Selected Work

Atomic Cocktails

The ‘lighter side’ of uranium, one of the heaviest elements

Originally published September 13, 2024 in Times Literary Supplement

Uranium is among the heaviest naturally occurring elements in the periodic table, and as the source material for the atomic bomb and nuclear power its importance in human affairs is clear. Many associate it primarily with meltdowns and mushroom clouds.

For years, science has made it possible to start families later in life. Now, more advanced methods to extend fertility may be on the way.

Originally published January 1, 2024 in National Geographic

Two weeks before her 48th birthday, Eboni Camille Chillis lay in a hospital bed, ready to give birth to her first child. As she nervously waited for the doctors to begin a cesarean section, she put on a playlist she had made for the occasion.

A new group, which includes two former NRA lobbyists, is betting on it

Originally published September 21, 2022 in Washington Post Magazine

Abra Belke was home for the holidays in 2012 when she watched a speech that would soon become infamous. She woke up jet-lagged at her brother’s condo — she had flown into Montana from D.C.

What Thom Yorke did when Radiohead weren’t making music

Originally published August 5, 2022 in Times Literary Supplement

NO BAND CAPTURED the uneasy feeling of the final years of the millennium more faithfully than Radiohead. As the band’s frontman, Thom Yorke, recently put it: “I don’t know why we thought it was the last days on earth, but I guess we did.

Currently there are about 80 locations in 35 states where spent fuel is being stored, with no long-term plans for disposal.

Originally published April 11, 2022 in Washington Post Magazine

A little more than a decade ago, Marni Magda was reading Scientific American magazine in her living room when she came across an infographic titled “Aging Fleet under Review.