Selected Writing
Essays
A larger archive of essays and commentary across the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other outlets.
Popular Writing by Outlet
Wall Street Journal
- A Timeline of Key Moments in the History of Work in AmericaWall Street Journal, 11/30/2025
- A Timeline of Key Moments in American CapitalismWall Street Journal, 9/27/2025
New York Times
- It's Not The End of Work. It's The End of Boring Work.New York Times, 4/22/2023
- The New Deal's Capitalist Lessons for Joe BidenNew York Times, 2/10/2021
- E-Commerce Promised the World. Are We Happy With Our Purchase?New York Times, 8/10/2019
- How Sears Helped Oppose Jim CrowNew York Times, 10/20/2018
- It's Not Technology That's Disrupting Our JobsNew York Times, 8/18/2018
- The Myth of Main StreetNew York Times, 4/8/2017
- A Tale of Two Dollar StoresNew York Times, 8/3/2014
- The House That George Romney BuiltNew York Times, 2/1/2012
- Laid Flat By LayawayNew York Times, 10/12/2011
- The Original Subprime CrisisNew York Times, 12/26/2007
Washington Post and The Atlantic
- The Undocumented Workers Who Built Silicon ValleyThe Washington Post, 8/30/2018
- The New Deal Wasn't What You ThinkThe Atlantic, 3/6/2019
- Securitizing Cheese: How the Surge in Consumer Lending has Squeezed Small Businesses DryThe Atlantic/National Journal, 2011
Other Outlets
- California's new gig economy law was meant to help workers. But it will likely hurt them insteadCNN, 1/9/2020
- What does Labor Day mean in a gig economy?LA Times, 8/30/2019
- Where are all the Uber drivers? Not in these government statisticsLA Times, 7/27/2018
- The Way To Fix The Gig Economy: It Starts With Thinking Outside The Tech BubbleMedium, 8/22/2018
- What the mass deportation of immigrants might look like (with Natasha Iskander)Slate, 11/16/2017
- Why the CVS BurnedSlate, 5/1/2015
- How to Protect the Working Poor from 300 Percent Interest RatesHuffington Post, 10/2/2015
- Happy Workers, Happy Meals: The Strategic Case for Higher Wages at McDonald'sHuffington Post, 4/15/2015
- In Transition: MOOCs and Non-Traditional StudentsHuffington Post, 2/26/2014
- Market Values are Not MOOC ValuesHuffington Post, 2/11/2014
- Why Ports Are The New FactoriesHuffington Post, 1/3/2013
- A Brief History of DebtHuffington Post, 1/25/2012
- Freddie Mac's 'Omniscient Gnomes' Led The Company AstrayBloomberg.com, 10/30/2012
- How Consumer Loans Saved the Banking IndustryBloomberg.com, 6/6/2012
- Frauds, Swingers, and the Odd Early Days of Credit CardsBloomberg.com, 5/24/2012
- The First Time Mortgage-Backed Securities FailedBloomberg.com, 4/26/2012
- How Did World War II End the Great Depression?Bloomberg.com, 12/16/2011
- The Future of Work: The Second Industrious RevolutionPacific Standard, 8/3/2015
- American Finance Grew On the Back of SlavesChicago Sun-Times, 3/7/2014
- Why Write the History of Capitalism?Symposium-magazine.com, 7/2/2013
- The Debt BombWilson Quarterly, Winter 2012
- Using Debt WiselyBoston Review, November 2012
- Ronald Reagan's Raw Deal for AmericaTheGlobalist.com, 6/12/2012
- The Powerful Illusion of ThriftNew York Daily News, 1/29/2012
- Lay off the LayawayCNBC.com, 11/21/2011
- The Making of Debtor NationChronicle of Higher Education, 3/13/2011