Hello there! My name is Betsy and I’m on the editorial staff of The New Yorker. Before that I did research, fact-checking, and web writing for The Atlantic magazine. I’m a recent graduate of Columbia University, where I studied anthropology and philosophy, spent six months as an editorial intern at The New Yorker, edited the news at the Columbia Daily Spectator, and wrote the Varsity Show. I like to write, and when I find myself with some spare time, fall into the mindsuck of the internet. So here I am, nice to see you!
A voyage to digital book world.
A Museum of MathA non math-person goes to the museum.
Sarin in the skyWith Syria in mind, a look at the worst case of Sarin poisoning in American history.
Anthropological video gamesRunning a sweatshop and playing "Guess my Race."
Ladies who drinkA book on women and alcohol leaves the reader with a hangover.
Table tennis may be the only Olympic sport that’s played concurrently in frat parties and nursing homes.
“Reading Rainbow" at the Apple Store
With a new iPad app, LeVar Burton reads to his fans again, twenty years later.
A Skirmish in the War on Brunch
When the local community board gathered for a meeting the other night, concerned citizens chimed in on a dispute over exactly when Sunday brunch is served. The official answer, according to a rarely enforced city law for sidewalk cafés, is not before noon. But this week, three New York City Council members set out to legislate in favor of morning brunching.
Politicians’ Tweets, Back from the Dead
Scrolling through these deleted tweets is a bit like falling into a portal to a politician's self-correcting brain.
April showers sprinkled onto the High Line’s greenery like the misty spray in a supermarket produce aisle. Meanwhile, under the cover of the 16th Street Chelsea Market passage, Alison Knowles was looking for her cleavers.
Has Kindle Killed the Book Cover?
How designers are responding to e-readers.
An Annie Leibovitz Exhibit With Shots of Niagara Falls, Not Demi Moore
For “Pilgrimage,” the photographer turned her camera away from celebrities, toward important traces of cultural history, and caught up with Susan Sontag.
Sunday in the Park With Khoi Vinh
I tagged along while the former NYTimes.com design director and new Mixel creator walked his dog, Mister President.
Welcome to the Storyverse: A Catalog of the Implicit Links Inside Books
A startup sets out to stock digital shelves of allusions.
‘Woody Allen: A Documentary’: A Legend’s Rare Turn as Film Subject
Despite all his lucky breaks, he still feels like he got screwed.
In ‘Being Elmo,’ Meet the Man Behind Sesame Street’s Red Monster
A character study of Kevin Clash, the puppeteer in Elmo’s shadow.
Books With Soundtracks: The Future of Reading?
There is a long-held belief about cinema: “There never was a silent film.” But reading is silent by design. I considered a new app that provides cinematic soundtracks for digital books, and tried to hear myself think.
A Bastion of All-Male Education Goes Co-Ed
In 1792, Wollstonecraft wrote of the need “to persuade women to endeavour to acquire strength, both of mind and body.” The women who find themselves at Deep Springs will have a unique opportunity to test themselves on both counts. Unless the idea of baling hay at 4:30 a.m. does not appeal.
The Neverending Campaign to Ban ‘Slaughterhouse Five’
It’s as if the novel’s theme of history repeating itself manifests in the controversies Vonnegut’s book has caused over the years.
Dr. Seuss vs. Madonna: Can Celebrities Write Good Children’s Books?
Kids know what they like, which usually has little to do with what they are supposed to like. But that hasn’t stopped celebrities like Gloria Estefan, Dolly Parton, or Madonna from getting into the children’s literature game.
See all of the stories I have written for The Atlantic.
Although Rabbi Helga Newmark survived the horrors of the Holocaust, a childhood slight from Anne Frank stayed with her for the rest of her life. Then she told my seventh grade class.
In Which the Glimpse is All We Require
I saw an old friend on the side of a bus. And on a billboard. I pass her everywhere, and she gazes outward, voiceless.
In Which We Completely Lose Our Sense Of Place
For the arts and culture mag This Recording, I found my way to Washington, D.C. but lost my bearings.
At a fund-raiser, Rangel and friends create their own narrative
Charlie Rangel walked through the door and shook a few hands, grinning from ear to ear. Then he went straight for the microphone.
Sculpture loses a dimension, gains several at MoMA
“Art history, in fact, as we know it today, is a child of photography.”
Tenants’ rights rally ends in arrests
The marchers shouted, “Housing is a right! Fight! Fight! Fight!” One by one, the hands of thirteen protestors were tied behind their backs, and they were led off by police officers on charges of civil disobedience.
Money-making world-record-breaking group convenes, sets records
Though the records listed in the URDB are often ones like “Most Screws Screwed into a Banana” and “Most Sips of Eggnog in 30 Seconds While Listening to Neil Diamond,” their holders mostly take them seriously.
The Epoch Times doesn’t like to brag
The woman behind the counter of the Hudson News stand at the World Trade Center Path Station said she doesn’t carry The Epoch Times, and said she hadn’t heard of it. The funny thing is that The Epoch Times is a big publication, printed in 33 countries.
The photojournalist as advocate
The panelists were introduced as “human rights photographers,” referred to as journalists, and suggested by one student to be advocates. They projected anthropological curiosity and artistic sensibility. Much conversation sprung from trying to figure out exactly what they are and what they are doing.
Barack Obama, CC ’83, becomes first Columbia College alumnus elected U.S. president
I reported from Chicago, where I spent Election Day weekend.
Double Discovery Center faces major transition
This investigative story unveiled challenges to a longstanding University program.
Singh Family Gas Station Continues Holdout
A nameless gas station at 619 125th St. and another on 12th Avenue, across from the Cotton Club stand with peeling paint, are in the project zone for Columbia’s Manhattanville expansion.
Manhattanville Expansion Raises Questions About Aesthetics
Beyond the glass and steel illustrations of Columbia’s planned Manhattanville buildings is a tension between preserving the aesthetic aspects of the neighborhood and convincing local residents to embrace a modern look.
M’Ville Dates Spark Concern, Confusion
After taking a close look at the plans, I crunched the numbers on Columbia’s campus expansion in Manhattanville.
O’Donnell Engages on Politics, Identity
While marching in the Gay Pride Parade in 1998, local State Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell (D-69th district) was asked, “Are you really gay?”
History class tackles Manhattan on ‘epic’ all-night bike ride
The 35th Annual All-Night Bike Ride for the History of the City of New York class, taught by Kenneth Jackson, took students through Manhattan in a midnight tour of history.
See all of the stories I have written for the Columbia Daily Spectator.
Engaging with the students of Harlem.
Halloween in Paris, the morning after.
Scott Garrett — U.S. Representative
Daniel B. Poneman — Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy
William Brinkman — Director of the Office of Science, Energy Department
Kristina M. Johnson — Under Secretary, Energy Department
David Sandalow — Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, Energy Department
Cathy Zoi — Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Energy Department
Caryn Wagner — Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security
A state court has rebuffed a landlord’s bid to block Bronx organizers.
A business revitalization plan in Harlem tests the balance between progress and preservation.
An initiative by the City Department of Probation shows signs of success.