Here are some of my favorite stories from the year.
“Reanimating the Taxman”
Defending taxation and tax authorities is probably the least sexy thing someone can do in most settings. But I was allowed to do exactly that for the Prospect’s February print issue. Ultimately, aside from the wonkery over tax return examinations and the appropriations process, this piece lays out the delicate task ahead for how the IRS intends to rehabilitate its public image and close the tax gap, all amid hostile negotiations.
“House FAA Reauthorization Bill Would Distort True Price of Airfare”
Here’s a great example of how the Prospect homes in on granular details most Beltway media ignores. The desire of lawmakers and other professionals wanting the quickest flight out of Washington (via DCA) overshadowed how a consumer protection rollback provision from the Obama years was included in the House version of the bill.
“Yellow Scapegoats Teamsters for Apollo-Led Bankruptcy”
My colleague Moe Tkacik and I dove into Yellow’s bankruptcy filing, which spins a wild tale of Teamsters president Sean O’Brien as a kleptomaniac-mafioso hell-bent on destroying the nearly 100-year-old company. Scratch beneath the surface, though, and Yellow’s restructuring officer has a long history of stiffing workers and the unions that represent them.
“The United Auto Workers Meet Electrification”
Well before negotiations between the UAW and the Big Three automakers reached a climax, I reported from Detroit and explained how this round of negotiations would set a bar for the future of domestic green manufacturing.
“Rural Letter Carriers Push for Union Decertification”
In what has been a dynamic year for organized labor, this story of rural letter carriers stands in contrast to the dominant narrative. I spoke with rural carriers about their efforts to decertify their union in exchange for representation from the Teamsters because of the implementation of a controversial payment system.
“Lawyers, Not Persuaders”
For the Prospect’s October issue, I unpacked the often-overlooked world of anti-union lawyers, and specifically one of the most notorious in the business, Littler Mendelson. Critically, my reporting shows how union organizers, hindered by claims of attorney-client privilege, face an unfair (and perhaps illegal) battle against the employers trying to quash union activity.
“Taking Control of the Vehicle”
The evolution of cars, love them or hate them, is a good litmus test for where the rest of consumer society is heading. Regulators are now pushing toward embedding cars with anti-speeding technology. But cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarm that we haven’t grappled with the fact that we’re empowering automakers with the ability to remotely control vehicles.
“What Good Were the Video Game Console Wars?”
Long before I was interested in politics and labor, let alone wanted to become a journalist, I was a gamer. My final piece as a writing fellow for the Prospect’s December issue examines the history of the video game console wars and how immense consolidation has translated into a stream of micro-transactions and subscription models. Call it the enshittification of gaming, if you will.
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