My Writing

I’m not currently taking freelance commissions, but if you have feedback on anything I’ve written,
the best way to reach me is by email.

You can find my recent articles for Grist on my author page. Below is a selection of my other work.


So far this year, I’ve written about

the man who made the United States into a liquefied natural-gas powerhouse, for The New York Times Magazine,

capitalism, climate change, and the Green New Deal, in an essay for The Drift,

the gridlocked politics of gun control after the decline of the NRA, for The New Republic,

climate relocation policy and its implications for environmental justice, for Architectural Record,

the race to build technology for recycling electric-vehicle batteries, for Popular Science,

the Republican campaign to snuff out green investing before it begins, for New York,

the return of gas flaring in the Permian oil basin of Texas, for The American Prospect,

how climate change will disrupt the supply chain and drive inflation, for Insider,

the artistic laziness of HBO’s historical period drama The Gilded Age, for The Nation,

the Russia-Ukraine war and its impact on the global energy transition, for The Baffler,

the climate adaptation strategies highlighted in the United Nations climate report, for Insider,

the impact of sea-level rise on commuting times, for Fast Company,

a failing coal plant beloved by private equity, for The American Prospect,

Olga Tokarczuk’s new historical novel, for The New Republic,

and a new book about Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, for The Nation.

Last year, I wrote about

the disappointing climate change film Don’t Look Up, for The Baffler,

the novels of John le Carré, for The New Republic,

the tenure of U.S. postmaster general Louis DeJoy, for The Guardian,

how climate change is impacting where we get our food, for Popular Science,

the climate-related flaws in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, for The American Prospect,

Amazon, the Postal service, and the tyranny of global logistics, for The Drift,

the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, in articles for The New Republic, Curbed, The Atlantic, Grist, and The Nation,

how climate change threatens our roads, buildings, and power systems, for Popular Science

why we need a large infrastructure bill to mitigate climate damage, The New York Times,

the climate-related causes of the Surfside building collapse, for The Baffler,

the shortfalls and lessons of the Affordable Care Act, for The New Republic,

the brutal world of for-profit home health care, in a big investigation for The New Republic,

the The New Yorker’s somewhat myopic reporting on climate change, for The Baffler

Before that, I wrote about subjects including

Houston’s climate adaptation program, Miami’s grim climate future, talk radio and the conservative movement, artificial-intelligence lie detectors, why we see ghosts, why we love mayors, the novels of Anthony Trollope, a guy who makes millions flipping dogs to the military, Amazon’s drone delivery program, Amazon and the Postal Service, Louis DeJoy, Louis DeJoy’s turbulent family, the Postal Service and the election, the Postal Service and the coronavirus, rural Postal Service workers, food waste, road construction, “green airports,” Amazon HQ2, the other Amazon HQ2, Hudson Yards, Ross Douthat, Kawhi Leonard, Marianne Williamson, presidential candidate memoirs, “mental health apps,” cigarette marketing, housing discrimination, rural homelessness, homeless shelters in Brooklyn, anti-homeless rancor in Queens, evictions in New York, police misconduct in New York, police “counterterrorism” efforts in New York, a wrestling gym in New York, a district attorney candidate in New York, public housing in New York, public housing in Chicago, youth homelessness in Chicago, a church in Chicago, a mosque in Chicago, rats in Chicago, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and my book collection.

The banner image on the “About” page shows flooding near Houston’s Addicks and Barker Reservoirs following Hurricane Harvey.
It was taken by Brett Coomer for the
Houston Chronicle.