Articles

As a journalist, I've ranged over a wide territory, writing long-form stories on business and tech, food and drink, travel, the arts and the law. I’ve contributed to a variety of publications, listed below. This is an online assembly of miscellaneous pieces. I’ve had bylines in these outlets, among others:

New York Times
The Guardian
Toronto Life Magazine
Los Angeles Times
San Francisco Magazine
Sierra Magazine

San Francisco Chronicle
Sunset
Wine Enthusiast
The Globe & Mail
Report on Business
enRoute Magazine

Smithsonian Magazine
Via
Diablo Magazine
The Walrus
Daily Beast Reader’s Digest

Cover Stories

A travel piece on a nostalgia-inducing vacation to a lake in Oregon.

A profile of Netflix CMO Kelly Bennett, the ad man who helped the streaming service hit its current heights and then

walked away — viz, "Netflix then Chill."

A piece on Sydney’s design culture.

A feature on artificial-intelligence pioneer Ilya Sutskever and the state of play in his field.

Recent Publications

On Art:

A piece I wrote for the New York Times, on an exhibition at the Venice Biennale commissioned by the Vatican — it went up in a women’s prison, of all places. Another piece, also for the Times, on these medieval bestsellers, the Books of Hours. Not only are many of them beautiful, but they often provide a window into the middle ages, particularly the lives of girls and women.

On Craftsmanship:

A profile of Jason Logan, for the New York Times, focusing on how he transforms materials found on the semi-wild fringes of cities into inks. It was great to wander by the Humber River with him, to watch him, later, transform these seemingly drab foraged items into vivid colors.

On Architecture:

A piece on mid-century modernism in the West in Via. The road trip arcs from Phoenix via Palm Springs to San Diego, up the coast to LA, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Carmel and Palo Alto, then inland, to Sacramento and finally, over the Sierra, to Reno.

On El Capitan's Army:
A piece on the history of climbing in Yosemite and a new museum devoted to the subject (for the Los Angeles Times).

On a Trip along the Zambezi River:

A travel story (for the Globe & Mail) on a safari along the world’s oldest river, hitting Victoria Falls, and points downstream.

Broadway, Baby:
A profile (for Reader's Digest) of a young performer, Andrea Macasaet, getting her big break, playing Anne Boleyn in the Broadway production of Six. 

On Books:
I contributed four columns on young-adult fiction to the Globe: one on graphic novels dealing with trauma; another on those with LGBT protagonists; a third on books about the lives of girls and young women; a fourth on young people looking for love.

On Tech:

For University of Toronto Magazine, a feature on an artificial intelligence pioneer — and the field’s great move forward over the last decade.