I enjoy writing. I’ve had the chance to do a lot of it over the years, sometimes for my job, sometimes for various publications, and often just for myself. Here’s a selection of some of my favorite things I’ve done.
Nique vs. Bird: An Oral History of the NBA’s Greatest Playoff Game
The Hawks have nary a championship to their name since they moved to Atlanta, but can at least take solace in knowing they were a part of one of the seminal duels in basketball history. In Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals Dominique Wilkins showed he was every bit the measure of Larry Bird, even in a losing effort, as the two went back and forth in a fourth quarter that is probably being shown on ESPN Classic as we speak (if that channel still exists). This piece is one of the great pleasures of my life, a chance to talk to so many of the players, coaches, broadcasters and more who were there for that fateful game. Nique vs. Bird. It don’t get no better.
Six Tips To Help You Survive Getting Laid Off
I wrote this piece for The Billfold several months after rejoining the workforce after getting laid off. Honestly, it’s not the soul-crushing experience you think it’s going to be…if you know how to navigate the emotional peaks and valleys.
10 Things From Summer Camp That Stick With You Forever
I love summer camp, pretty much everything I do is based on my experiences there. So it made sense that I would write this piece for Kveller about the biggest takeaways I had from all my years there and why they are so valuable. Really everyone should go to summer camp, it’s never too late to start!
The Incredible Chemistry of Comedy Bang Bang
Here’s a piece I wrote for Vulture (nee Splitsider) about the amazing on-air chemistry between host Scott Aukerman and several of his recurring guests, and how that helps explain the incredible success and sustained entertainment value of one of the best comedy podcasts around.
And some personal writing:
Open Harts
As we’ve become a family who loves adventure and travel, I’ve been writing about our experiences, both from the sabbatical we took in Lisbon and Ljubljana in 2018 to our move to Spain in 2022. I try to share the positives and the negatives. Travel is great, living abroad is great, but none of it comes without its challenges. Worth it though!
Wisdom. And Shit.
For both my children, as a way to mark the passage of their respective first years on the planet, I posted a photo of them every time I had to change a poopy diaper alongside a piece of advice for them as they grew up. I called it “Wisdom and Shit”. We chose not to have a third for many reasons, but at least a tiny fraction of it was the daunting idea of having to come up with another ~365 things to impart.