Featured Publications
I began working as a radio reporter in 2015 at KNAU in Flagstaff, Arizona. Listed below are favorite local stories and stories that aired nationally on NPR. Highlights: A story on climate change research in Arizona’s Biosphere 2 was featured on Science Friday; and this local story on fishing for brown trout won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in writing.
National Stories
“Grassroots efforts bring firewood to Hopi people,” aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, January 16, 2023.
“NASA returns to its old training grounds: The moonlike lava fields of Arizona,” aired on NPR’s Morning Edition, November 10, 2022.
“Drought puts a stop to artificial floods that have helped restore habitat,” aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, October 13, 2022.
“Apache tribes in Arizona are leading the way in saving Emory oak trees,” aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition, September 11, 2022 and replayed on NPR’s All Things Considered, September 21, 2022.
“Drought is revealing archaeological sites that were submerged when Lake Powell filled,” aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, May 30, 2022, and was also featured on WBUR’s Here & Now.
“Indigenous tribes push to preserve Native American food culture,” aired on NPR’s Morning Edition, November 25, 2021.
“Anxiety hangs over Arizonans facing impeding climate disasters,” aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, October 3, 2021. This reporting was also featured in a “Consider This” podcast episode on October 5, 2021, entitled “Kids Born Today Could Face Up To 7 Times More Climate Disasters.”
“Native Americans Express Skepticism Over COVID-19 Vaccine” aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, December 21, 2020.
“Hopi Tribal Members Face Lack Of Reliable, Affordable Fuel” aired on NPR’s Morning Edition, January 27, 2020.
“Studying Drought In An Enclosed Rainforest” aired on WBUR’s Here & Now, December 20, 2019, and was featured on Science Friday.
“Glass Gem Corn: Poster Child For The Return To Heirloom Seeds” aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, November 25, 2019.
“Teaching to Protect the Hopi Language” aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition, August 17, 2019.
“The Defunding of Grand Canyon Science” aired on NPR Weekend Edition, September 1, 2018.
“Preserving a River with a Pint” aired on WBUR’s Here and Now, June 21, 2018. The local version, here, received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in writing.
“West, Midwest Prepare for Wildfire Season,” aired on NPR’s All Things Considered, May 27, 2018. Based on this longer version aired on KNAU, “How Does Forest Fire Smoke Harm People’s Health?”
“Building a better bionic leg, nature’s way,” aired on WBUR’s Here & Now, May 13, 2016.
Selected Local Stories
“Astronomers celebrate the successful collision of a spacecraft into an asteroid’s moon,” aired on KNAU, September 27, 2022.
“Remembering Carolyn Shoemaker: Comet Hunter, 1929-2021,” aired on KNAU, August 18, 2021.
“Astronomers Worry as ‘Satellite Constellations’ Fill the Night Sky,” aired on KNAU, July 12, 2021 and was syndicated nationally by the Associated Press.
“Lees Ferry Program Offers Cash to Anglers for Brown Trout Removal,” aired on KNAU on April 16, 2021 and received two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in writing and for sports reporting.
“Out-Of-This-World Audio Recorded by Mars Rover,” aired on KNAU, February 22, 2021.
“One Small Town, One Giant Leap: Flagstaff’s Historic Role in the Apollo Moon Landings,” aired on KNAU, July 15, 2019.
“‘Not Your Playground’: Indigenous Voices on Grand Canyon’s Centennial,” aired on KNAU, February 26, 2019.
“Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim Hikers Give Their Sweat and Blood to Science,” aired on KNAU, June 13, 2017.
“Science Educators Raise Alarms about Revised K-12 Standards,” aired on KNAU, May 14, 2018.
“NAU Pilot Study Looks at Benefits of Boxing for People with Parkinson’s Disease,” aired on KNAU, August 1, 2016 and received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for sports reporting.
“Health Care for Navajo Elders Requires Bridging Language, Culture,” aired on KNAU, June 21, 2016.
Melissa L. Sevigny 