Penny Sarchet

Penny Sarchet leads digital journalism at New Scientist, overseeing the news, video and audience teams. She also co-hosts the New Scientist Weekly podcast and writes Wild Wild Life, New Scientist’s wildlife and nature newsletter. 

She holds a degree in biological sciences and a doctorate in plant genetics and development, both from the University of Oxford. She was previously a reporter at Research Fortnight and Research Europe, and her work has also been published by The Guardian, The Observer, BBC Science Focus, The Washington Post, Slate, The Sunday Telegraph and Times Higher Education.

She joined New Scientist in 2014 as a reporter specialising in the life sciences, biology, and biomedicine, with a particular interest in evolution and genetics. As News Editor, she ran New Scientist’s international news team from 2018 to 2022. Outside of New Scientist, she is a lifelong birdwatcher and co-hosts the podcast Bird Curious.