Articles & Essays

2021

Ladybug Mecca Confirms New Digable Planets Album is on the Way – Rock the Bells

Lady of Rage is Still Kickin Up Dust – Rock the Bells

Four Things You Didn’t Know About Foxy Brown – Rock the Bells

2020

Bombing Heavens: An LA Graffiti Tradition – Rock the Bells

Self-Propelled: How Biking Steered My Writing Life – Writers’ Stories in Motion (anthology, edited by Laura Gray-Rosendale)

Pandemic Pie – PEN America

The Hip Hop Skateboarding Connection – Rock the Bells

The Top 10 Ice-T Songs of All Time – Rock the Bells

The Best Hip Hop Punk Rock Crossover Moments of All Time – RTB

New York Shops That Kept People Fresh to Death – Rock the Bells

Veganism in Hip Hop – Rock the Bells

B-Boy Glossary with Turbo from Breakin’ – Rock the Bells

Best Hip Hop Memoirs – Rock the Bells

Classic Hip Hop Reading List – Rock the Bells

Cey Adams: The Artist Behind the Beastie Boys Logo – Rock the Bells

PHADE: Portrait of a Shirt King – Rock the Bells

Best Classic Rap Stripper Anthems – Rock the Bells

Temblors — 2nd place essay winner of the LA Press Club ‘Life in the Time of the Corona Virus’ Contest

Plant-based Dining That’s Good for the Soul — Discover LA

2019

The Best Vegan Bakeries in Los Angeles — Discover LA

How Wildlife Weathers California’s Deadly Wildfires — KCET

No Sex in the Bunkbeds! Tales from the Most Intimate Sharing Economy  Startup Yet — (longform) Narratively

A Perfect Vegan Week in Denmark — Tenderly

Off Screen (personal essay) — Off Assignment

The Best Vegan Hot Dogs in Los Angeles — Discover LA

Best Vegan Products for Easy, Breezy Summer Hair — Tenderly

Best Plant-Based Burgers in LA — Discover Los Angeles

Big Bear Baby Bald Eagle Death – KCET/PBS

Dance, Bounce & Fly with the Best Alternative Workouts in LA – DiscoverLA

May the 4th Be With You in Los Angeles — Discover Los Angeles

Chasing Waterfalls — Discover Los Angeles

Everything You Have is Just Borrowed (personal essay) — Entropy

Retreat Yourself: Best Places to Meditate in LA — Discover Los Angeles

2018

Discover Vegan & Vegetarian Restaurants for dineL.A. Winter 2019 — Discover Los Angeles

I Was a Black Nazi Skinhead (by Leo Oladimu, as told to me) — Narratively, Nov. 12 *LA Press Club Award* 2nd Place -Online Crime-Writing category

Mountain Biking Denmark — Dirt Rag Mag, Sept. 27

Best Vegan Pizzas in Los Angeles — Discover LA, August

Veggie-Friendly Menus for DineL.A. 2018 — Discover LA, June 29

LA’s Best Vegan Food Trucks & Pop-Ups — Discover LA, June 19

I Chose to be Child-Free & Accidentally Became a Mother Figure — Brit + Co., May 7

The Best Vegan-Friendly Bars in Los Angeles — Discover LA, March 12

Take a Walk on the Wild Side in LA (local animal sanctuaries)– Discover LA, March 3

Queens of the Underworld: Sex Workers Meditate, Too — Playboy, Jan. 9

The Best Vegan Brunches in Los Angeles — Discover LA, Jan. 3

2017

‘Tis the Season to Write — Brevity blog, Dec. 13

Best Outdoor Activities in Hollywood — Discover LA, Dec. 3

Vegan Las Vegas — Ozy, Aug. 26

Unique Yards Reflect the Changing Face of the LA River — KCET, August 8

Best Places in LA for Vegan Ice Cream — Discover LA, July

How the Fiercest Warrior in “Wonder Woman” Kicked Her Way Into Hollywood — Narratively, June 2

The Best Vegan Skincare Products for Summer — Paste, May 10

Rules for Writing — Brevity, April 12

7 Group Bike Rides for Cyclists New to LA’s Streets — LA Weekly, March 16

Best Hikes in LA to Discover Film & TV locations — Discover LA

The Widow Next Door — The Manifest Station, Feb. 20

I Rode in a Tesloop, But I’m Glad We Still Had a Driver — VICE (Motherboard), Jan. 16

2016

Album of the Day review: Ted Hearne, The Source — Bandcamp, Dec. 13

Half the Battle (prose poem) — Only Light Can Do That (PEN USA/The Rattling Wall)

