My byline on an MSNBC essay about "The OC."
A mostly complete list of pieces I've published professionally, organized by publication, and in reverse chronological order.
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MSNBC + Boldtype + The Advocate + Salon + The Boston Globe + The Chicago Tribune + Slate + PopPolitics + OJR + Ironminds + Student.Com + The Slant + other publications, speeches
MSNBC
- Janice Dickinson redefines model behavior / 7.7.06
- Like Sydney, ‘Alias’ kept reinventing itself / 5.19.06
- No shackles on ‘Prison Break’ finale / 5.15.06
- ‘Unan1mous’ is unpredictable joy ride to hell / 4.19.06
- ‘24’ has finally hit its stride / 4.17.06
- At five, ‘Apprentice’ needs a reorg / 2.27.06
- Immunity idol complicates ‘Survivor Panama’ / 2.1.06
- Fashion reality show returns to the ‘Runway’ / 12.7.05
- On ‘Prison Break,’ there’s no escape / 11.30.05
- ‘Housewives’ desperately needs a makeover / 11.13.05
- ‘Survivor’ survives by never truly changing / 9.14.05
- Fall preview: Reality shows are tweaking old formulas / 9.1.05
- Fall preview: CBS’ ‘Threshold’ / 9.1.05
- Audience is clay in Aiken’s hands / 8.9.05
- ‘Big Brother’: So awful, yet so addictive / 7.22.05
- Modern reality TV turns five / 5.31.05
- ‘Trek’ has drifted since ‘Next Generation’ / 5.12.05
- Exclusive interview with “Amazing Race 6“‘s Jonathan: ‘I would never hit Victoria’ / 3.21.05
- ‘Carnivàle’ returns — please let there be plot / 1.6.05
- Don’t be ashamed to love ‘The OC’ / 11.1.04
- Can ‘Project Runway’ maintain the magic? / 7.11.06
- Lack of ‘Idol’ vote information frustrates fans / 5.23.06
- J.J. Abrams: the Goldilocks of filmmakers / 5.7.06
- What a long, strange ‘Idol’ season it’s been / 5.4.06
- How could ‘Dreamz’ miss such an easy target? / 4.20.06
- Shane is latest ‘Survivor’ viewers love to hate / 4.13.06
- Most important ‘Idol’ judge? It’s Paula Abdul / 3.21.06
- ‘Idol’ season four: Country vs. rock ‘n’ roll / 1.6.06
- ‘Idol’ season three: William Hung to Fantasia / 12.30.05
- ‘Idol’ season two: Where are they now? / 12.27.05
- First season ‘Idols’: Where are they now? / 12.20.05
- 10 scariest characters: ‘Prison Break’s T-Bag, ‘Family Guy’ monkey, ‘Desperate Housewives’ cast / 10.24.05
- ‘Amazing Race’ has lost its way / 9.27.05
- Vote Martha’s catchphrase off the island / 8.31.05
- Rob and Amber’s success hurts ‘Amazing Race’ / 4.26.05
- Moviegoers trapped by pre-show ads / 4.13.05
- How has ‘Survivor’ continued to survive? / 12.3.04
- Cruel reality shows don’t play fair / 11.5.04
- Quiet ‘Sopranos’ finale offers no clues / 6.4.06
- ‘Housewives’ finale looks to the past / 5.21.06
- Taylor a lock to make final two on ‘Idol’ / 5.16.06
- On ‘Survivor,’ Aras won by outlasting / 5.14.06
- ‘Survivor’ final four: It’s anybody’s game / 5.11.06
- Real, dream families blend for Tony Soprano / 3.19.06
- ‘Sopranos’ returns with a bang / 3.12.06
- Fired ‘Apprentice’ just couldn’t keep quiet / 2.27.06
- ‘Idol’ results show revels in cruelty / 2.24.06
- TV favorites rewarded, if miscategorized / 1.17.06
- ‘Apprentice’ winner refuses to share title / 12.16.05
- ‘Survivor’ finalists were consistent to the end / 12.11.05
- Curse of the car leads ‘Survivor’ to final four / 12.8.05
- Survivor’s paranoia is self-fulfilling prophecy / 11.17.05
- ‘Survivor’ keeps shaking things up / 10.20.05
- ‘Survivor’ has new tribes, but old cliques / 10.06.05
- Apprentices display male-pattern dumbness / 9.29.05
- For ‘Apprentice,’ it’s just like old times / 9.22.05
- Trump seeks an ‘Apprentice’ he won’t hate / 9.22.05
- Rock, hard place meet the ‘Big Brother’ finale / 9.20.05
