Journalism Portfolio

As a freelance journalist, I've covered everything from education and technology to food and music. I'm as comfortable online as in print. And I can get not only the story, but also the sound and images to support it.

My work has appeared in the print and online wings of numerous publications, from The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune to The Economist, The Village Voice, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Forward, Tablet Magazine, Discover Magazine, Wired, Seed, and MIT's Technology Review.

And I've put my academic background (I have a PhD and served time as a college professor) to good use writing for alumni magazines, research publications, and other outlets at a number of colleges and universities, including Columbia, Penn, Juilliard, Denison, Penn State, the University of Florida, WPI, and FIT.

Please click on the links below to read samples of my writing.

• H2Blow
  Trombonist Rafi Malkiel finds inspiration in water.
  Tablet Magazine

• Sub-Saharan Fusions
  How an American saxophonist came to cut a record with a group of Ugandan Jews.
  Tablet Magazine

• Kitchen Cred
  Former Top Chef Lee Anne Wong cooks up a great career.
  Hue Magazine

• Ocean Pew
  Though only a tiny fraction of what it was in the 18th century, Barbados's Jewish community -- and its 1750 synagogue -- still stand proud.
  Tablet Magazine

• Out with the Old School
  Denison University's classrooms go high-tech.
  Denison Magazine

• It's Complicated
  Seven award-winning scientists and engineers conduct research that ranges from leading-edge to bleeding-edge.
  The Florida Engineer

• 3-D Scanning: How to Put the Real World Into Your Computer
  12 new scanning technologies bring amazing 3-D images into Hollywood, medical care -- and home PCs.
  Discover Magazine

• Device Offers a Roadside Dope Test
  Philips introduces a handheld drug tester that uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect traces of cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and methamphetamine.
  Technology Review

• Financing a Columbia GS Degree in the 21st Century
  Making ends meet at Columbia University's School of General Studies.
  The Columbia Owl

• Spinning a Good Tale
  A quantum-mechanical effect used in hard disks may hold the key to the development of a hand-held biology laboratory. (Listen to a woman with a posh British accent read the piece aloud in a Technology Quarterly podcast.)
  The Economist

• A Personal Battle With RSI, From Ergonomics to Patchouli
  Keeping an open mind while learning to cope with repetitive strain injury.
  TechnologyOwl.com

• Jazzed Up
  Former poet laureate Robert Pinsky gets a rhythm section.
  Tablet Magazine

• Selective Testing
  Does Big Pharma stand to gain the most from new genetic tests for drug therapy?
  The Walrus

• Speaking in Tongues
  A new technology to help the disabled use the tongue to control machinery.
  The Economist

• Bending Traditions in Ghana
  I was once an African drummer.
  The Forward

• Ukelele Madness
  "It turned into a horrible -- well, not horrible ... let's call it a beautiful train wreck of sound."
  Jazziz

• Long-Promised, Voice Commands Are Finally Going Mainstream
  Advances in computing power make voice recognition the next big thing in electronic security and user-interface design.
  Wired.com

• Meet the Satans
  Don't judge a man by his horns.
  Fresh Yarn

• Put a Lid on It!
  Sound advice for making a home quieter.
  The Chicago Tribune

• Microsoft Promises Not to Hoard Crypto-Based ID Protection
  Microsoft has picked up a powerful new online-privacy technology that it says it wants to share ... eventually.
  Wired.com

• To Test or Not to Test?
  Navigating the minefield of prenatal testing.
  Parent:Wise Austin

• Startup Plans to Solve Online Identity Theft, But Does Anyone Care?
  A Montreal startup has a plan to make online identity theft a thing of the past. The only problem? No one cares.
  Wired.com

• Rising Rents Give Rise to Shrinking Audio Studios
  Rising rents and new technology are cramming recording studios into ever-smaller spaces. Welcome to the vest-pocket studio.
  Wired.com

• Lenny Bruce's Mild-Mannered Heirs
  They've got the words, but not the music.
  The Forward

• Hot Cameras, Big Lenses Dominate PDN PhotoPlus Expo
  Thousands of pro photographers and gear-addled amateurs descend on New York City.
  Wired.com

• Audio Forensics Experts Reveal (Some) Secrets
  CSI for audiophiles at the 123rd Audio Engineering Society Convention.
  Wired.com

• Visiting the Hamptons, but Not Paying the Price
  For resort chic on a budget, pitch a tent and sort of rough it among otherwise outrageously expensive seasonal rentals.
  The New York Times

• Waste Not...
  David Stoller wants to turn your garbage into fuel.
  The Pennsylvania Gazette

• How to Soundproof an Apartment to Muffle Your Wife's Drumming
  The headline pretty much says it all.
  Wired.com

• The Sounds of Science
  Computer music moves out of the lab.
  The Walrus

• A Plan to Build a Giant Liquid Telescope on the Moon
  Could a lunar liquid-mirror telescope be the next big thing in astronomy?
  Wired.com

• Your Face, Immortalized
  Ever dreamed of being made into a statue? 3-D scanners may soon make your fantasy a cheap reality. (View the accompanying photo gallery.)
  Wired.com

• Toy Fair Resembles CES for Kids
  The big trend at the 2007 American International Toy Fair? Mature technology for young users. (Listen to me discussing this topic with Neal Conan on NPR's Talk of the Nation.
  Wired.com

• A Food Tour of Montreal's Plateau
  Bingeing on Jewish delicacies in my hometown.
  The Forward

• Facing the Unthinkable
  Pennsylvania Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller remembers the Amish schoolhouse slayings of 2006.
  The Penn Stater

• These Elves Are Computerized
  Toy design is going exclusively digital thanks to advances in haptic sculpting tools.
  Wired.com

• The Sound of Hacked Dolls' Heads
  Dan Farkas subjects kids' toys to Borg-like modifications, then makes music with them.
  Wired.com

• Composing in Code
  Rudresh Mahanthappa brings mathematics to the music room.
  Seed Magazine

• The Israel Lobby Debate
  It's either really bad, or it doesn't exist.
  The Jewish Chronicle

• Life After the Death of Jazz
  Is jazz dead? How can we tell?
  The Walrus

• From Crypto to Jazz
  A new jazz album draws on cryptography and number theory for its riffs and rhythms.
  Wired.com

• Remembering How the Jewish Theater Turned Into Broadway
  Mr. Spock remembers his career on the Yiddish stage.
  The Forward

• The New Crooners
  Can Rod Stewart save jazz?
  Jazziz

• In Memoriam: Vagn Flyger
  The man who loved squirrels.
  The Penn Stater

• Leveling the Playing Field
  Wi-fi for all at St. John's University.
  The ACUTA Journal of Communications in Higher Education

• This Pen for Hire
  Trading academia for copywriting.
  The Chronicle of Higher Education

• The Great White Hype?
  She's the queen of the jungle. But can Jane Monheit sing?
  Jazziz

• Sherry
  This Spanish import is a world of wine unto itself.
  Bartender Magazine

• The Life Aquatic
  Dances with whales.
  FIT Network

• Too Many Dissonant Notes
  Prof. Gelfand gets an "F" in classroom management.
  The Chronicle of Higher Education

• Two Albums Offer Gems of Gypsy Melodies
  Two bands with a new take on Old World music.
  The Forward