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David Taylor on Muck Rack

David Taylor

(He/Him)
Washington, D.C.
As seen in: The Washington Post, Scientific American, Mother Jones, Science Magazine, Audible Blog, Acast, American Automobile Association (AAA), Inverse, Literary Hub, 99% Invisible and
Covers:  profiles, history, science, food, environment, health
🇺🇦 Writer on culture, history, science. Soul of a People (@TurnerPub), Cork Wars (@JHUPress), @peoplesrecorder FOLLOW davidataylor1 on IG.

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David Taylor’s Biography

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David Taylor writes for the Washington Post, Discover, Scientific American, Smithsonian, The Millions, Undark, and Science, and received an Outstanding Feature prize in the 2024 Society of Environmental Journalists awards. He has written and produced documentaries for PBS, Discovery, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. His awards in film include CINE Golden Eagle Awards, TIVA-DC Peer Awards, and a Writers Guild of America award nomination. He's a writer-producer for the Signal Award-winning a…

David Taylor’s Journalist Portfolio

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Climate Help From Overseas (SSIR)

Climate Help From Overseas (SSIR)

The agricultural city of Fundão, Portugal, is integrating foreign migrants to help with fire mitigation, clim…

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How Organized Crime Has Turned Environmental Crime Into Big Business

How Organized Crime Has Turned Environmental Crime Into Big Business

To reduce the negative effects of environmental crimes, agencies and governments need to embrace a new strate…

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The Business of Organized Crime Against the Environment

The Business of Organized Crime Against the Environment

Understanding how environmental crime organizations operate can help law enforcement better investigate and p…

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Rocket Man - 99% Invisible

Rocket Man - 99% Invisible

In the twentieth century, the jetpack became synonymous with the idea of a 'futuristic society.' Appearing in…

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Sand Mafias Are Plundering the Earth

Sand Mafias Are Plundering the Earth

Organized crime is mining sand from rivers and coasts to feed demand worldwide, ruining ecosystems and commun…

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Inside the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand

Inside the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand

Organized crime is mining sand from rivers and coasts to feed demand worldwide, ruining ecosystems and commun…

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Articles

Questions 27 & 28: A Novel

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By David Taylor
| Washington Independent Review of Books Verified
Across a full career, Karen Tei Yamashita has written plays, stories, and novels. Her 2010 work, I Hotel, a National Book Award finalist, comprises 10 linked novellas. In her new book, the novel form takes on a fresh shape, reflecting patterns of history and the ways an archive can encompass and reveal a community, an era, and a country’s values. The narrative in Questions 27 & 28 centers on the period from 1942 through 1945, after President Franklin D.
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Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor

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By David Taylor
| Washington Independent Review of Books Verified
Family secrets: We all have them. But few have darker ones than Christine Kuehn. Her story starts harmlessly enough: Her big, goofy father liked to tell “fantastic, almost unbelievable tales of alligators appearing out of the weeds” hungry for a taste of their family dog, or of how he once found a small boy lost by the road and saved him. One tale he never told — except very selectively — involved his childhood in Hawaii and what his parents did there.
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The Importance of Reporting on Environmental Crime

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By David Taylor
| New Security Beat
Environmental crime has long been underreported, but globalization and the increased involvement of organized crime involvement is now contributing to a rise in such crime, especially when compared to other types of crime. The financial toll of environmental crimes has been estimated to be hundreds of billions of dollars while the damage they cause to ecosystems compounds the effects of climate change and inflicts a heavy toll on vulnerable communities.
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Interview

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Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes, back in high school there was a class called Typing.

Who's your favorite fictional journalist?

The one in Barbara Kingsolver's PRODIGAL SUMMER

What story are you most proud of writing or working on?

I'm proud of this Smithsonian piece on lesser-known scientists behind the successful new malaria vaccine: https://bit.ly/malariaDT

Awards

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Signal Award, Silver

2025 - History

The Signal Awards recognize the most potent, meaningful and unprecedented audio projects being made today. The People's Recorder series received a Signal Award in History, for shows examining or exploring recent history, ancient history, biographical work or historiography. "The People's Recorder made an impression on the Judging Academy," said Jemma Brown, General Manager of the Signal Awards. "This award is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators."

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Society of Environmental Journalists Award

2024 - Outstanding Feature Story, Large

The SEJ Awards recognize the Best Reporting on the Environment. For Outstanding Feature, Large outlet, Third Prize went to "Inside the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand," in Scientific American. The judges wrote: "Illegal sand mining is a big criminal business with ecological consequences that are rarely, if ever, examined. This riveting piece takes the reader on a journey into North Africa, and a too-often overlooked black market, whose shady size and scale are estimated to sit just behind counterfeiting and drug trafficking and far ahead of the illegal mining of other elements. The reporter built upon established relationships and experience to explore a curious corner of the environment, importantly laying a foundation of work that other environmental reporters might be wise to begin to build upon. The contest judges noted the uniqueness and challenges posed by the subject matter."

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Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award

2024 - Climate journalism

Taylor’s U.S. Scholar Award project looks at Portugal’s cork oak forests, building on research conducted for his book about environmental security. Titled "Journalism Study of Cork Forests and Sustainability in Climate Change," he will be based with the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon for Spring Semester, 2025.

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Independent Publisher Book Award

2019 - world history

Independent Publisher Book Award, Gold award for world history, given for Cork Wars (Johns Hopkins University Press)

International Reporting Project Fellowship

2011 - Global Health

Fellowship in West Africa for reporting on malaria research and programs for fighting its spread.

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Writers’ Guild of America Awards

2010 - Best Documentary Film nomination

Nominated for Soul of a People: Writing America's Story

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Washington Writing Prize for Reported Nonfiction

2007 - Nonfiction

Awarded by Washington Independent Writers, the award recognized "Fearsome Roots in a Quiet Forest," a feature in Tricycle magazine, for outstanding reporting. The article resulted from research for the book, Ginseng, the Divine Root (Algonquin Books).