Category: Sample Columns

Worrying about the storms we can’t track

January 19, 2014January 19, 2014 Brody No Comments

This column appeared in The Herald-Sun in January 2014: I was almost finished building the new toy box for John Michael last Saturday when our smartphones buzzed about a tornado warning in Durham. Soon, we found out that – although it’s not a comfortable fit for all involved – it’s possible to cram two adults,…

Journalism, Non-Fiction, Sample Columns

Welcome to the nerd club

January 10, 2014 Brody No Comments

This column appeared in The Herald-Sun in January 2014: Fifteen years ago, I told my editor at The St. Petersburg Times that I was working on a new side project — an online role-playing game. He smiled, laughed and said, “Wow, you really are a geek.” This, coming from a guy with an office festooned…

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Journalism, Non-Fiction, Sample Columns

Sometimes luck trumps preparation

January 3, 2014 Brody No Comments

Nearly a year ago, Rachel Raney showed me the perils facing pedestrians around Trinity Park, Duke University’s East Campus and Durham School of the Arts. She worried about motorists speeding through crosswalk zones, endangering adults and children alike trying to make safe crossings. She was concerned not just about her son, Leo Bortiri, who loved…

Journalism, Non-Fiction, Sample Columns

Would you like The Force with that?

December 28, 2013 Brody No Comments

Several management types sat at tables in the McDonald’s dining room, holding a breakfast meeting while I munched on a burrito. The senior manager leading the meeting made a comment: “You’ll find that in your R2D2 report.” No one around the table giggled. No one made humming lightsaber noises. Everyone kept a straight face. I…

Journalism, Non-Fiction, Sample Columns