- Emmy tries to be hip but still ends up boring / 9.19.05
- ‘Survivor’ gets tough in Guatemala / 9.15.05
- ‘Big Brother’ finally grows up / 8.12.05
- Mysteries of ‘Lost’ detract from the characters / 5.25.05
- Trump should have hired both women / 5.19.05
- ‘Apprentice’ not a test of corporate skills / 5.18.05
- Tom wins [‘Survivor’], but Ian will be remembered / 5.15.05
- ‘Survivor’ finale tough to handicap / 5.12.05
- Gut-wrenching ‘Race’ offers satisfying ending / 5.11.05
- ‘Idol’ special offered a lot of nothing / 5.4.05
- Quitting time on reality TV / 4.21.05
- Which Apprentice will Trump them all? / 4.14.05
- ‘Apprentice’ sponsors are the real losers / 4.8.05
- The Donald, wrong? Say it isn’t so / 3.24.05
- Beauty and the Beasts: Sexism reigns on The Apprentice 3 / 3.3.05
- ‘Survivor returns with surprises / 2.17.05
- ‘Apprentice’ ads don’t connect / 2.10.05
- Auditions make ‘Idol’ a joke / 2.2.05
- Type A Apprentices need an intervention / 1.27.05
- ‘Apprentice 3’ candidates make it personal / 1.20.05
- ‘Idol’ judges starting to crack up / 1.19.05
- Welcome to another season of ‘Delusional Idol’ / 1.18.05
- ‘Race’ contestant has somebody to shove / 12.22.04
- Trump turns ‘Apprentice’ into ‘Idol’ / 12.16.04
- Final Survivor was the best liar / 12.12.04
- You’re fired! And … so are you! / 11.19.04
- Raj was just too much like Trump / 11.5.04
- What’s with Trump’s weird voiceovers? / 10.29.04
- “Survivor” strategies are shifting / 10.15.04
- Is ‘Treasure Hunters’ copying ‘Amazing Race’?; ‘Treasure Hunters’ producers / 7.11.06
- Will ‘Big Brother’ be a house of boredom?; reality awards show / 6.20.06
- ‘American Idol’ singers can’t choose singles; ‘The Will’ online / 6.13.06
- Best and worst of summer reality TV; original reality shows / 6.6.2006
- Did Shane’s magic number mean nothing?; Amazing Race’ winter clothing / 5.23.06
- How much does Jeff Probst know at tribal council?; ‘Amazing Race’ and customs / 5.9.06
- ‘Fear Factor’ to return this summer; Heidi Klum disses Jay McCarroll / 4.18.06
- Future of ‘Road Rules’ / 4.4.06
- ‘Rock Star’ to return with newly created band; ‘Amazing Race’ camera crews / 3.27.06
- Why are Survivors so dumb?; ‘Ivana Young Man’ / 3.21.06
- Secrets of those horrible ‘Idol’ montages / 3.14.06
- Return of ‘Big Brother’ / 2.27.06
- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition permits / 2.13.06
- Third season of ‘Blow Out’ / 2.7.06
- Future of ‘Last Comic,’ ‘Surreal Life’ / 1.31.06
- ‘Dancing’ compensation; where did ‘Cupid’ couple go? / 1.23.05
- ‘Making the Band 3’ take two / 1.10.05
- ‘Home Edition’ families surprised, but ready / 12.30.05
- What do second-place finishers win?’; did ‘Losers’ gain back weight? / 12.20.05
- Why no cold-weather ‘Survivor’?; Kathy Griffin show / 12.12.05
- How does ‘Loser’ cast drop so much weight?; ‘Casino’ death / 11.28.05
- Reality TV’s turkeys of the year / 11.22.05
- Best and worst reality-show hosts; ‘Survivor’ jury / 11.15.05
- ‘Free gas for life’ isn’t unlimited prize / 11.8.05
- Secrets of ‘The Biggest Loser’ scale / 11.1.05
- ‘Survivor’ gong; ‘Contender’ rematch purses / 10.24.05
- Most shocking reality TV moments; ‘Being Bobby Brown’ / 10.18.05
- Future of ‘Fear Factor’; ‘Project Runway’ DVD / 10.4.05
- Hurricanes affect ‘The Real World’; Best reality TV sites / 9.27.05
- Shows to look forward to, shows to dread; ‘Big Brother’ and the hurricane / 9.13.05
- Kelly couldn’t lose on ‘Dancing’; What happened to ‘The Law Firm’?; Is Morgan Spurlock’s ‘30 Days’ a reality show? / 8.22.05
- ‘Contender’ returns to the ring; what happened to Paige Davis / 8.15.05
- ‘Real World’ assault; is ‘Laguna’ fake?
