A selection of magazine and newspaper stories for both general audiences and kids, as well as a selection of broadcast pieces:

Longform & Series

The Other Border: A trip along the U.S.-Canadian border where New York meets Ontario and Quebec. This series includes several stories published in the Buffalo News in November and December 2019:
• At the the U.S.-Canadian border, relative calm belies a critical mission
• You’re likely to be part of the 99%. Border agents get one chance to be sure
• At Roxham Road, refugees find a loophole and safe passage to Canada
• Before and after crossing, seeking refuge in Canada is a long journey
• Can they really search my phone? A reader Q&A
• At Akwesasne, where the border runs straight and nothing is simple
• Is the U.S.-Canadian border ‘forgotten’?

John Rzeznik unveiled: Goo Goo Dolls frontman finds peace in sobriety, love in fatherhood
Buffalo News (Oct. 12, 2018)

The long and winding district: A trip through New York’s 27th
Buffalo News (Aug. 20, 2018)

The thoroughly modern marriage of Phil & Karin Housley
Buffalo News (Nov. 23, 2017)

Bob Rich: The quiet billionaire
Buffalo News (May 26, 2017)

Protesters spread their message at the Free Speech Circus
Buffalo News (July 30, 2016)

Escaping the prison, surviving the wild
Buffalo News (June 28, 2015)

George Pataki is ready to make his case for the presidency, but will New Hampshire listen?
Buffalo News (May 27, 2015)

Psychology, Self Improvement & Parenting

Tricks of the Trade: Mentally Preparing for a Race. It’s not just about running — the trick is to glide through the race (and your pain). In this Runner’s World piece, I talk to psychology experts about mentally navigating the challenges of running. 

Memorizing Movement. This Dance Spirit story offers tips from choreographers and dancers on committing moves to memory. What I like most about it: Their advice applies to anything we do in life that involves memorizing steps and sharpening our recall.

Teaching Better Memory. Is memory a gift or a skill? I talked to experts for this Dance Teacher magazine piece and learned — you guessed it — that you can teach and improve the ability to remember.

Food Fight. This Dance Spirit explainer offers expert advice to college students on how to stay healthy while navigating a packed schedule.

Advice for new dads. Here are a pair of stories I wrote when my youngest daughter was born: Dad on Board gives advice on becoming an involved father, and Dad Worries addresses those inevitable stresses.

How the handle the spotlight. What should you do when everyone is watching? This Dance Spirit how-to delivers tips for performers. But the core of the advice works for anyone who operates in front of an audience that can be both adoring and challenging.

Youth & Teens

Spy jobs! secret sports signs! Kid comics, flag football stars, and children who crossed multiple borders to find a new home. Here’s a selection of stories I’ve written for the New York Times for Kids, a section in the Sunday edition of the Times on the last weekend of each month. (This section is print-only; check out the NYT for Kids Instagram.)

That kid from Hunger Games. A teen who drives monster trucks. A spelling bee champ. An undercover kid who’s working with police. I spent a few years working with Scholastic Inc.’s classroom magazines, which include the middle school publication Scope. I developed classroom activities, wrote Q&A interviews with fascinating kids, and occasionally contributed debate pieces. Every one of these stories was tied to an activity teachers could lead in their classrooms.

Entertainment & Culture

From stage to screen to reality: Tina Fey on the legacy of “Mean Girls”
The Buffalo News (Sept. 20, 2019)

Rachel Bush: Instagram celeb, football wife, and ‘so much more’
Buffalo News (Sept. 7, 2019)

The Buffalo accent: You can try, but you ‘ke-an’t’ avoid it
Buffalo News (July 7, 2019)

‘Saturday Night Live’ producer Lindsay Shookus’ strong personal learning curve
Buffalo News (May 19, 2019)

New film ‘Buffaloed’ has Bills, wings, debt — and targets a big Hollywood problem
Buffalo News (May 12, 2019)

