Andy Isaacson Writing and Photography NEWS

NY Times Travel: RV Road Trip

admin — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:17:34 +0000

Your way into my cover story in this weekend’s Travel section might be RVs, road trips, The Greatest RV Rally in the World, doggie swimsuit competition, retired people, redwoods, hot springs, or Paul Bunyan. Any which way, there’s something for everyone.

The Atlantic: Can a Better Vibrator Inspire an Age of Great American Sex?

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:20:16 +0000

This lengthy piece was a labor of love, a two-year process from assignment (originally for The New York Times Magazine) to its birth (at The Atlantic). For various reasons, it turns out that it’s hard to get a story published in mainstream American media that goes deep into sex, design, engineering, medical history, and pop culture. I’m delighted it found a great home.

Some outtakes from recent stories

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:48:21 +0000

New Yorker: The Story Behind “Caine’s Arcade”

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:40:56 +0000

Last December, while in Kenya on a photo project about the global disability rights movement, I met Nirvan Mullick, a filmmaker and digital media producer from Los Angeles. We were both attending this gathering of African disabled youth leaders. Over lunch one day, he mentioned a project he was involved with back home about a 9-year-old kid who made an arcade from cardboard in his dad’s used auto parts store. Fast forward five months: “Caine’s Arcade” hit the web, and went viral.

I caught up with Mullick and Caine in San Francisco last weekend and filed this story.

NY Times Travel: Pisco in Lima

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:23:36 +0000

Pisco is a spirit made from a single distillation of young wine. It has been made in the dry coastal valleys of southern Peru since at least the early 17th century. It is enjoying a renaissance in Peru. Read on (or look at the pictures)….

NY Times Science: James Cameron’s Dive

admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:30:30 +0000

This week, the film director and explorer James Cameron became the first human to travel on his own to the world’s deepest abyss, the Challenger Deep. He’s not the only one to have that dream; but he’s the first to make it there alone. In this post at the NY Times, I write about the guy that almost beat him to it.

Wired News: Summit Series

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 05:30:12 +0000

My piece for Wired News on Summit Series, an impressive conference described by one venture capitalist in attendance as “a young TED meets Burning Man.”

“On a recent weekend, Barack Obama’s chief technology strategist, a prominent conservationist, and a supernatural mentalist — a professional mind reader — walked into a California ski lodge…”

NY Times Arts: Why Men Always Tell You to See Movies

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:40:30 +0000

Ever wondered why you almost never hear women doing the voiceovers for movie trailers? Not sure why I did, but I found some interesting research behind how audiences react differently to men’s and women’s voices. From last Sunday’s Arts & Leisure section:

“What gender is the voice of God? The question has been pondered by mystics through the ages, but in the sanctuary of cinema the voice of a sonorous, authoritative, fear-inspiring yet sometimes relatable presence is, invariably, that of a man. Consider the trailer and the omniscient, disembodied voice that introduces moviegoers to a fictional world….”

NY Times Sports: Egypt’s Squash Players

admin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:16:49 +0000

I’ve got a piece in today’s Sports section on Egyptian dominance in the sport of squash.

“In Egypt we don’t obey rules as the English, or Germans, or in the States,” said Ramy Ashour, the former world champion. “This helps us in squash.”

NY Times Science: Borneo’s Orangutans

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:46:10 +0000

I was in Borneo last month to see the magnificent and adorable orangutans, and shot this photo essay about our close relatives.

Here’s the accompanying piece: ”All life is precious, but the demise of the orangutan hits especially close to home….”