Currently, I'm the senior climate reporter at TechCrunch, where I cover climate tech, venture capital, and policy. I've landed dozens of scoops, hundreds of exclusives, and contributed analysis and deeply reported features. I'm also a key contributor to TechCrunch Disrupt and TechCrunch Early State, our two marquee events that draw thousands of attendees, and a guest host on TechCrunch podcasts, interviewing founders on how they started their companies and navigated challenging markets.
Outside of TechCrunch, I'm a senior lecturer in MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, an intensive and highly selective one-year Master's program, where I teach editing and digital journalism.
In 2018–2019, I spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow studying new business models for journalism as well as architecture, electrochemistry, life cycle analysis, and entrepreneurship.
Select Scoops
KoBold Metals, which uses AI to help find critical minerals for the energy transition, raises $491M - October 7, 2024
Zap Energy investors in recent $130M round included Soros Fund and Laurene Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective - September 26, 2024
Tesla's profitable Supercharger network is in limbo after Musk axed the entire team - May 11, 2024
Unearthly Materials claimed to have big-name investors, but they weren't all on board - March 17, 2023
Select Exclusives
Zap Energy shows off its new fusion power prototype, Century - October 9, 2024
Zeno emerges from stealth to crib Tesla's master plan for Africa and beyond - September 19, 2024
Cold shipping might be the next industry that batteries disrupt - June 28, 2024
Dandelion co-founder is back to help you electrify your home for less - June 18, 2024
How many Earths does your lifestyle require? - June 6, 2024
Evari turns to rocket science to solve problems with heat pumps - March 26, 2024
Former SpaceX engineers build 'vegetarian rocket engine' to save the climate - December 1, 2023
Quilt raises $9M seed round to become the Nest of heat pumps - May 16, 2023
Without a single euro changing hands, Irish nonprofit is helping to reinvent the grid - April 27, 2023
Former NBA star Rick Fox's startup gets $12M pre-seed for concrete that removes CO2 - May 3, 2023
Nest co-founder Matt Rogers' new startup is trash - January 17, 2023
Transforming old cardboard boxes into insulation nets CleanFiber $10 million round - November 30, 2022
Select Features
Why Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy and other investors are scouring universities for founders - August 3, 2024
The 'valley of death' for climate lies between early-stage funding and scaling up - April 27, 2024
The circular economy promises to remake retail. Why is it so hard to trust? - November 5, 2023
VC funding of women climate tech founders is abysmal. Here's how it could improve - May 15, 2023 (with Dominic-Madori Davis)
Can Mill's tech-heavy food waste bin find its way into kitchens? - August 7, 2023
Select News, Analysis, and Commentary
CrowdStrike chaos leads to grounded aircraft &emdash and maybe an unusual weather effect - July 19, 2024
MIT tool shows climate change could cost Texans a month and a half of outdoor time by 2080 - March 30, 2024
As more than $1 trillion flows into climate tech, incentive-tracking apps find firm footing - January 14, 2024
Is the latest near-room-temperature superconductor legit? Don't count on it - January 4, 2024
Why supersize convenience stores might be key to unlocking EV fast charging - November 14, 2023
Where's the innovation in induction kitchens? - October 15, 2023
Do Apple's environmental claims live up to its own highly polished hype? - September 15, 2023
Why automakers are rushing to adopt Tesla's NACS plug and what it means to drivers - June 30, 2023
Electrification is poised to turn school buses into money-making arbitrage assets - August 25, 2022
🌎🔥😬🥴🤷😭 Why we need an emoji for climate change - August 18, 2022
Manchin's ultimatum may turn the US into a battery powerhouse - August 22, 2022
EV charging sucks because it hasn't found the right business model - July 8, 2022
Select Podcasts
Sarah Paiji Yoo is working to clean up our macro-microplastic mess - September 3, 2024
Terradepth wants to map the rest of the ocean floor - July 23, 2024
Bringing down skyscrapers' sky-high carbon footprint with Joselyn Lai from Bedrock - April 23, 2024
More articles at TechCrunch
As the senior technology reporter covering innovation, I reported on everything from Big Tech to climate tech. I dove into Intel's foundry model, why EV batteries catch fire, and how geopolitics are shaping the world of technology (and vice versa).
Intel slipped—and its future now depends on making everyone else’s chips - October 20, 2021
Lithium-metal “hybrid” battery promises lighter, longer-range EVs by 2025 - November 8, 2021
Misaligned factory robot may have sparked Chevy Bolt battery fires - August 25, 2021
New solar roof emulates asphalt shingles, right down to the nails - January 4, 2022
Autonomous battery-powered rail cars could steal shipments from truckers - January 19, 2022
“Death Star” response from US would lock Russia out of 5G, advanced chips - January 24, 2022
Four fast chargers every 50 miles—US unveils EV infrastructure plan - February 10, 2022
Spotify’s Rogan problem is a cautionary tale for other tech platforms - February 1, 2022
Who wants an electric superwagon? Porsche offers 590-hp GTS Sport Turismo - November 22, 2021
More articles at Ars Technica.