How to improv your life (even if you’re not funny)
Buffalo News (March 29, 2019)

Sebastian Maniscalco’s comedy domination includes a little help from a friend
Buffalo News (Jan. 25, 2019)

How 98 Degrees cleaned index cards out of Buffalo (and why it still means something)
Buffalo News (Dec. 13, 2018)

From Kiss to soda pop: A day with serial entrepreneur Gene Simmons
Buffalo News (Sept. 18, 2018)

How Jim Gaffigan became a hologram
Buffalo News (Aug. 10, 2018)

An optician, a limo driver, and a dominatrix walk into a comedy club…
Buffalo News (March 9, 2018)

Bill Maher is on the phone, and he’s not happy
Buffalo News (Nov. 9. 2017)

Comedy writer Alan Zweibel follows Billy Crystal’s mantra
Buffalo News (Oct. 27, 2017)

LFO still likes girls who wear Abercrombie (and hopes you do too)
Buffalo News (July 27 2017)

Showing TLC: Behind the relaunch of the pop group
Buffalo News (July 10, 2017)

When Elephaba meets the beauty queen, a storybook ending
Buffalo News (June 3, 2017)

Bob Kinkel synthesizes the Trans-Siberian Orchestra sound
Buffalo News (Dec. 3, 2016)

Margeurite Derricks: Creating dances for the stars
Buffalo News (Oct. 22, 2016)

Celebrity-maker Shep Gordon mulls the reality he’s helped create
Buffalo News (Sept. 17, 2016)

‘Murphy Brown’ creator Diane English sets sights on return to TV
Buffalo News (May 14, 2016)

An Amy Schumer insider
Buffalo News (May 5, 2016)

Leadership, success is a gritty pursuit for Vanessa Williams
Buffalo News (April 30, 2016)

Breaking free of his demons, David Milch stays inside the Hollywood game
Buffalo News (April 24, 2016)

Michael Healy finds his Disney star in Hollywood
Buffalo News (Feb. 28, 2016)

And now, a few very challenging minutes with William Shatner
Buffalo News (Feb. 1, 2016)

Beach Boys genius: A conversation with Brian Wilson
Buffalo News (Oct. 6, 2015)

Let’s hear it for the boy bands
Buffalo News (Sept. 21, 2015)

Vanessa Williams’ Hollywood wedding with a Buffalo spin
Buffalo News (July 8, 2015)

Debby Ryan transitions from Disney sweetheart to music star
Buffalo News (May 21, 2015)

Kickin’ it with KayCee: The pop ‘n lock queen on life as a High School Musical star. Growing up in Salt Lake City, KayCee Stroh was an incredible dancer. But because she didn’t fit the stereotype of a great dancer, she kept getting turned down. Until Kenny Ortega saw here and said, “You’re what I’m looking for.” Spending time with KayCee and some of her castmates in Los Angeles for this Dance Spirit profile was a blast.

Dancing Bleu. My profile story in Dance Spirit on triple-performer Corbin Bleu at the height of his High School Musical fame. This piece includes elements of my interview with his dance teacher Debbie Allen, who you may also know from Grey’s Anatomy. 

Dancing for the Stars. Reporting this Dance Spirit story took me backstage, on tour buses and into coffee shops with dancers for Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus and more. Hilary Duff popped into my dressing room interview to join the conversation with her dancers. Glee fans will notice a familiar name in here, too. (If you know who Brittany S. Pierce is, you’ll know what I mean.)

