Kathleen Davis
Producer
Kathleen Davis is a producer and fill-in host at Science Friday, which means she spends her weeks researching, writing, editing, and sometimes talking into a microphone. She heads the show’s State of Science project, bringing local science stories to a national audience.
Before joining the Science Friday team in 2020, Kathleen reported on tech and breaking news at WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR station. One time, her coworkers made her a dinosaur themed birthday cake, complete with a Rice Krispy meteor.
Kathleen is originally from the great state of Michigan, and is always eager to talk about freshwater lakes and Coney Island diners. She can often be found taking long walks to run errands that would be done much faster by other modes of transportation.
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Are My THC Gummies Going Away?
A federal law aims to close the legal loophole that lets stores sell THC products from hemp. Why are laws around cannabis so confusing?
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What’s Accumulating In The Dirty Snowbanks Of NYC?
One intrepid reporter dug into some of NYC’s dirty sidewalk snow and found a combination of poo, heavy metals, and other unsavory items.
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What A Snow Drought In The West Means For The Rest Of 2026
States like Utah and Colorado have had abysmal snow totals this winter. It’s not a good sign for a region struggling to maintain its water.
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A Little Grime Can Boost Kids’ Health. But What Kind?
Researchers are homing in on how kids reap long-term health benefits from getting dirty, whether cuddling furry pets or playing with friends.
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What A Tea Party With A Bonobo Taught Us About Imagination
Is the capacity to imagine unique to humans? Scientists thought so—but a pretend tea party with a bonobo named Kanzi suggests otherwise.
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How Is Screen Time Affecting My Kid?
Researchers have correlated brain and behavioral changes in kids to increased time on phones and other screen devices.
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Who Wants To Smell An Ancient Embalmed Mummy?
Chemists and perfumers are using new techniques to bring ancient scents back to life, from mummies to a 5,000-year-old incense burner.
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The Growing Experiment Of Putting Solar Panels On Farmland
Agrivoltaics combines solar panels and agriculture on the same land. It’ll be an uphill battle for it to hit the mainstream.
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Stressed About The World? Take A Cue From Cyanobacteria
In turbulent times, it helps to hear stories of resilience. What can we learn from 3.5 billion-year-old bacteria that eat light?
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How A Mutation Made This Year’s Flu Season So Bad
A flu variant called subclade K emerged too late to be fully covered by this year’s vaccine. But the flu shot can still help protect you.