Staring down the ‘silent epidemic’ of myopia in children

Spinoff staff writer Shanti Mathias sat down to record a test pilot episode of Behind the Story two months ago, about her recent feature “Staring down the ‘silent epidemic’ of myopia in children”. Just last week, Shanti was awarded Best Emerging Journalist at the inaugural science journalism awards, for this particular story. The judges were impressed with how ‘on-the-scene’ the reporting was, including the voices of school students and the team running the vision-checking bus. A hugely deserving win and the perfect excuse to release the tapes. Shanti joins Madeleine Chapman on Behind the Story to talk about what she learned, the surprising lack of data available in New Zealand around our eyes, and some practical tips to keep your eyes stronger for longer. Stories discussed: Staring down the ‘silent epidemic’ of myopia in children