ABOUT ME
I'm an investigative reporter, journalist and podcast host who has worked in newspapers, magazines, TV and audio for more than two decades, reporting on everything from local school boards to presidential elections to natural disasters. For many years I covered former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, first for The Philadelphia Inquirer and then WNYC public radio, winning a Peabody Award for a series of stories about the Bridgegate scandal that rocked Christie's political career. The judges cited “tenacious and thorough reporting that affected reform in New York and New Jersey and possibly changed the 2016 presidential campaign landscape.”
My book, American Governor: Chris Christie's Bridge to Redemption, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2016. Before covering politics, I spent time in Afghanistan, writing a series for The Philadelphia Inquirer on failed American reconstruction efforts that won the Livingston Award for International Reporting. I have also reported extensively on immigration, winning the David Carr Reporter of the Year award for uncovering abuse in ICE detention and traveling to Malawi and Japan to report on the global refugee crisis for The Atlantic, NPR, PBS and The New York Times. My journalism has also been featured in The Washington Post, Politico Magazine and The New Republic.
I now report on air at WNYC and NPR about policing and incarceration, and recently won a Sidney Award for publishing never-before-seen images of squalid conditions at jails on Rikers Island in New York. As an adjunct professor, I teach journalism to college students.
Once upon a time, I wrote a nationally syndicated dating column.
JOURNALISM PORTFOLIO
AUDIO JOURNALISM: WNYC public radio & NPR
I report on criminal justice issues for WNYC, the largest NPR station in the country, with a focus on jails and incarceration. I produce long radio features, on-air interviews and short news spots that break news. I also write in-depth investigative stories for our news site, Gothamist, and file national stories for NPR.
Through public documents and dozens of interviews, I documented New Jersey Democratic officials’ financial arrangement with ICE during the Trump Administration and uncovered physical and sexual abuse of immigrants in detention. My stories led to the passage of a law banning ICE detention centers in New Jersey.
From time to time I guest-host WNYC's radio shows, including "The Brian Lehrer Show" and "All Of It," and produce stories for podcasts like "On The Media," "Trump, Inc." and "The World."
AUTHOR: "American Governor: Chris Christie's Bridge To Redemption"
My biography on former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie -- "American Governor: Chris Christie's Bridge To Redemption" -- was published by Simon & Schuster in 2016. A culmination of years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, the book was praised by Kirkus Reviews for its “reportorial swagger” with “the pulse of a gripping political thriller.”
The New York Times called it “an excellent book about Christie and New Jersey politics.”
PRINT REPORTING: New York Times, The Atlantic, The Philadelphia Inquirer
I fell in love with newspapers first, from my column ("The Katz Meow," get it?) at my high school paper to my first real job covering small New Jersey towns at the Daily Record. From there I went to the Courier-Post, where I covered the news while writing a nationally syndicated column about my dating experiences. For several years after that I reported on New Jersey politics, crime and corruption for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
I have since written and reported for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and Politico Magazine.