Future Proof is the first product review site to focus on climate change. It also publishes originally reported news and commentary on climate and equity. The publicaton grew out of my time as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, where I investigated new business models for climate journalism.
What’s more climate friendly, shopping online or in store? - February 4, 2020
The Most Climate-Friendly Smart Light Bulbs for 2020 - September 16, 2019
The Chip Choke Point - February 7, 2021
Dutch company ASML has spent 20 years and 10 billion euros refining extreme-ultraviolet lithography, a strikingly complex next-generation technology that allows semiconductor companies to make computer chips that are faster, smaller, and more energy efficient than ever before. China is desperate to get their hands on one, but they're stymied by a new ad-hoc, plurilateral agreement between the U.S., the Netherlands, and Japan, which I broke the story on. What can Chinese semiconductor companies do if they're cut off from the leading edge?
The Cobalt Empire - October 18, 2020
Over the last 20 years, China has become the dominant force in the cobalt, an industry that's a vital component of modern lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. One expert told me, "Whoever controls the cobalt can control how much you can decarbonize." As the world races to stave off the worst effects of climate change, will we all be dependent on China?
As senior digital editor at NOVA, the PBS science series, I founded, edited, and wrote for NOVA Next, a digital magazine. Working with a small staff and a number of talented freelancers, I published weekly features and daily news coverage. Shortly after its launch, it became one of NOVA's most successful initiatives, eventually boosting the entire brand's site traffic by 20% and revitalizing its social media presence.
The Transportation Revolution Is Happening Faster Than You Think - February 1, 2017
The Power Plants That Can Reverse Climate Change - December 9, 2015
Volkswagen’s Little Engine That Couldn’t - September 22, 2015
Navigating the Robot Economy - October 15, 2014
Genetically Engineering Almost Anything - July 17, 2014
The Inevitability of Predicting the Future - March 26, 2014
Why It Takes Decades to Produce a New Solar Material - February 26, 2014
Promise and Perils of Hyperloop and Other High-Speed Trains - August 13, 2013
The Boring and Exciting World of Biometrics - June 18, 2013
Going Blind: The Coming Satellite Crisis - February 28, 2013
More articles at NOVA
16 Ways to Design a Better Intersection—And Better Cities - President Barack Obama, Guest Editor, November 2016
8 Cities That Show You What the Future Will Look Like: Mecca - Design Issue, October 2015
How Engineers Are Building a New Railroad Under New York City - June 2013
74 Things Every Great Star Wars Movie Needs: Hives of Scum and Villainy - March 2013
The Hidden Link Between Medieval Land Parceling and Modern American Psychology - November 30, 2012
Per Square Mile is a blog I started to explore ideas and themes related to life at different densities. I focused on the relationship between the built and natural environments with detours into linguistics, anthropology, and income inequality.
Can we please stop drawing trees on top of skyscrapers? - March 7, 2013
Income inequality, as seen from space - May 24, 2012
Urban trees reveal income inequality - May 17, 2012
If the world's population lived like... - August 8, 2012
Ghosts of geography - September 27, 2011
If the world's population lived in one city... - January 18, 2011
More articles at Per Square Mile.
Lords of the rings: understanding tree ring science - January 6, 2011
One in five vertebrates threatened by extinction - October 27, 2010
The future looks weedy - September 20, 2010
Good-bye Shark Week? Large sharks in decline due to fishing - August 23, 2010
State of the climate: warming, with no sign of waning - July 30, 2010
More articles at Ars Technica.
On trail of elusive carbon footprint (pdf) - A1, Sunday, August 10, 2008
Garden is lab for 'citizen scientists' (pdf) - A1, Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Wild refuges pay price for protection (pdf) - A10, Friday, July 4, 2008
Danger lurks under water (pdf) - B1, Sunday, July 20, 2008
Trans-fat rates on rise in gulls (pdf) - B2, Thursday, August 21, 2008
Frog only has ears for sweetie (pdf) - B2, Monday, July 21, 2008
Area scientific scene to be magnified (pdf) - B2, July 30, 2008
Jet's emergency landing requires fuel dump in lake (pdf) - B1, July 1, 2008
FBI: Fake doctor held in toxin sting (pdf) - B1, July 1, 2008
Field Museum's genetic study rewrites family tree on birds (pdf) - B1, June 27, 2008
Some turn to chemicals to save trees from borer (pdf) - B1, June 26, 2008
They found a gator in the Chicago River? Believe it (pdf) - A1, June 21, 2008
Carp's invasion may have stalled (pdf) - B2, June 20, 2008
Golfer's feel the pain of Woods' win (pdf) - B1, June 17, 2008
Mummy gets 21st Century exposure (pdf) - A15, June 14, 2008
Even now, tornadoes tough to forecast (pdf) - A24, June 13, 2008