journalism

Dubbed “Crackberry” by ardent users—Webster’s New World College Dictionary proclaimed it the Word of the Year in 2006—the impact and influence of the BlackBerry device in the early 2000s could be found everywhere. It featured in pop song titles and explicit rap lyrics; Kim Kardashian was a loyal user; former United States president Barack Obama famously said he was “clinging” to his BlackBerry and that they would have to “pry it out of [his] hands” when he entered office.

In this explainer piece for The Walrus, I trace the history of BlackBerry and delve into why everyone’s talking about this company — once left for dead — again.

I spoke with writer, podcaster and consultant Kate McKenzie to discuss the business of climate change amid geopolitical competition and the global energy transition. In this episode, Kate McKenzie shares her insights into the latest trend of climate collaboration, renewable energy development, and how we could save our planet at a time of geopolitical uncertainty.

My co-host Rui Zhong and I speak with writer and scientist Dr. Yangyang Cheng on the struggles of scientists in the current political climate, the place of women in the intersection of politics and science, and China’s history and future in the geopolitical landscape. We also discuss Yangyang’s career as a researcher, writer, and academic, and delve into her tips for aspiring writers.

In this episode, I speak with Hong Kong filmmaker Elizabeth Lo about her award-winning new documentary, Mistress Dispeller, which premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival last September and has been shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at the 98th Academy Awards. The intimate film follows a middle-aged couple and Wang Zhenxi, a “Mistress Dispeller”, who is hired by the wife to end the husband’s affair with a younger woman.

Since 2021, the UNC COVID Recovery Clinic served thousands of patients struggling with post-COVID symptoms. But the loss of multiple funding sources forced it to shutter its doors for good over the summer of 2025. This closure underscores the precarious outlook facing other COVID rehabilitation facilities across the US and elsewhere. Directors of other clinics say they may be next, with federal officials drastically cutting funding for health programs. Many clinics are still experiencing waitlists and backlogs, doctors say, even as burned-out staff grapple with worries over the future of its operations.

From reinfection risks to the leading hypotheses on the causes behind long COVID, learn more about this potentially debilitating condition in these stories written for WebMD.

As healthcare systems continue to grapple with identifying and managing long COVID, artificial intelligence (AI) is showing promise as an important tool that could one day expand scientists’ understanding and even lead to new diagnostics for the condition. Three recent studies demonstrated how machine learning and AI algorithms can be leveraged to process vast amounts of complex clinical notes, hospital data, and patient data.

Everyone keeps clucking about our egg prices, dairy tariffs, and supply management. The system has Trump in a huff. … I never thought reporting on *supply management* could be this interesting, but if you've ever wondered how Canada's egg and dairy industries work, why our egg prices didn't soar, grumbled about the price of milk, and what's making Trump cranky about CUSMA, my explainer attempts to break it all down.

In this episode of the NüVoices podcast, my co-host Chenni Xu and I speak with Wenchi Yu on the current landscape of the US-China-Taiwan relationship and working as a bridge-builder in this arena. Wenchi, whose storied career includes working at the State Department under Hillary Clinton, discusses how her identity is the throughline of her career in labour rights, civil rights, diplomacy, media and non-profit leadership from being Hakka in Taiwan, to the US, to Mainland China and back to the US again.

A public inquiry cleared former MP Han Dong’s name, but the cloud of foreign meddling still loomed over candidates of Chinese descent during the Canadian 2025 Federal Election.

The breakthrough discovery of a powerful new gene editing tool called bridge RNAs has the potential to significantly advance gene therapy and usher in a new frontier in genome design, researchers say. Discovered by a team of scientists at the Arc Institute and led by Patrick Hsu, PhD, a University of California, Berkeley, assistant professor of bioengineering, bridge RNAs provide precise control over large-scale DNA rearrangements and make the editing process possible in a single step. 

“In Canada, to buy a home, it’s a dream, and to rent is a nightmare.” Housing is a human right, but the rental market in Canada reveals a different reality. In my first piece for The Walrus, I examine how financialized landlords are turning the country's rental housing into a tool for profit.

2025 Digital Publishing Awards Best Feature, Honorable Mention

Nearly 4 years since the first messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines were developed, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus is evolving more quickly than tailored boosters can be made ready and continues to kill hundreds of Americans every week. Scientists around the world have been trying to break new ground with the next generation of vaccines, but the unprecedented speed and collaboration with which those first mRNA shots were developed and made available to the public have not been replicated.

