Some stories and topics take more time to explore, and more words to explain. These are stories that I spent weeks and months writing and reporting, and that take deep dives into their subjects.
Reality on the High Seas. Playboy, March 2012.
Sea Shepherd activists went to the Faroe Islands to try to stop whaling, a tradition that goes back centuries. Aboard their ship was an Animal Planet film crew.
This piece won the Society for Professional Journalists’ Sunshine State Award for magazine feature reporting.
The Curse of Reality TV. Playboy, July 2011.
No genre of television leaves more human wreckage in its wake than reality television. But who’s at fault? The shows themselves, or the people they attract? I tried to find out, reporting from the set of Hoarders, a show that either helped or exploited mentally ill people in crisis, and spent time with a Survivor cast member, soccer coach, and pastor who felt like the show damaged his reputation.
Behind the scenes of Trading Spaces. Salon, Nov. 26, 2002.
The first time I watched an episode of television be produced was in suburban Houston, during the height of the Trading Spaces craze. In this piece, I shared what I learned about how reality becomes TV.