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Scroll down for examples of my writing for various publications, for both digital and print.

Fast Company

Fast Company •

How Shirley Temple became the flavor of 2025

When Ben Stiller goes out to dinner, he drinks between one and three Shirley Temples. Stiller’s isn’t the only soda company suddenly flirting with the Shirley Temple. In the past year, soda powerhouses and drink disruptors from 7UP and Gatorade to Spindrift and Bloom Pop have debuted Shirley Temple products. Even frozen yogurt chain 16 Handles got into the game.But a fully-grown adult ordering a classic child’s beverage can elicit funny looks. So, to help cut the stigma, and the sugar, the actor...
Fast Company •

Inside ‘Elvis Evolution’: AI and immersive tech bring the King’s life to the stage in London

Stage fright is not a term you’d associate with Elvis Presley, but in 1968 he was all shook up—with nerves. Ahead of his make-or-break “comeback special” after years floundering in Hollywood, the King had cold feet. He told the special’s director, Steve Binder, he was “terrified,” adding, “I don’t know if I can do this . . . just me and a guitar in front of people?” He half-joked to his entourage about retreating to Hawaii.

Stage fright is not a term you’d associate with Elvis Presley, but in 1...
Fast Company •

Michigan’s auto industry is poised for an EV revival. Would a Trump presidency slam the brakes?

In September, the late-teen students were a few weeks into a 68-day program to become controls technicians: employees who install, maintain, and repair robotics and automation systems in plants, especially those for electric vehicles. The program switches between classroom instruction and hands-on work in a lab: a replica of the nearby assembly plant of Stellantis, one of the Big Three U.S. automakers that produces Chryslers, Jeeps, and Rams.Isiah Pennell was inspired by his father, who works at...
Fast Company •

Why Satya Nadella and other tech titans are betting on cricket to become a new American pastime

Cricket may be the second most-watched sport in the world, but witnessing it being played in front of 14,000 fans on Long Island is nonetheless peculiar. The United States is not a cricketing nation, to put it mildly. Cricket didn’t even register on a recent Gallup poll of Americans’ favorite sports to watch, lagging behind bowling, wrestling, and rodeo.

Cricket may be the second most-watched sport in the world, but witnessing it being played in front of 14,000 fans on Long Island is nonetheles...
Fast Company •

The new CEO of 'The Onion' is bringing back ‘the good internet.’ Here's how

Last month, he got a new job. He’s now CEO of the 36-year-old news parody publication The Onion, which he and three associates swiftly wrested from holding company G/O Media after watching the once-revered title, founded in 1988 by two University of Wisconsin students, go neglected.Since making the switch, he’s much happier, as is clear on a recent Zoom call, when he sarcastically boasts that he will earn at least $50 million as CEO. Dialing in from his new home base of Chicago, where The Onion...
Fast Company •

Why you’re about to see more CFOs in charge of corporate sustainability goals

For more than a decade, the biggest companies in the world, from Coca-Cola to AT&T , have had chief sustainability officers on staff. Part of the CSOs’ job has included running various pilot programs—whether producing a few thousand gallons of sustainable aviation fuel or replacing 20 trucks in a city with cargo bikes.

Now, businesses want to scale and speed up these innovations, realizing that integrating ESG (environmental, social, and governance issues) into everyday practices has proven to
Fast Company •

Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature turn their ‘anti-woke’ agenda on lab-grown meat

If anyone thought Ron DeSantis was only signing bills at record speed to appeal to Republican primary voters, they were likely mistaken. The Florida governor, back from a failed campaign, could be on a roll again now that the legislative session has ended in his state. Bills are stacking up on his desk concerning issues from homelessness to immigration to cell-based meat.

Florida’s Republican leadership has voted to kill cultivated meat, the burgeoning industry that grows animal cells in biorea
Fast Company •

Why this hedge fund manager is spending $6 million to kill Washington’s landmark tax and climate bills

Thirteen years ago, hedge fund manager Brian Heywood fled California and the progressive politics he opposed. Where he took refuge—Washington—might seem like an odd choice, given it’s been 40 years since the state had a Republican governor.

Despite Washington’s blue leanings, he viewed the state as “libertarian-left,” which aligned with his own values and lifestyle. An Arizonan, and formerly a Mormon missionary, Heywood has a ranch reportedly named for a character in Atlas Shrugged. At the ranc
Fast Company •

Why Georgia’s Republican governor has become one of solar’s biggest boosters

In 1883, an American inventor designed the world’s first solar panel. In the 1950s, the U.S. formulated the first silicon solar cells, and in the decades following, it spent more on solar R&D than the rest of the world, and dominated the global solar market.

