Lung Cancer Cells
NEWS AND ARTICLES
Legacy and Lessons of Toms River, 10 years later
Dan's interview with Harvard Public Health Magazine
These Winged Migrants Are Now Refugees — From Us
In this essay for the Washington Post, Dan describes how the social disruption and chaos of the global coronavirus pandemic has reached even into the isolated mountaintop redoubts of the monarch butterfly. The potential losses — to monarchs, to science, and to all of...
The legacy of Toms River, as Seen from 2020
In his keynote address at a Princeton University seminar on "Truth and Evidence", Dan reflects on denial, uncertainty and prevention in the context of a tumultuous year.
Danny DeVito Options Toms River
Producer, actor and director Danny DeVito, a New Jersey native and environmentalist, has optioned the screen rights for Toms River. His production company, Jersey Films 2nd Avenue, will produce the film.
Knowledge is not enough
In his keynote address at the Festival for the Earth in Venice, Italy, Dan speaks about knowledge, faith and the power of true stories well told.
Crises in journalism, environment
Delivering the J. Roderick Davis Lecture to a crowd of more than 500 at Samford University in Alabama, Dan described urgent, and related, crises in journalism and the Earth’s environment.
Science Storytelling in a Dark Time
In an interview with the National Observer of Canada, Dan talks about the promise and perils facing science journalism in an age of science denial.
Bastions of Reality
Dan talks about journalism, libraries and the 30th anniversary of the New York Public Library's Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism.
“Storytelling is Still Powerful”
Dan talks about denialism, Toms River and the future of science journalism on public broadcasting's "Story in the Public Square".
A Mine vs. a Million Monarchs
Should a huge mine reopen in the middle of the world's most important monarch butterfly reserve? In an op-ed in the New York Times, Dan explores the dilemma facing the luckless, poverty-stricken Mexican town of Angangueo. It's part of the research for his next book.
Toms River now a Times bestseller
Almost three years after its initial publication, Toms River is now a New York Times bestseller, ranking seventh on the ebook nonfiction list and twentieth on the combined nonfiction list.
Book of the Year Awards in China, Taiwan
Two major newspapers, one in China and one in Taiwan, have each just named Toms River a 'Book of the Year' for 2015. The awards came from the Beijing News and the China Times. Two Chinese-language editions of Toms River, one for mainland China and the other for...
“The scientific process is a narrative”
Dan speaks about Toms River and the power of science-based storytelling at the "Science and Story" panel of the World Science Festival.
“Swimming in a Sea of Confirmation Bias”
Dan's keynote address to the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea explored the challenging road ahead for science journalism in a digital age.
“Trying to do something very tricky”
Dan speaks to the 152nd annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences about the challenges of science reporting and the science of Toms River.
Toms River as a Case Study
On the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, Dan takes calls and talks about what really happened in Toms River in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and what we can learn from it today.
Making Connections
Fielding viewer questions on C-SPAN Book TV from the Tucson Festival of Books, Dan talks about the connections between Toms River and current environmental issues, including nuclear power, fair trade and the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
Making peace with uncertainty
Coverage of Dan's talk in Charleston, West Virginia.
“We desperately need independent voices”
An interview with Dan in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine about Toms River, teaching and the new landscape of journalism.
“We can intervene to protect public health”
Dan talks with C-SPAN's BookTV about epidemiology, the Pulitzer Prize and the lessons of Toms River.
Paperback, new afterword coming April 7
Island Press has announced it will publish the paperback edition of Toms River, including a new afterword from the author. The publication date is April 7, 2015.
Toms River Wins Top Science Book Prize
Toms River was recognized by the National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine "for its masterful portrayal of the scientific process at work in a town facing environmental crisis".
Toms River Wins Rachel Carson Award
The judges called Toms River a "masterpiece" that "embodies Carson's legacy of deeply insightful, science-based literary prose." The award is administered by the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Toms River and Chinese “Cancer Villages”
An article about Toms River in the weekend magazine of People's Daily, one of the largest newspapers in China.
“The book reads like a Dan Brown novel”
Jack Ford interviews Dan about Toms River for WNET's MetroFocus program.
“Chapter 4, Meet Chapter 11”
Dan talks about Toms River, tweeting, and "this Pulitzer thing".
Toms River Wins Another National Journalism Award
The New York Public Library gives Dan its Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, calling Toms River "powerful, in-depth reporting that informs the public, shapes policy, and changes the world.” The ceremony was also broadcast on C-SPAN's Book TV.
The future of longform journalism in the twitter age
Dan and the other finalists for the Bernstein Award talk about the challenges nonfiction book authors face in a digital world. C-SPAN broadcast the discussion at the New York Public Library.
What China Can Learn from Toms River
An interview with Dan published in China Dialogue, which also reviewed Toms River.
From private grief to community crusade
Dan talks about Toms River in a post-Pulitzer interview with Newsday, where he worked for 18 years.
Toxic Prosperity
In a New York Times column, Dan writes about his trip to Basel, Switzerland, cradle of the chemical industry 150 years ago, and now a beneficiary of industrial outsourcing.
