Stuff I’ve written

I’ve written print and web features, reported pieces, essays and reviews, mostly about science (geology degree), books (nearsighted bookworm), and nerd stuff (raging nerd). Also, poop jokes.junk divider

Web Reporting

“It’s Too Late to Save the Glaciers, but Scientists Are Saving Some Pieces in an Antarctic Vault,” WIRED

“How Climate Change Will Redraw Louisiana’s Flood Maps,” WIRED

“Scientists Are Using Tarantula Venom to Learn How Your Body Hurts,” WIRED

“Why Frozen Sperm Can’t Save Earth’s Imperiled Species–Yet,” WIRED

“A Natural History of That Little Yellow Flower That’s Everywhere Right Now,” Bay Nature

Book Reviews

SF Chronicle: Bleaker House by Nell Stevens

Sierra: The Secret Lives of Bats by Merlin Tuttle

Sierra: Among the Bone Eaters by Marcus Baynes-Rock

Sierra: Cowed by Denis Hayes and Gail Boyer Hayes

Since February 2017, I’ve been a reviewer for Kirkus Indie, contributing unsigned, bi-weekly reviews of self-published books–some more delightful than others.

And if you’d like to see some of my unedited ramblings about the books I read, visit my (as of now sparse) book review blog.

Nerd Stuff

periodic_table proteins

WIRED: “Know Your Meat—and Bugs. Introducing the Periodic Table of Protein.” For WIRED’s August 2016 food issue, I trawled through the USDA’s nutritional database to create a full-spread periodic table of proteins, categorizing everything from Nutella to Soylent by protein content. (Designed by Keirnan Monaghan and Theo Vamvounakis.)

WIRED’s What’s Inside: This print magazine column delves into the chemistry of everyday objects including Tide Pens, Scotch Magic Tape, and lithium-ion batteries.

“Looking Up,” University of Chicago Magazine: An essay in which I wax sentimental about the summer I spent hunting gargoyles at my alma mater.

Features

WIRED: “Meet the Heroes Fueling the New American Space Boom,” November 2016. For WIRED’s Obama-edited issue, I interviewed seven inspiring, diverse workers in the new space industry about their jobs and what they see as the future of spaceflight. Photographed by Dan Winters.

Bay Nature: “A Tern for the Better,” July/September 2016. A look at Hayward’s Tern Island, a manmade, painstakingly maintained least tern colony that’s ground zero for the return of the endangered bird to the Bay Area.

California: “Giving Credence: Why is So Much Reported Science Wrong, and What Can Fix That?,” Winter 2015.

Bay Nature: “The Randall Museum Closes for a Makeover, and the Animals Get a Big Adventure,” 7/1/15. On San Francisco’s adorably janky children’s nature museum.

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For the determined Internet stalker, find a more comprehensive list of articles here.