My Writing

JOURNALISM

Weight Watchers May Be Exploiting Vulnerable Kids With Its Weight Loss App

  • Published: Heated Online Magazine (by Mark Bittman)

  • September, 2019

  • This story was written on contract with Heated Magazine. It involved substantial interaction with the press team for Weight Watchers (WW) and required finding sources in the dietetics profession.

Gangstalking: A New Type of Internet Conspiracy Cult

  • Published: Medium.com

  • July, 2019

  • This story weighs in at about 6,000 words, making it my longest to date. After publishing, it became the most comprehensive look at the gangstalking conspiracy phenomenon to date. At the time of this writing, it is the top Google result for “Gangstalking,” even above stories from major media outlets like the NY Times,

Mugshots Sometimes Harm Local Lives

  • Published: Mahomet Daily

  • March, 2019

  • About: This long-form article was researched and written over a number of weeks using investigative type skills.

There’s Something Sinister Happening in Reddit’s Incest Communities — Besides Incest

  • Published: Medium.com

  • March, 2019

  • This article was part 2 of a 2-part series earning online incest communities. It is the 4th result on Google for the topic, and it has received 60,000 clicks. Following this article, the communities that were reported on were either closed down by Reddit or made safer and more secure.

COMMENTARY - POLITICS

Ranked Choice Voting Finds Support In Illinois

  • Published: FairVote.org

  • December, 2019

  • This blog post on FairVote‘s blog detailed the movement I built around ranked choice voting in Illinois. This piece was written as part of a four month contract with FairVote.

Reforming the Electoral College

  • Published: News-Gazette

  • September, 2017

  • This “Sunday Extra” ran as an op-ed in one of downstate Illinois’ largest newspapers (estimated 25,000 total circulation). It was one of many small op-ed pieces I had published in the paper over the 2018 campaign season.

The Electoral College Creates Flyover Country

  • Published: Medium.com

  • May 13, 2019

  • This commentary combined data from groups like FairVote and quashed one of the most common arguments for the Electoral College.

Ranked Choice Voting Could Help Fix Illinois Politics

  • Published: Mahomet Daily

  • April 18, 2019

  • This article made the case for ranked choice voting to the conservative electorate of Mahomet Illinois. I explained how the current voting system holds voters hostage and allows operatives to create political “machines” that don’t actually serve the voters.

How To Talk Politics Without Ruining Anyone’s Day

  • Published: Mahomet Daily

  • December, 2018

  • This piece followed my candidacy for the Champaign County Board, and as a progressive voice in a conservative town, it was an important piece to introduce myself to readers.

How Politicians Get Away With Lying — As Explained By A Magician

  • Published: Medium.com

  • June, 2018

  • This essay combines my passion for politics and my perspective from my high school love of magic. It received 63,000 views total and was featured on the front page of Medium.com.

Who Exactly Is the Alt-Right? As told by the Alt-Right

  • Published: Medium.com

  • September, 2017

  • This piece was written over a series of months following the Charlottesville Alt-Right presence. It was inspired by a need to clarify what Nazism and far-right extremism look like in the modern day. This article received over 6,000 clicks.

COMMENTARY - ENVIRONMENT

We Need To Reframe Climate Change — Selfishly

  • Published: Medium.com

  • May, 2019

  • This story was inspired by an offhand comment from a professor. It argues that climate change isn’t a threat to the Earth, it’s a threat to humanity. We need to frame it like that if we want to both be accurate and be convincing in our arguments for sustainability.

The American Midwest Needs an Environmental ‘GI’ Bill

  • Published: Medium.com

  • April, 2019

  • This story explains the need for better water management in the American Midwest. With increased flooding and more threats to our waterways, governments will soon have to act to implement green infrastructure.

A Conservative County Is Standing Up To Big Coal

  • Published: Medium.com

  • April, 2019

  • This story explains from a first person perspective how a rural Illinois community stood up to the coal magnate Dynegy/Vistra to demand that they clean up the ash ponds that were polluting their river.