- Guilty pleasures and sleeper hits: “Hell’s Kitchen,” “The Surreal Life” / 7.18.05
- Where should ‘Real World’ go next? / 7.12.05
- When will the next ‘Amazing Race’ air? / 6.28.05
- How can contestants put lives and bills on hold?; What happened to “Eco-Challenge”? / 6.21.05
- Good, bad, ugly of new summer shows / 6.14.05
- ‘Contender’ still has fighting chance; When is the next ‘Road Rules’? / 6.6.05
- ‘Project Runway’ will return in fall; ‘Making the Band’ update / 5.31.05
- Where do ‘Idol’ contestants live?; new ‘Contender’? / 5.24.05
- ‘Amazing Race’ finale created lots of questions / 5.17.05
- It’s a long way to tribal council / 5.10.05
- How long is a ‘Race’ rest stop?; ‘American Juniors’ update / 5.3.05
- ‘Amazing Race’ prizes; ‘Apprentice’ profits / 4.26.05
- ‘Home Makeover’ taxes; ‘Newlyweds’ no more / 4.19.05
- How much do Idols spend on clothes? / 4.12.05
- Top 10 underrated reality shows / 4.5.05
- Inside the juicy ‘Survivor’ feud; ‘Amazing Race’ roadblocks / 3.29.05
- the American Idol contract / 3.22.05
- Will reality TV return to ‘Paradise’? / 3.15.05
- How do Amazing Racers map things out?; the future of ‘The Will’ / 3.7.05
- How do reality shows protect their secrets? / 3.1.05
- What happened to that ‘Obnoxious Boss’?; Why no press for ‘Race’?
- Who’s the most famous reality TV alum?; FOX’s “Next Great Champ” / 12.21.04
- Will Kelly or Jenn become ‘The Apprentice’? / 12.15.04
- Why are reality-show casts so nondiverse? / 12.14.04
- Definition of “flying under the radar; what happened to “The Mole” / 12.7.04
- Mark Cuban’s “The Benefactor”; who pays for “Queer Eye” makeovers? / 11.30.04
- “The Benefactor”; “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” product placement / 11.29.04
- We name reality TV’s turkeys of the year / 11.23.04
- Kathy Hilton’s reality show / 11.16.04
- The worst (and best) reality TV moments; “Fear Factor” food / 11.9.04
- “Playing it Straight” update / 11.1.04
- life on Survivor’s loser island; Popstars cast / 10.28.04
- Apprentice media coverage; Amazing Race’s Zach and Flo / 10.21.04
- Apprentice tasks; Amazing Race camera crews / 10.14.04
Television criticism and features
Commentary
Episode analysis
Ask the Reality TV Experts column
Boldtype
- Blindness by Jose Saramago / 10.04
- A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham / 7.04
- Raw Deal by Ken Smith / 5.04
- Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy / 4.04
The Advocate
- Tales of the Baghdad Blogger [Salam Pax’s “The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi”] / 1.20.04
- Before she went Greek [rerelease of two Mary Renault novels] / 7.22.03
- At Home With Warhol [Andy Warhol’s nephew James Warhola] / 4.15.03
- From Russes with love [exhibition of Sergey Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes artifacts] / 2.18.03
Salon
- Home decorating and other lies [behind the scenes of TLC’s “Trading Spaces”] / 11.26.02
- Whither reality TV? [television’s future post-Sept. 11, 2001] / 10.3.01
- “The Real World” refuses to grow up [a look at 10 years of MTV’s “The Real World”] / 7.3.01
- Don’t call it a comeback [representation of African Americans in prime-time] / 5.23.01
- What about laughs? [review of ABC’s “What About Joan”] / 3.27.01
- The ratings game [Arbitron’s ratings] / 11.27.00
- Boo! [review of MTV’s “Fear”] / 10.27.00
- Miss America or Miss ABC? / 10.17.00
- “Big Brother,” meet “Survivor”; “Survivor,” meet “The Real World” / 7.12.00
- Failing is fun! [review of startupfailures.com] / 5.9.00
