I'm an award-winning health and science journalist. My articles and essays have been published in CBS News, Crain's Chicago Business, Everyday Health, Inspire The Mind, Psychology Today, Discover, New Scientist, The Week, and more. I also write science-themed books for Klutz, an imprint of Scholastic. Contact me for your writing project.
Distillation Episode 160: Teflon
Teflon is never far from reach, whether you realize it or not. Beyond its best-known application—as a non-stick coating for pots and pans—Teflon is also found in everything from airplane parts to jacket fabrics. First, producer Amy Kraft peruses CHF's oral history archives to learn about Teflon's origins—including its stint as a top military secret during WWII.
Below our feet is a mysterious world that inspires frightening myths and legends. But as we learn in this episode of Distillations, what actually lives down there is a network of incredibly beautiful and essential spaces. Taking us on our first stop underground is producer Amy Kraft. She joins a team of amateur speleologists who meet every year to protect the crags and crevices inside Howe Caverns in Schoharie, New York.
The pandemic made employees care about mental health. Will it last?
Health care and restaurant employees, grocery store cashiers, teachers, truckers, delivery drivers—the economy's "essential workers"—experienced some of the toughest mental health pressures during the pandemic. Actually, workers in other job categories were affected, too, by the stress, burnout, out-of-whack work and personal routines, and career disruptions of the last two years.
