Katie Worth

2021

An investigative journalist, who writes about science, politics, and their myriad intersections. She joined FRONTLINE in 2015 as the inaugural FRONTLINE-Columbia Tow Journalism Fellow, and in 2018 was selected as an O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism.

Why are so many American children learning so much misinformation about climate change?

Investigative reporter Katie Worth reviewed scores of textbooks, built a 50-state database, and traveled to a dozen communities to talk to children and teachers about what is being taught, and found a red-blue divide in climate education. More than one-third of young adults believe that climate change is not man-made, and science teachers who teach global warming are being contradicted by history teachers who tell children not to worry about it. Who has tried to influence what children learn, and how successful have they been? Worth connects the dots to find out how oil corporations, state legislatures, school boards, and textbook publishers sow uncertainty, confusion, and distrust about climate science. A thoroughly researched, eye-opening look at how some states do not want children to learn the facts about climate change.

Worth has worked on a number of FRONTLINE’s enterprise reporting projects, including “Framed for Murder by His Own DNA” and “Zika Uncontained.” She co-produced the cinematic interactive story “The Last Generation,” which won an Emmy for “Outstanding New Approaches: Documentary,” in addition to other awards. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, National Geographic, Slate, The Wall Street Journal and was included in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2016.