Writing About China’s Relationship with Central Asia
Six months ago I started writing on China and technology for Mind Matters. This has been a learning experience for me. I had to become familiar with the history of modern China so I could write about current events and analyze news articles in light of China’s...
Writing about Vaccines
For my Biohazards column in Salvo Issue 50, I decided to write about vaccines since it was a hot news topic. I’m sure you’re asking the same thing I was asking about three days before the article’s deadline, “Why, Heather, did you decide to write about vaccines?” I...
The Hong Kong Protests
My latest articles at Mind Matters News cover the Hong Kong protests. The first article addresses the various ways protesters are protecting themselves from digital surveillance. The second article, related to the first, looks at the Hong Kong protesters’ response to...
High-Tech Surveillance
I have three new articles at Mind Matters that cover the use of high-tech surveillance by the Chinese government. Mind Matters is a news site that is part of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence. The site covers the intersection of...
Overprotected
My recent article in Salvo Issue 49 (by subscription) looks at the book The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. The book is based on an article by Lukianoff and...
Podcast Interview about Teen Girls and Technology
My article in Salvo magazine, “Do You Like Me?” garnered the attention of Walt Mueller of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. He asked if I’d be a guest on his Podcast Youth Culture Today to talk about some of the issues that teen girls are facing today. You...
Our Uneasy Tranquility
Almost a year ago, I came across several articles about the rising use and misuse of benzodiazepines, particularly among teenagers. Benzodiazepines, sometimes called “benzos” for short, are a class of anti-anxiety medications, Xanax being the most popular one to...
Embryo Selection and IQ
I took over the Biohazards column in Salvo Magazine from Paige Cunningham at The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity. The Biohazards column addresses bioethics issues in our culture. For my inaugural piece, I wrote about selecting embryos for intelligence: “Gene...
Teen Vaping
My Casualty Report for Salvo Issue 48 is on the increase of vaping among teens. I wrote this report just as the FDA was investigating whether Juul, the largest provider of vaping liquids, knowingly targeted teens. Teen vaping had increased so much in the last two...