Highlights from 2021
Why some New Age influencers believe Trump is a “lightworker” – Salon
Meet the “vaccine angels” – Salon
Why some scientists believe life might have started on Mars – Salon
It’s not just you: Why everyone is so exhausted right now – Salon
What 2020 taught me about New Year’s Resolutions – Salon
Meet the spouses whose marriages were destroyed by QAnon – Salon
Why Avi Loeb thinks there’s a “serious possibility” that ‘Oumuamua was an alien spacecraft – Salon
Volunteers help at vaccine centers, in exchange for early vaccines – Salon
Is the pandemic making our social skills decay? – Salon
My grandfather survived the Holocaust. Here’s what his story tells me about today. – Salon
Burning Man Investigations
In 2018 and 2019, I investigated how the liberating Burning Man movement provided cover for many predators for Salon.
Burning Man, a utopia for guests was a hell for workers (co-written with Keith Spencer)
Burning Man calls itself a safe space. Sexual assault survivors say it has a sex crime problem.
Death, sexual assault and art controversy color this year’s Burning Man
I spoke more about my reporting on KCRW, you can listen here.
USC Center for Health Journalism California Fellowship Project 2020
As a 2020 fellow, I investigated the California Bay Area’s Project Roomkey initiative (a pivot from my original project proposal once the pandemic hit). What I found was a small sliver of hope amid the chaos: the uplifting stories at an RV park provided by Project Roomkey, which experts hailed as an example of how a housing-first approach could actually be a means to lift people out of homelessness in the Bay Area.
An RV park housing the homeless in San Francisco has become a runaway success story – Salon
Writing on volunteering as self-care
I’m fascinated by the science and health benefits of volunteering. The self-care movement, as well-intentioned as it is, often suggests that we engage in activities that keep us focused on the self. I truly believe that we will see organized volunteering and mutual aide groups as the antidote to loneliness in our society, instead of monetized wellness, especially after COVID-19.
Here are pieces I’ve written about volunteering and the pitfalls of the wellness industry.
How the 2010s became the decade of self-care – Salon
Post-election activism is self-care, too – Salon
Why “social distancing” if done wrong can make you more vulnerable – Salon
Why doing good is good for the do-gooder – The New York Times
More Features
Shahid Buttar, left-challenger to Pelosi, started his campaign with a bang — and ends with a whimper – Salon