But today, America seriously lags on solar production. So much so that a new solar plant being built in Cartersville, Georgia will be the only one in the country to construct panels directly from raw materials.

Most solar parts are made ab
Fast Company •

Why the global supply chain is about to get a whole lot worse

The disruption to the auto industry is just one example of shortages and delays being experienced across sectors due to two simultaneous crises—of climate change and geopolitics—that are affecting the transport of goods and will ultimately affect their cost. Two of the world’s most vital shipping routes are currently compromised. Since November, the Panama Canal has had to reduce crossings by 40% due to a severe drought. More recently, the Suez Canal—which usually accommodates 30% of global cont
Fast Company •

Florida can't get enough of tax holidays. But they're not the magic bullet Ron DeSantis claims

It’s the second back-to-school tax holiday of the year—and one of six tax holidays taking place in Florida in 2024, the most of any state. In his budget plan for 2024-2025, Governor Ron DeSantis submitted four of them for renewal. While some cover essentials, others remove tax from discretionary purchases like concert tickets, pool inflatables, and hamster bedding. Such tax holidays are touted as saving Floridians cash (and likely sound appealing to consumers), but experts say they generally do
Fast Company •

May is the new July; Norway is the new Italy: How extreme heat is changing tourism

Due to fly into Catania Airport, she and her husband arrived at Palermo instead, a three-hour car ride away, due to a fire at the original airport. Palermo was “a sea of suitcases” caused by multiple diverted flights, says Lanz, assistant dean at the School of Hospitality Administration at Boston University. Once they got to Sicily, they dealt with temperatures of 115 degrees, coupled with siroccos—the hot, dry desert winds from North Africa that can reach hurricane speeds and cause wildfires, w
Fast Company •

Amazon's Black Friday football was a hyper-consumerist rout

But it starts to skewer American holiday institutions. Why do we do our silly little holidays, it seems to ask, from the 4th of July to Valentine’s Day—just because we’re told they’re “tradition”? Why do we “feel the need to light things on fire every July?” the narrator asks. Or to “shell out a month’s rent in the name of love?” Well, he explains, because these “traditions connect us.” Duh! In case you feared this ad was a cutting cultural critique, don’t worry, it was quite the opposite. Amazo
Fast Company •

Delta's chief sustainability officer is on a mission to use less fuel

Between 2% and 3% of the world’s carbon emissions come from aviation. If the industry were a country, it’d be the sixth-largest emitter. What’s more, it’s a “hard-to-abate” sector, meaning it’s innately difficult to decarbonize because the tech that’s necessary to make a real impact is both nascent and expensive.

Still, Delta Air Lines has committed to being net-zero by 2050. It aims to achieve that by making its current fleet as efficient as possible while integrating futuristic technologies t
Fast Company •

More people are flying in private jets, and it’s ruining air travel for the rest of us

In the lounge, you’d have a free cup of coffee as you flipped through The Wall Street Journal. When you boarded the eight-seater plane—after someone carried on your luggage for you—you’d be personally greeted by the pilot, who’d run you through a flight briefing. Soon, after settling into the Swiss-crafted roomy interior, designed in partnership with BMW, you’d be at San Carlos Airport, just south of San Francisco. That experience stands in sharp contrast with today’s commercial flights: tiny tr
Fast Company •

The future of U.S. train travel is here—and it’s not on Amtrak

These amenities felt like a dose of luxury after nine days of road travel in Florida in May, when I faced the typical traffic jams and torrential rain. So on my last day, after returning my rental, a simple train ride from Fort Lauderdale to Miami was a treat. Only a swift half hour trip, I was just getting settled into my snack tray and mimosa when it was already time to disembark. Passengers load a Brightline train to West Palm Beach at the Fort Lauderdale station. [Photo: Carline Jean/South F
Fast Company •

How record temperatures are threatening Texas BBQ

Texas barbecue has always been a hot business. Workers spend hours by hot coals, metal, and fire, while customers wait in line outside, sometimes for hours, to taste tender meats with decadent sides. But the blazing Texas heat is getting hotter and longer, with little respite; this summer, temperatures hovered above 100 degrees for 45 days in a row. Austin’s top pitmasters say the heat is affecting their operations and causing their businesses to take a hit. They are actively working on ways to
Fast Company •

Did the Inflation Reduction Act actually help lower inflation?

As the price of eggs, dairy, and gas shot up in 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. With the backdrop of the highest inflation levels in four decades, the bill’s name appeared to describe pretty succinctly what it set out to do.

