Blog
How will a changing climate affect national parks?
The majority of Americans agree: Climate change is happening. What we don't agree upon is exactly why or how it will unfold—and it's becoming clear that it could manifest in very different ways across the planet. This is an area of a flurry of research, and recently, I had the opportunity to talk with climate scientist Maria Caffrey, who is in the midst of a massive study on how climate change will affect coastal national parks. Her mission is to provide parks with projections at an unprecedented level…
The art of chasing fungi
This summer, I followed two young men on a somewhat hare-brained mission: bring the wild foods of Colorado's Front Range to the finest restaurant kitchens in Denver. It was an insanely fun story to report. In a taupe Pontiac minivan, we jostled up potholed dirt roads and pinballed around the mountains in search of mushrooms and other wild edibles like watercress, asparagus, violets, and herbs. At a word-of-mouth pop-up dinner, I tasted ten courses of wild, foraged edibles in all sorts of combinations. I also discovered…
Hey self-doubt, I see you
Recently, I became completely obsessed with a story I’m writing. It requires a ton of reporting to understand this issue, but there’s also a compelling character at the center of it all. I’m having a hell of a time weaving together the disparate narrative threads, making it entertaining and ensuring this complicated topic is both understandable and not oversimplified. I have been staying up every night and working through weekends to figure this all out. (One benefit of obsession? Endurance.) Even amidst the madness, I…