- Geek love [fans try to save “Freaks & Geeks”] / 4.20.00
- Who really killed the radio star? [MTV’s millionth video] / 3.1.00
- Alpha Male Epsilon [essay on frat boy culture] / 2.23.00 (letters to the editor)
- Will success spoil Janeane Garofalo? / 1.26.00
- Is being addicted a choice? / 1.10.00
- View from the Top: Market Makers [interview with Peapod’s founders] / 1.10.00
- Obit: Mary Kay Bergman / 11.19.99
- Who surfs to be a millionaire? [review of iwon.com] / 11.16.99
- The Web’s plagiarism police / 6.14.99
- Internship hell / 2.17.99
- “Felicity” points to the Web / 2.12.99
The Boston Globe
- Me and E.T., page L13, Sunday Movies front page / 3.17.02
The Chicago Tribune
- Setting your sites on celebrity, Tempo, page 3D / 12.26.01 (unedited version)
- Reality of ‘Mole’ casting tryout / 5.24.01
Slate
- The Breakfast Table (with Wesley Morris and Alex Pappademas) / 4.23.01 to 4.26.01
PopPolitics
- A Complex Fantasy [ABC’s Alias] / 1.22.02
Online Journalism Review
Ironminds
- Yeah, But Can She Cook? / 6.30.00
- What’s Wrong With Carpetbagging? / 6.2.00
- Vote Your Brain, Not Your Type / 5.19.00
- Presidents Are People Too / 5.4.00
- Clinton’s Digital Disconnect / 4.20.00
- Same Old Charade / 2.25.00
- Discrimination Is OK … When Votes Are at Stake / 2.11.00
- Convoluted Caucuses and MTV / 1.28.00
- Weighing the Polls / 1.14.00
Student.Com
- Heatwaves and Airwaves [summer TV preview] / 5.10.00
- So you wanna be a VJ? [MTV’s VJ3] / 5.3.00
- Leo’s neo-geo news adventure a big waste [Leonardo DiCaprio on ABC] / 4.26.00
- “Making The Band” makes the grade for reality-based TV [ABC] / 4.19.00
- Billy’s death gives new life to “Ally” [Fox’s "Ally McBeal"] / 4.12.00
- Political farce: “D.C.” does Washington [WB’S "D.C."] / 4.3.00
- Spring Breakout [MTV’s Spring Break 2000] / 3.29.00
- All 2Gether Now…. sing! [MTV’s “2Gether”] / 3.15.00
- They See Dead People [NBC’s “The Others”] / 1.24.00
- Ally’s Kid Cousin [Fox’s “Malcolm in the Middle”] / 1.31.00
- The Realer World [MTV’s “True Life”] / 2.24.00
- ‘Quiz Show’ Redux [NBC’s “Twenty-One”] / 2.17.00
- Year of the Television [TV in 1999] / 1.3.00
- Elvis Has Left The Building [review of “Man on the Moon”] / 12.22.99
- Sense of “Snow” [review of “Snow Falling on Cedars”] / 12.22.99
- You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out [the movie “A Christmas Story”] / 12.20.99
- Stein…Stein…Stein… [Comedy Central’s “Win Ben Stein’s Money” and “Prime Stein”] / 12.13.99
- The Ghosts of Christmas Pat [TNT’s “A Christmas Carol”] / 12.6.99
- Terminator 2K [review of “End of Days”] / 11.30.99
- Maher Comes ‘Correct’ [ABC’s “Politically Incorrect”] / 11.29.99
- Million Dollar Bash [ABC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and Fox’s “Greed”] / 11.17.99
- End of the World [Real World season wrap-up] / 11.17.99
- Office Killer [UPN’s “Dilbert”] / 11.10.99
- Aloha [column on “The Real World” #822] / 11.9.99
- Not a Bone to Pick [review of “The Bone Collector”] / 11.5.99
- Defending ‘McBeal’ [Fox’s “Ally McBeal”] / 11.3.99
- Cold Comfort [column on “The Real World” #821] / 11.2.99
- Reality Biters [a look at upcoming reality-TV shows] / 10.27.99
- Love Is A Burning Thing [column on “The Real World” #820] / 10.26.99
- Children’s Crusade [column on “The Real World” #819] / 10.19.99
- Tears R “Us” [review of “The Story of Us” movie] / 10.15.99
- Taking a Dive [column on “The Real World” #818] / 10.12.99
- Free Fallin’ [column on “The Real World” #817] / 10.5.99
- Out Man Out [column on “The Real World” #816] / 9.28.99
