About
Erin Behan is a writer and editor based in Portland, Ore. For Popular Science, she reviews everyday electronic devices and tests them on her small brood of children (one teen and one grade-schooler) and pets (one very gregarious cat). She writes and edits for a variety of online publications and companies on a range of topics, including real estate investing, sportswear, home insurance, and food. For fun, she likes running in the PNW rain, practicing yoga at home, visiting friends in far-flung locales, and getting out into nature. She recently bought a 100-year-old house, which both terrifies and excites her.
Experience
Erin has been part of the PopSci team since 2021, when she first started reviewing electronics. Since then, she’s tested the types of gadgets that are on everyone’s Christmas lists and put them through the wringer against their claims of durability and quality. Erin started her editorial career writing obituaries and slaving over the copy desk at newspapers in Atlanta, Georgia, in the ’90s. She then spent a sizable chunk of her working life writing about and editing content on restaurants, bars, and other city sites for online city guides in Atlanta and New York City, including Citysearch, Zagat, and NewYork.com. A move to the West Coast pushed her into a freelancing career and had her editing travel content and writing about life in Los Angeles. She has also done copywriting work for a variety of major corporations. Erin enjoys volunteering at her children’s schools and with LA nonprofit WriteGirl.
Education
Erin graduated from Grove City College with a bachelor’s degree in English and from Georgia State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.
Highlights
- Inquisitive writer and editor who loves learning new things, writing, or editing these tidbits into fascinating content, and meeting new people along the way
- Failed perfectionist who is slowly coming into the beauty of how messy life can be (thanks, Covid)
- Past byliner for: Sundae, Farmers Insurance, LA Magazine, USA Today, LA Weekly, Vice, Rough Guides
Favorite weird science fact
Praying mantises are fascinating creatures. Not only do some female praying mantises bite the heads off their mates after sex, they are also strong and quick enough to catch and eat a hummingbird.
