Archive
Writing
Explorations across design, food, drink, and language. Long-form, historically anchored, always opinionated.
-
Time-Travel, Subtitles, and the Great Linguistic Plot Hole
Read: Time-Travel, Subtitles, and the Great Linguistic Plot HoleWhy Shakespeare would sound like a stranger, and a Tang scholar might ask you to write instead.
-
Chopsticks: How billions use them and no one really knows what they’re doing
Read: Chopsticks: How billions use them and no one really knows what they’re doingA deceptively simple tool with a surprisingly contested origin and a genuinely complex history spanning three thousand years.
-
The History of Beer III – Medieval Europe 4: Technology
Read: The History of Beer III – Medieval Europe 4: TechnologyDaft Punk, coopers, and kettles. A quick romp through Medieval brewing technology
-
The History of Beer III – Medieval Europe 3: Economics
Read: The History of Beer III – Medieval Europe 3: EconomicsGangsters, alewives, hipsters, and money. Welcome to the economics of Medieval beer production.
-
The Evolution of Language III: Borrowed Tongues
Read: The Evolution of Language III: Borrowed TonguesA tale of theft, misappropriation, cheese graters, and consent. How words are borrowed, used, and abused
-
Separated at Birth: Welsh & Breton
Read: Separated at Birth: Welsh & BretonTwo languages, two shores, one ancient ancestor. Welsh and Breton split apart fifteen centuries ago and still sound uncannily alike when you’re asking for tea.
-
Automotive Design II: Streamline Moderne & Art Deco — Embracing Aerodynamics and Elegance
Read: Automotive Design II: Streamline Moderne & Art Deco — Embracing Aerodynamics and EleganceAs the Roaring Twenties tripped over their own excesses and landed face-first in the Great Depression, car designers turned to Mae West for inspiration
-
The Evolution of Language II: Mother Tongues and Family Trees
Read: The Evolution of Language II: Mother Tongues and Family TreesHave you tasted the delightful chaos of linguistic diversity? What is this obsession with Indo-European? Why is Korea furry? Why are platypuses Sui?
-
The Evolution of Language I: From Grunts to Grammar
Read: The Evolution of Language I: From Grunts to GrammarLanguage is the crown jewel of human evolution — or at least the loudest one. From Neanderthal grunts to diplomatic double-speak, it’s the tool we use to share dreams, issue threats, tell jokes, invent gods, and argue about dinner.
Stay in Touch
New articles, when they’re ready
No schedule. No newsletter cadence. Just an email when something new is published — which means it’s worth reading.