Product Design & The Asshole Contingency

Nineteen Days Until Election Day

On February 3rd, I announced my candidacy to be the next mayor of Baltimore. From the beginning, I knew that I would be leading an 83-day campaign — 83 days from the launch date to Primary Day on April 26th.

Something You Don’t See Every Day

An unshaven look a how we publicly treat people with disabilites

The Weird Redemption of SF’s Most Reviled Tech Bro

He blasted the homeless, then tried to make amends, startup-style. But as Greg Gopman learned, no business plan can find your way back home.

Designers at the Gates of Hell

Tall, thin, and bent like a paper clip, Danish designer Andreas Weiland sat folded up on the…

Microphone Check: How NPR Became an Unlikely Hip-Hop Force

The blog era might be dead now, but in 2012 sites were still very much fighting tooth and nail for premieres and exclusives, ourselves included. DJBooth, LiveMixtapes, DatPiff, Nahright, 2Dope and a host of…

Memo to Nest: How 3 connected hardware companies killed their devices

My Unarmed Son Was Killed by Police

A father searches for meaning in the wake of a wrongful…

I doomed mankind with a free text editor

Will long and complex words make you look smarter? Meet the people who…

“I Screamed As Wires Pinned Me to the Ground”

Six months ago, I was operating on a patient in the Kunduz Trauma Center when U.S…

The Bread Of Our Dreams

When John went to the new health food store that opened up in his neighborhood he had no idea what he was getting himself into…

His girlfriend had asked him to pick up some “healthy-looking” bread and some heirloom tomatoes and then she wrote down the word “aca…

Nigeria Never Brought Back The Missing Girls

Almost two years ago, when the Chibok girls were snatched from their beds in the…

How Impassioned Amateurs Built a New Planetary Nervous System

Using cheap sensors and ubiquitous computing, a people’s movement…

He wore rat-drawn shoes and an old stetson hat

A love letter to the lyrics of Stagger Lee by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds

The Problem With Smart Cities

It’s no use turning cities into data mines without putting human…

Forget Panama, the US has become the world’s favorite place to stash cash

Money from foreign tax avoiders has filled US war…

Waiting on a Liver

A broken transplant system and the search for a ‘perfect’ organ cost my wife her life

(Note: Most of the photos below were supplied by friends after I sent them the story. Thank you to everyone…

Foo Fighters: In Utero

Dave Grohl launched his band with the purest of intentions, but could he outrun Nirvana’s daunting shadow?

Trump, Islam, and the “Hitler-Adjacent” Problem

Historians and Religions Scholars Weigh in on What’s Going on

Artificial Intelligence & Real Journalism

While our brains still matter, I’d like your help in brainstorming the opportunities artificial intelligence, deep learning, et al hold for journalism. I’m asking this of my students and asking for your help in that.

Finding purpose in the loss of our son

Disclaimer: This post is primarily a selfish endeavor. It is a channel for my grief. More importantly, I hope the words about our experience and our healing process will provide comfort and solace to the next set of parents that have to go…

Alabama leadership is a weird stack of crap right now, and it’s exactly what the state wanted.

Untangling the Bentley…

Parenting Tips from Odin, Son of Bor, King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms

The time that Tony Fadell sold me a container of hummus.

On May 15th a critical Nest product will go dark. I’m shocked this isn’t bigger…

When a New Cell Phone Almost Ruins Your Relationship

How do you save an inter-operating-system romance?

I’ll preface this story by saying that if my boyfriend of nearly two years had switched from iPhone to Android…

My 10 Favorite Wrestlemania Matches

Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (Wrestlemania 13)

I think this is my very favorite Wrestlemania match ever.

It is an “I Quit” match, which means it can only end when one of the wrestlers submits and says those…

I Have Met the Bernie Bro

and He is Us.

(and He is Us).

Farewell to Jack English, A True Craftsman Who Built a Good Life in the Wilderness

‘Ventana Jack’ was a remarkable carpenter, father, husband…

A behind-the-scenes look at March on the campaign trail with Hillary Clinton

The busiest month of the Democratic primary (so…

Museum Logos: Drawing The Line

A powerful exposé of the Museum world

About a month ago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art changed their logo. You might have seen it:

Cuttin’ for your country

Woodchopping used to be must-watch television — like Top Town, Mastermind and It’s In The Bag. But…

A Hacker’s Guide to Bending the Universe

If you’re going to conquer the world, you can’t let a broken CRT monitor stand in your way

The Genius of Weirdness

What Frank Zappa Taught Me, and What We Can Still Learn

Photographing a Donald Trump Rally — St. Louis, MO

Is YouTube’s Music Domination Finally Coming to an End?

As Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Music raise the bar, here’s how YouTube…