Selected Work

Breaking News Reporting: I am an enthusiastic and dogged reporter with more than 7 years of experience breaking news for international outlets.

Trump’s student loan changes leave borrowers facing soaring repayments (The Guardian)
I reported on a sudden policy shift under the Trump administration, which dramatically increased student loan repayment costs for millions. In covering the student debt crisis, I translated complex financial and policy jargon into clear language for an international audience, utilizing strategic interviews with experts and borrowers. I maintain relationships with experts like leaders at the Student Borrower Protection Center for these stories.

Elon Musk and Texas governor celebrate firing of worker over pronouns in email signature (The Guardian)
I frequently find and report stories with high shock-value, like this one, in which I tracked down and interviewed a Texas state employee who was terminated for refusing to remove gender pronouns from his work email signature.

This story highlights the growing trend of political influence on gender identity and workplace policies in the U.S.

Police arrest Columbia University students protesting Israel’s war on Gaza (The Guardian)
I alerted my newsroom to the student protests against Israel’s war on Gaza at Columbia University in April 2024, when students set up encampments on campus demanding a ceasefire and for the university to divest from Israel. The story escalated when the New York Police Department came onto campus to dismantle the tents, which resulted in multiple arrests. I provided real-time reporting on the unfolding events, capturing the tensions between students and administration, and the broader implications for free speech, campus activism and university governance. The story received significant attention and was widely shared across social media platforms. My coverage led to an episode of The Guardian’s daily news podcast, Today in Focus.

Dallas man arrested in case of monkeys missing from zoo plagued by incidents (The Guardian)
This story had all the makings of a Scooby-Doo episode—animal heists, midnight break-ins, and a mysterious suspect behind it all. After spotting a bizarre local TV news report about a missing clouded leopard, I pitched the first story and stayed on the ‘animal escapes’ beat as the Dallas Zoo became a site of an intriguing whodunnit. It illustrates my ability to cover a broad spectrum of topics with urgency and wit.

‘They haven’t tried’: Bernie Sanders on Democrats’ economic messaging (The Guardian)
For this profile, I was able to pin down Senator Bernie Sanders in a barn in Austin, Texas, where he was campaigning on behalf of local progressive candidates during the 2022 midterm elections. In our interview, he criticized the Democratic Party’s economic messaging and its failure to effectively communicate the rising cost of living – including gas, food, and prescription drugs – as a major issue, by focusing too heavily on issues like abortion rights and democracy. His critique remains a major point of contention within the party today.

Millions without power and 21 dead as ferocious winter weather sweeps US (The Guardian)
I broke and led coverage on the 2021 winter storm that wreaked havoc on Texas and much of the U.S., leaving millions without power and causing at least 21 deaths. I rapidly coordinated on-the-ground reports from San Antonio, Texas, verified casualty counts, interviewed key figures and decision makers like Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. My stories provided context about how power grid failures and emergency conditions escalated and about how these failures disproportionately affected Black, brown, and low-income communities, highlighting systemic inequalities and the urgent need for policy reforms to address these disparities. This was one of The Guardian’s top-performing U.S. stories at the time.

Texas shutdown of mail-in ballot drop-off sites hits diverse cities hardest (The Guardian)
I provided in-depth reporting for The Guardian on the suppression of voting rights, particularly in Texas. In this story, I wrote from Houston about Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to limit drop boxes for ballots in the midst of the 2020 elections, which reversed earlier pandemic-era accommodations and disproportionately impacted communities of color in cities like Houston and Austin.

Liveblog Coverage: As a seasoned breaking news reporter, I have extensive experience covering high-stakes and rapidly developing events through liveblogging, providing real-time, accurate, and engaging updates for a global audience. I’ve provided continuous coverage on major stories, including but not limited to:

 

Broadcast Clips:

The US college protests and the crackdown on campuses (The Guardian)
My coverage of the nationwide university campus encampment protest movement for Gaza led to this episode of The Guardian’s daily news podcast, Today in Focus. Margaret Sullivan and I appeared as guests to give a big-picture view of the situation.

Poorer Parts Of Houston Have Fewer Trees And Hotter Temperatures (Texas Standard)
After I traveled to Houston, Texas to write an environmental justice story about How America’s treeless streets are fueling inequality, the national daily news show of Texas asked me to appear on their program. For what it’s worth, this episode prompted my typically critical father to tell me “Hey, you’re good at talking. You should do broadcast.”

And here is a pilot episode I recorded for an unnamed Guardian project, in which I interviewed my colleague, senior reporter and former Johannesburg correspondent Chris McGreal, about Elon Musk and his unexpected ties to apartheid South Africa. (*Starts at the 7min mark!)

Producer Credits:
Muslim Americans on life after 9/11: ‘The toll has been huge’ – video
For the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York, I interviewed several Muslim Americans – including a physician who was on the scene, Mehdi Hasan, Mo Amer, Keith Ellison and my mother – on how the Islamophobia that sharply spiked after the attack shaped their lives.

Hunger strikes for Gaza: a look inside the Princeton student protests – video
I got exclusive access to interview students and faculty at a Gaza encampment protest at Princeton University, some of whom were on a multi-day hunger strike. I spent days on the campus, watching the encampment get erected and eventually, shut down.


Personal Essays:

‘I prayed for a bed’: the fight for my father in the US healthcare system (The Guardian)
In this deeply personal story, I share my experience navigating the U.S. healthcare system while advocating for my father following his severe stroke. I take readers with me on this tragic and emotional journey, and through firsthand experience, highlight the stark disparities in healthcare access and the systemic barriers that patients, even those with private insurance like my father, face in securing timely and adequate treatment. My story shines a light on how the country’s healthcare system and its flaws urgently call for reform – a pressing topic today.

‘Shivering under a pile of six blankets, I finally lost it’: my week in frozen Texas hell (The Guardian)
Using humor, I share my story about surviving the power blackout that crippled the state of Texas during an unprecedented winter storm in 2021. 

My 24 years without eating (nearly) any vegetables (The Guardian)
In one of the first articles I ever published for The Guardian, I explore my lifelong aversion to vegetables, tracing its roots to my upbringing in Texas, where fast food and large portions dominated my diet. Despite my mother’s efforts to introduce healthier meals, I found myself gravitating towards junk food, a habit that continued well into adulthood. I reflect on the broader issues of food accessibility and the challenges many Americans face in adopting healthier eating habits.

I’m Fasting. During Quarantine. (Marie Claire)
When I have time to freelance, I write funny stories like this one about maintaining faith and resilience during unprecedented times.

Op-eds:

Unless You’re Brown, “Indian Matchmaking” Is Not Yours to Criticize (Cosmopolitan)
I don’t watch reality television often, but when I do, I capitalize on it and write about it for major magazines.

‘Bridgerton’ Is Nowhere Near Perfect on Race, but It’s Still a Step Forward (Cosmopolitan)
I also share opinions no one asked for about television shows everyone is talking about in national publications.