Melinda Wenner Moyer (@Lindy2350) is a science writer based in New York’s Hudson Valley. She is a visiting scholar at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and an Alicia Patterson fellow. Moyer writes a column for Slate and is a contributing editor at Scientific American. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, Mother Jones, and a number of women’s magazines.
Melinda Wenner Moyer
From this contributor
When autistic people commit sexual crimes
Many first-time sex offenders on the spectrum may not understand the laws they break. How should their crimes be treated?
When autistic people commit sexual crimes
By
Melinda Wenner Moyer
17 July 2019 | 19 min read
How pregnancy may shape a child’s autism
Autism is predominantly genetic in origin, but a growing list of prenatal exposures for mother and baby may sway the odds.
How pregnancy may shape a child’s autism
By
Melinda Wenner Moyer
5 December 2018 | 17 min read
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This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli
A 1960s study by Kelleher and Morse found that lever pressing in squirrel monkeys depended not on whether they received a reward or shock, but on the rules of the task. This taught Calipari to think deeply about factors that influence how behavior is generated and maintained.
This paper changed my life: Erin Calipari ponders the nuances of rewarding and aversive stimuli
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By
Erin Calipari
14 April 2026 | 5 min read