Writing and Editing
I began my career as a newspaper journalist in California, where I won awards for feature, commentary, and investigative writing. Subsequent journalism has been published in New Scientist, Evening Standard, Telegraph Magazine, Aeon, and the New York Times, among others. I also write and edit learning resources for non-profit and academic organisations. Notable writing and editing projects include:
Lost in Space (Pantheon/Penguin):
My narrative non-fiction book exploring human spaceflight past, present and future was listed among the Books of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and Independent (UK).
14-18 NOW/Centenary Commissions
With creative learning expert Bill Lucas, I wrote the learning resource Make Art Not War, based on art work commissioned to commemorate World War I. Artists Yinka Shonibare, Rachel Whiteread, Bob and Roberta Smith, and Anna Meredith provided inspiration for this resource, which has been used by more than 50,000 further education students across the UK.
Tate/A New Direction:
I was lead deviser and editor for Learning Lenses, a teacher resource supporting the Tate Year 3 Project by Turner Prize winning artist (and Oscar winning director) Steve McQueen and exhibited at Tate Britain from 2019-2021.
Other writing and editing clients include London School of Economics (LSE), the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, DEMOS, and the London Borough of Brent. A selection of my writing is playfully presented below.
The Immortals’ Club
I've come close more than once to writing a book about the sociology and science behind radical life extension, aka living forever. This and the Better Humans essay were attempts to work through some of the key ideas and players. New Scientist .
Fast-track to orbit
You take the high road...but I'll save millions getting into space. New Scientist
American booty: The new space prize
Bigger than the X-Prize, but only if you're American. New Scientist
Apollo special
Astronaut or taikonaut: whose footprints will be next on the moon? New Scientist
Hay Festival
If you click here, you can listen to a podcast of my talk on Lost in Space at the Hay Festival. If you listen very closely, you'll occasionally hear my daughter, then two years old, calling out, 'Daddy'. Always good to have at least one fan in the audience...
Microsoft Research Video
A video of a talk to Microsoft Research in Seattle, on Lost in Space and SETI - useful as a portal to my lost youth if nothing else!