Pulitzer Center Update

This Week: The Next Global Pandemic

July 18, 2017 | Newsletter
By
Tom Hundley
Paul Mugai Ngage walks around the walled-in yard surrounding his home in the Kawangware slum in Nairobi, Kenya. The couple and their extended family live with the some of their children and grandchildren in a house with a corrugated metal roof and a yard filled livestock including sheep, goats, rabbits, ducks, dogs, and chickens. Image by Mark Hoffman. Kenya, 2017.

Paul Mugai Ngage walks around the walled-in yard surrounding his home in the Kawangware slum in Nairobi, Kenya. The couple and their extended family live with the some of their children and grandchildren in a house with a corrugated metal roof and a yard filled livestock including sheep, goats, rabbits, ducks, dogs, and chickens. Image by Mark Hoffman. Kenya, 2017.

Where Disease Comes From

Mark Johnson and Mark Hoffman

The Aedes aegypti has a short lifespan and a universe that extends for no more than a quarter of a mile, but in the age of jet travel and ever increasing mobility, the Zika virus that this mosquito carries can easily hop continents. In the latest installment of their fascinating series about how deadly microbes pass between animals and humans, grantees Mark Johnson and Mark Hoffman report from Miami and Nairobi. They talk to researchers and health experts about the paths a disease might follow and steps that can be taken to prevent or at least slow future outbreaks.

Trump and Putin Russian dolls. Image from PBS Newshour. Russia, 2017.

Trump and Putin Russian dolls. Image from PBS Newshour. Russia, 2017. 

Russia Revealed

Nick Schifrin and Zach Fannin

The PBS NewsHour’s six-part series on Russia by grantees Nick Schifrin and Zach Fannin is—simply put—one of the most engrossing, chilling, and informed pieces of TV journalism that we’ve seen in a long while. You can view it here.

In Dhaka, a child undergoes electroencephalography to measure electrical brain activity. Image by Smita Sharma. Bangladesh.

In Dhaka, a child undergoes electroencephalography to measure electrical brain activity. Image by Smita Sharma. Bangladesh.

Poverty's Lasting Damage

Carina Storrs

Children born into poverty—whether in rich countries or poor—suffer developmental deficiencies that hurt their chances of future success. Grantee Carina Storrs looks at new research that explains why.