If you prefer this article in pdf format, you can download it here. Introduction 5-4’s tagline is “a podcast about how much the Supreme Court sucks”. The hosts cover a wide variety of cases, but in this essay I’ve focused on election law, because a lot of people have been worrying about the future of…

We were at dinner, and had just finished the main course: scallops. My grandmother, Omi, was on her second glass of wine, and I’d only just poured my first. I told her I was writing an article about the stigma around girls carrying condoms. “I am three generations older than you,” she responded, “so we…

Perfecting the art of Repair First published in Our TownApril 2009 Hidden away in a small Upper East Side apartment, every inch of which is covered by some aspect of his work, lives one of the world’s leading rug restorers, Richard E. Newman. Collectors from all over the world have been bringing Persian rugs to…

On the anniversary of the March 2008 crane crash, little has improved for the devastated locals. First published in Our TownMarch 2009 “Now that everything else is shut, we’re the only reason to cross the street.” These are the words of Ken Sofer, owner of the restaurant chain, Blockheads, which reopened their store on 2nd…

First published in Our TownJanuary 2009 “Darwin!” shouted his owner, Alicia Bralove, as for the fifth time in five minutes her 15” beagle tried to hump my leg. For a champion show dog, Darwin seemed to pay little attention to his name, continuing to hump until physically removed. “He’s disciplined by his trainer,” Bralove apologized,…

First published in 12th Street JournalSpring 2008 My dart embedded itself about half an inch left of the dartboard, and João, my grandmother’s lodger and my best friend, started clapping. “Bravo, bravo,” he said, taking my place behind the floor line, “let me show you.” His skinny arm jerked forward, flinging the arrow straight into…