The Best Places in Los Angeles for Animal Lovers — LA Tourism & Convention Board

What’s It Really Like When a Prison ‘Lifer’ Gets a New Shot at Life? — Narratively, Nov. 22

Best Restaurants in LA for Vegan Thanksgiving — LA Tourism & Convention Board, Nov. 14

Best Vegan Restaurants in Los Angeles — LA Tourism & Convention Board, Nov. 1

The WikiLeaks Story is Even More Dramatic Thanks to This Composer’s Auto-Tuned Opera — VICE, Oct. 19

Alterna-Yoga in LA: Seeking Something a Little Different — LA Tourism & Convention Board

Motörhead’s Iron-Fisted Frontman, Lemmy, Gets Bronzed — VICE/Noisey, Aug. 25, 2016

Eat Drink Vegan (formerly the Vegan Beer & Food Festival) — Paste Magazine, June 24, 2016

Catching Up with Chef Marcel Vigneron — Paste Magazine, June 17, 2016

Riding Into the Future: A Sneak Peek at LA’s New Bikeshare Program— LA Weekly, May 25, 2016

Happily Ever Afterbirth — Narratively, April 2016

Most Notorious Punk Venues — Green Room, April 2016

Two Venice Surfers Opened a Vegan Cookie Stand on their Porch — LA Weekly, April 2, 2016

An Interview with Cherry Vanilla — Green Room, April 2016

Talking Streetwalkers with Scot Sothern — Frank 151, March 23, 2016

An Interview with Michelle Cruz Gonzalez — Green Room Radio, March 2016

An Interview with Greg Attonito — Green Room Radio, March 2016

An Interview with Keith Morris — Green Room Radio, March, 2016

The Guerrilla Girls: Still Fighting for Diversity in the Arts — Indy Star, March 2, 2016

The Resurrection and Enlightenment of 70s Rock Gurus Lightstorm — VICE/Noisey. Feb. 16.

KonMari Tricks to Tidy Up Your Kitchen — Paste, Jan. 29, 2016

Little Pine, Big Heart: Moby’s Newest Adventure — Paste, Jan. 13, 2016

Moles and All (Remembering Lemmy Kilmister) — The Rumpus, Jan. 4, 2016

2015

Best Things We Ate in 2015 — Paste, Dec. 31, 2015

Best Food Trends 2015 — Paste, Dec. 29, 2015

20 Best Veganish Cookbooks — Paste, Dec. 21, 2015

Our Dream Kitchen Gear Wish List — Dec. 18, 2015

Feel the Burn: A Tour of the Sriracha Factory — Paste, Oct. 6, 2015

Let There Be Gwar book review – Pitchfork, Sept. 25, 2015

Geto Boy: An Interview with Bushwick Bill – Pitchfork, Sept. 8, 2015

Best Obscure Vegetarian Restaurants in LA – Paste Magazine, July 8, 2015

Remembering Michele Serros – Make/shift magazine, issue 17. Summer/Fall 2015

LA’s Vegan Cheesemonger – Vice, June 26, 2015

7 Vegan Cheeses Worth Seeking Out – Paste Magazine, June 25, 2015

Can a Nut Sheller End World Hunger? – Vice, June 23, 2015

Old-School Punks Doing New Things – Paste Magazine, June 10, 2015

Banned in DC is Back in Print: An Interview with Cynthia Connolly – Pitchfork, May 29, 2015

Do You Know Jackfruit? – Vice, May 8, 2015

Ex-Gang Members Baking Their Way to Redemption – Vice, April 28, 2015

I Hired a Dog Psychic – xojane.com, March 18, 2015

2014

A Foster Teen’s Holiday – New York Times, Dec. 28, 2014

How the Cucalorus Film Festival Survived 20 Years – Indiewire, Nov. 19, 2014

App Raises Money for Animal Shelters – Affect Magazine, Oct. 30, 2014

The Home for Hollywood Dreamers & Dropouts – Narratively, Oct. 17, 2014

Punk Rocker Teams Up With Big Names to Keep Kids Away From Drugs – Affect Magazine, Oct. 15, 2014

An Interview with Vulvatron – Dame Magazine, Oct. 15, 2104

I Didn’t Just Fall Down the Stairs – Dame Magazine Sept. 10; Salon.com Sept. 11

Hoosier Mike Hatton Hits Big Screen – Indianapolis Star, Aug. 19, 2014

Working With Adult Film Stars, Emergency Casting and the Comedy of Live Nude Girls – Indiewire, Aug. 18, 2014

