Position/Organization:

Independent science journalist

Christie Aschwanden is an independent journalist, essayist and science nerd. She's written for more than 50 publications, including the New York Times, Men's Journal, Mother Jones, NPR.org, and O, the Oprah magazine. Her 2010 Reader's Digest cover story debunking the purported health benefits of multivitamins generated a record volume of hate mail. She was a National Magazine Award finalist in 2011 and a Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting fellow in 2007.

She lives on a small farm in rural western Colorado with her winemaker husband and raises heritage poultry in her spare time. Her coffee table book of chicken breeds, Beautiful Chickens, was published this year. Find her online at christieaschwanden.com