LONG The UN's Death Squad Watchdog With few resources but the force of his title—UN Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial Executions—Philip Alston holds governments accountable for the politically motivated killings they commit or ignore. From Miller-McCune, May-June 2010. The West Without Coal This feature on efforts at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (and elsewhere) to get off coal power ran in the February 2010 issue of Sierra. The Trouble with Keith My Q&A with Keith Olbermann, breaking the story that he was pushing the network to be a liberal counterweight to Fox News, made Rush & Malloy, Fox News, Gawker and more. Replacing Tucker Carlson with Rachel Maddow affirmed this take. When Do We Stop Calling it Yoga? Cover story for The Los Angeles Times Magazine (before it became an arm of the publisher). Soy Story Debunker piece for July 2008 Bon Appetit about how soy is not necessarily the health food it's cracked up to be. Omega-3s and Me Another health feature for Bon Appetit, this ran in August 2008. Inside Blackwater Despite the byline, I wrote 2/3 of, and did nearly all the secondary reporting for, this 7500-word feature on the military contractor that ran in the December 2007 issue of Men's Journal. Brad Kessler Q&A Ever fantasize about trading your day job for the countryside? A Salon.com Q&A with novelist Brad Kessler on how he got away—and made cheese. Being a SAHD That's "stay-at-home-dad." An essay for the New York Daily News. Best part is the picture of Sabine. London Blitzed  The life and death of Michael Vermeulen, editor of British GQ, according to New York (1995). Click here for the full text as originally submitted. Robert Bingham  This profile of the author appeared in New York in 1997. An "A" in Abstractions A feature on assessment of the latest trend in education, 21st century skills. Is TV News The Scourge of God?  Cover story from Might on the horrendousness of local television news. (1996) Terminal Anxieties  May, 1997 news item in the LA Weekly on the chimerical quality of Internet riches. (Prescient? We post, you decide.) SHORT Who died for your cell phone? The link between consumer electronics and endangered gorillas, from Sierra, 2009. Got 5 hours to kill in Paris? Then click here. My whirlwind tour of the City of Lights for United's surprisingly good in-flight magazine. The Real MP3 Player  Pre-Napster piece on MP3.com in Wired’s April 1999 issue. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.04/mustread_pr.html Parlez-Vous F*** You?  “Cop Killer” controversy in France. (Vibe 1997) Slipping Past the Fact-Checkers  Brill’s Content’s angle on the Stephen Glass fiasco at The New Republic, from the debut issue, July 1998. With Lorne Manly. Talk Of The Town  The shortest in history? (1996) The Rap on The Source  On the end of editorial integrity at The Source, for Columbia Journalism Review. Industry To Might: Drop Dead  On the death of Might magazine, for Columbia Journalism Review, 1997. Surrender! Lay Down Your Arms! Hail Caesar!  A stunning guide to merging media megaliths, from Might. Accurate as of December 1996. Conceived by me, researched by Zev Borow, designed by David Moodie. Black Noise  Review of Tricia Rose's book on hip-hop, from the San Francisco Review of Books. Tortilla Curtain  Review of T.C. Boyle's novel "The Tortilla Curtain," from the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Social Distortion  A review of three reissued Social Distortion albums, from the defunct magazine Edging West (1995). I have written many, many record reviews, and this one is emblematic. Rollins-Rotten  Review of memoirs by two O.P.'s (Original Punksta's). (SF Weekly 1995) Turks vs. Armenians in San Francisco  From NPR’s “Morning Edition,” a commentary on a bizarre 1997 ballot measure. Listen to it. On the Death of Jerry Garcia  Commissioned for Monitor Radio by Trevor Nelson, who later became a producer for “60 Minutes,” this is a more sentimental treatment on the subject than that which truly reflects my feelings. But it was my first radio commentary gig, and I was happy to have it. (1995) HUMOR The Radar Guide to CIA Hospitality Zagat-style spoof on the CIA’s secret torture sites. Forthcoming from Gavin Menzies, author of 1421: The Year China Discovered America  Humor from McSweeneys.net. 10 Things  Short parody of the Maria Shriver book “Ten Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Went Out Into The Real World." Operating Instructions  Humor piece on the nightmare that is appliance manuals. From the book 101 Damnations. Buy it here. City Limits  Funny graphic piece on names of L.A. neighborhoods, from Los Angeles, 2001. Exposed!  Parody of a “shocking” “investigative” “article.” (From Might, 1995) ESSAYS Drop Me In The Water  A personal essay on epiphanies related to rafting the Colorado River that appeared in No Boundaries in 2002. Personal Essay on Work  All about my work, my dad, and my friend Trevor. Personal Essay on Food  A story about cooking and what it says about my love life. Personal Essay on Rituals  Me and the mall. Personal Essay on Travel  Essay about travel.

