About
Andrew Zaleski is a freelance journalist of nearly a decade who writes frequently about science, technology, and business for a variety of magazines. He’s a contributing writer at Popular Science, and began writing for the magazine in 2014. He lives near Washington, D.C., with his delightful wife, as well as his dog, Finnegan, who is also delightful.
Experience
Andrew has been a full-time freelance journalist since May 2014. Before becoming a freelancer, he cut his teeth covering local technology news for the startup news site Technical.ly Baltimore for two years. Since then, he’s written a blend of shorter articles and longform magazine features for the likes of Wired, Men’s Health, The Washington Post Magazine, MIT Technology Review, Grist, New Scientist, and a slew of others, including the publications where he currently contributes frequently. He has covered a wide range of subjects: profiles of world-famous drone racers and champion US lumberjacks; tales about the dreaded invasive lanternfly and the quest for a Lyme disease cure; on-the-ground reporting in West Baltimore about ex-felons brokering peace among drug lords; and the space suit required to jump from 24 miles up.
As a contributing writer at Popular Science, he’s something of a utility infielder, tackling a spectrum of science tales that focus on how new technologies and new research is affecting people in their daily lives. He’s written about the (supposed) merits of brain training, sheriffs who track down bee thieves, why we don’t yet have jetpacks, and dads who can’t get enough of pinewood derby. He’s made TV and radio appearances for outlets including Bloomberg TV and National Public Radio’s affiliate stations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Andrew’s story about Tanner Collins, a 6-year-old boy who had one-sixth of his brain removed and turned out to be fine, was included in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2020.
Education
Andrew graduated from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. He was the editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, The Greyhound, as well as the email newsletter editor for College magazine. His work at the newspaper and at the magazine earned him two Mark of Excellence awards in feature writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Sigma Nu.
Highlights
- Omnivorous science and tech writer whose interests are best defined as “all over the place,” although he is obsessed with topics that are odd and obscure.
- A good ole Bachelor of Arts in English literature. Please don’t ask him to do differential calculus.
- In addition to Popular Science, he writes for Outside, Bloomberg Businessweek, Popular Mechanics, and GQ. He’s also a contributing writer at Bloomberg CityLab.
Favorite weird science fact
The frost on your windshield after a cold night? That forms because your car is constantly throwing off infrared light into space, and can make the windshield freeze even when the temperature stays above freezing.
