Tom Zeller Jr.

Author | Editor-In-Chief
The Headache | Undark

Tom Zeller Jr. is an American journalist, former New York Times reporter and columnist, and current editor-in-chief of the digital science magazine Undark. He is co-editor and a contributing author of the 2022 book, A Tactical Guide to Science Journalism, published by Oxford University Press.

In 2013, Tom was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT, where he spent a year studying environmental decision-making, economics, and climate policy — topics he has covered in the United States and abroad for Al Jazeera America, as well as The Times, National Geographic, Bloomberg View, Forbes, and other publications.

He co-founded Undark in 2016. Under his leadership, the magazine’s work has been anthologized in the Best American Science & Nature Writing book series, and honored with numerous awards and accolades, including the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award and the prestigious George Polk Award for Environmental Reporting. Undark has also been named a finalist for a National Magazine Award, and earned top prizes from the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Association of Health Care Journalists, the National Association of Science Writers, and the Online News Association.