Writing

Published Works

  • Inverse. You can find my latest works/portfolio at Inverse here. A sample of my longform features and shortform news hits is below:
    • Shortform
      • Reel Science (science behind movies/TV shows) series,
        • “Dollhouse’s Absurd Sci-Fi Premise Actually Got One Thing Right.” February 24, 2024. Link.
        • “The Last of Us Gets One Thing Right About Fungi and Climate Change.” February 27, 2023. Link.
        • “This Classic Sci-Fi Movie on HBO Max Popularized a Futuristic Technology — Can Science Make it Happen?” December 10, 2022. Link.
      • Pet Science
        • “Does My Dog Have Anxiety? Expert-Backed Tips to Help Your Anxious Pup.” March 26, 2023. Link.
        • “Does My Cat Just Think I’m a Bigger Cat? It’s Complicated.” January 10, 2022. Link.
        • “Why Are Pets So Good for Mental Health? Science Explains.” April 30, 2021. Link.
      • Other (Study Stories, News Hits, Etc.)
        • Unprecedented Science Expedition Unlocks New Genetic Clues to Help Save Coral Reefs. June 1, 2023. Link.
        • “Elephants Could Be Key to Saving the Planet — Here’s Why.” January 23, 2023. Link.
        • “At Least Half the World’s Glaciers Could Disappear — And That’s Under the Best-Case Scenario.” January 5, 2023. Link.
        • “What Christmas tree is best for the environment? Here’s what forestry experts say you should buy.” December 10, 2022. Link.
        • “Three Everyday Beverages That May Taste Worse Because of Climate Change.” September 23, 2022. Link
        • “Can We Map Every Tree in the World? This Novel Tech Could Help Get Us There.” December 29, 2022. Link.
        • “Why Are There Still Rodent Plague Outbreaks? New Research Hints at the Answer.” December 15, 2022. Link.
        • “The Best Western RPG Ever Made Has a Surprising Real-Life Benefit.” July 15, 2021. Link.
        • “Scientists Propose Wild New Theory for What Originally Killed the Dinosaurs.” June 29, 2021. Link.
    • Features/Longform
      • “This Ecologist Is on a Mission to Save Earth’s Microbiome — And He’s Closer Than Ever.” December 27, 2022. Link.
      • “50 Years Ago, the Clean Water Act Promised to Fix America’s Water. Did It Succeed?” October 18, 2022. Link.
      • “Is Plastic Recycling a Scam? Here’s the Truth About the Common Practice.” January 23, 2023. Link.
      • “Can Science Prevent a Pandemic?” September 22, 2022. Link.
      • “Will Primates Become Extinct? Seven Experts Explain the Looming Threat.” November 16, 2021. Link.
      • “In Wildfire Country, PTSD is Dominating Burned-Out Communities.” November 2, 2021. Link.
      • “12 Board Games that Fix the Biggest Problem with Settlers of Catan.” April 21, 2021. Link.
  • Nanosys. “Building Our Digital World, One Pixel at a Time.” November 17, 2021. Link.
  • Hyperallergic. “LA’s First Spring/Break Art Show Had Plenty of Creative Spirit.” February 18, 2019. Link.
  • HowStuffWorks (full portfolio here):
    • “Jerry Lawson Forever Changed the Video Game Industry.” Link.
    • “Was an Evil Spirit Released When Japan’s ‘Killing Stone’ Split in Half?” June 28, 2022. Link.
    • “The Rise, Fall and Future of Chinatowns in the U.S.” 2022. Link.
    • “How to Get Your Daikon Radish On.” Link.
    • “Australia Has More Than One Pink Lake.” Link.
    • “Veins, Needles, Yikes: What to Know Before Having Blood Drawn.” March 5, 2019. Link.
    • “Lava Tubes on Earth Could Prepare Us for Life on the Moon and Mars.” February 11, 2019. Link.
    • “Yes, Animals Can Be Half Male and Half Female.” February 14, 2019. Link.
    • “How to Safely Use a Neti Pot.” January 7, 2019. Link.
    • “What Are ‘Dibs,’ and Why Do We Call Them?” December 11, 2018. Link.
  • Shore Scripts.
    • “5 Holiday Jingles to Beat Writer’s Block.” 2018. Link.
    • “Read the Best Screenplays from the 1950s.” 2018. Link.
    • “Read the Best Screenplays from the 1960s.” 2018. Link.
  • Bedford + Bowery. Multiple posts by Tara Yarlagadda. 2018. Link.
  • “R.I.P. IMDb Message Boards, 2001-2017. Paste. February 20, 2017. Link.
  • “Does the vegan diet save more land?” The New Food Economy. December 19, 2016. Link.
  • “Education and ideology: an analysis of state-based narratives in Pakistani and Indian textbooks.” The Berkeley Student Journal of Asian Studies. Spring 2012.  Link.

For other related writing, please see my Substack and Medium profile.