Hi there. I write about science, culture and sports. In the past few years I've published stories in Esquire, the Atlantic Monthly, Philadelphia magazine, Slate, the New York Times "Play" magazine, Men's Journal, and the Penn Stater. My first book, Horsemen of the Esophagus, was called "a stunning act of dissent" by the Wall Street Journal, "stylish" by the Village Voice, "probing" by Entertainment Weekly, "a pleasure" by the L.A. Times, "sly and vivid" by Newsday, "genuinely corrosive yet touching" by the Philadelphia CityPaper, and "a wonderful feat... extraordinary" by the U.K. Sunday Telegraph. A paperback version is available from Three Rivers Press.

Selected magazine work

 YouType: The strange allure of making your own fonts
(Slate, June 2008)

 As Seen on YouTube (and Pretty Much Only on YouTube)
Profile of Vova Galchenko, the best young juggler in the world. (NY Times Play magazine, June 2008)

 Jerry Blavat Finds the Fountain of Youth
The last doo-wop deejay. (Philadelphia, May 2008)

The Exterminators
The fight to eradicate tuberculosis. (Esquire, December 2007)

Horsemen of the Esophagus
Among the super-gluttons, on the front lines of competitive eating. (The Atlantic, May 2006)

The Great Gusto of Jimmy Binns
Profile of the most flamboyant lawyer in boxing. (Philadelphia, February 2006)

Press Lord 2.0
Profile of Brian Tierney, the self-made adman who bought the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News. (Philadelphia, April 2007)

How Not to Play God
Stem-cell researcher Kent Vrana. (The Penn Stater, March/April 2007)

The Kingdom and the Power of Johnny Doc
The second coming of Frank Rizzo. (Philadelphia, July 2006)

Did Dr. Norwood Go Too Far?
Profile of William Norwood, pediatric heart surgeon. (Philadelphia, June 2004)