Sara Kiley Watson
News Editor
Sara Kiley Watson is a News Editor at Popular Science. She started her tenure at PopSci as an intern in 2017 before joining the team full time as an Editorial Assistant in 2019 and leading sustainability coverage since 2021.
Highlights
- Editor and writer with a drive to hold industry and government accountable for their roles in the climate crisis—and helping ordinary people navigate a climate-changed future.
- History and art nerd at heart, always excited to look into the past to see how we can challenge today’s problems.
- Previous reporting experience on science, health, technology, and environment at NPR, Insider, and Durham, NC’s IndyWeek.
Experience
Sara Kiley started freelancing as a science and tech journalist in her home state of North Carolina while a junior in college and hasn’t slowed down since. Beyond journalism, Sara Kiley has studied energy policy and technology in the US, Spain, Germany and the UK. While glad to investigate the wonkiest energy policy and EPA regulations, she is happiest when making climate solutions make sense for ordinary people—and calling out greenwashing across all sectors. She has been featured on podcasts such as “American Innovation” and “The Right Time with Bomani Jones.”
Education
Sara Kiley holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and a Master of Arts in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Favorite weird science fact
Back in the 1950s, cats were literally parachuted onto a remote island as a form of public health intervention. She talked about it on PopSci’s podcast The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week.
Notable Work
- 4 new myths about climate change—and how to debunk them Popular Science
- If climate change is impacting your desire to have kids, you’re not alone Popular Science
- What is ‘degrowth’ and how can it fight climate change? Popular Science
- Kids are suffering from climate anxiety. It’s time for adults to do something. Popular Science
- Thrift shopping is an environmental and ethical trap Popular Science
- Portfolio Sara Kiley Watson