But it’s widely accepted that the IRA was first and foremost a climate resiliency package, comprising initiatives for clean energy, clean transport, and tax credits for consumers and businesses to invest in items like EVs, energy-efficient
Fast Company •

How Florida became a hotbed for alternative education: Inside the move to help parents flee the 'woke ideology' of public schools

This story is part of an ongoing series about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ policies and how they impact the people in his state. For full coverage, click here .

LAKELAND, FLORIDA — In the foyer of the Medulla Baptist Church in Lakeland, Florida, there were copies of My Pillow Guy CEO Mike Lindell’s memoir; raffle tickets for a baseball hat with the words “Ultra MAGA;” and a pile of Lifesaver mints accompanied by a sign telling people to refresh the bad taste in their mouths caused by the indo
Fast Company •

Hillary Clinton: Extreme heat has a disastrous effect on women workers (exclusive)

In February, as India endured its highest temperatures since 1901, Hillary Clinton visited the country to see firsthand the heat’s impact on female workers. In Rajasthan’s salt flats, she met with women harvesting salt, laborious work that involves raking up the tops of the salt ponds in the scorching heat of the desert. The women were pushing their start times to 4 a.m. to avoid the highest temperatures of the day.

Yet, despite the record heat, future years are likely to be hotter still. “How
Fast Company •

Inside the rise of Biblical responsible investing—or the Christian version of ESG

Biblical responsible investing—or BRI—grew out of the same idea, but emphasizes a very different set of principles. In these types of investments, companies are screened out for obvious vices—alcohol and tobacco businesses, for instance—but also for supporting issues like abortion and gay rights. Offenders include companies from AT&T and Boeing, to Disney, McDonald’s, and Walmart. According to Timothy Plan, a company that promotes this investment strategy, this moral filtering “brings honor and
Fast Company •

Ron DeSantis wants to reshape Florida’s universities. It could lead to a massive ‘brain drain’

This story is part of an ongoing series about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ policies and how they impact the people in his state. For full coverage, click here .

GAINESVILLE — Having grown up in conservative West Virginia, Terry Harpold believes college is all about widening your horizons by experiencing different cultures and lifestyles. When Harpold, who’s an English professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, visited the Sarasota campus of New College last year with his daughter,
Fast Company •

Florida’s property insurance is in crisis. And it’s not just about the hurricanes

ORLANDO — Floridians today are concerned with a multitude of issues ranging from education to immigration to abortion. But on the ground, there’s a comparatively mundane subject at the forefront of residents’ minds: property insurance. Basically, premiums are skyrocketing. “As people get their renewals, they’re cringing to open up the letter from the insurance company, because either there’s a ridiculous premium increase, or they’re being dropped,” says Anna Eskamani, a Democratic state legislat
Fast Company •

Cara Delevingne sprays industrial wastewater on her face in her latest beauty campaign

For Cara Delevingne, who’s been the face of Chanel, Burberry, and YSL, beauty campaigns now come as second nature. At first glance, her newest campaign seems like a typical one. But the face mist she applies on herself isn’t so typical. It’s made from wastewater from an energy production facility.

That’s a byproduct of the green hydrogen produced by Vattenfall, a 114-year-old Swedish multinational energy company that is striving toward its goal of net-zero by 2040. The campaign aims to raise aw
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Other Publications

Slate Magazine •

The Smashburger Craze May Have Finally Jumped the Shark. Wait Till You See What This One’s Made Of.

It’s got to be a challenge to start a food business around a dish that has a reputation of being unappealing—or totally unheard of—to large swaths of the general public.

“Chicken burgers don’t bring a joyous response,” says Jackie Cuscuna. “Yet.”

But haters be damned: Cuscuna and Brian Smith are the wife-and-husband owners of Ramblin’ Chick, a new restaurant in Br...
Slate Magazine •

It’s Easy to Believe That Trump Is the Most Disgusting President in American History. Think Again.

Last fall, at something called the McDonald’s Impact Summit, where company stakeholders gather “to engage in open dialogue” with policymakers, President Donald Trump gave a 48-minute speech during which he declared his fondness for the Golden Arches, particularly his favorite dish, the Filet-O-Fish sandwich. And he offered some words of advice to Ronald, Grimace, et al....
Inc •

How a Medical Illustrator Built 'Canva for Science'

Shiz Aoki doesn’t know whether she considers herself an artist or a scientist. “I’ve always had an identity crisis,” she says. In high school, she struggled to find her crowd—she was enamored with both disciplines while most peers gravitated to one or the other. “I’d have my dissecting coat on, and have my paint-splattered coat on top of that.”Then at age 23, when she was one of a select few admitted to a coveted graduate program for Medical and Biological Illustration at Johns Hopkins, Aoki fin...
TheWrap •

Eva Longoria's Soccer Play: Why Hollywood Stars Are Investing in Sports

At the peak of the trend a few years ago, every celebrity seemed to have their own brand of tequila. Today, there’s a new investment craze: a soccer (or football, if you’re outside the U.S.) club and a complementary TV series.


