Skip to main content
Headshot of Dean Russell

Dean Russell

Senior Producer, WBUR Podcasts

Dean Russell is a senior producer for WBUR Podcasts. Russell is an award-winning journalist covering science, health, technology and equity.

His work has been published by the Center for Public Integrity, Grist, Hakai Magazine, The Guardian, The Nation, NPR, Mother Jones, Smithsonian, The Texas Tribune, Type Investigations and others.

He was an editor for THE CITY's "MISSING THEM" project to document COVID-19's effect on communities in New York City. He was also a '20 Columbia Journalism Investigations fellow and an associate producer for NPR and WBUR's Here & Now and WBUR's On Point.

He also wrote and reported for "MISSING THEM," which received the News Leaders Association's 2021 Punch Sulzberger Innovator of the Year Award and ONA's 2021 Knight Award for Public Service. His investigation of a New York State-run nursing home earned an EPPY award for best collaborative investigation in 2021.

His reporting for the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations' series "Hidden Epidemics" helped earn first prize for for investigative journalism in the Society of Professional Journalists, D.C. Chapter, 2021 Dateline awards, and for public-health reporting in the 2020 Association of Health Care Journalists awards.

In 2019, he earned a master of arts degree in science reporting from Columbia Journalism School.​

Recently published

10 | Hide

10 | Hide

Joule jumps into the slime pile to avoid getting speared. Smart. But unexpected news threatens her plans, and she seeks advice from a Scottish guy who reads a lot.

20:28Apr 22, 2026

Support WBUR

8 | Find the Warden

8 | Find the Warden

Chaos erupts at the Bunker Hill Work Camp for a Brighter Future, but Joule is on a mission. Finally, someone hears her out. Be Bright, be right!

15:41Apr 22, 2026
7 | Get to the Copter

7 | Get to the Copter

She haz to get to zee copter! Joule ditches the kid and goes after the flying thing with chrome tentacles. She meets someone without a head, and then gets herself...

15:30Apr 22, 2026
6 | Make for the Marsh

6 | Make for the Marsh

Electricity never felt so scary. With Bright’s shockbolting tins in hot pursuit, Joule and the others flee Mud Market, but will they make it to the marsh in time? More...

17:49Apr 22, 2026
5 | Stand Up

5 | Stand Up

Psh! Seaweed? No thanks. Joule introduces herself to Buggy’s sibling, who is ... moody. Then an old lady gives a math quiz.

19:47Apr 22, 2026
4 | Chase the Kid

4 | Chase the Kid

The weird boy disappears into the fog, an epic chase ensues, and Joule gets a tour of Intertidal Sacrifice Zone #617. She spots a duck.

19:10Apr 22, 2026
Listen Live