selected writing

The Atlantic
Misunderstanding Orange Juice as a Health Drink
Juice is, nutritionally, not much better than soda. How did U.S. consumers come to believe that oranges, in any form, were an important part of a healthy diet?

The Atlantic
Looking to Quell Sexual Urges? Consider the Graham Cracker
One of America’s first diet hawks, Sylvester Graham was certain that sexual desire was ruining society. His solution: whole wheat. How a zealot’s legacy lives in our foods today.

The Atlantic
Alone Together: The Return of Communal Restaurant Tables
As more establishments seat people in close proximity, friendships are not forged.

The Atlantic
The Historic Healing Power of the Beach
For centuries we looked to the sand and surf as a fully-stocked pharmacy. But first, we had to get over our fear of the sea.

The Atlantic
Turning Bacon Into Bombs: The American Fat Salvage Committee
It turns out that bacon fat is good for more than sprucing up bitter greens—it’s also pretty good for making bombs. And during World War II, handing over cooking fat to the government was doing your patriotic duty.

NPR
Bringing Home The Woolly Bacon From Hungary
The Mangalitsa pig was born out of a 19th-century Austro-Hungarian experiment in cross breeding with a wild boar and a pig bred especially for lard. The result was one of the fattiest, tastiest and strangest-looking pigs around.

CityLab
The Surprisingly Short History of the Rooftop Happy Hour
140 years ago, the only thing that hung out on urban roofs was wet laundry. But over time, height conquered all.

The Paris Review
Passional Affinities
The free-love couple who pissed off nineteenth-century America

Atlas Obscura
The 19th-Century Night Soil Men Who Carted Away America’s Waste
Cities used to be literally full of crap.

Atlas Obscura
The Once-Common Practice of Communal Sleeping
What’s a shared bed between colleagues, anyway?

Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover’s Companion to New York City
“Restaurant Reviewing” and “Soda Fountains”

Atlas Obscura
Before America Got Uncle Sam, It Had to Endure Brother Jonathan
Brash, bold, and bigoted, he made for an uneasy national mascot.

Atlas Obscura
Eating Spaghetti by the Fistful Was Once a Neapolitan Street Spectacle
When tourists flocked to see the “macaroni eaters” cram noodles into their mouths

Atlas Obscura
The Tomato Pill Craze
How a war over cure-all pills convinced Americans to eat tomatoes.

Lapham’s Quaterly
Her Majesty’s Rat-Catcher
Jack Black caught vermin for no less than Queen Victoria.

Lapham’s Quaterly
From the Sea, Freedom
Whether it’s for the free market or for free love, the underlying principle of the micro-nation is freedom, and the sea has always been a generous provider. 

Lapham’s Quaterly
Fine-Feathered Friends
A fashion craze begets animal activism.

Jewcy
A German of a Certain Age
When my elderly professor from Germany asked me if I was Jewish, I assumed the worst

Narratively
Mastering the Art of the New York Eat-and-Walk
Parisians can keep their two-hour breakfasts at street-side cafes; the power lunch is all for LA. But you’re not a New Yorker until you inhale your meals at full sidewalk speed.

Roads & Kingdoms
Listening to Strangers Fight About Politics While Drinking Alone is Strangely Satisfying

Medium
Would You Tell Me If I Smelled?
A test of love, friendship and malodor

First We Feast
The Greatest Celebrity Performances in Japanese Food and Drink Commercials
From Harrison Ford for Kirin Beer to James Brown for Nissin Ramen, celebrities often do their finest (or at least strangest) work for Japanese companies.