Michael Riordan

Posting Citizen Journalist • Eastsound, WA • Member since Nov 25, 2016

Michael Riordan writes about science, technology and public policy from Orcas Island, where he lives and kayaks. He holds a PhD degree in physics from MIT, having worked on the experiments that led to the discovery of quarks. He has taught courses about the history of physics and technology at Stanford University and UC Santa Cruz. He is author of "The Hunting of the Quark" as well as coauthor of "The Solar Home Book", "Crystal Fire", "The Shadows of Creation", and — most recently —"Tunnel Visions: The Rise and Fall of the Superconducting Super Collider" (Chicago, 2015). Riordan has published articles and essays in "The New York Times", "Washington Post", "San Francisco Chronicle", "Seattle Times", "Harvard Business Review" and "Technology Review". A Guggenheim Fellow and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, he was awarded the 2002 Andrew Gemant Award by the American Institute of Physics in recognition of his efforts communicating physics and its wider cultural implications. His book "The Hunting of the Quark" is available at: http://plunkettlakepress.com/hoq.html

Articles by Michael Riordan

Delta Blues

By Michael RiordanOn Oct 25, 2021

The first hint that I might have the dreaded Covid disease came at 7:30 pm on Monday, September 20, when I felt flush in the face and my temperature rose to 98.4 degrees. [...]

Variant Virus Strains Hit the County

By Michael RiordanOn May 08, 2021

Across the northern tier of Whatcom County, there were substantially higher rates of coronavirus infections than in Bellingham during April, according to recent data from the county health department. From [...]

A Variant Virus Outbreak in Whatcom County?

By Michael RiordanOn Mar 12, 2021

According to recent data from the Washington state Department of Health, a serious outbreak of the B.1.1.7 coronavirus strain occurred in Whatcom County during February, about a month earlier than [...]

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Recent comments

"This DCE phenomenon may (or may not) be related to my experience with “upcoding” at Peace Health/St. Joe’s, which charged Medicare $346.00 for a 15-minute follow-up [...]

Aug 22, 2022 on
Grand Theft - Medicare

"Aw c’mon, Dick, please give your avid readers (myself included) the benefit of your 30 years experience working with classified materials and your writerly abilities. We want to hear what [...]

Aug 15, 2022 on
CONFIDENTIAL. SECRET. TOP SECRET. That's it!

"Easy, Dick. Government officials from the DHHS versus Medicare Advantage plan employees. But in cases of appeal, which I am currently doing, Medicare apparently offloads the responsibility of at least [...]

Aug 15, 2022 on
Medicare Advantage. The Government Wants Your Comments.

"One of the big concerns about Medicare advantage plans here in the islands is the possibility that they could deny coverage for an emergency helicopter or plane flight to a [...]

Aug 14, 2022 on
Medicare Advantage. The Government Wants Your Comments.

"Here’s a few important questions you may be able to help with. What procedures does a president have to follow in order to declassify a document or set of [...]

Aug 14, 2022 on
CONFIDENTIAL. SECRET. TOP SECRET. That's it!