About Miles @milesobrien
Miles O’Brien is veteran, independent journalist who focuses on science, technology and aerospace.
He is the science correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, a producer and director for the PBS science documentary series NOVA, and a correspondent for the PBS documentary series FRONTLINE and the National Science Foundation Science Nation series.
For nearly seventeen of his thirty-two years in the news business, he worked for CNN as the science, environment and aerospace space correspondent and the anchor of various programs, including American Morning.
While at CNN, he secured a deal with NASA to become the first journalist to fly on the space shuttle. The project ended with the loss of Columbia and her crew in 2003 – a story he told to the world in a critically acclaimed sixteen-hour marathon of live coverage.
Prior to joining CNN, he worked as a reporter at television stations in Boston, Tampa, Albany, NY and St. Joseph, MO. He began his television career as a desk assistant at WRC-TV in Washington, DC.
O’Brien is an accomplished aviator and aircraft owner who often pilots his airplane to assignments, and is frequently called upon to explain the world of aviation to a mass audience.
He has won numerous awards over the years, including a half-dozen Emmys, and a Peabody and DuPont for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
Born in Detroit and raised in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, he is based in Washington, DC. He has a son at the US Naval Academy and a daughter at Davidson College in North Carolina. He was a history major at Georgetown University.
Miles’s Recent Stories
Politics Sep 24
Trump says voting by mail isn’t reliable. What does the evidence show?President Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transition of power is tied to his criticism and false statements about voting by mail, which is expected to reach record levels in this election. Trump insists it can't be trusted --…
Health Jul 22
What we know about the search for a COVID-19 vaccine — and what we don’tThe question of when a COVID-19 vaccine might be available is perhaps the most pressing in the world. There have been a number of recent headlines on this front, including early but encouraging results from trials. And on Wednesday, the…
Science Jul 08
Companies race to mine lithium, a battery essentialThe metal lithium has become integral to our daily lives, due to its essential role as a battery material in electronic devices. Over the next several decades, the rising popularity of electric vehicles is expected to mean the demand for…
Health Jul 01
How doctors are innovating to treat COVID-19One of the reasons COVID-19 presents such a significant global medical challenge is that there are few effective therapies for it so far. As cases fill hospital beds across many parts of the country, doctors and scientists are coming up…
Politics Jun 22
In Georgia, primary election chaos highlights a voting system deeply flawedGeorgia experienced major problems with its voting processes during a primary election earlier in June. People waited in line up to eight hours to cast ballots, and poll workers struggled with new machines on which they hadn’t been trained due…
Science May 26
How Elon Musk’s SpaceX is changing American space flightIt has been nearly a decade since an American space crew last lifted off from U.S. soil in a spacecraft built here. That's expected to change Wednesday afternoon with the relaunch of manned space flight. But the occasion will be…
Science May 20
What computer-based models can tell us about coronavirus — and what they can’tFor months, scientists and public officials have relied upon computer-based models to try to predict the trajectory or the coronavirus outbreak. But models are not crystal balls, and all of them involve human assumptions. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports on…
Health May 06
Are Americans in medical crisis avoiding the ER due to coronavirus?Since the coronavirus pandemic gripped the United States, Americans have been told to avoid emergency rooms and hospitals if possible. But now there are reports from across the country that suggest the warning may be in fact too effective, as…
Science Feb 19
A risky expedition to study the ‘doomsday glacier’The Thwaites Glacier is the largest, most menacing source of rising sea levels all over the world, and it is melting at an alarming rate. For years, scientists have warily watched it from afar, but in November, a team set…
World Feb 05
Australian bushfires prompt conversation about land management practicesBushfires are still burning in parts of Australia. So far this season, they have claimed the lives of more than 30 people and destroyed tens of millions of acres of land. The ensuing toll on forest and wildlife has prompted…
