I’m a freelance journalist based in South Philadelphia, where I write stories at the intersection of food and agriculture, the environment, and community resilience. I’m interested in people who strive to reshape the systems and institutions that govern our relationships with one another and the world around us. My work explores visions for more sustainable forms of agriculture; the influence we have on our environment (and the influence it has on us); novel therapies to improve mental health; and how we approach the end of life.
I started my career covering sports, then spent nearly a decade writing and editing stories about the law and the legal profession, including several years as executive editor of The American Lawyer. In 2022 I began freelancing full-time, following my varied interests as far as they might take me. That’s led me to write about the modern tree crops movement and the book that inspired it, the fallacy of “The Tragedy of the Commons,” the tangled history of deep-sea diving, the community of death-care workers changing the way we die, and so much more. My interests are broad and so is my coverage.
Wherever my curiosity takes me next, I’ll be ready to share the story. When I’m not writing and reporting, you can find me climbing, petting cats and watching plants grow.
Contact me at bseal3@gmail.com.
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Ramps have long faced pressure from high demand. Researchers are investigating how harvesting practices can boost their sustainability. | Civil Eats
The Double Trellis Food Initiative is fighting hunger in America’s poorest large city—and giving young people a path to employment. | Civil Eats
In Tree Crops, the “apostle of tree agriculture” J. Russell Smith argued for the restoration of forests as key to sustainable agriculture and soil health. | JSTOR Daily
Banned by the federal government a century ago, black currants were cast to the fringes of U.S. agriculture. Agroforestry advocates and berry connoisseurs are urging a revival. | Ambrook Research
Alien land laws, created to protect U.S. farmland, may be harming Asian Americans. | Civil Eats
Philadelphia’s urban agriculture community continues to suffer from lack of land security. | Grid Magazine
The beloved pawpaw could seed a more sustainable future for small farms. | Civil Eats
By reducing its reliance on imported fish, the U.S. could build a better seafood system. | Civil Eats
The Philadelphia Orchard Project is cultivating fruit that could thrive in a hotter city. | Grid Magazine
A food forest and campus farm are training Ursinus College students to build a more sustainable future. | Ursinus Magazine
A million-dollar lien buyback protected some of Philadelphia’s beloved community gardens, but many still face uncertainty. | Green Philly
A year after its collapse, urban agriculture icon Greensgrow is ready to rise again. | Green Philly
A hunger relief nonprofit got creative to deliver food from pantries to people. | Grid Magazine
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In Widening the Lens, photographers examine humans’ complicated relationship with their environment. | Carnegie Magazine
As climate change raises flood risk, home buyouts are an increasingly important tool to protect communities. | Grid Magazine
A new EPA program aims to help under-resourced organizations build climate-resilient communities. | Grid Magazine
Chester residents are fighting back against a $6 billion proposed LNG facility. | Environmental Health News
A community living in the shadows of the East Coast’s oldest oil refinery are searching for answers about the air they breathe. | Exel Magazine
A Philly environmental leader’s grand vision to turn vacant lots into a new park system. | Billy Penn
The ultimate guide to eco-friendly home renovations. | Philadelphia Magazine
This year could shape the future of chemical recycling, a controversial practice environmental advocates say is inadequate to address the plastic crisis. | Environmental Health News
Devil’s Pool sings a siren song to Philadelphians in summer, but its safety and sustainability are in question. | Grid Magazine
Philadelphia’s LED streetlight rollout is an energy win—with drawbacks. | Grid Magazine
The latest chemical recycling plant closure spurs concerns over the industry’s viability. | Environmental Health News
Mountains of discarded belongings are a spring eyesore in Philadelphia’s University City. | Grid Magazine
Philly’s climate change curriculum lags behind neighboring New Jersey. | Grid Magazine
Philly’s Tree Plan will take political will and lofty funding to execute. | Green Philly
Flowers and trees bloomed early in Philly after a warmer-than-usual winter. | Billy Penn
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Psychedelic therapy holds the promise of individual and communal healing. In Philadelphia, a growing community awaits its arrival. | Grid Magazine
The push to legalize magic mushrooms, MDMA, LSD and other hallucinogens is likely to heighten tensions between state and federal law. | Knowable Magazine
Pharmacologist Jason Wallach is developing an array of psychedelics to be safer and more effective therapeutic agents. | Saint Joseph’s Magazine
Pennsylvania is getting closer to psychedelic reform, and advocates in Philly are pushing for decriminalization. | Billy Penn
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Death can be isolating and dehumanizing. What if it didn’t have to be? | Philadelphia Magazine
Shedding the earthly possessions of a deceased loved one can be overwhelming, but there are people to help. | Grid Magazine
Private equity has pillaged the nursing home industry for profits at the expense of resident safety. | Lex Magazine
In Laurel Hill’s Nature Sanctuary, succession forests and wildflowers form a living memorial for loved ones who opt for a green burial. | Green Philly
Death doulas offer guidance and comfort through the inevitable. | Grid Magazine
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Fifty years ago, Paul Berg spoke out and soon found himself at the center of a storm over the engineering of life. | Distillations Magazine
Can MDMA save a marriage? A new wave of experimental therapy aims to find out. | Nautilus Magazine
Could a century-old aqueduct point the way to Los Angeles’s clean energy future? | Distillations Magazine
Seventy years ago, a group of Philadelphia scientists and a brave 18-year-old pushed surgery to its final frontier: open-heart surgery. | Distillations Magazine
At the dawn of a new age in neuroscience, the rivalry between Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal reached an icy climax. | Distillations Magazine
Exploration and exploitation are inextricable in the history of deep-sea diving. | Distillations Magazine
Leslie New is using statistical ecology to inform wildlife conservation strategies. | Ursinus Magazine
Bill Mongan is exploring the potential for machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve human well-being—and working to prevent AI horror stories. | Ursinus Magazine
How a mineralogist and Egyptologist teamed up to recreate a pigment of the past. | Carnegie Magazine
Buzzing about the therapeutic benefits of beekeeping. | Saint Joseph’s Magazine
Why the Titanic is a portal to get people interested in the bottom of the sea. | Carnegie Magazine
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Sculptor Marie Watt explores the histories of materials and the labor required to make them. | Carnegie Magazine
For decades, housing in Philadelphia was relatively inexpensive. Is affordability now a thing of the past? | Philadelphia Magazine
Through her fascination with the everyday objects that surrounded her, the artist Joan Brown found the sublime in the domestic. | Carnegie Magazine
Kala Hagopian turns nature’s canvas into beautiful eco-murals. | Green Philly
Are Philadelphia’s efforts to eliminate traffic deaths stalling out? | Grid Magazine
If Philadelphia wants to retain its reputation for walkability, it must find answers to a series of challenging questions. | Grid Magazine
Roosevelt Boulevard subway could slash congestion, save lives and bring investment to the Northeast. | Grid Magazine
Inspired by his own disability, this Ather Sharif is helping his newfound community navigate a challenging world. | Saint Joseph’s Magazine
Penn faces two student worker unionization efforts, amid a surge of labor organizing on campuses around the region. | Billy Penn
Christina Mallon is a leading figure in the inclusive design movement. | Saint Joseph’s Magazine