Magazine Work

Between 1985 and 1999, I covered social change and its effects on businesses and institutions as an editor for the award-winning magazine American Demographics.  I helped resurrect the magazine under new ownership in 2019, along with former editor Cheryl Russell and other contributors. The new version of American Demographics is currently on pause, but you can still sign up for a free subscription at americandemographics.com.

Here’s a sampler of my work for other magazines:

Reading the River, The American Scholar, Spring 2019. Notes on the experience of piloting a raft through Grand Canyon in 2018.  Posts from another trip (2014) are available on my blog.

Tobacco’s War on Women, ForeignPolicy.com, May 1, 2012:  Tobacco marketers are hoping to make billions by persuading women in the developing world to smoke. The World Health Organization and others are hoping to save millions of lives by persuading them not to.

Crazy Enough To Care, The American Scholar, Spring 2012:  People who are recovering from serious mental illnesses have been helping their peers heal since the 1790s.  Today, some former patients have become health care professionals, and the Affordable Care Act is pushing “peer counseling” into the mainstream.

Every Last One, The American Scholar, Autumn 2010:  After 25 years of analyzing statistical reports from the Census Bureau, I decided to look at the supply side of demographics. So I took a job as an enumerator for the 2010 United States Census.  The article uses my experiences going door-to-door to explain how the Census is taken, what makes it important, and what could make it better.

All The Lonely People, AARP The Magazine, 2010:  AARP’s survey finds that one-third of U.S. adults aged 45 and older report having persistent feelings of loneliness, a sharp increase from 2000.  The article puts this research into context by interviewing lonely people, psychologists, and other experts to explore why we’re so lonely and how to conquer the problem.  Winner of the National Mature Media Award.

Gathering The Tribes, Sarasota Magazine, March 2012:  Wealthy retirees have long been the economic engine of places like Sarasota, Florida. But a new, more diverse community is growing underfoot, and it’s time somebody noticed.  Winner of the Florida Magazine Association’s “Charlie” award.