Ari Daniel

Ari Daniel is a science and environment reporter for PRI's The World and many museum, non-profit, academic and news organizations. He is passionate about telling human stories about science and empowering others to do the same.

I've always loved science. As a graduate student, I trained gray seal pups (Halichoerus grypus) for my Master's degree at the University of St. Andrews and helped tag wild Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) for my Ph.D. at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 

These days, as a science reporter, I record a species that I'm better equipped to understand — Homo sapiens.  My radio stories have been featured on PRI’s The World, Radiolab, and NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. In the fifth grade, I won the “Most Contagious Smile” award.

buildings collapsed in rubble

The geology behind the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

This corner of the globe sits at the intersection of three tectonic plates, including the Arabian Plate that’s moving northward into Europe. Pressure along the fault has been building, and when it finally released, it appears that an area nearly 120 miles long and 15 miles wide got displaced, unleashing the earthquake. 

The geology behind the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
Today, Rami is a resident at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he sees patients with numerous ailments, including COVID-19.

After years apart, this Syrian doctor in New York is finally celebrating Ramadan with his family

After years apart, this Syrian doctor in New York is finally celebrating Ramadan with his family
Observers in southern Iceland stand watch, scanning the sea for killer whales. 

Research on whales, cosmos among many studies derailed by pandemic

Research on whales, cosmos among many studies derailed by pandemic
A team of researchers at the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center selects lead antibody candidates for further screening.

Racing to develop a drug to fight COVID-19

Racing to develop a drug to fight COVID-19
The author's 3-year-old daughter Leila has been occupying herself during the "stay at home" order in Boston amid the coronavirus outbreak by making cards and beaded necklaces for her preschool friends. 

How families around the world talk coronavirus with kids

How families around the world talk coronavirus with kids
Building

In Iceland, turning CO2 into rock could be a big breakthrough for carbon capture

About a half hour east of Reykjavik, the ground seethes with steam — a bizarre, thick fog pouring out of the pebbly earth.

In Iceland, turning CO2 into rock could be a big breakthrough for carbon capture
A man is perched atop a propeller of a small twin engine plane on a tarmac. The plane is bright cherry red.

At sea and in the sky, scientists brave wicked weather to explore a key ocean current

The global circulatory system is incredibly complex, and parts of it, like the North Icelandic Jet, are barely understood. That's why these scientists are in Iceland in the dead of winter.

At sea and in the sky, scientists brave wicked weather to explore a key ocean current
Many silhouetted figures depicting the evolution of man

Where does language come from?

Humans are the only creatures on Earth that can choke on their own food. Yes, that’s right. Why would humans have evolved such potentially fatal architecture? Some experts say the reason is speech. This week on the podcast, we explore several theories about where language comes from.

Where does language come from?
Saturn has been Cassini's home for 13 years.

Farewell, Cassini

After more than 20 years, NASA today said goodbye to the Cassini space probe and sent it plunging into Saturn's atmosphere to burn up. It was the end of a remarkable mission that revealed deep secrets of the ringed planet and its many moons.

Farewell, Cassini
A school girl watches a partial solar eclipse at the Planetarium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 9, 2016.

What will we learn from this year's solar eclipse?

Over the centuries, solar eclipses have helped us learn about the Earth, the sun and the universe, and have proved the power of the scientific method itself.

What will we learn from this year's solar eclipse?
There are curious parallels between "love" between two particles and two people.

Love, quantum physics and 'entanglement'

The curious parallels between love and the bizarre — but potentially very useful — phenomenon called "quantum entanglement."

Love, quantum physics and 'entanglement'
A research team crossing an ice plateau in the Indian Himalayas faced risks of hidden crevasses, storms, avalanches and earthquakes.

Climate change research can be risky. But not doing it is even riskier.

Climate change research in extreme environments is a dangerous business, but scientists say getting boots on the ground is vital to understanding where we're headed as we warm the planet.

Climate change research can be risky. But not doing it is even riskier.
When Sona Hosseini went on a class trip to the planetarium, she fell in love with the stars.

Her love of the stars made her lose track of her life on Earth

Sona Hosseini fell in love with astronomy when she went on a class trip to a Houston planetarium. "I was asking the lady, ‘How can I work here?’ The lady told me, ‘Oh, honey, you should have a PhD.’"

Her love of the stars made her lose track of her life on Earth
Tug of Hope

These kids are playing tug of war across the US-Mexico border

A game of tug of war stretches from Austin, Texas, to Mexico City.

These kids are playing tug of war across the US-Mexico border
Adventist

Syrian refugee kids find joy and success in these classrooms. They are a lucky few.

Lebanon's public education system can't cope with hundreds of thousands of extra Syrian refugee kids. So nonprofit groups are trying to fill the gaps.

Syrian refugee kids find joy and success in these classrooms. They are a lucky few.