she studies how they can survive in Earth’s crust, possibly for hundreds or thousands of years, and push li...

@laurapoppick.bsky.social's excellent Q&A with Karen Lloyd on the microbes that live deep in the Earth's subsurface and may divide only rarely over hundreds, thousands, millions of years www.quantamagazine.org/the-pursuit-...

18.12.2025 17:46 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Truly stunned. What an honor to have STRATA longlisted for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Congratulations to all of the other authors listed 🌏 πŸ’« .

@penamerica.bsky.social

pen.org/announcing-t...

19.12.2025 12:36 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

So glad to hear, thanks for reading!

17.12.2025 22:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Becoming Earth by Ferris Jabr: 9780593133996 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER β€’ A vivid account of a major shift in how we understand Earth, from an exceptionally talented new voice. Earth is not simply an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but...

H/t to fellow Earth history writer @ferrisjabr.bsky.social br.bsky.social for spotting this and letting me know!

Read his gorgeous book to learn more about other moments in deep time that brought our planet to life: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/623907...

17.12.2025 22:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

File this under things I never expected to see 😳 🀩.

May the events of deep time continue to weasel their way into pop culture! 🌎 πŸ’«

17.12.2025 22:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

If you love reading and discussing nonfiction books, and like the idea of someone else choosing your next book for you and sending it to your home, I recommend checking out this very cool service --> @readcurious.xyz.

16.12.2025 23:46 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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RBmedia | Strata Listen to the audiobook Strata, written by Laura Poppick, narrated by Jeannie Sheneman.

πŸŽ‰ STRATA's audiobook launches today! πŸŽ‰

rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...

16.12.2025 12:21 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Honored to know that Strata is off on a journey to #AGU25 ☺️

14.12.2025 15:42 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
"When I'm looking at these beautiful chevron zigzag texture in the rock, that's the moment
when that mountain was born... Those are the stories that the rocks hold inside them. If we can unlock them, it just gives you this immense sense of gravity of the time that passes." β€”Dr. Anjana Khatwa

"When I'm looking at these beautiful chevron zigzag texture in the rock, that's the moment when that mountain was born... Those are the stories that the rocks hold inside them. If we can unlock them, it just gives you this immense sense of gravity of the time that passes." β€”Dr. Anjana Khatwa

πŸͺ¨ Geologist @anjanakhatwa.bsky.social explains how embracing wonder and awe adds to our scientific understanding of the rocks that form our planet: buff.ly/teeT0NU

08.12.2025 12:50 β€” πŸ‘ 70    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 2

Thanks so much Margot! πŸ™ πŸͺ¨

04.12.2025 17:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

WOW, thank you to @meghanbartels.bsky.social and @sciam.bsky.social for listing STRATA as a Staff Favorite Book of 2025. πŸ™πŸ’«πŸŒŽ

My own to-read pile just keeps growing and growing...so many gems on this list! 🀩

04.12.2025 11:36 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Thank you so much @anjanakhatwa.bsky.social πŸ™ ☺️. Honored to be in your company this year, and may 2026 bring ever more attention to the rocks πŸͺ¨.

04.12.2025 11:16 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I love finding the talent of my friends prominently displayed πŸ‘

04.12.2025 11:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Gorgeous. Where is this?

23.10.2025 23:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Strata, by Laura Poppick.

Strata, by Laura Poppick.

Have book will travel ... to the @nacis.bsky.social 2025 conference. I'm excited to be part of the #mappingwater session on Friday. And, thank you, @laurapoppick.bsky.social for the great reading material :)

14.10.2025 12:10 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

😍 honored it made it into your carry-on luggage! And sounds like a very cool conference session...

16.10.2025 17:31 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

My latest for @quantamagazine.bsky.social, a Q&A with @karenlloyd.bsky.social on the hidden worlds living within Earth's crust.

Favorite new word: aeonophiles, in reference to microbes that may live for 100,000s or even **millions** of years, just riding out the waves of geologic events 🀯.

20.08.2025 20:22 β€” πŸ‘ 15    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Deep thoughts on deep time with August's book of the month Laura Poppick's "Strata" takes the long view on geology.

πŸ“£ Our book of the month for August is... STRATA: STORIES FROM DEEP TIME by @laurapoppick.bsky.social

We loved this detailed, deliberate overview of geoscienceβ€”and its mixture of lyrical prose and detailed profiles of researchers and the things they study.

newsletter.readcurious.xyz/p/announcing...

01.08.2025 19:36 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Honored that @pointreyesbooks.bsky.social selected Strata for their summer subscription! And also love that they have a subscription service, what a great idea. 🀩

Thanks Point Reyes Books and all of the other small independent bookstores helping to get this thing in the hands of readers πŸ™.

20.08.2025 20:02 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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In 2024, researchers reported a startling finding: deep-sea rock formationsβ€”known as polymetallic nodulesβ€”may be producing oxygen in total darkness. The phenomenon, dubbed β€œdark oxygen,” challenged assumptions about life-supporting chemistry in the deep ocean.

Watch the full video: bit.ly/4foQbHp

04.08.2025 16:27 β€” πŸ‘ 81    πŸ” 22    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 6
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Thanks @literaryhub.bsky.social for listing Strata's cover as one of the best of July!

So grateful to Steve Attardo and the whole team at @wwnorton.com for designing this beauty that captures the essence of the book while also offering a real feast for the eyes.

lithub.com/the-11-best-...

01.08.2025 12:32 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Thanks for the shout-out @literaryhub.bsky.social!

And such company to be in, my summer reading list is piling up too quickly.

manage.kmail-lists.com/subscription...

28.07.2025 19:22 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you @drymeadow.bsky.social, β€ͺso glad that you enjoyed!‬

28.07.2025 19:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hah, and that compliment means a lot! If I've changed the way one reader views mud, I have achieved at least part of what I have set out to accomplish :).

I also LOVE that your cat's name is Strata...!!

25.07.2025 12:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"Earth itself shaped humankind as we have shaped the planet in return - a relationship that requires repair but that could be rehabilitated with a little more recognition of where we came from."

Thank you, @restingdinoface.bsky.social, for this beautiful review of Strata in @science.org today.

24.07.2025 19:57 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Delighted to have this excerpt from Strata out in @literaryhub.bsky.social this week 🧊 πŸŽ‰

23.07.2025 18:08 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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E.P.A. Is Said to Draft a Plan to End Its Ability to Fight Climate Change

"...it would not only erase all current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from cars, factories, power plants and other sources. It would prevent future administrations from trying to tackle climate change, with lasting implications."

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/c...

23.07.2025 18:05 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks so much @mounty.bsky.social! I've been encouraging my Maine friends to find a beach to read it on, or some other sedimentary environment :).

23.07.2025 13:19 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0