Selected work

It’s hard to pick the highlights from nearly 25 years of working at long-established publications and launching new ones, as well as freelance writing and consulting. But here’s a small sample of work I’ve enjoyed as a writer, editor and publisher.

What is Sora slop for, exactly?

Soup cans in the style of Andy Warhol labelled "AI Slop" illustration by Allie Sullberg


For The New York Times opinion pages, I wrote about the dangerous and disconcerting advent of tools that make it easy to produce deepfake video.

New York Times, 2025

Your new favorite co-worker is an AI-enhanced operative from North Korea

Simon Wijckmans, the CEO of web security company C.Side, wears a black baseball cap in a shadow profile photograph by Darrell Jackson


For Wired, I investigated the strange phenomenon of North Korean agents who fake their way into remote engineering jobs with American companies.

Wired, 2025

Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words

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As editorial director of the Steve Jobs Archive, I oversaw this print & digital book of the Apple co-founder’s comments and correspondence.

Steve Jobs Archive, 2023

The China Initiative
is a mess

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I supervised this investigative series into the failures of a US Department of Justice program targeting Chinese academics. The program was cancelled shortly afterwards.

Technology Review, 2021 →

What happens when ICE
detains you

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I conducted (with a translator) and wrote up this as-told-to interview with an undocumented woman who had been held in ICE detention for 11 months.

Anxy/The Guardian, 2018

Ghost
Boat

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I ran this multi-part live, longform investigation 243 disappeared migrants. The project was nominated for the National Magazine Award for reporting.

Matter, 2015-16

How to get away
with Uber

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Scandal after scandal after scandal can’t seem to stop Uber’s wild, unstoppable growth. One of my favorite pieces looks at why we can’t stay away from it.

Matter, 2014

Shanzhai!

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For Wired, I traveled to China to understand the booming industry of copycat hardware manufacturing known as “shanzhai”.

Wired, 2010

Stars in your lap

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I wrote lots for the Guardian during my time there (2002–2010). But one of my favorites was this magazine story about a new generation of video bloggers—which turned out to be a premonition of an incoming influencer culture.

The Guardian, 2008