Selected works

The P-Word, NPR's Invisibilia

We've all heard that power is dirty, that it corrupts. And yet, we need power - to meet our needs, to make demands, to effect change in the world. So what happens when you're so grossed out by power, you'd rather avoid the power game altogether? When a comic and a dominatrix go head to head, I examine the surprising forms power can take in everyday life and how to treat a power allergy.

Therapy, with Friends, NPR's Invisibilia

Two best friends were drifting apart. So they asked psychotherapist Esther Perel for help — and I listened in. A peek into the status of friend therapy, and why more of us should probably go.

The Chaos Machine series, NPR's Invisibilia

A three-part investigation into a controversial website that's become one of the most popular sources of local news in Stockton, California. Some say it's doing important investigative journalism. Other people say it's spewing hateful lies. When traditional local news runs out of resources, what happens when reporting the narrative of a community becomes anyone's game? 

A Very Offensive Rom-Com, NPR's Invisibilia

A young woman discovers a disturbing pattern in her dating life - a pattern that challenges her very conception of who she is and what she believes in. The realization sets her off on a quest to change her sexual racial preferences. But is this even possible? And should we be hacking our desire to match our values?

This Call May Be Recorded... To Save Your Life, This American Life

A journalist named Meron Estefanos gets a disturbing tip. She's given a phone number that supposedly belongs to a group of refugees being held hostage in the Sinai desert. She dials the number, and soon dozens of strangers are begging her to rescue them. How can she ignore them?

Power Tools, NPR's Invisibilia

Bad bosses. Obnoxious coworkers. Unfair compensation. There are so many reasons people feel disempowered in the workplace. But how can our feelings about power enable or disrupt the dynamics we hate at work? In this episode, I seek answers from a power researcher and a union organizer.

Reality, NPR's Invisibilia

A story about a community in Minnesota facing a very particular reality divide: some of the people in town believe that wild black bears are gentle animals you can feed with your hands, and others think they're dangerous killers.  What could possibly go wrong?

A Friendly Ghost Story, NPR's Invisibilia

It's one of the most common mysteries - when friends ghost friends. In this episode, I examine a real-life ghost story to see why we're so haunted. And a listener attempts to find the friend who got away. 

The Goodbye Show, NPR's Invisibilia

A bouquet of meditations on goodbyes.

Really Good Elevator Music, Asian Arts Initiative
Really Good Elevator Music was an experiment that explored the potential of sound to stimulate community building in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Chinatown North/Callowhill. Six artists were invited to create tracks for a playlist – which played on loop in the elevators of The Wolf Building and Asian Arts Initiative in 2013. I produced this project as part of Asian Arts Initiative’s 2012-2013 year of Social Practice Lab.