Eva Longoria has both. “Necaxa,” which debuts Thursday on FX, follows the namesake Mexican club, in which Longoria has a stake, as it strives to inch up Mexico’s top league and make the coveted playoffs. It charts Longoria’s post-investment role as she becomes “La Patro...
The Guardian •

From landfill to luxury: how a designer uses scraps from Hermès and Chanel to make leather goods

After more than a decade as a fashion designer, Dana Cohen was disillusioned. Excessive waste was rampant in every part of the industry – from surplus samples, to manufacturing scraps, to retail stores with “a disheveled mountain of garments that nobody wanted”, she said. “I was like, ‘I just don’t want to be a part of it any more.’”Then Cohen, who had designed for brands including Banana Republic, Club Monaco and J Crew, had a chance encounter with a manufacturer that changed her course. Drisht...
NPR •

How much international students matter to the economy : The Indicator from Planet Money

Many international students are rethinking their education in the United States as the federal government revokes visas, often over minor infractions. A shift away could carry a heavy economic toll, as international students contributed $44 billion to the U.S. economy last school year. So what happens when a generation of bright-eyed scholars decide to forgo school in the U.S. and take their dollars elsewhere? Related episodes:Do immigrants really take jobs and lower wages? (Apple / Spotify)Th...
TheWrap •

How to Produce a Hit TV Show and Save the Environment at the Same Time

When actress Wendie Malick joined the cast of Apple TV+’s “Shrinking,” she was attentive, as always, to the sustainability standards on set. “If you’re not part of the original cast, it’s harder to come on and start telling people what to do,” Malick, who plays Harrison Ford’s neurologist and love interest, told TheWrap. “Happily, there wasn’t much left for them to do.”


Now shooting the third season of the therapy-themed comedy, Malick has been concerned about sustainability in entertainment...
The Guardian •

‘As an environmental scientist, I’m horrified’: Should supersonic passenger travel be making a comeback?

When I call Blake Scholl from New York, he says it’s a shame we couldn’t have met at his office in Colorado. If only there were a supersonic jet that could cruise at 1.7 times the speed of sound, and get me there two hours quicker than the typical JFK-to-Denver route.There soon might be. Scholl is the CEO of Boom Supersonic, a company betting that ordinary civilians want to shoot across the sky at 1,100 miles (1,700 kilometres) per hour. After the pandemic brought a slump to the skies, air trave...
TIME •

Why Trump’s Threats to Canada Will Continue to Backfire

Belting out a national anthem at a sports event is a quintessential patriotic act. But who knew that booing an anthem could feel even more patriotic? So was the case last weekend, as fans across Canada, from the Toronto Raptors arena to the Calgary Flames rink, booed otherwise routine performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”After Donald Trump’s incessant goading of Canada—threatening steep tariffs, and urging it to become the 51st state—Canadians had cause.It felt inspiring even to me. I’m a...
Men's Health •

Gut Health Products Have Taken Over the Supermarket. Are They Making Us Any Healthier?

JUST BEFORE RAPPER-turned-country-phenom Post Malone took to the field at Super Bowl LVIII to belt out his rendition of “America the Beautiful,” he recorded a six-second video relayed to half a million TikTok followers. It wasn’t a shoutout to his Cowboys. It wasn’t a vocal warmup. It wasn’t even a “Let’s goooo!” There he was—with his jewel-encrusted teeth, wearing a white shirt and a chunky silver bolo tie—taking a glug of soda. Specifically, a wild berry Poppi. Then he turned to the camera, gr...
Men's Health •

A 'Chopped' Judge Reveals What Actually Happens on Set

WHAT DO YOU get when you mix shrimp, asparagus, a blueberry waffle, and a can of haggis? Or, donuts, coconuts, cocktail sauce, and cod milt (that is, the fish’s sperm sac)? For most of us, a bout of nausea—but to the judges of Food Network’s Chopped, something usually edible and sometimes delectable, prepared by some of the country’s best chefs.

