Science and nature are a crucial part of my writing. My curiosity and sense of wonder have allowed me to translate complex ideas for a general audience. See below or contact me if you need help turning your science-related ideas and stories into exceptional prose.

My Interview with Dominic Pacyga about the Stockyards of Chicago.

“Chicago historian Dominic Pacyga’s latest book Slaughterhouse: Chicago’s Union Stock Yard and the World It Made, chronicles the 150-year history of Chicago’s infamous Union Stock Yards—a history that’s as gnarled and complex as one of the city’s five-pointed street corners. Pacyga is also the author of Chicago’s seminal book of history, Chicago: A Biography. He teaches at Columbia College Chicago and is a regularly consulted historian on Chicago Public Radio’s Curious City.

I recently spoke with Pacyga about his own experiences working at the yards and researching the book, as well as the impact and legacy of the Union Stock Yards on Chicago today. Here’s an edited transcript of our conversation.”

Garbage Heap Wonderland: Essay in Mud Season Review

“Just as the miners once rushed up the mountains in search for riches, many people come now for the beauty of the place. They forget that living in a place like Leadville is always a gamble. Will there be enough water? Will you make it down from timberline before the storm clouds cover the mountain? Will you spin out and wreck the car on Floyd Hill when you have to go to a doctor in Denver? Will the thin air affect your pregnancy? Will the snow at the ski areas be enough this year? Certainty is for flatlanders.”

Artist Paints Squee-Worthy Sea Turtles to Save Tiny Hatchlings

“Alexa has donated thousands of dollars to the Sea Turtle Conservancy, and her support is going to an exceptionally worthy cause. In fact, every sea turtle species in the world has been listed as Endangered, and only 1 in every 1,000 of those heart- melting hatchlings make it to adulthood. As hatchlings, sea turtles use the natural horizon line to orient their short, but treacherous path from their sandy birth place to the sea. Artificial light from beach lamps, street lights and other human activity often confuse the newly hatched baby turtles and many of these confused babies never make it to the open ocean. “