Journalism
A selection of some of my journalistic work, as writer, editor and broadcaster
2010
The Takeaway
March 2, 2010
Telling a Story Through Numbers
Kaiser Fung, author of Numbers Rule Your World, and James Geary discuss whether words or numbers better connect people to a story.
Popular Science
March 2010
Disconnected
Your cell phone does not in itself cause cancer. But in the daily sea of radiation we all travel, there may be subtler dangers at work..
2009
The Social Investment Almanack
September 2009
Published by Society Media, this annual review features my primer on philanthro- capitalism
Forbes.com
August 2009
Sudden Wisdom
Aphorisms are literature's hand luggage—no other type of writing does so much with so little.
BBC World Service
July 5, 2009
The World Today
Does humor have a place in politics? Find out in this excerpt from The World Today, hosted by Rebecca Kesby, with Vitali Vitaliev and James Geary.
Popular Science
April 2009
Who Protects the Internet?
Pull up the wrong undersea cable and the Internet goes dark in Berlin or Dubai. Meet the people who stand guard over the World Wide Web.
Hear a podcast of PopSci's Cocktail Party Science, in which host Chuck Cage discusses protecting the Internet with Deputy Editor Jake Ward and James Geary.
Edge
January 1, 2009
This year, the big question from the World Question Center is: What will change everything? What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?
2008
The Takeaway
Oct. 8, 2008
The presidential campaigns and the war of witty words
The Takeaway talks with James Geary about political aphorisms.
Ode
July-Aug. 2008
The physics of funny
Jos Houben and the art of silent comedy
The Observer
July 13, 2008
I, Robot
Although we've always been a bionic species, says James Geary, we're now blurring the line between man and machine like never before.
Ode
May 2008
Kapow!
An anatomy of the “new activism”
This issue won a Maggie award, the accolades handed out by the Western Publications Association, in the Politics & Social Issues/Consumer category.
Time Out London
March 12–18, 2008
Slogan’s Run
James Geary on those pithy little sayings that capture universal truths in a nutshell
Edge
January 1, 2008
This year, the big question from the World Question Center is: What have you changed your mind about? Why?
2007
National Post (Canada)
Nov. 29, 2007
The Art of the Aphorism
Broadcasting House
BBC Radio 4, October 21, 2007
A modest proposal for funding the BBC...
The Huffington Post
September 2007
U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown can choose his moment for the next election; oh why, oh why can't I...?
Salon
Bomb plot tests British again
July 2, 2007
New Prime Minister Gordon Brown edges away from Tony Blair and the Iraq war as the U.K. braces against the rising terror threat
Tony Blair’s toodle-oo
June 29, 2007
If the British people really do want less spin and more substance from their prime minister, then Gordon Brown could be the man to deliver it.
The Huffington Post
June 2007
I’m a regular blogger for the Huffington Post. Check out my debut contribution, on Dylan Evans' utopia experiment in Scotland, and/or my take on the RoboCup 2007 robotic soccer championship.
Popular Science
June 2007
The Litvin- enko Assass- ination: Move over weapons of mass destruction; make way for targeted nuclear terrorism
This article appears in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008. Buy the American edition (Houghton Miffin) at amazon.com.
Broadcasting House
BBC Radio 4, April 15, 2007
More on Britain’s relationship to the tabloid press...
Edge
January 1, 2007
This year, the big question from the World Question Center is: What are you optimistic about? Why?
2006
Broadcasting House
BBC Radio 4, December 3, 2006
On the tabloid press and British impertinence toward authority...
The British Journalism Review
Vol. 17, No. 1, 2006, pages 41-44
In praise of the tabs (sort of) — Why I (kind of) like the British tabloid press...
e.i./The Independent
July 17, 2006
Comment is free, correct? Well, only up to a point ... In an age when every other person seems to be a blogger, the value of high-quality commentary to established outlets is having an impact that is economic as well as journalistic. James Geary reports
International Herald Tribune
June 23, 2006
Never Argue With An Aphorism
New Scientist
13 April 1996Saving the Sounds of Silence
James Geary rants and raves about peace and quiet
Helix
1992
An interview with Sir John Maddox (1925–2009)
Ode
March 2010
I’m Ode’s executive editor. Ode is a magazine about positive change, which appears 10 times a year.
Aug. 2009:
Why We Laugh — A special issue devoted to all things jesting and jocular.
May 2009:
New in- sights from be- havioral economics show that altruism rather than avarice is our primary motivation.
This cover story won a silver Eddie, the accolades handed out by Folio Magazine, in the Single Article/ Consumer, News/ Commentary/ General Interest category.
March 2009:
Improve mental health with neuro- feedback How you can train your brain to help reduce stress, enhance creativity and improve mental health.
Oct. 2008:
In Praise of Failure
Failing is among life's least pleasant experiences, but nothing else is as essential to success.
Jul- Aug. 2008:
The Silence Issue — Everything you always wanted to know about peace and quiet.
This issue was nominated for two Maggie awards, the accolades handed out by the Western Publications Association, in the Lifestyles & Alternative Lifestyles/ Consumer and Special Theme Issue/ Consumer categories.
