Category Archives: Uncategorized

Last night I attended a community meeting in Ferguson featuring controversial Mayor Knowles, unaware that it would devolve into a full-fledged fight: A packed community meeting in Ferguson, Mo., descended into chaos Thursday night after name-calling gave way to an … Continue reading →

My latest for the Chronicle is on “The Professor Is In”, a career counseling service that paradoxically highlights the worst elements of academia while encouraging people to join it: Imagine you meet an escapee from a cult. Having recently fled … Continue reading →

My latest for Foreign Policy is on a group of Uzbeks who are using social media to fight back against a ruthless regime: “Today the main disease of Uzbek society is fear,” says Kudrat Bobojonov, an Uzbekistani journalist exiled in … Continue reading →

My latest for the Guardian is on the “Black Lives Matter” and “We Must Stop Killing Each Other” signs that are planted on lawns throughout the St. Louis metropolitan region. An excerpt: St Louis has become a region awash in signs. … Continue reading →

I have an op-ed about the Andijon massacre in the New York Times: On May 13, 2005, military forces dispatched by the government of Uzbekistan fired on a massive protest in the city of Andijon, killing hundreds of Uzbek citizens. The … Continue reading →

My latest article for the Guardian is on the explosion of payday lending, which is a huge problem in Missouri and in the U.S. in general: I am driving down Route 180 in St Louis, Missouri, past empty plazas and vacant … Continue reading →

May 13, 2015 will mark the ten-year anniversary of the Andijon massacre: the day military troops in Uzbekistan shot and killed over 700 Uzbek citizens gathered at a protest in Andijon’s Bobur Square. Those of you who know me for … Continue reading →

Big news! I’ve collected the best of my essays from my time at Al Jazeera into an ebook, available as a Kindle download for $5.00. If you would like to support my work – or simply want a copy of … Continue reading →

I’ve been moving away from op-ed lately to concentrate more on original feature reporting. My latest for the Guardian is on the impoverished town of Beverly Hills, Missouri, which has a population of under 600 but whose police wrote over 3800 … Continue reading →

My debut article for the Guardian is on the 77-year-old St. Louis crime tabloid the St. Louis Evening Whirl: “Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. That’s how three street goons came at a dude as he said goodbye to his lovely … Continue reading →