Articles2020-06-23T00:56:12+00:00



Articles

When I’m not obsessing over the career of Jeff Goldblum, I also write any number of news articles, features, profiles and cultural criticism. These days, I do it for The Washington Post. Before that, I wrote for anyone who would have me, including Esquire, GQ, Time, Southern Living and a variety of other extremely kind publications that gave me money for words. Here are a few of my favorite pieces.

This is not a story about Bruce Willis

THE WASHINGTON POST  | April 7, 2022

No two creatures — including those that clone themselves — are perfect copies. Even identical twins aren’t actually identical. But what’s a rule without an exception?

Bruce Willis, the last Boy Scout, entered the world in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany, on March 19, 1955. Some 4,000 miles away and 14 years later, Eric Buarque was born in Cheverly, Md.

And yet.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Spotify backlash offers rare insight into reeling music industry — and struggles of working musicians

THE WASHINGTON POST | Feb. 14, 2022

India.Arie was already tired of the meager checks she was receiving from Spotify when Neil Young decided to bolt from the platform.

Young had clashed with the streaming service over its popular podcast host, Joe Rogan, whom he accused of spreading coronavirus misinformation. The Grammy-winning R&B singer decided she would leave too, citing the low pay and Rogan’s “language around race.”

“So often, we need someone more powerful, someone people actually listen to, to open the door,” Arie said in an interview. So, “when Neil Young opened the door, I walked through, too.”

Leaving, though, proved difficult.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Here’s why deep down we like rewatching the same old movies and shows — especially during the pandemic

THE WASHINGTON POST  | Feb. 18, 2021

Many have escalated their rewatching of favorite movies and TV shows during the pandemic, finding them to be creature comforts while stranded in their homes indefinitely, especially with the ever-growing number of streaming services making this content just a click away. All this rewatching raises the question: What makes something rewatchable in the first place, beyond the simple fact that you liked it?

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The handwarming story of how Bernie Sanders got his inauguration mittens

THE WASHINGTON POST  | Jan. 20, 2021

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sits alone at the inauguration ceremony in a beige parka, legs and arms crossed, socially distanced. Hugging his hands are a pair of large mittens bearing a white and brown pattern. They look soft. They look warm. They look vaguely familiar.

Of all the historic images from the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president, this might be the most unexpected. But a photo of Sanders bundled up against the Washington cold went viral almost immediately.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

QAnon is tearing families apart

THE WASHINGTON POST  | Oct. 12, 2020

Q.

There was a time not long ago when the letter held no special meaning for Jacob, a 24-year-old in Croatia. The 17th letter of the alphabet, usually followed by “u” in English words. What else was there to know? He certainly never expected it to end the tightknit relationship he shared with his mother.

But Jacob, who grew up in the United States, told The Washington Post that he has cut all contact with his mother now that she’s become an ardent believer of the QAnon conspiracy theories.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Charli D’Amelio is TikTok’s biggest star. She has no idea why.

THE WASHINGTON POST  | May 26, 2020

The young people of Ohio weren’t physically distancing, and Gov. Mike DeWine needed to do something.

“Young people think they’re pretty invincible. That just goes with the age,” DeWine said. They are “the hardest demographic to reach … You’ve got to have the right messenger.”

But who? The Republican governor is 73 years old. As the pandemic swept the country in late March, he needed Charli D’Amelio — even if he didn’t yet know who she was.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The joys — and challenges — of adapting Stephen King for the screen

THE WASHINGTON POST  | March 9, 2020

Most Stephen King fans know his work exists in two worlds. First, there’s the page, where images of psychotic, otherworldly clowns, reanimated pet corpses, the ghosts of murdered young girls and haunted cars are injected into our imagination. Then there’s the screen, where we actually see them.

These worlds are not always kindly to each other …

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The missing Oscars

THE WASHINGTON POST  | September 25, 2019

Peter O’Toole never won an Oscar. Nor did Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant or Vincent Price. That, right there, should tell you how flawed the awards have been, despite the best intentions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As we barrel toward awards season and its annual slate of serious awards-bait films, we decided to remind you of 37 living actors you probably thought already had statues at home — and the roles they should have won them for …

(Writer’s note: Since the publication of this article, the Academy got it together and righted some of these wrongs. It’s still a pretty good read!)

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

After 16 years, the Hold Steady is changing the ‘business of being a band’

THE WASHINGTON POST  | August 29, 2019

The Hold Steady, an old-school rock-and-roll outfit once dubbed “America’s best bar band,” was falling into the kind of unofficial hiatus that can settle upon a band after a decade of relentless touring when they fielded an unusual request: Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern wanted to book them for four straight nights.

Even considering their obsessive cult following, that felt a little excessive. However, every night they played, the club was packed, recalled frontman Craig Finn. Similar extended stints in Brooklyn and Chicago also did well. It took a couple of years, but eventually, the band realized it might have a new touring model on its hands …

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Go to Top