Articles

When The Grit is gone

Garden & Gun, September 2022

On the path of presidents

Southbound, July 2021

To understand the mob violence at the U.S. Capitol, remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot

Atlanta Magazine, January 2021

A cleansing fire

31.81 Magazine, Summer 202

‘Icon of Icons” Remembering Congressman John Lewis

Atlanta Magazine, July 2020

How Southern Politics are Failing One Town’s Coronavirus Response

POLITICO Magazine, April 2020


Do I Have COVID-19? Maybe. But like many Georgians, I’ve found it impossible to get a test.

Atlanta Magazine, March 2020


Corona-angst on two continents

Atlanta Magazine, March 2020


The Indispensable Horseshoe Crab

31.81 Magazine, November 2019


New Life for Old Walls
A University of Georgia art professor leads a team of students creating—and restoring—Southern murals
Garden & Gun, January 9, 2019


A Daily Dose of Poetry
An Athens, Georgia, couple keep their neighborhood well versed
Garden & Gun, October 22, 2018


10 Things about Atlanta that ‘Baby Driver’ Got Wrong
Exhibit A: “The” Buford Highway
Atlanta Magazine, July 14, 2017


Campus Carry has Georgia’s Pro-Gun Governor in the Hot Seat Again
co-written with Nate Harris
The Trace, May 2017


Is Georgia Poised for a Democratic Upset?
Demographic changes in the Atlanta suburbs could swing the state’s special election to the Dems—if challenger Jon Ossoff can take advantage of them.
POLITICO Magazine, April 2017


The Second Burning of Atlanta
The story of the Great Fire of 1917
Atlanta Magazine, February 2017


Commentary: The fact that we need to defend John Lewis and Atlanta is sad, indeed
Atlanta Magazine, January 16, 2017


A Playground for Every Georgian
The story behind one governor’s quest to transform Jekyll Island from fading millionaire’s retreat to public treasure
31.81 Magazine, Fall/Winter 2016


Pilgrimage to Plains
The faithful come from around the world to hear Jimmy Carter preach
Atlanta Magazine, May 2016


When Bernie Met Killer Mike
How Sanders is setting out to prove himself to a new generation of civil rights activists.
POLITICO Magazine, November 2015


John Lewis, Superhero
The civil rights icon and venerable congressman embraces his newest designation: comic book convention hero.
POLITICO Magazine, November 2015


Why plans for a new golf course have caused uproar in New Orleans
The rebuilding of New Orleans’s massive City Park is one of the great post-Katrina success stories. But the creation of a new golf course has sparked protests among those who say a nature reserve would be better, and safer, for the city.
The Guardian, August 2015


Why the Leo Frank Lynching Resonates a Century Later
An interview with Steve Oney, author of the definitive book on the Frank case.
Atlanta Magazine, August 2015


Schooled
What has Atlanta Public Schools learned from the cheating scandal?
Atlanta Magazine, August 2015


A Greener Future for Atlanta’s Parks
After generations of neglect, the city’s park system is finally getting the attention (and resources) it needs.
June 2015


Freaknik
The rise and fall of Atlanta’s most infamous street party.
co-authored with Errin Haines Whack
Atlanta Magazine, March 2015


Blizzard alert! How do US cities compare in dealing with major snowstorms?
Whether two inches or two feet, snowfall can wreak havoc on a city – as residents of Atlanta and Buffalo know all too well – or it can be a relative non-event. So how should a mayor best respond to a serious forecast of snow?
The Guardian, February 2015


Held to Account
How Utopian Academy, an upstart charter school in Clayton County, is challenging the status quo.
Atlanta Magazine, January 2015



Jason Carter: The Inevitable Candidate
Can the man who’s been building the resume for this election since he was a teenager save the Democrats in Georgia?
Atlanta Magazine, October 2014


Now the UN is intervening in Detroit’s water conflict. Could thirsty cities riot?
Angry protests over water provision have shaken cities around the world, and may determine whether access to clean drinking water is a taxable municipal service – or a basic human right
The Guardian, October 2014


Atlanta’s Civil War Battle Scars
The city was burned to the ground 150 years ago. Could it be the best thing that ever happened to us?
Atlanta Magazine, July 2014


Multistorey car park in the US transformed into micro apartments for students
Many of the 105 million parking spaces in American cities are under-used: could they be re-purposed into affordable housing?
The Guardian, July 2014


Sprawled Out in Atlanta
What happens when poverty spreads to a place that wasn’t built for poor people?
POLITICO Magazine, May 2014


Can Atlanta Go All In On the BeltLine?
The project’s been a huge success, but transit has been lagging and there already are affordability concerns.
The Atlantic’s CityLab, April 2014


Stranded in Atlanta’s Food Deserts
In a region known for celebrity chefs and a farm-to-table movement, 500,000 people are without access to a basic grocery store.
Atlanta Magazine, March 2014


How Atlanta Survived Icepocalypse II
We’re not a national joke anymore. But our city’s still a sprawling mess.
POLITICO Magazine, February 14, 2014


The Day We Lost Atlanta
How 2 lousy inches of snow paralyzed a metro region of 6 million.
POLITICO Magazine, January 29, 2014


Interview with Bernice King
Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest child is taking over the family business. She discusses responsibility, legacy, and growing up under a shadow of tragedy.
Atlanta Magazine, August 2013


Time Marches On
A varied collection housed at Emory offers new insight into decades of work by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, including the years following the death of its iconic leader, Martin Luther King Jr.
Emory Magazine, Summer 2013


The Planet Hunters
From the heart of Atlanta, Georgia State astronomers explore the universe.
Georgia State University Magazine, Summer 2013


The Other 284 Days
The Braves will host eighty-one regular season home games in 2013. This is what the neighborhood is like the rest of the year.
Atlanta Magazine, July 2013


Expanding—Locally and Globally
The past 25 years have seen the transformation of student life and campus.
Georgia State University Magazine, January 2013


How Southern Are We?
Birthplace of both Margaret Mitchell and Martin Luther King Jr., Atlanta embodies the collision of Old and New South myths.
Atlanta Magazine, November 2012


The Fightin’ Carters
New York Magazine, September 23, 2012


A Living Laboratory
Can Kwanza Hall’s ‘Year of Boulevard’ experiment transform intown Atlanta’s most notorious street?
Atlanta Magazine, April 2012


The Atlanta Student Movement
Fifty years ago this month, students at the Atlanta University Center published a civil rights manifesto and changed the country.
Atlanta Magazine, March 2010