John Wenz
John was a science editor for Inverse, focusing on space, physical sciences, and climate.
Prior to his time at Inverse, he was digital producer at Knowable Magazine, associate editor at Astronomy Magazine, a news writer at Popular Mechanics, and a long-time freelancer. His bylines have appeared for publications including Discover Magazine, Scientific American, Popular Science, New Scientist, Vice, and more. (RIP, The Awl.) His favorite science topics include astrophysics, paleogenetics, paleontology, lichen biology, mycology, and botany. In addition to science writing, he has written about music, film, TV, immigration law, and food.
In his spare time, he takes photos of lichen, hikes, plays Nintendo Switch games (poorly), paints with watercolor, does some sky observing, and attends Aqua Zumba like a person twice his age. He enjoys cooking, puzzles, collecting weird statues, brushing up on his X-Men knowledge, and watching comedy and science fiction TV shows and strange movies.
He has written one book, The Lost Planets, published by MIT Press in October 2019, and served as a consulting editor on What’s Hidden Inside Planets?, coming soon from Johns Hopkins University Press. He lives in the Milwaukee area with his wife and three cats that wake him up at 5 a.m. every day screaming for breakfast. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in English.
John Carpenter’s Most Badass Movie Set the Tone for an Entire Decade
“Remember, once you're inside you're on your own.”
The Greatest Indiana Jones Mystery Skirts Scientific Fact
“We have top men working on it right now... top men.”
David Cronenberg’s Freakiest Sci-Fi Movie Is Hiding Some Bizarre, Real Science
Overshadowed at the time by The Matrix, eXistenZ floundered at the box office but went on to become a cult classic.
The Hover Cars in Your Favorite Sci-Fi Movie Might Actually Be Possible
It all comes down to magnets.
One of the Most Influential Movies of the ‘70s is Secretly an Apocalyptic Story
What do you do when the world is collapsing around you?
Before Robert Eggers, Werner Herzog Put His Own Surreal Stamp on 'Nosferatu'
There’s an important lesson to be found in Nosferatu the Vampyre.
One Akira Kurosawa Movie Proved to be the Greatest Inspiration for Star Wars
It’s not just samurai codes and Japanese-inspired robes.
A Major Agricultural Pest Hides the Key to Its Survival in Its Poop
The squash bug has to seek out a symbiont. It can only be found in poop.
Today Only, You Can Get a Bird’s Eye View of Mars in Near-Real-Time
A new tool allows you to see what Mars is like right now, minus a little relativistic time delay.
Look! Uranus Sparkles in Stunning New Webb Telescope Image
The seventh planet gets a closeup to end all closeups.
Lab-grown chicken could hit store shelves soon — here's how it tastes
It’s a whole new kind of poultry.
Is Planet Nine out there? This new telescope could finally settle the long-standing mystery
Its shiny new camera will capture the night sky like never before.
Artemis I returns safely to Earth, kicking off a new era of Moon exploration
The Moon mission paves the way to bring humans back to our nearest neighbor.
NASA confirms Artemis is on track for its November 14 launch attempt
This time it really means it. Really.
Artemis I: NASA sets new launch date for Moon-bound rocket
After numerous delays, will it finally fly?
X-rays could reveal the secrets hidden in Gutenberg's first Bibles
Right now, it isn’t certain where the famed German inventor got his idea from. But a powerful machine may clear things up.
No, this newly discovered fossil doesn’t make the Loch Ness Monster 'plausible'
Choose your words carefully.
The Artemis I Moon mission finally has a launch window — NASA
Celebrate the end of summer with a lunar event like no other... maybe.
12 scientists react to the Webb Telescope's first images: “A stunning achievement”
It was all a lot to take in — so we asked a few people in the astronomy community their thoughts.
NASA's Moon-bound mini-probe just lost communication with Earth
The CAPSTONE mission was supposed to crawl its way to the Moon but instead fell out of communication.
