editing!

Between wars, public health backsliding, and the worldwide retreat of foreign aid, there are a lot of causes that could use the spare change in your pocket. But choosing just one is incredibly difficult, and these days, young folks are more amenable to donating through crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe. Fellow Sara Herschander, a former philanthropy reporter, explored the pros and cons of such websites as well as provided actionable advice for casual donors who want to make a difference.

Future Perfect is well-known for its animal welfare stories, but I noticed one gap in our coverage: the beauty industry. Beef tallow was all the rage in 2025, but I asked fellow Sam Delgado to dive a little deeper into the ethical costs of a trend that makes no sense (looking at you, salmon sperm).

This was Celia Ford’s final feature for us as a fellow and arguably her best one. Celia, a former neuroscientist, came to the program with a story she couldn’t shake: the mental health consequences she experienced when she had to test on monkeys in her PhD program. She knew it would be difficult to get people on the record, but she went ahead and got access to several different scientists, clinics, and activists. The surprising thing about this piece is that it’s not an animal welfare piece, rather it’s a culture of science one. I worked with her on the reporting plan and structure, and supported any journalistic ethics questions that came up along the way (and there were a lot).

For about a year, I thought Peso Pluma’s “Rosa Pastel” was about pink cake, but then I learned it was actually about pink cocaine (which isn’t cocaine at all). So I assigned Celia Ford, an ex-neuroscientist-turned-fellow, to dive into the world of this up-and-coming party drug. Under my direction, Celia broke down the science, the cultural pull, and the risks of pink cocaine — to great fanfare.

My work wife Marina Bolotnikova led a groundbreaking package called How Factory Farming Ends. As part of that push, I worked with freelancer Noella Williams on this personal reported essay. The move here was to let go of jargon-y crutches — intersectionality means nothing on its own! — to allow for Noella’s authoritative, personable voice to carry the argument forward. It was also my idea to hire a photographer; reading about Black vegans is one thing, but seeing Noella enjoy cultural foods gave texture and weight to the piece. As a result, Noella spoke at several vegan conferences after this piece was published.

This reported essay took a lot of convincing upper management because not many people know what the jhānas are. The challenge was making an esoteric, subjective meditation experience relatable, but also providing clarity as to why anyone would ever want a “vibratory expanse.” I worked with staff writer Oshan Jarow to streamline the history and theory of the jhānas, cut down on repetition, and find some concrete storytelling to give weight to this unquantifiable experience.

Marina pitched this incredible comic as a rebuttal to the notion that being vegan is being miserable. I worked with her to storyboard and finesse the food writing, as well as direct a few of the visual scenes. We had a BLAST on this one.

Back when he was a fellow, Oshan Jarow came to me with this hot take: McMindfulness is obscuring the true power and appeal of meditation, and so is the stereotype of enlightenment. I’m a bit of a normie, so I wanted to make sure any complicated concepts like contemplative science felt fresh and tangible for someone who is just tipping their toes into meditation. This missive turned out to be one of Future Perfect’s (and Vox’s!) top stories in 2023.