Unfinished Business,
a weblog
This is a place where I can think out loud, work through ideas, and talk about stuff that doesn't fit cleanly into the type of freelance writing I do. Some ideas will be fully formed, others, as the title implies, will be unfinished.
Appreciate Everything Endlessly
I can't stop watching Cabel Sasser's talk from the XOXO conference this year.
Published on October 15, 2024
Weapons and Motives. Punk Planet: Year Five
In the latest installment of my series reflecting on Punk Planet's legacy, I focus on the magazine's fifth year, when it shifted significantly toward political issues, particularly anti-war coverage, culminating in the "Murder of Iraq" cover story.
Published on September 29, 2024
Everything is kinda shitty and stressful right now, so I wrote about something that's neither: the remarkable new game UFO 50.
Published on September 25, 2024
The thing I love most about doing journalism is you never quite know where you're going to end up once you start digging. That's been especially true with my work on Rebel Spirit, which sits alongside the best reporting I've ever done. Today our second episode is out, and it's all about digging to expose a 70-year-old lie.
Published on September 10, 2024
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes. Punk Planet: Year Four
I wrote about underground art and design, a sacred assembly of men, and the year that changed everything for Punk Planet magazine as part of the fourth entry in my monthly essay series about the 13 year run of Punk Planet.
Published on August 31, 2024
Alone in a Crowd. Punk Planet: Year Three
The third in my monthly essay series about the 13 year run of Punk Planet. This time around, Year Three and the first cover story we ever ran, about the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in 1996, wholly relevant once again.
Published on July 31, 2024
In honor of Steve Albini's birthday today, here's an excerpt from an interview with him Punk Planet #26, in which he talks about how he approaches his life. Happy birthday Steve, miss you.
Published on July 22, 2024
Do What You Want, 'Cos This is the New Art School. Punk Planet: Year Two
I'm writing an essay a month marking the 30 year anniversary of Punk Planet. This month, Year Two. If the first year of Punk Planet was about figuring out the function of the magazine, the second year was about the form.
Published on June 30, 2024
Here's the deal. I write about the mess we're in, how we're getting through it, and other things that make my head itch. But not lice. No cost, no spam, let's go.
Or you can always subscribe via RSS or follow me on Mastodon or Bluesky where new posts are automatically posted.
Want to read a few popular pieces? Here are a some of my most-read posts:
-
The Who Cares Era
We're living through the Who Cares Era, where completely disposable things are shoddily produced for people to mostly ignore, while the government stomps its uncaring boot on our necks.
Published on May 23, 2025
-
What Felt Impossible Became Possible
A post about how the KKK in the 1920s felt unstoppable, about the people that fought against them anyway, and about how fascism always fails.
Published on Feb 23, 2025
-
What I Need You To Understand, Notes from Chicago in Late October
ICE has been cracking down on Chicago, and I wrote a little bit about what you need to understand about what it's like here in late October. Plus, I compiled some resources for alerts and whistles.
Published on Oct 24, 2025
-
What If We Just Stopped?
There has to be a better way of connecting and sharing and existing together, a way that isn't locked into the exploitative doom loops and psychic death of what we currently have.
Published on Sep 23, 2026
-
Whistle Up
In Chicago, whistles proved to be a super effective alert system when ICE is near. With these goons spreading out across the country, I wanted to put together a resource guide for buying, printing, and distributing whistles. I wrote as full a brain dump as I could muster. Whistle up.
Published on Nov 21, 2025