Sports

Boston offers a glimpse at the future of sports venues
The Buffalo News (Sept. 20, 2019)

‘Tom saved hockey in Buffalo:’ How the Golisano years saved the Sabres
Buffalo News (Sept. 13, 2019)

At age 93, there’s nowhere else Marv Levy would rather be
Buffalo News (July 27, 2019)

The Buffalo Jills & the ‘NFL’s Cheerleader Problem:’ What happened?
Buffalo News (June 12, 2019)

How quarterback Jared Goff’s Super Bowl journey started in Buffalo — before he was born
Buffalo News (Feb. 2, 2019)

Blessing or curse? How Hall of Famers fail or succeed as coaches
Buffalo News (Jan. 19, 2019)

Ex-NFL star Troy Vincent seeking ‘courageous men’ to fight sexual assault, domestic abuse
Buffalo News (Oct. 22, 2018)

Baseball prodigy Katie Brownell pitching a different kind of perfect
Buffalo News (Aug. 24, 2018)

Finally a Sabre: In a frozen moment, Rasmus Dahlin (and his mom) are Buffalo-bound
Buffalo News (June 22, 2018)

The psychology of first-round hype
Buffalo News (June 21, 2018)

What if the Buffalo Bills had been dealt a Trump card?
Buffalo News (Nov. 5, 2016)

Mike Tyson finding himself in the ‘Undisputed Truth’
Buffalo News (Oct. 5, 2016)

90 and thriving: Coach Marv Levy is writing, speaking — and singing too
Buffalo News (Sept. 26, 2015)

The hidden rock star: Finding the Bills’ ‘Shout!’ singer in the cornfields of Indiana
Buffalo News (Sept. 12, 2015)

Helping grieving parents is only sure thing for Brian Moorman
Buffalo News (May 3, 2015)

‘Anthem guy’ leads purposeful life beyond center ice
Buffalo News (Jan. 18, 2014)

Politics, Business & Social Issues

For Somalian president, leaving home in suburban USA was ‘difficult, but worth it’
Buffalo News (Sept. 29, 2019)

Taking the jab to Parkinson’s disease, one jab at a time
‘The Intervention’ convinces Congressman Jack Quinn to stop hiding his Parkinson’s
Buffalo News (April 21, 2019)

The AP’s Julie Pace: ‘Washington is in her DNA’
Buffalo News (March 31, 2019)

The year of living gratefully
Buffalo News (Jan. 1, 2019)

Hazing, heartbreak and, finally, helping: What’s next for Nolan Burch’s family.
Buffalo News (Dec. 4, 2018)

Twenty years later, doctor’s murder still haunts
Buffalo News (Oct. 21, 2018)

Deacon speaks truth to power in the Catholic church
Buffalo News (Sept. 1, 2018)

From pipe dream to game-changer: Jamestown’s National Comedy Center is days from reality
Buffalo News (July 28, 2018)

With Dresser-Rand closing, Wellsville caught between ‘hope’ and ‘ghost-town coming’
Buffalo News (May 13, 2018)

Tragedies force churches to prepare for the unimaginable: an active shooter
Buffalo News (March 11, 2018)

Fashion icon: Fern Mallis put American designers ‘on the map’
Buffalo News (Jan. 20, 2019)

Top cop Gil Kerlikowske enters the simpler life
Buffalo News (Oct. 8, 2017)

On Sept. 11, George Pataki remains New York’s comforter-in-chief
Buffalo News (Sept. 11, 2017)

Teeth-clenching Niagara Falls feat is Wallendas learning to balance
Buffalo News (June 15, 2017)

For Muslim-American at border, the ‘fear of coming home’
Buffalo News (April 9, 2017)

Tim O’Shei on this ‘smokescreen of a reality show’
Buffalo News (Nov. 8, 2016)

Horror meets fearonomics: Why we celebrate Halloween
Buffalo News (Oct. 28, 2016)

Tom Barnett finds the perfect fit
Buffalo News (Nov. 25, 2015)

Sept. 11 loss fuels advocacy of Charles G. Wolf
Buffalo News (Sept. 11, 2015)

Matthew became Matti, and now she has a smile
Buffalo News (June 6, 2015)

The tipping point: Are Canadians ACTUALLY cheap?
Buffalo News (May 3, 2015)