See my most recent work at Grist
A crucial climate mystery is just under our feet
My deep dive on international development and conservation
That time I almost became vice president
How do we feed ourselves without ruining everything?
48 hours that changed the future of rainforests
Healthier Births and Babies—With Midwives
Essay: Modern American obstetrics is great at reacting to catastrophe, but less skilled at preventing it
Forget the placebo effect: It’s the ‘Care Effect’ that matters
His Magic Elixir
Dr. Alex Hughes thinks he can make you smarter, thinner, and less hungover by injecting water with ingredients he found in the hospital. But his company, Function Drinks, first has to fight for shelf space amid all the other health drinks promising miracle cures.
Act One: In Iowa, No One Can Hear You Squeal
From the 2007 Showtime television season on the struggle to make the perfect pig.
The Life and Times of Theresa Sparks
A former oilman, CEO, police commissioner, and butt of Jay Leno’s jokes, the groundbreaking activist is now San Francisco’s most electrifying political candidate since Harvey Milk.
Stung From Behind
Distracted by a mysterious rash of dying bees, researchers may be overlooking a more insidious pollinator crisis. It has little to do with bees and everything to do with booming markets for raspberries, pears, and chocolate.
As early elective births increase so do health risks for mother, child
For-profit hospitals performing more C-sections
More women dying from pregnancy complications; state holds on to report
The Revolution will not be Pasteurized
Inside the raw-milk underground
Swine of the Times
The making of the modern pig
Faure’s Requiem Performed for All Souls
Grace Cathedral in San Francisco performed Gabriel Faure’s Requiem on Veterans Day, and broke with tradition, dedicating the music not just to fallen soldiers, but to all souls.
So You Think You Can Dance ‘The Nutcracker’
At this time of year, Messiah singalongs are traditional. Move over Handel, it’s time to grab your tutu and dance along to The Nutcracker. And that’s just what they did earlier this month in San Francisco, where the audience got to participate — preferably in costume.
Taking Real Estate to a New Dimension
How Walkable is Your Neighborhood?
A magazine article as live performance, delivered April 22, 2009, at Pop-Up #1 in San Francisco.