Journalist – Historian – Speaker
So I was going to write a post about another killing, but I’m tired. My son was up much of the night (he has a cold so his breathing isn’t great so he’s restless and wakeful). I have a lot of work to do today despite the exhaustion. So here’s something great. My daughter got …
Ellie building the Lego “Research Lab.” My daughter, Ellie, who is 5: I wonder why people make pants without pockets. Me: It’s because clothing designers believe girls don’t need pockets. Ellie: We should go to a clothing designer and say, ‘Hey! Put pockets in girl pants.’ And they’ll say, ‘Why? Girls don’t need pockets.’ And then …
Yesterday, a video on catcalling went viral. Today, Hanna Rosin at Slate wrote a piece on how the editor edited out the white guys, making it a long string of black and Latino men harassing a white woman. The video is a collaboration between Hollaback!, an anti-street harassment organization, and the marketing agency Rob Bliss Creative. …
It’s been a busy week of writing and I hope you are enjoying this holiday weekend. Most of the week was spent on the cult of compliance and police violence. I started with a piece on CNN on 4 police killings of people with mental health issues. I argued that we need to think about psychiatric disability …
Yesterday, I had my first piece published on the Huffington Post. It’s about my daughter’s backpack. The boy came down the hall just as I was arriving at preschool with my daughter, Ellie. In a voice filled with excitement, she said, “Michael [not his real name], come look at my new backpack! It’s the Avengers!” Indeed …
A few weeks ago, I wrote a well-read blog post about girls and science. Apparently, we’re still debating whether it’s nuture or nature that drives women to choose professions other than science. Two recent pieces in the national media provide more evidence for the ways that women get driven out of the scientific profession, as …
This is from Sketchers. It’s called “Gimme Kisses” from the brand line “Daddy’s Money.” If you look closely, you can see a $ and the word Daddy above the laces. This one is called “Cha-Ching” is a pretty good looking shoe. The one covered in bling is “Gimme megabucks.” Why yes, I am writing an essay …
“I respect you very much as a woman for your accomplishments. I even read that you studied medieval history, which I think will come in handy with trying to defend the Republican war on women.” Liberal Radio Host Stephanie Miller to Carly Fiorina, failed Republican Senate Candiate, on CNN State of the Union, 7/6/2014. On …
So Verizon and Makers teamed up to make a great new video about the insidious ways that we push girls away from science. I am always suspicious of corporations getting involved in social causes, as they tend to be followers rather than leaders. Still, Makers is pretty great and I think the video highlights some typical …
It was a very good writing week for me. I pitched four columns, landed three, one of which came out immediately. I also wrote a first-draft treatment of a book (more on this later once it’s ready). Most fun, I did an interview and part of a call-in show with an Australian radio program! You …