A Duke University clinic helps transgender youth transition to new identities. Originally published in Duke Magazine. Photos by Alex Boerner. ATOM EDWARDS IS A HIGH-SCHOOL JUNIOR who carries himself with a confidence that not all his peers possess. The youngest of four siblings, he has a lanky frame and a hi-top fade that lightens at […]
The Eradicator
Dr. Donald Hopkins helped wipe smallpox from the planet. He won’t rest until he’s done the same for Guinea worm disease. Originally published in Atlanta Magazine. AT AN OPEN-AIR HOSPITAL IN NORTHERN Ghana, Donald Hopkins watched a small girl endure a medical ordeal unseen in the United States. It was 2007, and four-year-old Rafia Fusseini […]
Mindful Policing: The Future of Force
With police violence in the news, and public scrutiny on the rise, cities turn to mindfulness to help officers deal with the stress of the job. Originally published in Mindful. “YOU GUYS READY FOR A TECHNIQUE?” the trainer asks. “Everybody, sit up straight. Uncross your legs. Just look straight ahead.” Eric White gathers his 6-foot-8 […]
The Algae that (Almost) Ate Toledo
A year ago, a massive algal bloom shut down drinking water for 500,000 Midwesterners. It will happen again if we don’t take action. Originally published in onEarth. BRENDA SNYDER WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE to be at work on August 1, 2014. The chief chemist at the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant in Toledo, Ohio, was taking […]
Meet the Doctor Who Went to Jail to Save North Carolina Lives
Originally published in The American Prospect. NEXT MONTH IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, physician Charlie van der Horst is scheduled to appear before a Superior Court judge and jury to appeal his second-degree trespassing conviction stemming from his participation in the Moral Monday protests that filled the state legislature building last year. Van der Horst, an […]
Reports from Moral Monday
During 2014, I reported on North Carolina’s Moral Monday movement, a faith-based organizing effort that is becoming a national model. The movement is spearheaded by the state NAACP with broad support from churches and issue-based organizations, including women’s, immigrant, environmental, LGBT, and labor groups. Most of the articles were published online by The American Prospect, illustrated by […]
Free to Go
Suffering from advanced-stage ovarian cancer, Sue Otterbourg declined aggressive treatment to spend her last months living fully. Why can’t more people do the same? Originally published in Indy Week. THE FIRST TIME I MET SUE OTTERBOURG, she greeted me at her front door in Durham’s Forest Hills neighborhood dressed as anyone would for a business meeting: […]
Why the Beach Makes Us Happy
Scientists have explored everything from the sound of rolling waves to the molecular ions in the salty air, but is there a power even greater behind the sea’s ability to transform us? And can we harness that power to save the sea itself? Originally published in Coastal Living. IT DOESN’T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST to tell […]
Trying to Keep Sane, One Goat at a Time
A year after the sealing of the BP oil well, Louisianans are still dealing with the emotional toll of the spill. Meet Isadore “J.J.” Creppel, a shrimper and net maker who has found his own way to cope. Produced by Barry Yeoman and Richard Ziglar for KRVS, Lafayette, Louisiana, and the Louisiana Public Broadcasting “GulfWatch” […]
Do-It-Yourself Genetics
The mapping of the human genome inspired not only a flood of scientific research, but also a flurry of commercial genetic tests aimed at the curious consumer. The author submitted his DNA and gained access to a trove of information—some fascinating, some reassuring, some terrifying. Originally published in Duke Magazine. WHEN WE ADOPTED SCOOTER IN […]