Researchers and clinicians now have a greater understanding of what health agencies formally call post-COVID condition, but the wide spectrum of symptoms, slow progress in launching pharmacologic clinical trials, and the research toward understanding the underlying causes mean standardized diagnostic tests and definitive treatments remain elusive. This piece follows a doctor and his patient as they navigate the complexities and challenges around long COVID. Read the full story on Medscape.

In this podcast episode, Tuhi Martukaw, an Indigenous policy advocate, journalist, community organizer talks about what it means to be Indigenous, what reconciliation and activism look like today, as well as the communities’ complicated relationship with Taiwan politics and Taiwanese settlers.

Dhaval Desai is one of thousands of physicians across the United States who have experienced burnout and depression, exacerbated by the pandemic. After 4 years, the impact is still being felt. I spoke with Desai about his experiences, a journey he documented in his book, Burning Out on the Covid Front Lines. Read the full story here.

I spoke with filmmaker Leslie Tai about her new documentary, How to Have an American Baby (now streaming on PBS) which follows the fortunes and tragedies of Chinese tourists seeking U.S. citizenship for their newborns.

It has been more than half a year since a Facebook post referencing the Netflix drama Wave Makers sparked a wave of #MeToo revelations across Taiwanese society. In this episode, we trace the origins of the movement, what has happened since, and where things stand going forward with guests Darice Chang and Rita Jhang. Alongside host Solarina Ho, they also share their insights and perspectives on the attitudes and conflicts over #MeToo issues,feminism, the challenges that arise when competing concerns get in the way, and the intersection of #MeToo with the upcoming Taiwan election.

Insufficient funding from state and federal health agencies towards long COVID has led to significant hurdles in patient care, especially for vulnerable and underserved communities, according to interviews and surveys with more than a dozen clinics, doctors, advocates, and patients. At the same time, a lack of training and education on long COVID within the broader medical community is also hurting patients. I explore these challenges through the experiences of one long COVID clinic at the University of Washington.

If you love conversations about food, check out this Episode of NüVoices. ! I had the pleasure of meeting Clarissa Wei and Ivy Chen in Taipei this past summer to talk about their new book, Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation. The episode is packed with behind-the-scenes tidbits. We discuss how food fits into conversations around identity, culinary misconceptions, Indigenous and Hakka influences, and how she and Ivy designed their recipes. We also talk about the contrast between Western coverage of cross-straight tensions and the local mood and mindset. Made in Taiwan is both timeless and a reflection of the times.

Author Abigail Hing Wen discusses her NYT best selling YA novel, Loveboat, Taipei and its film adaptation Love in Taipei, based on the Taiwan summer study tour that started more than half a century ago. I had the pleasure of speaking with her, where we chatted about the crazy escapades, her own experiences with the program, how her book and the film came together, and what it's like telling this story to a new generation of diaspora youth.

From fad diets and vitamins to “blood washing” and stem cell therapy, long COVID patients are seeking out experimental therapies in a desperate bid to find hope and relief from debilitating symptoms. But doctors worry about the potential harm – both physical and financial – some of these unproven and overhyped treatments could cause.

Staffing challenges across multiple industries have been attributed in part to the "great resignation" and in part because so many infected workers were out, especially during the Omicron waves. But increasingly, economists and health care professionals alike worry about long COVID's impact on employers and the broader economy.

In this episode of the NüVoices podcast, I chat with historians Arlene Chan and Melanie Ng about the first Chinese migrants who made their way to Canada in the 19th century. From there, Arlene and Melanie retrace the throughline of Chinese Canadian migration, from exclusionary anti-Chinese immigration laws to present-day sinophobia found in many Western countries today.

Imagine having a potentially shorter wait time for surgery or having ready access to a second - or possibly third - opinion on your diagnosis. In many pockets of Canada’s vast and complex health-care system, physicians have worked effectively for years as a team under a “shared-care” model. Some surgeons are hoping this form of patient care can be widely adopted across surgical specialties, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I speak with veteran food journalist Clarissa Wei in this episode of the NüVoices podcast. Now based in Taipei as a freelancer, Clarissa’s forthcoming book, Made in Taiwan: Recipes From The Island Nation, is expected for release in 2023. In this episode, Clarissa talks about how she first got into food journalism, finding stories while backpacking in China, and her passion for elevating Taiwanese stories for international audiences.