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Nsikan Akpan
Articles by Nsikan Akpan
Nsikan Akpan
Nsikan is the former editor of the health and science desk at WNYC/Gothamist. Nsikan was previously at National Geographic where he worked as a science editor, overseeing its COVID-19 coverage in addition to other topics in science, health and technology. Before National Geographic, he worked for more than four years at PBS NewsHour, where he co-created an award-winning video series named ScienceScope. He shared a 2020 Emmy for the PBS NewsHour series “Stopping a Killer Pandemic” and in 2019 received a George Foster Peabody Award for the PBS NewsHour series “The Plastic Problem.” Nsikan has also worked for NPR, Science News Magazine, Science Magazine, KUSP Central Coast Public Radio, the Santa Cruz Sentinel and as a writer at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University. He holds a doctorate in pathobiology from Columbia University and is an alum of the science communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
News
What Bronx bodegas are saying about trash pickup times and bacon, egg and cheese prices
The third installment of our community survey pilot dove into how the shops and their customers were adjusting to new trash pickup times and this year’s slate of environmental disasters.
By
Nsikan Akpan
,
Elizabeth Alcántara
,
Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein
,
Melina Sherman
,
Shaun Field
and
Josefa Velásquez
News
She felt ‘like a human septic tank.’ Do loopholes let doctors go unreported after allegations?
Patient safety experts are concerned that loopholes in the federal system for physician oversight allow some doctors with questionable track records to avoid further scrutiny.
By
Karen Shakerdge
,
Nsikan Akpan
and
Christopher Werth
News
‘No idea what he had done to me’: After OB-GYN lost his NY license, allegations continued in other states
Dr. Thomas J. Byrne was stripped of medical license in New York in 1991. Records show the Oklahoma medical board initially denied him a license to practice. Months later, it reversed that decision.
By
Karen Shakerdge
,
Nsikan Akpan
and
Christopher Werth
News
Patients were injured, died under care of NY doctor. He moved to New Mexico and kept practicing.
A New York state investigation in the 1990s found that 11 patients, including five newborns, had been harmed while under the care of an OB-GYN named Thomas J. Byrne. Health officials revoked his license. How was he able to keep practicing elsewhere?
By
Karen Shakerdge
,
Nsikan Akpan
and
Christopher Werth
News
One doctor’s decadeslong trail of injured women, babies began in New York
Part 1 of Imminent Danger, a five-part investigative series, examines the track record of one OB-GYN across several states and what it says about how doctors are vetted before being allowed to see patients.
By
Karen Shakerdge
,
Nsikan Akpan
and
Christopher Werth
News
Why it rained so hard Friday: Ophelia returned to hit NYC with an Ida-level storm
Meteorologists explain the weird sequence of weather and climate conditions that led to Friday’s deluge, as environmental experts warn the fallout could last for days due to sewage overflows.
By
Rosemary Misdary
,
Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky
and
Nsikan Akpan
News
Tropical Storm Ophelia on track to blow through NYC, NJ – like a hurricane but ‘cooler’
Tree branches will be a major threat, along with riptides, storm surge and rain.
By
Nsikan Akpan
News
When should NYC worry about Lee’s path? Making sense of hurricane forecasts.
Gothamist looks at why hurricane season is suddenly popping off and whether they need to start preparing for Hurricane Lee.
By
Nsikan Akpan
News
No swimming at some NY beaches due to hurricane rip tides, high surf. Will they open by Labor Day?
The choppy water is due to hurricanes Franklin and Idalia — even though neither storm is due to come within hundreds of miles of New York waterways.
By
Nsikan Akpan
News
Why your Con Ed bill rose this month — and how it’s only the beginning
Laurie Wheelock, executive director of the Public Utility Law Project of New York, explains why Con Ed is able to increase rates and what residents can do to lower their electric bills.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
,
Sean Carlson
and
Nsikan Akpan
News
Encuesta a bodegas del Bronx: el precio del sándwich de tocino, huevo y queso se mantiene alto
La mayoría de clientes repiten quejas sobre el alza del delito y los investigadores observan un episodio de hurto a la tienda, “shoplifting”, mientras realizan la encuesta.
By
Nsikan Akpan
,
Elizabeth Alcántara
,
Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein
,
Shaun Field
,
Sindy Nanclares
and
Josefa Velásquez
News
Bronx bodega survey: Bacon, egg and cheese prices remained high
Most customers also echoed previous sentiments that crime was on the rise, and while conducting the surveying, researchers recorded an episode of shoplifting in real time.
By
Nsikan Akpan
,
Elizabeth Alcántara
,
Jena Barchas-Lichtenstein
,
Shaun Field
and
Josefa Velásquez
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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