I often cover things that go wrong in a catastrophic way. With a long history of reporting on scientific research in physics, biology, cosmology, engineering and math, my connections to researchers and practitioners in those fields are a great resource.
My topics include earthquakes, flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, large blackouts, building collapses, high-rise fires, bridge failures, dam breaks, airline crashes, nautical disasters, sabotage, major explosions, pandemics, environmental degradation, deadly software errors and pathologies in the physical internet.
Those disasters can stem from a variety of factors, including bad luck, poor decisions, shoddy designs and construction, spectacular blunders and the tradecraft of sabotage. My reporting focuses on sorting out the reasons — often mysterious at first — using forensics, engineering, science, visual evidence and data-driven journalism.
I also look at the cultural underpinnings of conflict and catastrophe. A central resource in my reporting has always been the most powerful common language in the world: that of science, engineering, tech and forensics. The threads of that language reach nearly everywhere on the globe.
As the son of a sportscaster and D.J., I grew up in radio and TV stations in the Midwest. I have a Ph.D. in astrophysics and worked both in the lab and as a theorist before committing to journalism. Among my mentors was James Van Allen, the discoverer of the radiation belts that bear his name — and, like me, a native Iowan. Before joining The Times, I broke the discovery of dark energy in the universe for Science magazine; that scientific finding, widely disbelieved at the time, changed the field of cosmology and later won a Nobel Prize. As a science reporter at The Times on Sept. 11, 2001, I was assigned to explain the collapse of the twin towers and, for two years, continued reporting on ground zero. With Eric Lipton, I later wrote “City in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center.” I have also served overseas as a war correspondent, as the Baghdad bureau chief, and as a temporary bureau chief in Jerusalem. I am now based in New York.
As a Times journalist, I share the values and adhere to the standards of integrity outlined in The Times’s Ethical Journalism Handbook. My values in reporting are the same as they were in scientific research: seek the truth to the best of my ability and let nothing cloud that mission.
X: @jamesglanz
Anonymous tips: nytimes.com/tips
The whistle-blower, an engineer, says that sections of the plane’s body are being assembled in a way that could weaken the aircraft over time. Boeing says there is no safety issue.
By Mark Walker and James Glanz
The Francis Scott Key Bridge did not have an obvious fender system, or protective barriers, to redirect or prevent a ship from crashing into the bridge piers.
By K.K. Rebecca Lai, Anjali Singhvi and James Glanz
In reviewing images of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, some structural engineers said that its piers, which are essential to the structure’s integrity, appeared to lack protective barriers.
By James Glanz and Annie Correal
Federal investigators are searching for answers about how a giant cargo ship struck a major bridge minutes after leaving the Port of Baltimore on March 26.
By Adeel Hassan and Colbi Edmonds
The 737 Max remained in service for a day after the airline’s engineers, concerned about warning lights, scheduled it to come in for maintenance. During that period, a door plug came off in flight.
By Mark Walker and James Glanz
Employees at its Washington State factory are said to have removed the door plug for further work before the plane was delivered to Alaska Airlines.
By Sydney Ember and Mark Walker
The “door plug” that blew off an Alaska Airlines plane this month most likely had manufacturing or installation flaws.
By James Glanz, Mika Gröndahl, Helmuth Rosales, Anjali Singhvi and Mark Walker
Cockpit voice recorders in the U.S. start rerecording every two hours, a limit that the National Transportation Safety Board says should be extended to 25 hours.
By Mark Walker
“The state wasn’t interested,” said an engineer who published a paper on why Derna’s dams, after decades of postponed repairs, might fail under the stress of a powerful storm.
By Aaron Boxerman and James Glanz
By James Glanz and Josh Holder
