Laura Helmuth

Laura Helmuth is the health, science, and environment editor at the Washington Post. From 2012–2016, she was Slate’s science and health editor. Follow her on Twitter.

Slate Plus

Nov. 5 2015 6:01 AMThe Best Comments Are on Science StoriesThey are smart, meta, and funny. Laura Helmuth

Classes

Sept. 3 2015 10:00 AMYour Favorite ClassesReaders recommend religion, logic, psychology, and dirt.Laura Helmuth

Slate Plus

Aug. 21 2015 2:50 PMWhat Happened at Slate This Week?The best part of the week? Meeting members like you at happy hours in New York and D.C.Laura Helmuth

Slate Plus

June 17 2015 1:09 PMThe Editor’s CreedTwo Slate editors debate their very different editing philosophies.Dan Kois, Laura Helmuth, and Jennifer Lai

Behind the Scenes

Dec. 31 2014 1:16 PMSlate Staffers Pick Their Out-of-Left-Field Favorite Slate Articles of 2014Allison Benedikt, Jamelle Bouie, David Haglund, Laura Helmuth, Dan Kois, Joshua Keating, Chris Kirk, Miriam Krule, Dahlia Lithwick, and Katy Waldman

Science

Dec. 1 2014 10:26 AMJames Watson Throws a FitThe disgraced co-discoverer of DNA is selling his Nobel Prize.Laura Helmuth

Science

Nov. 26 2014 3:07 PMSpecies Worth SavingWhy we should be thankful for the red-cockaded woodpecker.Laura Helmuth

Medical Examiner

Oct. 26 2014 1:29 PMHugger-in-ChiefIn embracing an Ebola victim, Barack Obama succeeded where Ronald Reagan failed.Laura Helmuth

Slate Picks

Aug. 13 2014 7:31 AMSongs That Make Slate NostalgicA roundup of the music from high school that staffers still love.L.V. Anderson, Eliza Berman, Jamelle Bouie, David Haglund, Aisha Harris, Laura Helmuth, Jane C. Hu, Derreck Johnson, Dan Kois, Rachael Larimore, Dahlia Lithwick, Dee Lockett, Rebecca Onion, Vivian Selbo, Mark Joseph Stern, June Thomas, Julia Turner, Lindsey Underwood, and Katy Waldman

Science

July 4 2014 6:03 AMWhat Happened at Slate This Week?Slate’s science editor on her favorite reads from Slate this week.Laura Helmuth

Faith-based

May 12 2014 2:24 PMWitness to an ExorcismHow Pope Francis and the Vatican deal with the devil.Laura Helmuth

The Slatest

April 17 2014 9:44 PMHere's How Long That Teen Would Have to Pee in the Portland Reservoir to Make It Unsafe to DrinkLaura Helmuth

Slate Picks

March 17 2014 11:00 AMLions and Hippos and Jellyfish, Oh MyThe best animal stories in books, articles, and movies, from Slate’s Wild Things writers.Laura Helmuth, Ben Mirin, Jason Bittel, and Lance Richardson

Human Genome

Oct. 30 2013 2:14 PMWatch Francis Collins Lunge for the Nobel PrizeAn underhanded attempt by the National Institutes of Health to claim full credit for sequencing the human genome.Laura Helmuth

Science

Oct. 10 2013 8:14 AMWho Will Win a Nobel Prize?Everything you need to know about the contenders, rivalries, scandals, and politics of the famous awards.Laura Helmuth

Brow Beat

Oct. 21 2015 2:37 PMRed Peppers Are Just Ripe Green Peppers, and Other Mind-Blowing Fruit and Vegetable FactsLaura Helmuth

Cover Story

Aug. 31 2015 5:02 AMWhat Classes Should I Take?These are the most useful, practical, life-altering, and enriching courses in an ideal catalog.Laura Helmuth

Behind the Scenes

July 8 2015 1:18 PMSweet Dreams Are Made of ThisDo recurring dreams mean anything? Slate staffers discuss.Victoria Fine, Laura Helmuth, Amanda Hess, Dan Kois, A.J. McCarthy, and Erica Walsh

Slate Voice

Feb. 3 2015 7:30 AMSlate Voice: “James Watson Throws a Fit”Listen to Laura Helmuth read her piece about the tarnished legacy of a Nobel laureate.Laura Helmuth

Science

Dec. 16 2014 6:18 PMMerry and BrightChristmas decorations are visible from space.Laura Helmuth

Behind the Scenes

Nov. 28 2014 5:00 PMOur Media Thanksgiving ListThe podcasts, websites, and apps Slate-sters are thankful for.L.V. Anderson, Jeff Friedrich, Aisha Harris, Laura Helmuth, Chris Kirk, Dan Kois, Jennifer Lai, Rachael Larimore, Abby McIntyre, Ayana Morali, David Plotz, June Thomas, Julia Turner, Katy Waldman, Forrest Wickman, and Betsy Woodruff

TV Club

Nov. 17 2014 8:00 AMThe Slate Doctor Who Podcast: Final Thoughts on Series 8 Phil Plait and Mac Rogers on the finale and the season.Phil Plait, Mac Rogers, Laura Helmuth, Gabriel Roth, and June Thomas

Better Summer

Aug. 26 2014 11:47 PMGet SmashedBadminton is the best party icebreaker (well, next to alcohol).Laura Helmuth

Science

July 20 2014 2:54 PMDon’t Feel Sorry for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.A Washington Post profile portrays him as passionate and sympathetic. He’s actually obsessive and dangerous.Laura Helmuth

Slate Picks

June 11 2014 10:14 AMSome Capital EatsSlate-sters dish on their favorite restaurants in Washington, D.C.Jamelle Bouie, Nicole L. Cvetnic, James Dasinger, John Dickerson, Laura Helmuth, Joshua Keating, Chad Lorenz, Abby McIntyre, Heidi Strom Moon, David Plotz, David Stern, Ryan Vogt, David Weigel, Megan Wiegand, and Emily Yoffe

Behind the Scenes

May 8 2014 4:40 PMDear Prudence Talks Moms, Moms-in-Law, and MoreA Slate Plus exclusive: Listen to the Dear Prudence Mommy Dearest event, recorded live in Washington, D.C.Emily Yoffe and Laura Helmuth

Behind the Scenes

March 19 2014 2:12 PMShould Slate Change Its G.D. Profanity Policy? Three Editors Debate.David Plotz, Dan Kois, Laura Helmuth, and Jennifer Lai

Science

Dec. 23 2013 10:34 AMAnimals of the YearSlate’s best stories about other species.Laura Helmuth

Doublex

Oct. 17 2013 12:06 PMDon’t Be a CreepLessons from the latest terrible, sad, fascinating scandal in the science blogging world.Laura Helmuth

Science

Sept. 12 2013 5:15 PMWatch the Ig Nobel PrizesTonight is the weirdest night in science.Laura Helmuth