Knight Science Journalism at MIT

Last week, we gathered MIT leaders and faculty, former KSJ directors, and journalists including current and former fellows to celebrate the life and legacy of Victor McElheny. There were dozens in attendance, including three generations of McElheny’s family. Read more from KSJ director Usha Lee McFarling:

At Victor McElheny Luncheon, Luminaries Reflect on KSJ Founder’s Life and Legacy - Knight Science Journalism @MIT The event featured a panel discussion marking 25 years since the signature achievement of the Human Genome Project, which revolutionized biology and captivated McElheny as a reporter.

Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum joined the Knight Science Journalism program this spring for a seminar on covering the Amazon from inside it.

Brum founded SUMAÚMA, a trilingual outlet built around local and Indigenous reporters covering the Amazon, the Cerrado, and biomes the rest of the press treats as periphery. She received the Maria Moors Cabot Prize from Columbia University in 2021 and was named Prospect magazine's World's Top Thinker of 2025.

📸: Photo: Sumaúma, Lela Beltrão — 2026

Sarah McBride has built her career on finding the human stories behind Silicon Valley’s biggest technologies. McBride is now at MIT, where she is a 2025–26 Knight Science Journalism Fellow. In an interview edited for length and clarity, we spoke with her about her path to journalism, navigating hype cycles, and finding the human elements of technology stories.

Sarah McBride, on Unearthing Human Stories in Silicon Valley The KSJ Fellow and former Bloomberg reporter reflects on skepticism, storytelling, and sourcing on a fast-evolving business beat.