Named “the most important and impactful journalist" of 2020 by Poynter, Ed Yong was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for his crucial coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. He anticipated the course of the virus, the complex challenges that the U.S. faced, and the government’s disastrous failure in its response. An accomplished speaker, Yong brings his vast scientific knowledge and engages his audiences through his insightful conversations about the pandemic, the animal kingdom, and the challenges of science journalism.

He is the best-selling author of I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us, a groundbreaking and entertaining examination of the relationship between animals and microbes. His second book An Immense World takes a comprehensive look at the fascinating sensory worlds of animals. A New York Times bestseller, An Immense World was longlisted for the PEN America 2023 Literary Award and has made many Best Books of the Year lists. A longtime science reporter for The Atlantic, Yong’s work has also appeared in National Geographic, the New Yorker, Wired, Nature, New Scientist, and Scientific American.


Cosponsored by the Park Street Corporation Speaker Series, Boston College Asian American Studies Program, and Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society.