Wired Science

David Axelrod
Executive Producer, WIRED Science

David Axelrod, executive producer of WIRED Science, served as senior producer on the pilot and was part of the original team that developed the concept. He previously produced episodes of the PBS series Nova and American Experience. Additionally, he has produced documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic, Time-Life Television, Warner Bros., and The A&E Network. Axelrod won an Emmy® for the Nova special, “Galileo’s Battle for the Heavens,” and a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Screenplay for his Nova episode “The Search for Longitude.” Additionally, he received Emmy® nominations for "The Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine” for Nova, and the History of Rock ‘n Roll for Warner Bros.

Karen Robinson Hunte
Executive Producer for KCET, WIRED Science

Karen Robinson Hunte, executive producer for KCET, initiated the WIRED Science project and built the team that developed the concept. Additionally, she serves as KCET’s Executive Director, Program Development, overseeing the development and production of drama series, documentaries, public affairs programs and international co-productions for the national PBS schedule. Hunte also currently serves as Executive in Charge of Production on the award-winning late night PBS talk show, Tavis Smiley, and was a production executive on Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State. Additional credits include series producer on the drama anthology PBS Hollywood Presents and its productions of “The Old Settler,” starring Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad; “Collected Stories,” starring Linda Lavin; “Copenhagen,” starring Stephen Rea; “Cop Shop,” starring Richard Dreyfuss; and “The Gin Game,” starring Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke. Prior to joining KCET, Hunte worked in creative development at Out of the Blue Productions, You Go Boy Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures and Hollywood Pictures.

Melanie Cornwell
Executive Producer for WIRED, WIRED Science

Melanie Cornwell, executive producer for WIRED, was part of the original team that developed the WIRED Science concept. As editorial projects director for WIRED Magazine, she is responsible for developing Wired’s editorial content in forums beyond the magazine. She is the executive producer of a WIRED series of daily reports on CBS Radio News and served as executive producer on three documentaries about WIRED NextFest for the Discovery Channel. She has also developed and produced a wide range of events, including “A WIRED Town Hall on the Climate Crisis” with Al Gore, James Hansen, Laurie David and Lawrence Bender; “Who Owns Culture” with Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig; “I Heart Powerpoint” with David Byrne; “The Battle Over Books: Authors and Publishers Take On Google Book Search”; as well as a number of concerts featuring artists such as Byrne and Gilberto Gil, Brazilian Girls, Of Montreal, Jamie Lidell, Spank Rock, Girl Talk, and Joanna Newsom. In 1999, she created the annual WIRED Rave Awards, WIRED's celebration of the “People Changing Your Mind.” Prior to joining WIRED, she was an independent producer for a wide range of clients from tech and media companies to arts festivals, and produced feature news segments for television.