Selected Editing Clips
How a miracle-obsessed megachurch conquered a California city, SFGATE
Wolves force California ranchers into deadly compromises, SFGATE
Trespassers risk life and limb to see California's most beautiful waterfall, SFGATE
Sanas, the buzzy startup that wants to make the world sound whiter, SFGATE
Selected Writing Clips
This tech millionaire went from covid trial funder to misinformation superspreader, MIT Technology Review
After boosting unproven covid drugs and campaigning against vaccines, Steve Kirsch was abandoned by his team of scientific advisers—and left out of a job.
What went wrong with America’s $44 million vaccine data system?, MIT Technology Review
The CDC ordered software that was meant to manage the vaccine rollout. Instead, it has been plagued by problems and abandoned by most states.
‘ICE Air’ Deported Tens of Thousands Out of Oakland Airport, The Mercury News
Despite being located in one of the nation’s most prominent sanctuary cities, Oakland International Airport served as the staging ground for nearly 1,000 ICE flights transporting 43,000 detainees between 2010 and 2018. Two-thirds of the passengers were being deported. The rest were being transferred internally, part of a detention system that advocates and lawyers say is designed to cut immigrants off from legal and community support.
Meet the Doctors Behind Bay Area Vaccine Medical Exemptions, The Mercury News
I asked Bay Area school districts for the doctors signing medical exemptions for students. More than half were signed by just five doctors, all with ties to anti-vaccine groups, and four signees are under investigation by state authorities for their exemption practices.
Searching for Help, The Verge
How do so many addicts end up in Florida and California for rehab? Very often, it's through internet marketers who use deceptive Google ads and high-pressure sales tactics to turn desperate people into "heads in beds."
After this story, Google halted the sale of ads targeting many rehab-related search terms for several months, and then contracted with a third party company to vet addiction treatment centers before allowing them to buy ads.
How Addiction Recovery Facebook Groups Became a Huckster's Paradise, The Verge
Both addicts and their loved ones often turn to Facebook groups for emotional support as they navigate addiction and recovery. That means rehab marketers know just where to go to find the most desperate – and potentially lucrative – sales targets. Some marketers even start groups themselves, with or without disclosing their financial ties to rehabs.
Addiction-Focused Media Companies Have Deep Ties to Rehabs, The Verge
Popular websites The Fix and Rehab Reviews, as well as Addiction Unscripted, a publication that's been promoted by Mark Zuckerberg, double as marketing operations for luxury treatment centers. But it can be hard for readers to know exactly who's funding their news source.
Experts Warn Expanded Heart Valve Use Risks Patient Safety, The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
A new kind of artificial heart valve has revolutionized treatment for many patients. Now, doctors and advocacy groups with significant financial ties to the manufacturers are pushing for uses that aren’t supported by the evidence.
Breakdown, The Verge
An investigation into Talkspace, a startup that uses the gig economy model for anonymous, chat-based therapy, putting patients and therapists at risk.
The Peer Review Scam, Nature
The co-founders of Retraction Watch and I reported on a "ring" of researchers who were caught peer reviewing their own papers, the investigation into the scam, and the technological loopholes that made it possible in the first place.
How to Kill a Fish, Topic
Most of the fish we eat die by asphyxiation. But there’s a better way, both for the fish and those who eat them.
The Trouble With Tortoises, America's Ill-Advised Pet Fad, BuzzFeed News
Over the last three decades, massive sulcata tortoises have become a popular American family pet. Now, thousands of giant tortoises, often deformed due to improper care, are filling up sanctuaries. Meet the people who made that happen — and the ones who are begging you not to buy one.
Addicts for Sale, BuzzFeed News
In Delray Beach, the "recovery capital of America," addicts are bought and sold for their insurance policies, and many of them are coerced into sex.
Eddie Davison's Life Sentence, BuzzFeed News
Locked up in a psych ward under the false premise that he was a convicted sex offender, Eddie Davison sued New York state for false imprisonment. Now the state says he owes it $2 million.
Valuable Antibodies at a High Cost, The New Yorker
Santa Cruz Biotechnology, one of the largest suppliers of research antibodies in America, violated federal animal welfare regulations for close to a decade, including hiding over 800 goats from federal inspectors.