Bennet Logan

Editorial Research & Writing

Editorial Research Manager at National Geographic. Essayist. Former fact-checker at Spotify.
National Geographic Lapham's Quarterly The Snowboarder's Journal
About

Research, writing, and editorial judgment for high-stakes nonfiction.

Bennet Logan is an Editorial Research Manager at National Geographic, where he leads research and editorial standards on feature documentaries and series for Disney+ and Hulu. Recent projects include Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time (Disney+'s #1 documentary), Ocean with David Attenborough, Sally, Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston (releasing on Disney+ July 23), Tucci in Italy, Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory, and an upcoming Everest film from Oscar-winning director Jimmy Chin.

His work spans the editorial spine of nonfiction production: verifying historical and scientific claims, vetting expert voices, navigating sensitivity around contested topics, and partnering with directors and showrunners on editorial decisions in the edit. On Hurricane Katrina, he managed research across 5 episodes, working through 20 years of government documents, survivor testimony, and scientific data to land a film that became Disney+'s #1 documentary.

Before National Geographic, he was a fact-checker at Spotify, where he verified 30+ podcast episodes a month under daily deadlines. Earlier work spans operations for a music festival founded by professional snowboarders, terrain park construction at Aspen/Snowmass, and editorial roles at literary magazines in New York.

He's also a writer. He's published essays in The Snowboarder's Journal, built historical visualizations for Lapham's Quarterly, and wrote a daily newsletter to 30,000+ subscribers on topics ranging from science and tech to sports and breaking political news. His editorial interests run toward environmental and scientific writing, contested histories, expedition and adventure narratives, and projects that require both rigor and care around sensitive subjects.

Selected Writing

Essays and editorial

Narrative nonfiction with an eye for place, history, and the human relationship to complex systems — natural, technical, and political.

The Snowboarder's Journal · Print

Frying Pan Fixations

A meditation on Colorado's Hunter-Frying Pan Wilderness, where golden fall leaves and high-altitude fungi share the forest with abandoned 1800s logging camps. An exploration of impermanence, beauty, and what mountains remember.

View Issue →
Lapham's Quarterly

Historical Visualizations

Contributed historical data visualizations to Lapham's Quarterly, the literary magazine where each issue arranges centuries of writing around a single theme.

Finding a Common Enemy → Going Native →
Daily Newsletter

30,000+ Subscribers

Wrote a daily newsletter for 30,000+ subscribers, covering topics that ranged from science and tech to sports and breaking political news. A working practice in pacing, voice, and the discipline of writing every day for a real audience.

Capabilities

Editorial work, in the language of how it's actually done.

A relabeling of the work I do every day at National Geographic and in my own writing.

Editorial Research

  • Historical and scientific source verification
  • Expert vetting and interview preparation
  • Archival research and document retrieval
  • Working closely with technical authors
  • Fact-checking at series scale
  • Standards and editorial process design

Writing & Editing

  • Long-form essay and narrative nonfiction
  • Editorial review and structural notes
  • Copyediting and line editing
  • Voice and tone development
  • Translating complex material for general audiences
  • Editorial direction for visual and data-driven work

Sensitivity & Judgment

  • Cultural and geopolitical sensitivity review
  • Risk assessment for contested content
  • Source ethics and consent
  • Editorial judgment around contested histories
  • Working under public scrutiny and deadline
  • Standards and practices liaison
Selected Credits

Documentary work

All projects as Editorial Research Manager, National Geographic.

Project Role Network Year
Untitled Everest film (Jimmy Chin, dir.) Editorial Research Manager National Geographic / Disney+ Forthcoming
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time Editorial Research Manager National Geographic / Disney+ 2025
Ocean with David Attenborough Editorial Research Manager National Geographic / Disney+ 2025
Sally Editorial Research Manager National Geographic / Disney+ 2025
9/11 Reunited Editorial Research Manager National Geographic / Disney+ 2026
Tucci in Italy Editorial Research Manager National Geographic / Disney+ 2025 – 2026
Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory Editorial Research Manager National Geographic / Disney+ 2025 – 2026
Pompeii: Out of Time (with Tom Hiddleston) Editorial Research Manager National Geographic / Disney+ 2026
Featured Work

Selected projects in detail

Courtesy of National Geographic

Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time

Led editorial research across the series, working through 20 years of government documents, survivor testimony, and scientific data. The series launched as Disney+'s #1 documentary.

Watch on Disney+ →
Courtesy of National Geographic

Sally

Led research on the feature about Sally Ride — America's first woman in space, pioneering physicist, and LGBTQ+ icon — verifying the historical and scientific record across her career and personal life.

Watch on Disney+ →
Courtesy of National Geographic

Ocean with David Attenborough

Led research on a landmark environmental film with the legendary naturalist, verifying scientific claims across ocean ecosystems, climate change impact, and marine conservation.

Watch on Disney+ →
Courtesy of National Geographic

Pompeii: Out of Time

Led editorial research on the upcoming feature with Tom Hiddleston, verifying the archaeological, historical, and volcanological record around one of the ancient world's most-studied catastrophes. Releasing on Disney+ July 23, 2026.

Watch on Disney+ →
50+
Episodes of source material managed simultaneously
#1
Disney+ documentary
30+
Podcast episodes fact-checked monthly at Spotify
30k+
Daily newsletter subscribers
Currently

Available

Open to editorial, research, and writing roles — staff or freelance — with a particular interest in environmental and scientific writing, historical narrative, sensitive or contested subjects, and editorial work that requires both rigor and care.

Also available for bounded project work: editorial review, fact-checking at scale, and sensitivity consultation.

Best reached at bennlogan@gmail.com  ·  LinkedIn