That’s nothing new to fans of the show, on which chefs showcase their abilities to fashion a mishmash of bold and peculiar ingredients into restaurant-
Inc. •

This Founder Wants to Rebrand America and Give Every Citizen $1,000 a Month. Here's Why He Wants Your Vote

Best known as the founder of Venture for America, a New York City based non-profit that helps place recent grads at companies in economically depressed cities across the country, Yang is one of 23 Democratic candidates currently in the running to be the next U.S. president. Born in Schenectady, New York, he's the son of Taiwanese immigrants and has zero political experience. But the Columbia law school grad and serial entrepreneur thinks his ideas about how to make America great will be enough t
Inc. •

1,600 Guests, 1 Red Carpet, 5 Small Businesses: The Making of the Oscars After-Party

For businesses, landing in Oscar nominees' goodie bags has long been viewed as the marketing equivalent of winning the lottery. After all, the sales boon that can come from a single celebrity sighting with your product in tow can do much for a fledgling brand. For other businesses, however, the opportunity to fete Hollywood's royalty may well be more lucrative.

Intense preparation takes place to put on the awards ceremony, which is in its 91st year and will be held February 24 at the Dolby Thea
The Daily Beast •

Inside the Convention to Stop School Shooters

ORLANDO—Ten miles from Disneyworld, the lobby of the Omni Orlando Resort was packed with restless kids sporting Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears, their exhausted parents in tow, drying off from splash-arounds in the outdoor pool and lazy river, or heading back inside after a round on the nine-hole pitch and putt.

But just a few escalator rides away, past the gift shops, there was no more fun for kids.

It was the site of last July’s National School Security Conference where education experts, law e
CNNBusiness •

Some businesses want to change the law that saved grizzly bears and gray wolves

The humpback whale. The bald eagle. The American alligator. These thriving species were saved from extinction by the Endangered Species Act.

While few dispute its effectiveness in restoring endangered animal populations, some industries, including mining, logging and farming, say the law stymies business.

Now the Trump administration is moving to revamp it. One change would allow the government to consider economic factors, not just science, in deciding which species are protected.

"I don't k
CNNBusiness •

UPS doesn't air condition its trucks. This petition aims to change that

Nurse Theresa Klenk sees plenty of cases of heatstroke at the New Jersey hospital where she works.

But when her husband, a UPS driver, was admitted with symptoms incurred during a shift driving a brown delivery truck with no air conditioning, she decided to do something.

Klenk created a petition on change.org in July urging UPS to provide air conditioning in its trucks. It's been signed more than 210,000 times.

But UPS is not planning to equip its vehicles.

Dan McMackin, a UPS spokesperson,
CNNBusiness •

"The Detroit of Asia": How Thailand became an auto industry hub

If you bought a vehicle in Southeast Asia or Australia -- especially a pickup -- there's a good chance it was built in Thailand.

Thailand has been a stronghold for automobile manufacturing for decades. It nicknamed itself "the Detroit of Asia," and the moniker stuck, with good reason. It's currently the 12th most industrious auto manufacturer in the world, and the largest in Southeast Asia.

Japanese makers like Toyota and Mitsubishi have had operations in Thailand since the 1960s. GM, Ford, Me
VICE •

Gun Shop Owners Are Trying to Stop People From Killing Themselves

Today, especially following the school shooting in Parkland, there is possibly no more heated political debate in America than the one on guns, with any compromise between gun advocates and gun reform proponents seeming hopeless. But with the focus on homicides, it’s rarely mentioned that two-thirds of gun deaths are suicides. There’s a Today, especially following the school shooting in Parkland, there is possibly no more heated political debate in America than the one on guns, with any compromi
NBC News •

54 will compete in the National Geographic Bee finals. Just 4 are girls.

When Gayatri Kaimal, a seventh-grader from Tucson, Arizona, competes in the National Geographic Bee finals this weekend, she’ll be one of the only four girls on stage.

Fifty-four geography-loving fourth-to-eighth-graders have earned a spot in the televised, rapid-fire contest — winners of local competitions from each U.S. state and territory — but just four of them are girls. The gender gap has persisted since the competition started in 1989; of the 29 winners, only two have been girls.

Gayatr
The Atlantic •

The One Where I Counted the Jokes in Popular Sitcoms

Armed with a couch, TV, Netflix subscription, extra-large bag of popcorn, and a worrying amount time on my hands, I recently decided to take a deep look into the structure of various television comedies. The project essentially consisted of sitting around and binging on numerous shows, all under the guise of “work”. My objective was to take a handful of primetime TV comedies and compare them in terms of jokes per minute—the total number of jokes divided by the number of minutes in the show.

Str

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