Pasta steamed in pig intestines during the 'New Cyber World War'

Stories in Politico Magazine, WIRED, UnHerd, WaPo and more.

There was no shortage of fresh disaster this summer.

I took a backseat to much of it, traveling farther and wider than the news cycle. Two stories (one from Syria, one from South Korea) will appear in Esquire and CODA Story this autumn, but mainly I was homebound with the children and traveling to see family and friends stateside. And COVID crippled us once more.

In July, for Politico Magazine, I interviewed “The Man at the Center of the New Cyber World War,” Yurii Shchyhol, whose job is to protect Ukraine against ongoing Russia cyberattacks. But the war he’s fighting is global, he says — and he had some advice for the rest of us. Later that month I hiked a portion of the high-altitude Alta Via 2 trekking path for The Washington Post, a travel article which — for the first time in close to a decade — includes photos I shot. The best parts were the views and the food, though the Via Feratta lines were exhilarating and reawakened my love of Great War history. It was a solitary holiday and assignment that took me to places and people and dishes in Italy I’d only ever driven past.

Speaking of food: I had even more fun writing about Italy’s food label war for Unheard, in which I dupe editors into publishing words like “sacrilicious,” and phrases like “pantry-meddling” and terrible puns like “artillery assault.” Read on if you want to learn more about homemade pasta steamed inside a pig’s bladder. Divine.

Since I last checked in with y’all, my monthly column at Inkstick has yielded stories on the need to centralize cybersecurity practices, an approach to unifying the European Union amid infighting and political turmoil, Italian MPs and their worrisome links to Russia, the opening of the EU's "Silicon Valley Embassy," and a quick take on whether Queen Elizabeth II's pan-European vision would die as well.

My pandemic obsession (now laid to rest) with 3D printers and the resulting neurosis became a useful guide for readers over at WIRED. (Tip: don’t buy one, they’re maddeningly addictive and time-consuming.) The magazine also commissioned me to write about block scheduling, which has, in part, saved my marriage. For now.

I also wrote about accidental shootings of minors (for the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange) and laws surrounding safe storage in southern states, which, well, doesn't quite fit within my purview, but it's been a strange few months so why not? Speaking of juveniles, I participated in a few events to promote Troubled, but I’ve largely been strapped by my efforts to work through the latest book proposal. If you know any publishing editors who might like my work, lemme know. Exclusive submissions are still open.

As ever, your support is appreciated and contributes directly to the reporting and writing showcased above. I’ll devote the next three newsletters to the three forthcoming longform magazine stories I worked on in the last several months. If you’ve got any story ideas, send ‘em here!

More soon.

Take care, y’all.