MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing
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Congratulations to Lisa Song, ’09, and James Dinneen, ’22, for being named finalists for the 2022 National Magazine Awards. Dedicated to honoring excellence in journalism, including podcasting, video, and photojournalism, the National Magazine Awards are among the most prestigious honors given to reporters.

Lisa Song is a finalist in the Public Interest category as part of an investigative team from ProPublica that also includes Lylla Younes, Ava Kofman, Al Shaw, and Max Blau. The team’s submission features a collection of pieces, including “Poison in the Air,” wherein the ProPublica team used EPA data to create a map that tracked the spread of cancer-causing chemicals from thousands of sources of hazardous air pollution across the country, and “The Dirty Secret of America’s Clean Dishes,” which chronicles how poisonous emissions from one of the world’s largest chemical companies are increasing cancer risks for an estimated 1.5 million people.

James Dinneen and coauthor Alexander Kennedy landed Undark Magazine its first National Magazine Award nomination. Their multimedia story, “Below Aging U.S. Dams, a Potential Toxic Calamity,” identified more than 80 dams across the United States that could potentially flood a major toxic waste site and spread contaminants across unprepared communities.

Winners for the 2022 National Magazine Awards will be announced on Tuesday, April 5th. We’ll be cheering for you, Lisa and James!