Jacob Mikanowski is a freelance science journalist, critic, writer, and historian. His academic background is in Eastern European history. He writes about art, books, movies, ancient history, anthropology, and food, and is interested in the intersection of science and the humanities.Mikanowski's work has has appeared in The Atlantic, Aeon, Cabinet, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Guardian, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Point, The Awl, Atlas Obscura, Slate, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. His first book, "Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land," was published in 2023.