Selected features
Dragonslayer
Ilya Zhitomirskiy was supposed to be the next Mark Zuckerberg. He had the startup, the crowdfunding, the loyal following. And then everything fell apart.
Fortune Magazine, April 2013
This is What $90 Million Looks Like
Will One57 become the tallest ghost town in the world?
New York Magazine, October 2012
A Monster Among the Frum
The hunt for the killer of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky.
New York Magazine, December 2011
Reddit in the Flesh
An afternoon in the park with the true believers of the web’s most influential community.
New York Magazine, July 2012
A Shtetl Divided
Brawling Hasidim, Messianic vigilantes, and the fight for the soul of Jewish Brooklyn.
Harper’s Magazine, January 2011
The Republic of Red Hook
Sandy hit hard. But neighborliness is waterproof. A feature-length entry in the 2012 Reasons to Love New York issue.
New York Magazine, December 2012
Not Quite Copenhagen
Inside the bike lane wars.
New York Magazine, March 2011
The Lawsuit(s) Against Law Schools
Disgruntled lawyers take to the courts.
New York Magazine, March 2012
The Zuckerbergs of Dobbs Ferry
The social network did not fall far from the tree.
New York Magazine, May 2012
Cage Match
The science of fighting.
Popular Science, August 2012
Selected shorties
Sticky Business
Building a better shame-delivery system.
New York Magazine, February 2012
Picture Day
How a Chabad class picture gets made.
New York Magazine, November 2012
The Renegade Jew
Meet David Lawrence, a white, middle-aged, resolutely right-wing Republican ex-convict with a killer right hook, a fancy apartment on the Upper East Side, barely any cash in the bank, a doctorate in literature from CUNY, three hip-hop albums, and five books of poetry under his belt. From the 2012 Reasons to Love New York issue.
New York Magazine, December 2012
Dead Books Club
Pulping’s history.
New York Magazine, August 2012
Fowl Thoughts
Saving Prospect Park’s geese, preemptively.
New York Magazine, April 2011
Bull’s Best Friend
Lorax for a loaded symbol.
New York Magazine, January 2012
Survivor, Last Pulled Out
An entry in an ASME-winning 9/11 encyclopedia.
New York Magazine, September 2011
Finding Mud to Sling
The dirt you heard about your favorite politician didn’t just fall from the sky.
The Daily, March 2012
Selected essays
Human Specimen
The life and times of Ota Benga, resident of the Bronx Zoo.
The Daily, December 2011
Scott and Hem
Inside a famous friendship.
The Los Angeles Times, June 2009
The Provocateur
How should we read Knut Hamsun?
The Los Angeles Times, October 2009
The Long War
The trials and tribulations of the German writer Hans Fallada.
Tablet, February 2009
Kill Screen
Are hyperrealistic military games driving home the reality of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, or simply exploiting them?
Foreign Policy, October 2010
Die, Pitchfork, Die!
The music site that everyone loves to hate.
Slate, November 2006
The Quest for the Perfect Video Game Face
Crossing the uncanny valley, slowly.
Salon, February 2008
Selected book reviews
The King’s Messenger, by David B. Ottaway
The Washington Post, May 2009
The Informers, by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
Bookforum, September 2009
Chasing the Rising Sun, by Ted Anthony
The Los Angeles Times, June 2007
The Long Goodbye, by Meghan O’Rourke
Bookforum, April 2011