Jun. 2008: Buddha in the Board- room — Is doing good compatible with making money? It is if you practice spiritual capitalism.
Apr. 2008: Not the same old drive- thru — How new green fast-food chains are serving up burgers and fries to feel good about.
This issue won a Maggie award, the accolades handed out by the Western Publications Association, in the Politics & Social Issues/Consumer category.
In 2006, I revamped the editorial formula of the magazine and consulted on its redesign.
I also devised a completely new website for the publication and managed its construction and launch.
Plus, I write a mini-essay about aphorisms for every issue!
Ethical Corporation
Published ten times a year, Ethical Corporation magazine encourages debate and discussion on responsible business.
Nov. 2009
Dirty Business
How organized crime is exploiting the waste disposal market.
Oct. 2009
Friends, not foes
How Greenpeace and Kimberly-Clark moved from confrontation to collaboration.
Sept. 2009
Beer's cost-benefit analysis
SABMiller analyzes how its business impacts developing countries.
July-Aug. 2009
Fellow green travellers
Eurostar is reaping the green business benefits of joining forces with Friends of the Earth
April 2009
The Altruism Dividend
Big business has much to gain from partnering with, investing in and sourcing from social enterprises
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc
I'm a regular contributor to the CFP Board’s newsletters. Some recent pieces:
2009
The Other “R” Word: Risk
2008
Money and Metaphors
When in Doubt, Remain in Doubt: How to Avoid Overconfidence
2007
Money and Trust
It May Be A Living, But It’s Not A Life: The Conflict between Art and Money
Women and Money: What’s Biology Got To Do With It?
On Loss Aversion
2006
On The Diderot Effect
On Sugrophobia — the fear of being suckered
©2010 James Geary
“Sometimes, two goldfish in a bowl are enough”
TIME Magazine
I worked for TIME from 1996–2006, first as a writer, then as senior editor, founding editor of timeeurope.com, deputy editor and ultimately as Europe Editor, responsible for the European edition of the magazine
[ pdf files require Adobe Acrobat Reader]
The Other Face of France
November 21, 2005
Can France bring order to the streets and hope to the restive minorities of the banlieues? (writer/editor)
Streets of Fire
November 14, 2005
Nights of mayhem scorch France’s troubled banlieues and blacken the country’s image of itself (editor)
The Lost Tribes of Europe
August 29, 2005
As national borders blur, the Continent’s original minorities are fighting to reclaim their ancient cultures and identities (writer, cover story)
No Way Out
August 8, 2005
After a massive manhunt, Britain’s suspected suicide bombers are nabbed. But that doesn't mean the threat of more attacks is over (editor)
The Wonders of Europe
Special Issue, July 4-11, 2005
(editor)
Don’t Mention the War
May 9, 2005
Tony Blair looks set to win what he’s said will be his last campaign. but for many, the Iraq war has tarnished his legacy (editor)
Slaughter of the Innocents
September 13, 2004
Inside the Beslan Siege (senior editor)
Everyman’s Odyssey
July 5, 2004
James Geary joins a crowd of James Joyce devotees on a Bloomsday trek through Dublin in pursuit of the elusive, allusive soul of Ulysses (writer)
A Strike at Europe’s Heart
March 22, 2004
Inside the Madrid train bombings (senior editor)
Living with Risk
July 28, 2003
Science can pinpoint potential dangers from GM foods, mobile phones and household chemicals — but can't tell us if those risks are real. What’s a consumer to do? (writer, cover story)
This article won the British Environment and Media Award in 2004.
Inside the Moscow Siege
November 4, 2002
(senior editor)
Why France Is Different
Special Report, April 22, 2002
(editor)
The Body Electric
March 11, 2002
Scientists are melding computer chips with the human nervous system, allowing people to extend, enhance and repair their senses (writer)
Fast Forward Europe
Special Issue, Winter 2000–2001
(editor)
A Brief History of the Higgs Hunt
November 13, 2000
Scientists in Switzerland may have solved one of the great mysteries of particle physics. Why should we care? (writer)
The Lying Game
March 13, 2000
How to spot the telltale signs that give away a liar (writer, cover story)
Visions of Europe
Special Issue, Winter 1998–1999
(editor)
Visions of Europe: In the Fast Lane
Seven years after regaining independence, Estonia is well on its way to joining the E.U.
The New Age of Discovery
Special Issue, Winter 1997–1998
(editor)
New Age of Discovery: In the Realm of the Senses
Scientists are using advanced computer technologies to extend, enhance and repair the power of the senses
The Undiscovered Country
Death remains life’s ultimate riddle, but is it inevitable? (writer)
Hot Air?
October 12, 1998
Europe’s new left must bring its lofty rhetoric down to earth (writer, cover story)
Mad About the Noise
July 27, 1998
Too much noise is driving people mad (writer, cover story)
Back to Babel
July 7, 1997
Half the world’s languages are faced with extinction. Does it matter? (writer, cover story)
Total Recall 
May 5, 1997
Scientists are beginning to grasp how memories are made and stored in the brain. Can "memory drugs" be far behind? (writer, cover story)