Criticism and op-ed

“The new hobby of the super-rich: hunting aliens” (Salon)

“Twitter is not that important” (Salon)

“Against Mars-a-Lago: Why SpaceX’s Mars colonization plan should terrify you” (Salon)

“Why did the internet’s dog obsession take off in tandem with Trump’s rise?” (Salon) — this one got a shout-out in the New York Times from Amanda Hess.

“Why Facebook’s racism problem might never be solved” (Salon)

“Why Bernie Sanders should start a labor party” (Salon)

“The neoliberal politics of emoji” (Salon)

“There is no reason Uber should be a for-profit corporation” (Salon)

“Superhero films are bad for democracy” (Salon)

“What Soylent tells us about Silicon Valley” (Salon)

“Twitter isn’t trying to stop its troll problem — it’s trying to profit off it.”  (Salon)

“Why the Rich Love Burning Man.” (Jacobin, republished in Salon). A mix of research and political criticism based on my own experiences at Burning Man, this was the first Jacobin article to surpass 500,000 unique views, and later surpassed 1,000,000.

Reporting and Interviews

“A psychology researcher explains how social media is changing us” (Salon)

“How taxpayer money could end up paying for rich people to go to space” (co-written with Nicole Karlis for Salon)

“How O-Six became the most famous wolf in the world” (Salon)

“How to bring extinct species back to life” (Salon)

“The most interesting community on Reddit is also its most boring” (Salon)

“The emotional toll of working in social media” (Salon)

“Liberal journalists reportedly sent tips to Breitbart — now they’re scrambling” (Salon)

“Franklin Foer’s ‘World Without Mind’ describes how algorithms erode free will” (Salon)

“Wrestling villain by day, Berniecrat politician by night: Meet ‘Volatile’ Curtis Wylde” (Salon)

“The strangest star in the galaxy is acting up again” (Salon)

Features

“Is the truth really out there?” (Salon)

“The gig economy goes to class” (Salon, Alternet)

“I Went Undercover to a Trump Campaign Debate Party at Round Table Pizza, and I Foresaw the End Times” (The Bold Italic) A gonzo journalism account of a GOP-sponsored debate party in south San José, this feature-length article fuses political commentary with a New Journalism-style essay about the experience.

“Against the Crowdfunding Economy.” (Jacobin) A mix of interview and political commentary into the social implications of crowdfunding for artists and those in need.

“Not-so-High Times: What It’s Like Being a Weed Trimmer in the Underground Cannabis Economy.”  (The Bold Italic) I interviewed four women who had worked as cannabis trimmers, and whittled down their stories into a compelling exposé of a sometimes-abusive black market industry.

“Keep the Red Planet Red.” (Jacobin) An analysis of the media hype around Elon Musk’s vision for a private Mars mission, and what this says about our collective faith in  democratic, big-science initiatives.

“The Starbucks Recovery Act.” (Dissent) A critique of efforts by corporate megaliths to end the recession through philanthropy; a critique of the idea that we should tithe to small business owners so that they may profit.