Features, Reviews, and Essays

Favorites:

Valley of the Ragdolls (Topic Magazine)
The stranger-than-fiction story behind the ragdoll cat breed, the “cat that acts like a dog.”
Vertical Descent (Virginia Quarterly Review)
The strange past and inclusive future of synchronized swimming. 
Descending Night (The Believer)
The rise and fall of Audrey Munson, once the most famous body in America.
(Descending Night in Italian!)
Paul Beatty on Writing, Humor, and Race (The Guardian)
Eating at Cafe Mogador with the author of The Sellout.
Kirsten Dunst Is Underrated (BuzzFeed)
Why Kirsten Dunst is an old millennial icon who was robbed of an Oscar.
I Went to a Dirty Dancing Festival and It Made Me Weepy (BuzzFeed)
Danced across the white bridge and explored the mythology of Dirty Dancing at the yearly festival in Lake Lure, North Carolina.
Tracey Flick 4-Eva (Vanity Fair)
An interview with Election director Alexander Payne on the film’s 20th anniversary and continued relevance.
I Think About This A Lot: This Song About Zach Braff Being Your Dad (The Cut)
An article about Julia Jacklin’s song “Small Talk” that’s actually about my late mother.
Take Rachel Brosnahan, Please (Vanity Fair)
One of the first big interviews with the Emmy-winning star of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Uzo Aduba and the Road to Success (Brooklyn Magazine)
Cover story about the extraordinarily talented Orange Is the New Black actress.
Watching Mad Men with My Mother (The New York Times Magazine)
After this ran, people around the world emailed me, asking about my mother's health.
I Always Wanted to Be Owen Wilson (Hazlitt)
A rare personal essay on my favorite actor.
The Year of the Cat (Longreads)
An essay about an affair with someone else’s cat.
Can You Sous Vide Cake? (Bon Appetit)
Your sous vide can make for at at-home spa.
The Film Snob’s Dilemma (Vanity Fair)
Why the streaming era is the best of times and the worst of times to love movies.
Matt Damon’s Limitations Are Catching Up With Him (BuzzFeed)
Honestly, when I told my dad I was writing this piece, his response was, “are you sure you want to do that?”

Cultural Commentary:

Memo to Hollywood: Female Journalists Don't Sleep With Their Subjects (Flavorwire)
Written because Chris Rock's Top Five drove me crazy, and at least people point it out now.
The Difference Between Lena Dunham and Aziz Ansari's Book Deals (Flavorwire)
Some teachers told me they use this piece in their classes.
The Man, The Writer, and His Cigarette (Flavorwire)
Writer and artist Szilvia Molnar's literary parody went around the world.
Rebecca Solnit on "Men Explain Things to Me" (Flavorwire)
An interview with the writer and powerful thinker about "mansplaining."
On Meghan Daum’s The Problem With Everything (BuzzFeed)
It’s rough.
YA Is For Everybody (Flavorwire)
A response to Slate's piece "Against YA," (i.e., Young Adult Fiction).
Gilmore Girls and Twin Peaks are the Same TV Show (Flavorwire)
And they're both getting reboots! Coffee, anyone? Also: I am correct.
The Zen Koans of David Lynch (Flavorwire)
Where I saw the beginning of a beautiful buddy comedy blossom onstage.
50 Best Films About Writers, Ranked (Flavorwire)
When a personal obsession met an order to make a list a month.

Plus:

My author archive at New York Magazine.
My author archive at BuzzFeed.
Stieg’s Stockholm (The Paris Review Daily)
Taking the “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” tour in Stockholm.  
Claire Messud at the Toy Store (The Boston Globe, 2008)
“It makes a good doorstopper.”
For Harry Potter Fans About to Rock, We Salute You (Salon)
One of the first articles on Harry Potter-themed “Wizard Rock.”
Magic Hour: An Interview With Gregory Crewdson (The Paris Review Daily)
David Lynch and forgotten corners of rural Massachusetts.
What's Piper Reading? (The L.A. Times)
On the bookish fun hidden in every frame of Orange Is the New Black.
What was The Affair? (Flavorwire)
Recaps, reviews, and big thoughts.

Readings and live appearances: I've read at Word Bookstore, Housing Works, and at reading series including Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Hi-fi reading series, and Miss Manhattan. I am always excited to do more, and I'm also a very good moderator as well.

For the latest clips, my page on Muckrack is frequently updated.