Articles by Senior Staff Writer Zoya Teirstein
Zoya Teirstein is a senior staff writer covering the impacts of climate change on human health. Her work can also be found in Rolling Stone, Wired, and the Associated Press. She has received awards from the Indigenous Journalists Association, the SEAL Awards, and the Society of Environmental Journalists, and completed reporting fellowships with SciLine, the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawai‘i, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Most recently, she was a 2022-2023 National Science-Health-Environment Reporting fellow.
All Articles
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As Helene’s immediate impacts recede, a public health threat rises
A shortage of potable water and the toxic stew of sewage and other pollutants the flood left behind has prompted a race to avert a public health crisis in North Carolina.
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How Helene changes the election
Hello, and welcome back to State of Emergency. My name is Zoya Teirstein. We’ve heard it time and again: Despite what the science says, climate change does not rank high among Americans’ priorities in the ballot box. When we launched this series in August, however, we made the case that climate disasters can influence voting […]
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Fact-checking the viral conspiracies in the wake of Hurricane Helene
Buoyed by firebrands like Alex Jones and Marjorie Taylor Greene, Helene stirred up a toxic stew of conspiracy theories and culture war politics.
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![Debris from a flood on the Rocky Broad River in Lake Lure, North Carolina, following Hurricane Helene.]()
![Debris from a flood on the Rocky Broad River in Lake Lure, North Carolina, following Hurricane Helene.]()
Flood-ravaged North Carolina races to restore voting access after Helene
With voting underway, election officials must mail new ballots and replace destroyed polling places.