- Cruel Intentions [column on “The Real World” #815] / 9.14.99
- Bacon Gets His “Sixth” Degree [review of “Stir of Echoes” movie] / 9.10.99
- AfterMatt [column on “The Real World” #814] / 9.7.99
- Eighty-Sixed [column on “The Real World” #813] / 8.31.99
- Glass Shield [column on “The Real World” #812] / 8.24.99
- Keepin’ It Real! [column on “The Real World” #811] / 8.17.99
- I Don’t Want You (She’s So Heavy) [column on “The Real World” #810] / 8.10.99
- Waster’s Choice [column on “The Real World” #809] / 8.3.99
- Get Your Diet Straight [column on “The Real World” #808] / 7.27.99
- The Civilized ‘World’ [column on “The Real World” #807] / 7.20.99
- Wild, Wild ‘World’ [column on “The Real World” #806] / 7.13.99
- Mystery Dates [column on “The Real World” #805] / 7.6.99
- Uncut Spunk [review of “South Park” movie] / 7.1.99
- About Last Night… [column on “The Real World” #804] / 6.29.99
- Reality Teck [column on “The Real World” #803] / 6.22.99
- Hawaiian Bunch [column on “The Real World” #802] / 6.15.99
- Second ‘Powers’ [review of “Austin Powers II”] / 6.11.99
- Once On This Island [Universal Studios Islands of Adventure] / 5.20.99
- Bleeding Gums School [essay about a visit to the dentist] / 3.11.99
- Please Come to Our Games! Please! / 2.17.99
- Latex Night Reading [review of “Getting it On: a Condom Reader”] / 2.12.99
- Pardon Their Dust [campus construction] / 2.8.99
- Honor Thy Code [honor codes] / 1.25.99
- Off the Beep End [pagers and cell phones on college campuses] / 1.15.99
- You Say It’s Your Birthday [birthday discounts and where to find them] / 1.9.99
- College Media Blitz [1998 National Media Convention] / 11.25.98
- Hacker Heaven [Profile of John Vranesevich and AntiOnline.] / 11.03.98
- Campuses React to Shepard’s Death / 10.30.98
- Two Faces of Halloween / 10.29.98
- American Diversity 101 / 10.22.98
- Lower Rates, Open Records [Higher Education Reauthorization Act] / 10.8.98
- Ready or Not? [are colleges ready for the Y2K problem?] / 10.6.98
- School vacation [essay on going to college in Florida] / 9.30.98
- Click Here to Apply [Online application at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.] / 9.23.98
- Back to School Tech-Nos / 9.17.98
- Babble On [review of “Coming of Age in Babylon”] / 9.15.98
- Little girl glossed [review of Ever After] / 8.7.98
- Temporary hell / 8.3.98
- Show us the money [how schools use their endowments] / 7.30.98
- Not in the Cards [id card scam investigation] / 6.24.98
- The maddening crowd [experiences as a movie extra] / 4.9.98
- Laundry for everyone / 4.8.98
- Costly connections / 3.4.98
- The best man [review of the Wedding Singer] / 3.4.98
- Epidemic Eating Disorders / 1.20.98
The Slant
- The Grass Ain’t Always Greener: Radio in Central Florida / 6.26.98
- Give Kids the World (or at least $5000) [Sarah Maclachlan/ Barenaked Ladies concert review] / 12.24.97
- Toward a more asthetically pleasing world12.3.97
- You people drive like crap! / 5.22.97
- Comedy on the cutting edge / 5.18.97
- Don’t be a Wallflower [review of Wallflower concert] / 5.7.97
- The cult of Drew Garabo [an interview with the Real Radio 104.1 host] / 4.10.97
other publications, speeches
- Dinner [fiction, Random House’s boldtype.com short story contest runner-up] / 1.7.00
- Senior Commencement Address, Stetson University / 5.9.99
- Senior thesis — Digital Neighborhoods: Online Discussion Areas and the Changing Notion of Community. / 4.19.99
- “What Scouting Means to Me” speech, Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner honoring Congressman Porter Goss / 12.7.98