Jennifer Biddle

Science and health writer, editor, and video producer

I’m a science and health writer, editor, and video producer working in digital media for the UC Davis Environmetal Health Sciences Center.  My most recent big project is the Emmy-nominated documentary "Waking Up to Wildfires," which focuses on the ways wildfires are affecting the health of communities in Northern California.

I came up with the idea for the project after reading several scientific papers predicting wildfires in Northern California would grow more severe and devastating with climate change. The National Institutes of Health funded the project, and I hired a San Francisco-based filmmaker to help produce the documentary. We travelled almost 2,000 miles together over six months, interviewing survivors, firefighters, scientists, mental health experts, and housing advocates to find out how people were recovering from the 2017 North Bay wildfires. Just weeks after our film wrapped, the Camp Fire erupted. 

The film screened to a sold-out audience of survivors and community members in Sonoma, CA in 2018, Cal Fire used it in a suicide prevention program, and the National Academies of Sciences featured it in their proceedings. The documentary is in syndication on PBS through 2021. 

Articles

Suicide Stories Part 1: Gulliver

<p>Although teen suicide attempts have declined gradually since the 1990s, death by suicide has risen 8 percent among teenagers, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, it’s the third leading cause of death for teens between the ages of 15 and 19. While each suicide is a unique story, there is a common thread: More than 90 percent of teens who kill themselves show signs of major depression or another mental illness in the year prior to their deaths.

Suicide Stories Part 2: Solace Amid Sorrow

<p>Although teen suicide attempts have declined gradually since the 1990s, death by suicide has risen 8 percent among teenagers, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, it’s the third leading cause of death for teens between the ages of 15 and 19. While each suicide is a unique story, there is a common thread: More than 90 percent of teens who kill themselves show signs of major depression or another mental illness in the year prior to their deaths.