I'm trying to find an intelligent historical discussion of 19th-century life expectancy from 1850 onward, which takes into account the lack of good data. Who and what should I be reading?

Are you a Black woman or person who has experienced infertility and shared medications, eggs, embryos, etc? I'd love to talk to you for an article for The Guardian. Email me at [email protected] or feel free to DM.

What would you think if you saw chicken-fried Wagyu steak on a menu?

Pardon me for not being very hopeful that the medical establishment will see this as a signal to right the egregious wrongs that its racism has wrought in health care. statnews.com/2023/08/01/hen…

It is cold on the first day of summer, and I realize that for me, chowder = joy.

Forgot to post this on Juneteenth, but stories about African-American contributions to U.S. agriculture (and life and culture) never expire. A little something from me via Guardian US.

theguardian.com/science/2023/j…

Wild turkeys are quite magnificent.

Happy to have worked with Amanda Abrams on this piece about the impending affordable housing crisis (or is it in full swing?) in the city where we both live, Durham, North Carolina. It's part of the Guardian US's new 'Through the Roof' housing series.

theguardian.com/us-news/2023/m…

Happy to share this amuse-bouche of an essay about a 1959 bunny-book controversy (and my first piece for
New York Times Books):

nytimes.com/2023/04/26/boo…

For me, the best thing about being a journalist is that I have a reason to talk to fascinating people. I've followed the insightful and hilarious Ariel D. Smith, PhD for a while, but only recently interviewed her for Andscape. Check it out (and her work):

andscape.com/features/ariel…

Is this what midlife is? Watching your elders disappear, one by one? It's a very particular kind of grief.

I guarantee you that thousands of Black children put the final touches on their Easter speeches today. A fave piece by yours truly: faithandleadership.com/pride-and-pres…

I'm looking for novels that feature a predatory landlord. Any come to mind? Looking for books in English or available in translation, any time period.

Noticed the full moon and decided to playfully howl at it. Dog stopped mid-stride, looked confused and then joined in. We’ve reached a higher level of interspecies synergy.

Stepped out of the house this morning for a walk and couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was different. Just figured it out: SOMEONE has stolen all three of my mushroom logs, which were doing their thing in the shade beside the house. Go suck fungi, assholes!

I didn’t truly “get” the horrific violence in Ann Petry’s “The Street” until I was harassed as a young woman. Re-reading it again, I’m equally stunned and gutted by its difficult beauty. Age and experience changed my reading eyes.

Goal for today: must drop the term “hermeneutics of suspicion” into casual conversation.

When I ordered a crab and asparagus omelet, I didn’t expect egg folded around a crab cake, breading and all. There’s a reason why some innovations don’t catch on.

First big feature in ⁦Garden & Gun⁩ … thanks to ⁦Amanda Heckert⁩ for her thoughtful editing, patience and advocacy for this piece.

Not sure why, but making shrimp croquettes makes me feel very grown and sophisticated.