LONG

The UN's Death Squad Watchdog
With few resources but the force of his title—UN Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial Executions—Philip Alston holds governments accountable for the politically motivated killings they commit or ignore. From Miller-McCune, May-June 2010.

The West Without Coal
This feature on efforts at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (and elsewhere) to get off coal power ran in the February 2010 issue of Sierra.

The Trouble with Keith
My Q&A with Keith Olbermann, breaking the story that he was pushing the network to be a liberal counterweight to Fox News, made Rush & Malloy, Fox News, Gawker and more. Replacing Tucker Carlson with Rachel Maddow affirmed this take.

When Do We Stop Calling it Yoga?
Cover story for The Los Angeles Times Magazine (before it became an arm of the publisher).

Soy Story

Debunker piece for July 2008 Bon Appetit about how soy is not necessarily the health food it's cracked up to be.

Omega-3s and Me

Another health feature for Bon Appetit, this ran in August 2008.

Inside Blackwater
Despite the byline, I wrote 2/3 of, and did nearly all the secondary reporting for, this 7500-word feature on the military contractor that ran in the December 2007 issue of Men's Journal.

Brad Kessler Q&A

Ever fantasize about trading your day job for the countryside? A Salon.com Q&A with novelist Brad Kessler on how he got away—and made cheese.

Being a SAHD

That's "stay-at-home-dad." An essay for the New York Daily News. Best part is the picture of Sabine.

London Blitzed
The life and death of Michael Vermeulen, editor of British GQ, according to New York (1995). Click here for the full text as originally submitted.

Robert Bingham
This profile of the author appeared in New York in 1997.

An "A" in Abstractions
A feature on assessment of the latest trend in education, 21st century skills.

Is TV News The Scourge of God?
Cover story from Might on the horrendousness of local television news. (1996)

Terminal Anxieties
May, 1997 news item in the LA Weekly on the chimerical quality of Internet riches. (Prescient? We post, you decide.)

SHORT

Who died for your cell phone?

The link between consumer electronics and endangered gorillas, from Sierra, 2009.

Got 5 hours to kill in Paris? Then click here.

My whirlwind tour of the City of Lights for United's surprisingly good in-flight magazine.

The Real MP3 Player
Pre-Napster piece on MP3.com in Wired’s April 1999 issue.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.04/mustread_pr.html

Parlez-Vous F*** You?
“Cop Killer” controversy in France. (Vibe 1997)

Slipping Past the Fact-Checkers
Brill’s Content’s angle on the Stephen Glass fiasco at The New Republic, from the debut issue, July 1998. With Lorne Manly.

Talk Of The Town
The shortest in history? (1996)

The Rap on The Source
On the end of editorial integrity at The Source, for Columbia Journalism Review.

Industry To Might: Drop Dead
On the death of Might magazine, for Columbia Journalism Review, 1997.

Surrender! Lay Down Your Arms! Hail Caesar!
A stunning guide to merging media megaliths, from Might. Accurate as of December 1996. Conceived by me, researched by Zev Borow, designed by David Moodie.

Black Noise
Review of Tricia Rose's book on hip-hop, from the San Francisco Review of Books.

Tortilla Curtain
Review of T.C. Boyle's novel "The Tortilla Curtain," from the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Social Distortion
A review of three reissued Social Distortion albums, from the defunct magazine Edging West (1995). I have written many, many record reviews, and this one is emblematic.

Rollins-Rotten
Review of memoirs by two O.P.'s (Original Punksta's).
(SF Weekly 1995)

Turks vs. Armenians in San Francisco
From NPR’s “Morning Edition,” a commentary on a bizarre 1997 ballot measure. Listen to it.

On the Death of Jerry Garcia
Commissioned for Monitor Radio by Trevor Nelson, who later became a producer for “60 Minutes,” this is a more sentimental treatment on the subject than that which truly reflects my feelings. But it was my first radio commentary gig, and I was happy to have it. (1995)

HUMOR

The Radar Guide to CIA Hospitality
Zagat-style spoof on the CIA’s secret torture sites.

Forthcoming from Gavin Menzies, author of 1421: The Year China Discovered America
Humor from McSweeneys.net.

10 Things
Short parody of the Maria Shriver book “Ten Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Went Out Into The Real World."

Operating Instructions
Humor piece on the nightmare that is appliance manuals. From the book 101 Damnations. Buy it here.

City Limits
Funny graphic piece on names of L.A. neighborhoods, from Los Angeles, 2001.

Exposed!
Parody of a “shocking” “investigative” “article.” (From Might, 1995)

ESSAYS

Drop Me In The Water
A personal essay on epiphanies related to rafting the Colorado River that appeared in No Boundaries in 2002.

Personal Essay on Work
All about my work, my dad, and my friend Trevor.

Personal Essay on Food
A story about cooking and what it says about my love life.

Personal Essay on Rituals
Me and the mall.

Personal Essay on Travel
Essay about travel.