This website collects some of the best of my nonfiction, journalism, and other writing on pop culture, music, TV and film, science, and the arts, originally published elsewhere in print and on the web. I hope you find something interesting here.
New in 2025!
Enduring Mysteries
Unlock paranormal mystery and history with the Enduring Mysteries series! This fun and fact-based nonfiction series for ages 12 and up was released earlier this year by Minnesota children’s book publisher Creative Company.
“Intriguing fare for middle school readers captivated by lingering mysteries. … Thorough and compelling.” Read the full review.
The six books in the series are fact-filled and fun explorations of the history, science, and beliefs surrounding six paranormal topics: Atlantis, Area 51, Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, Near Death Experiences, and Sea Monsters. Inside, you’ll find out all kinds of amazing history, such as….
• Theodore Roosevelt’s tale of a bloodthirsty Bigfoot stalking the frontier!
• Ernest Hemingway’s brush with death that changed his life—and his writing!
• The titanic volcano that may have inspired the legend of Atlantis!
• The Canadian lake monster with—legends say—the power to control the weather!
…and much more!
I absolutely loved tales of Bigfoot and UFOs when I was a kid, and I think that stories of the paranormal and unexplained can be a great way to get people—especially young readers—interested in history, culture, and science, without losing sight of what makes these topics so compelling and mysterious. In each book, I tried to cover these topics with a skeptical but sympathetic eye—not just telling spooky tales (though there are plenty!) but exploring the history behind the legends, asking why people believe in them, and the real folklore, history, and science that are often just as amazing as the legends themselves. Could Bigfoot really be lurking deep in the forest? You’ll have to read more to find out!
Published in January 2025. Click on the images above for more on each book!
New in 2025!
Amazing Animals
Creative Company’s Amazing Animals series—including Otters, Pronghorn, Porcupines, Seals, and Scorpions—tells the tales (and tails) of some of the Earth’s most fascinating creatures: How they live, what they eat, and what makes them unique. They were a lot of fun to write, and the animals were of course adorable and fuzzy. (Well, not the scorpions…) Published in January 2025. Click on the images above for more on each book!
The Headliners box set
For the 25th anniversary of Stand Up! Records, the label put together this amazing box set featuring vinyl reissues of five albums important in the history of the label, all of which are also important early milestones for the comics: Maria Bamford’s The Burning Bridges Tour, Marc Maron’s Not Sold Out, Hannibal Buress’ My Name Is Hannibal, Chad Daniels’ You’re The Best, and Lashonda Lester’s Shondee Superstar. I wrote the liner notes, a 28-page booklet that includes six oral-history interviews covering the history of Stand Up! Records and behind-the-scenes looks at each of the albums, including talks with Bamford, Maron, Daniels, and many more. Released in November 2024. Find out more at the Stand Up! Records website!
Paris 1919’s Future Archaeology
I wrote the liner notes for this 2022 album by the Minneapolis electronic/neoclassical collective Paris 1919, led by Chris Strouth. Future Archaeology collects seven of Strouth’s complex, immersive soundscapes originally recorded circa 2010 to 2012, abandoned after his newer compositions evolved in a new direction. As Classical Minnesota Public Radio host Steve Seel says in an interview for the liner notes, Paris 1919 transcends genre in the best way: “It is purely about Chris’s vision—about engaging with a broader palette of sonic possibilities than something just purely consonant or pleasant. It’s much more expressive than that. What Chris does is very courageous. … You could call it ‘confrontational ambient.'” Check out the music and buy the album on Paris 1919’s Bandcamp page.
Articles from the archives
A beginner’s guide to Doctor Who (1963-2010)
A thorough and (at the time of writing) complete primer on the venerable sci-fi TV series, which kicked off my long-running column writing about classic-era Who. For more of my writing about the series, go to my Doctor Who page.
Interview: Donald Westlake a.k.a. Richard Stark
One of the greatest American crime novelists opens up about the crooks who read his books.
A career-spanning talk with the master of stop-motion animation, who gave us Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts.
The Future Sounds of Yesterday: A Sequence of Synthesizers in Science Fiction
How technology, music, and science fiction changed the universe together.
From Godzilla to Audition, a roundup of truly terrifying chillers from the other side of the Pacific.
Minnesota music and arts
A few less than 10,000 reviews, interviews and articles covering the creative spirit of the land of 10,000 lakes.
Interview: Jeremy Ackerman of Walker Kong
The indie-pop bandleader talks about the group’s fourth album, Phazes Of Light.
Grant Hart: Good News For Modern Man
A review of the splendid 1999 solo album by the former drummer of Hüsker Dü.