Bina Venkataraman

Bina Venkataraman is an American journalist, author, and policy expert. She is currently the Editorial Page Editor of The Boston Globe and a fellow at New America. Since 2011, she has taught in the program on science, technology, and society at MIT. She is the author of The Optimist’s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age (Riverhead, 2019), named a top business book by The Financial Times and a best book of the year by Amazon, Science Friday, and National Public Radio.

Bina formerly served as Senior Advisor for Climate Change Innovation in the Obama White House and advised the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in responding to the Ebola epidemic, promoting patient access to cancer therapies, and reforming public school science education.

Bina is a frequent public speaker whose appearances have included the TED mainstage, NPR, Aspen Ideas, MSNBC, and university campuses around the world. She is an alumna of Brown University and Harvard’s Kennedy School. She grew up in a small town in Ohio and has lived and worked in Mexico, Vietnam, India, Guatemala, Cuba and Alaska. She now lives in greater Boston.