After two decades as an award-winning journalist, Chip Scanlan taught writing at The Poynter Institute from 1994-2009. His credits include The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post Magazine and The American Scholar; two essays were listed as notables in Best American Essays. He lives and writes in St. Petersburg, Florida, and publishes Chip’s Writing Lessons, a newsletter of tips and inspiration.
The Jessica Simulation: Love and loss in the age of A.I. The death of the woman he loved was too much to bear. Could a mysterious website allow him to speak with her once more? By JASON FAGONE | … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of three annotated chapters that follow a grieving man’s journey into artificial intelligence to reconnect with his dead lover, and find some peace. You can read Chapter 2, “Life,” and … Read more
Mitchell S. Jackson was worried. It was May 2020, and he had just sent his agent the prologue of his latest novel. Jackson, a contributing writer for Esquire and author of two celebrated books, said to himself, “I really … Read more
Harried doctors and nurses, gowned in eerie layers, race to the call of codes. Hospital hallways overflow with the near-dead. Undertakers scramble to make space as body after body arrives, and refrigerated trucks are crammed with more, all waiting … Read more
A turbulent 2020 drew to a close. Baseless claims about U.S. presidential election roiled through the ranks of Trump supporters, gaining momentum as the inauguration of a new president neared. Amid the political chaos, Washington Post reporter Jose A. Read more
Dementia — the inexorable erosion of memory that erases the mind and eventually robs the body of its most basic abilities — is growing to epidemic levels as America ages. It brings the same fear today that a cancer … Read more
One of the most heartbreaking realities of the coronavirus pandemic is particularly harsh: Patients usually die alone, separated from their loved ones with only a cellphone or iPad to say goodbye, while a nurse holds their hand. And with … Read more
On August 23 of this year, Kenosha, Wisconsin, joined the litany of American cities beset by street protests in the wake of the police shooting of a Black man. In this case, a white police officer, responding to what … Read more
On Oct. 9, 1983, the body of Timothy Wayne Coggins, a 23-year-old Black man, was found in the woods off a power line easement in Griffin, Georgia. He had been stabbed dozens of times and an “X,” like the … Read more
I’d heard the story many times before, but I still couldn’t believe it: Gay Talese pinned his manuscript pages to the wall of his office. He then walked across the room to his desk. On it rested a pair of … Read more