My Last $100 – The Billfold, July 21, 2014

An Interview with Director Dito Montiel — Indiewire, July 11, 2014

Dogs Mourning Humans — cesarsway.com, May 21, 2014

Raising Wolf Dogs — cesarsway.com, May 14, 2014

Dogs Mourning Dogs —  cesarsway.com, May 9, 2014

I Asked a Bunch of Porn Stars What They’re Reading — xojane, April 2014

Pussy Riot Was Wrong — xojane, March 2014

The Case of the Missing Orgasm — Playboy, Jan. 2014

The Rumpus Interview with Scot Sothern — The Rumpus, Jan. 2014

2013

The Rumpus Interview with April Flores & Carlos Batts — The Rumpus, Aug. 2013

The Rumpus Interview with Roger Gastman — The Rumpus website, Feb. 2013

2012

Kasandra Perkins Deserves Better — Ms. Magazine blog, Dec. 4, 2012

Dwarf book review — The Rumpus, Nov. 27, 2012

10 Perspectives on Today’s Yoga — mindbodygreen, Nov. 19, 2012

The Return of the Headless Woman — Ms. Magazine blog, Oct. 1, 2012

Getting Puggy With It: Pug Nation LA — Cesar’s Way, August 20, 2012

Full Disclosure: The Modern Sex Worker Memoir — Creative Nonfiction, issue 45, summer 2012

Refuge for Survivors in Argentina — Cesar’s Way, August 7, 2012

Island Life (dog rescue story) — Cesar’s Way, July 24, 2012

People for the Ethical Treatment of Anyone but Women — Ms. Magazine blog, Feb. 28, 2012

2011

Lick it Up: an interview with Cherry Vanilla — Bust Magazine, Feb. 2011

Sister Spit/Michelle Tea interview — Indianapolis Metromix, April 6, 2011

2010

When Domestic Violence Enters Cyberspace — Ms. Magazine, Oct. 29, 2010

Franklin, Indiana’s B-Movie Festival — Indystar.com, Sept. 24, 2010

Star Wars Celebration V: the Droids You’ve Been Looking For — Seenallover.com, Aug. 17, 2010

The Evens — Seenallover.com, August 3, 2010

Chamberlain Back on Tour — Indianapolis Star, July 22, 2010

“Co-Operatives: A Business Model With Heart”–Young Money Magazine, Jan. 18, 2010

2009

“Revolution from Within: Middle Eastern Women in Media” –Girl With Pen, Dec. 16, 2009

“How to Write a Business Proposal” –Young Money Magazine, Oct. 2009

“The Girls Come Marching Home” –Girl With Pen, July 17, 2009

“Dharma Punk: Punk fashionista Heidi Minx transforms anger into action for refugees” –BustedHalo.com, July 5, ’09

“A Few Words With John Waters“– outimpact.com, March 17, 2009

“Wilmington Artist’s Dream Stays Afloat at the Cameron” — Star News (Wilmington, NC), January 28, 2009

2008

“Anarchy in the USA” — Swindle Magazine, Issue 18

“Local makes finals for Martha Stewart award” — Star News (Wilmington, NC), October 9, 2008

“Singer-actress Shanti helps keep Warped Tour true to indie” – Indianapolis Star, July 30, 2008

“Mixed martial arts back in NC, and Wilmington” — Star News (Wilmington, NC), July 18, 2008

2007

“John Waters — Star News (Wilmington, NC), October 25, 2007

“Decoration Day: A Southern tradition of celebrating the dead strengthens the bonds among the living,” Winner of 2007’s Best Stringer Award — Star News (Wilmington, NC), October 21, 2007

Star Stuff, Common Ties, 2007

“Busted: Brad Warner: A conversation with the author of Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, and Death…” — Busted Halo, August 24, 2007

“Blitzkrieg bluegrass: Former Ramone takes new direction with Uncle Monk” — Star News (Wilmington, NC), May 3, 2007

“Heidi Minx: Great Rock-n-Roll Swindler” — Herbivore Magazine, May 2007

2006 and earlier

“Southern(dis)Comfort: New Twists on America’s Oldest Food” (may take a few moments to load) — Swindle Magazine Issue #9

“Sepultura still screaming despite recent band turnover” — Star News (Wilmington, NC), December 7, 2006

“The Faithful Departed: CBGBs Obituary (1973-2006)” — Busted Halo, December 5, 2006

“You can’t take the D.C. hardcore sound out of the L.A. power trio Retisonic” — Star News, August 31, 2006

“Ghost Busting After Hurricane Katrina” — WHQR radio, Southeastern NC, August 27, 2006

“Michelle Tea” — Swindle Magazine, icons issue #1

“Trolls” — Swindle Magazine Issue 8

“Hollywood Boulevard Superheroes” — Swindle Magazine Issue 2

“Return of the Roller Derby” — Swindle Magazine Issue 2