August, 2020
An 8-part, narrative podcast series
Buried cash. DEA moles. Skydiving planes. Armed robberies. Cocaine. Partying. Fast cars. And an exploding hash lab. A group of college friends took advantage of Colorado’s medical marijuana laws to create one of the most sophisticated smuggling rings in U.S. history. LISTEN HERE -->
*Named a finalist for the Livingston Award in 2020
Published by Rock and Ice Magazine, 2.1.19
Adolfo Benegas and Eric Bender vanished on the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere – Aconcagua – without a trace in 1990. After 29 years of searching, Benegas’ brother has found plane wreckage, stranded climbers, other remains and even a haunting. What he hasn’t found are answers. READ MORE --->
Published by The Atavist, 1.31.18
In an enclave of bohemian retirees in central Mexico, one woman's name is synonymous with murder. Inside the twisted, sordid saga of Donna McCready. READ MORE -->
- *Winner of the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award for Newspaper Feature writingPublished in Westword, 10.31.17Acid tests, free love, the Grateful Dead, cat-and-mouse games with federal agents...Fifty years after the Summer of Love, it’s still a little-known fact that Denver had been home to two major LSD laboratories. Even though the operations were short-lived, they created significant repercussions — not just legally for their operators, but for the psychedelic movement as a whole --> READ MORE
*First Place Winner in the category of Arts and Entertainment at SPJ's 2016 "Top of the Rockies" Awards
Published in Westword, 11.17.15
Rachel Aboytes' life was cut short when she was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Denver. What happened next was surreal for her family: Aboytes has become canonized as a cult icon of Spanish rap, with fandom extending beyond the United States.
Nicknamed “Baby Smiley,” Aboytes was relatively obscure when she was alive. In death, the Chicana rapper's legacy has taken on a life of its own. READ -->
Published in LA Weekly, 2.4.15
Most of L.A.'s cycling competitions remain underground, like The Fast and the Furious on bikes. Cyclists meet late at night for races throughout the city, usually organized on social media so that police cannot know the locations and shut them down. Most people agree the scene took off thanks to a single group: Midnight Ridazz, whose origins can be traced to a chilly evening in February 2004, when six cyclists and two skateboarders spontaneously decided to tour the fountains of downtown Los Angeles. READ MORE -->
Published by NPR, 5.14.13
Co-Authored with Morgan Hartley
*Named a finalist for the Livingston Award in 2013
If someone asked you to bet on the outcome of a nine-year old’s boxing match, would you do it? In Thailand’s rural villages, it happens all the time, where child boxing and gambling are among the oldest traditions of Muay Thai fighting. This feature digs into the lives, ethics, and economics behind one of Thailand’s most controversial sports. The story follows the daily routine of a nine-year old fighter named Chai, and the pressures he faces as his village puts its money on him. --> CLICK
Published in The Atlantic, 6.3.13
Co-Authored with Morgan Hartley
Seyma is an eleven year old Cambodian boy who lives at an orphanage on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Carl is a 24 year old Australian volunteer who has become like a father figure to him. The problem is that Seyma is not actually an orphan. Neither are any but one of the children who live at SCAO -- the Save Poor Children in Asia Organization. In fact, 71 percent of all children in Cambodia’s “orphanages” have parents, but that hasn’t stopped a recent surge of parents like Seyma’s who have sacrificed the upbringing of their kids to provide education and opportunity for them in urban centers. Seyma’s mother leaves it up to volunteers like Carl to raise her son. But is this a good thing? --> CLICK