“We do not do effective public health surveillance in this country”
Dan does an extended interview on Amy Goodman's internationally syndicated Democracy Now! television and radio program.
Toms River wins the Pulitzer Prize!
Toms River has been awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, awarded to "a distinguished and appropriately documented book of nonfiction by an American author."
Toms River Wins Green Book of the Year
A panel of writers and editors selected Toms River as the winner of the "Green" category in the Books for a Better Life awards.
Short-Listed for U.S. Journalism Prize
Toms River has been named a finalist for the New York Public Library's Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism, awarded to "journalists whose books have brought clarity and public attention to important issues, events, or policies." The winner will be...
Toms River an NPR ‘Best Book of 2013’
"Dan Fagin's narrative of the arrival and explosive growth of a chemical plant in New Jersey in the 1950s weaves a complex tale of powerful industry, local politics, water rights, epidemiology, public health and cancer in a gripping, page-turning environmental...
“The book to read”
The leading technology culture site Boing Boing includes Toms River in its 2013 Gift Guide, calling it "nuanced, fantastically written, and illuminating."
The Lessons of Love Canal
A New York Times story on the iconic hazardous waste controversy of the late 1970s and early 1980s quotes Dan and cites Toms River.
Environmental coverage cut at the Times
New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan quotes Dan in her analysis of how cutbacks at the Times have affected its coverage of environmental issues.
Stop Resisting Labels on GM Foods
In a Scientific American commentary, Dan argues that scientists who believe that genetically engineered foods can play an important role in fighting global malnutrition ought to quit resisting mandatory labeling laws.
A Town Fights Back: The Toms River Story
A 19-minute video released on nationwide cable television by LinkTV describes what really happened in Toms River, and why it's a cautionary tale for the rest of us.
“A Must-Read Book”
HealthNewsReview.org: "The narrative, the history, the epidemiology, the explanation of chemistry – it was a masterful work of journalism."
Revisiting Toms River
In this seven-minute video broadcast on LinkTV, Dan talks about what happened in Toms River, and why it matters.
A Saga of Industrial Pollution
In a full-page review, Science calls Toms River "fascinating" and "absorbing", comparing it to Silent Spring.
Alive and Tweeting
Dan explains in Slate why many of his social media friends thought he was gravely ill. He wasn't.
Possibility and Probability in Toms River
NJ Spotlight interviews Dan about the Toms River cluster.
A town plagued by water
The New Yorker looks at Toms River and Toms River.
“A kind of justice, or at least knowledge, came to Toms River”
Dan talks about Toms River and the imperiled state of environmental journalism on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS.
Cancer Clusters or Chance?
A Philadelphia Inquirer story explores the issues raised by Toms River.
Pollution and Cancer in Toms River
Dan on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC.
Toms River on the Diane Rehm Show
Dan speaks to the public radio talk show host about corporations, kids and clusters.
Toms River on the Diane Rehm Show
Dan speaks to the public radio talk show host about corporations, kids and clusters.
Toms River on the Diane Rehm Show
Dan speaks to the public radio talk show host about corporations, kids and clusters.
Navigating an Environmental Legacy
USA Today calls Toms River "an absorbing and thoughtful navigation of our era of synthetic chemicals."
For Toms River, An ‘Imperfect Salvation’
Dan interviewed on National Public Radio's 'All Things Considered'. Listen to the interview, and read a book excerpt.
“A new classic of science reporting”
The New York Times gives Toms River a rave review.
Toms River on PW’s ‘Most Anticipated’ List
Publishers Weekly puts Toms River on its list of the "most anticipated books of Spring 2013."
Discussing N.Y. Times Cuts on Public Radio
The public radio program Living on Earth reports that The New York Times has decided to shut down its environmental desk and reshape its coverage of environmental issues. Host Steve Curwood asks Dan about the repercussions.
A Cancer Cycle, From Here to China
More than one million people in the Chinese city of Handan awoke last week to the news that their drinking water had been dangerously contaminated by a 39-ton chemical spill. For me, reading about it prompted a sick feeling of déjà vu.
Toxicology: The Learning Curve
Researchers say that some chemicals have unexpected, unpredictable and potent effects at very low doses — but regulators aren't convinced.
China’s Children of Smoke
Epidemiologists find molecular clues to air pollution's impact on youngsters.
Second Thoughts on Fluoride
Long before the passionate debates over cigarettes, DDT, asbestos or the ozone hole, most Americans had heard of only one environmental health controversy: fluoridation.
Poisoning on an Industrial Scale
In the highly charged realms of toxicology and environmental epidemiology, every generation seems to produce its own Wilhelm Hueper. A review of Devra Davis's The Secret History of the War on Cancer.
Science and Journalism Fail to Connect
Evolution is “only a theory.” Global warming is “unproven.” And science itself is “just another opinion.” Critics of mainstream science seem to be everywhere these days, and we, as journalists, just can’t seem to get enough of them.
The Tundra Thaw
TOOLIK LAKE, Alaska - The tundra looks bleak in the long shadows that the morning sun is throwing from its usual midsummer spot near, but never below, the horizon.