ABOUT
I write about the slow-motion collapse of industrial civilization. Mostly from a laptop, which I'm aware is a problem.
My beat is a big-picture critique of contemporary life, which sounds a little extra, but it’s actually quite simple. We evolved to live and thrive in nature and community, using our bodies on the landscape to survive. Everything would probably be better if we used that wisdom to guide our culture. Until then, hypocrisy has become the default operating system for anyone trying to live ethically inside a broken machine. I include myself in that.
Over two decades, my reporting on health, culture, and education has run in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Forbes, KQED, the Christian Science Monitor, ARTNews, YOGA Magazine, NBC News online, and a long tail of others. I also ghostwrite, co-write, and edit books for people whose names you'd recognize and whose authorship I'm contractually obligated to forget. Wikipedia took note.
A few greatest hits: I covered Tunisia's arts scene blooming after the revolution and the first crop of Stanford students building apps to make you less anxious, the irony of which was not lost on me. My Atlantic piece on white privilege in collegiate debate went viral and got adapted into an episode of Radiolab. My San Francisco Chronicle investigation into Medi-Cal exposed an unjust genetic-testing policy, and one year later, the California Senate took up the matter, which is roughly as close as journalism ever gets to a slam dunk.
I've uncovered hidden environmental hazards and exposed the unglamorous underbelly of sustainable food. Yes, I dumpster-dived, attempted permaculture design, and built a compost toilet because why waste fresh water?
I've also published graphic memoir essays about motherhood, under the working title "Motherwhelmed," in Motherwell, Hip Mama, and Mutha. Literary Mama interviewed me about my creative work in 2017. A handful of other outlets have had things to say.
Extracurriculars
I’m a California Naturalist and taught the statewide certification course to help people connect more deeply to local ecology. I teach retreats and wild movement at LumaVia and wildcrafting and ancestral skills at Wakamatsu Farm. I make Jewish wedding documents (called ketubahs) and paint public murals. I like to pretend I speak French. If I’m not trail-running, I’m dancing. You can see a sample of my creative work here.
Education
Before all of this, I earned a B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Swarthmore College and then pursued a Master’s in cultural anthropology at Yale. No one told me not to acquire another graduate degree in cultural studies from the University of London. I spent seven years prostrate to the higher mind as an adjunct instructor (now I’m free!)
Wild Home
I live on a 20-acre forested homestead in the Sierra Foothills with my partner, two daughters, nine chickens, and five ducks. I also spend a lot of time exploring natural areas and accidentally trespassing while searching for wild edibles. I’ve never achieved work-parenting balance, but I can perform a headstand for 60 seconds.