Chris Mooney (journalist)
A sharp-witted journalist who mapped the political trenches where scientific evidence is contested, winning a Pulitzer for his climate reporting.
Born 1977 (age 49)·American journalist and author·Birthday: September 20·Generation X
Biography
Chris Mooney, born in 1977, carved out a unique beat at the messy crossroads of science, politics, and public understanding. After studying at Yale and the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley, he didn't just report on science; he investigated why people reject it. His 2005 book, 'The Republican War on Science', was a polemical landmark that framed a national conversation about the ideological filtering of facts. Mooney's writing, often for The Washington Post and Mother Jones, dissected the mechanics of climate denial and anti-evolution movements with a reporter's rigor and a polemicist's edge. His work evolved from diagnosing the problem to exploring the cognitive biases that make us susceptible to misinformation. In 2020, this focus culminated in a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for a series that made the staggering scale and urgency of climate change viscerally clear.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Chris was born in 1977, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Chris Was Born
The biggest hits of 1977
#1 Movie
Star Wars
Best Picture
Annie Hall
#1 TV Show
Happy Days
Chris's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1977Born
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1982Started school
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1990Became a teenager
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1993Could drive
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1995Could vote
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
1998Turned 21
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2007Turned 30
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 40
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 49 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authored the influential 2005 book 'The Republican War on Science', which critically examined the politicization of scientific research.
- Won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for a Washington Post series on climate change.
- Served as a professor of journalism at the University of Virginia, teaching science and political communication.
- Wrote 'The Republican Brain', a book exploring the psychological roots of political differences on science.
Did You Know?
He was a 2012-13 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
Mooney also hosted the 'Inquiring Minds' podcast for several years.
He graduated from Yale University with a degree in English.
“We are all, to some extent, victims of our own biases and motivated reasoning.”
