Doha Morning
July 29 July 9
Haiti: 4 Months After the Quake
Haiti suffered a tremendous calamity in January. During a week of reporting around Port-au-Prince, Mohammad Al-Kassim and I documented tent cities, peacekeepers, nightclubs, and Haitian mass transit. We wrote about the first big opposition rally since the quake and about the Haitian idea of destiny. Listen to my Haiti radio appearance on the Marc Steiner [...]
Inside the Hermit Kingdom
A 6-part Worldfocus multimedia series on the people and culture of North Korea. Watch original footage from August 2009 of the Pyongyang Metro, rural countryside, Demilitarized Zone and everyday North Korean civilians. Read about an interview with a North Korean army major who explains why the stalemate remains. See traffic girls directing cars and Juche [...]
Publications
These are among the online and print publications that have run my work. I have reported local news stories for the NY Daily News, Philadelphia Weekly, Baltimore Sun, and AFP. My international news stories have appeared on Worldfocus, HuffingtonPost, Haaretz, and Chosun.
Hoardhouse
2009 multimedia masters project by Ben Piven, Jackie Kasuya, and Karn Dhingra at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. We explore the lives of hoarders, clean-up professionals, psychologists, and social workers. Visit Hoardhouse.com to learn more about compulsive clutter in NYC.
NYC Interactive
In spring 2009, NYC Interactive produced four issues — ranging from Transformation to Odd Job$. My multimedia packages within those issues include the Art of Subvertising, Shifting Faiths, NYC’s Elite Social Clubs, and Naked Sushi. Click through to dive into these packages.
Top 10s
Here are a few Top 10 lists that I’ve generated. Thoughts?Most attractive people: 1. Venezuela2. Italy3. Thailand4. Lebanon5. Israel6. Brazil7. Czech Republic8. India9. Ethiopia10. Sweden Best Indian States: 1. Kerala2. Rajasthan3. Jammu & Kashmir4. Tamil Nadu5. Maharashtra6. Himachal Pradesh7. Goa8. Uttaranchal9. Mizoram10. Pondicherry Favorite Indian Gods & Quasi-Deities 1. Ganesh2. Buddha3. Nandi4. Shiva5. Durga6. Gangamma7. [...]
Twisted Sister!
Below I have posted some pictures from my trip to New Orleans with a few explanations. During a 3-week stint with the American Red Cross, I experienced the fragility of human civilization. The massive amount of destruction, coupled with the bizarre mix of forces already present at the mouth of the Mississippi, ensured that my [...]
Typical scene of destruction. Merciless flood waters toppled homes, destroying many that were not covered by flood insurance.
New Orleans is under a state of emergency. Louisiana Army National Guard patrols through the devastated and depopulated Lower Ninth Ward encountered relatively no danger relative to their comrades’ patrols through the chaotic streets of the Sunni Triangle. Local gangs and other enemies of American imperial law and order will most likely never return to [...]
The aftermath of the hurricane was incredibly racialized. White political pundits often lambasted black looters for seeking to obtain items necessary for survival. FEMA was incredibly slow to respond to the disaster, and huge numbers of people suffered for days in horrid conditions. Indubitably, certain individuals looted luxury goods from stores and homes, but most [...]