Feb 6Living in the Shadow of the American DreamChristmas 1988 My mother is a nostalgic kind of person. It’s hard for her to let go of anything she’s collected in the 26 years since I was born, including dozens of discolored old toys that hide in boxes throughout storage. Plastic bath submarines, stuffed animals that once happened to exist in…Memoir20 min read
Aug 13, 2021A month on the road in the pandemic American West“The best teacher is experience and not through someone’s distorted point of view.” It was September, and a cool start to Autumn. Eight months into the pandemic. And to be sure, my partner and my’s experience of the pandemic has been blessedly smooth. We work from home, and despite losing…Travel28 min read
Aug 5, 2021Did I grow up in a pentecostal cult?A letter to Satan Pentecostalism began in 1906, with a son of freed slaves named William J. Seymour. Seymour and some cohorts were waiting around in a place called Bonnie Brae street, and their account of what happened is that all seven of them, one by one, began to fall on the ground and…Religion25 min read
Published in Curious·Feb 16, 2021In an Increasingly Interactive World, What Is the Future Technology of Audio Storytelling?Earlier this year, in a time now alien to many of us, I attended a Seattle XR conference on assignment. The event was hosted by Vulcan, a local and globally recognized documentary company started by the late Paul Allen, with the goal of increasing awareness toward conservation, scarcity, and injustice…Podcast13 min read
Jan 19, 2021How anime took off in the United StatesIt’s fair to say that anime, especially in the United States, has somewhat of a complicated image. This may be partially due to what’s called, in the lexicon, a “weeb” (short for weeaboo): someone obsessed with Japanese culture, arguably to the point of wanting to be Japanese themselves. Most commonly…Anime22 min read
Published in Digital Diplomacy·Jul 6, 2020I spent 3 days deleting 10 years of online content — and lost some of myself along the waySince I crossed over 20, life has been inextricably tied to the internet, meaning my choice to participate in digital recreation isn’t voluntary. Especially since kicking off a career, it’s rare for me to tweet or post or story because it all feels so exhibitionist, so cumbersome, because at any…Self Improvement14 min read
May 7, 2020Sailing the seas of failure: Joseph Conrad on weathering tough decisionsBefore the time of air travel, when the radial boundaries of the world were ever-expanding, the sea was promise. A ship was the only way to see the world, and the wayfarer’s journey manifested a deep-seated belief that the sea was possibility — possibility being made of success and failure…Self Improvement12 min read
Mar 5, 2020Kierkegaard and the power of irony: how to know more by knowing lessTwo weavers, both cunning with an eye on royal gold, are devising a plan. The Emperor is searching for a new, decadent set of clothes, one which will separate his valiant power from any other citizen or noble in the land. But the weavers are not men of means —…Philosophy13 min read
Jul 27, 2019Could Congress save journalism?Note: I’ve spent my professional career as a reporter and producer in public radio newsrooms at KLCC, NPR, and KUOW. Dr. Chris Chavez is also a mentor and former colleague. THE PROBLEM Journalism as an industry is experiencing intense growing pains. Newsrooms are laying off dozens of employees as megacompanies buy up…Journalism21 min read
Jan 22, 2019Germans have long been stingy on privacy. Could their history be the future of data protection?Tucked on the outer edges of East Berlin lies a series of complexes. They’re typically modern, massive blocks in the shapes of Ls, Is and Ts — an alphabetic topography built by the Soviets. Step into the building at address Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 31/33, and you’re greeted by a nostalgic palette of…Privacy12 min read