Earthlings are Boring
Why haven’t aliens visited us? Because we’re boring and live in a crap neighborhood.
A Quiet Book for our Very Loud Time
Charlie Mackesy’s illustrated book explores love, fear, acceptance and belonging. It’s a perfect anecdote for our anxious age.
Day Five: Love is in the Air
George speaks, the people swoon and protesters protest on. Day five of my 2004 Republican National Convention coverage for MTV News.
Day Four: Repent, Pantie People. Repent!
A Democratic stands before the 2004 Republican National Convention and demands his party repent. Day four of my 2004 Republican National Convention coverage for MTV News.
Day Three: Fishing for Girlie Men – The Police Strike Back
Arnold Schwarzenegger explains the difference between Republican manly men and the girlie men the NYPD are rounding up in the streets. Day three of my 2004 Republican National Convention coverage for MTV News.
Day Two: No Rest for the Weary – RNC Protesters Can’t Call it a Day
The sun’s going down but the protest marches on. Day two of my 2004 Republican National Convention coverage for MTV News.
Day One: Disorganize This – Protesters Confront the Republican National Convention
In 2004, George Bush and the RNC held their convention in New York City. They weren’t exactly welcomed. Day One of my 2004 Republican National Convention coverage for MTV News.
China’s Perfecting the Tools of a Propaganda State
The future of propaganda is now. We’re watching it with China’s media response and social media control of information related to the Hong Kong protests.
Would You Turn Your Child into a Cyborg?
A mom hacks Google Glass to help her autistic son understand facial expressions. Along the way, she wonders how neurotechnologies will influence how we augment ourselves, what traits we’ll consider inherently human, and what might be lost as we rid ourselves of them.
Thoughts on Documentary Films While Watching Flightless Baby Geese Jump from 400 Foot Cliffs
Nature shows are awesome. But what are they? Because they’re not quite documentaries.
Tripping Through Van Gogh’s Starry Night
A new Van Gogh exhibit has us wondering what the future of the museum might be.
We’re Drowning in our Waste
America’s trash problem is growing and getting worse. China used to be our dumping ground. Now our waste has no place to go.
Self-Driving Cars: What Could Go Wrong?
Self-driving cars are only as smart as the artificial intelligence controlling them. A new study indicates that the darker your skin, the more likely you are to be hit by one. There’s a simple, and unfortunate, reason why.
Americans Hate the Media
Where goes truth when a new Gallup poll indicates American trust in the media is (yet again) at an all-time low?
Getting to Know What We Do Not Know
A new study shows how little we know about current and historical events. This affects strategies for how we understand and process the news.
Language, Militias and Occupation
What should the media call an armed group that takes over federal property and makes political demands? Oregon gives us a chance to consider.
Is it Smeagol or Gollum?
Turkey debates Lord of the Rings to decide whether a doctor will spend two years in jail over a Facebook post.
Biking While Hot
Biking through New York City in the summer heat. Queens to Brighton Beach and back again.
Publishing the News When it’s Already Everywhere
What do publishers and news consumers do in a world of infinite choice?
Let’s Praise Books… Unless We Don’t Need to Read Them
We love books but there’ve been too many for about 500 years now.
If Hemingway Wrote JavaScript
A new book exploring the intersection of literature and code is a delightful romp through some of the Western world’s most celebrated writers and the imagined JavasScript they would have — could have — slung had they been so inclined.
Welcome to the Filter Bubble
Republicans hear what they want to hear. Think everyone supports them.
Thank You, New York
Heartfelt thanks to those who helped when I went head over handlebars while riding my bike in New York.
Nonlinear Storytelling and Atomic Units of Content
No matter the content you produce, it will be broken down and remixed by your audience into its smallest – and most durable – units of sharability.