I’ve made documentaries for HBO, VICE, Showtime, and online. Most of my work focuses on culture.
To me, 'culture' means anything that keeps you on your couch, or makes you want to get up off it. So: everything.
guns, drugs, wrestling, videogames, police brutality, elections. Everything.
Here are some of my favorite segments below. You can see a YouTube playlist with most of my VICE segments here.
documentary
Inside the underground subculture world of guerrilla FPV drones. I hung out with a couple pilots as they took me to explore the New York City as you’ve never seen it: midair in subways, bodegas, and skyscrapers. Independently produced, with a soundtrack by yours truly.
when murder isn't murder: LaKeith Smith was given 65 years the murder of his childhood friend. Police agree that he didn't pull the trigger. He was 15. A full television documentary on justice in Alabama. Referenced on Last Week Tonight by John Oliver.
video essays
back in 2017, a game came out with some heavy anti-Nazi messaging, and people threatened to boycott it. I take us back to that period, and then all the way back to pre-WW2 America and Germany.
Features an intro filmed at a Trump rally.
how to make money off the los angeles fires: I watched the fires change the landscape of Los Angeles, and the Internet. To be clear: I am not condoning making money off of disasters. But I do interview someone who is doing just that.
This one even got a quick reference in a John Oliver segment.
video podcast: what’s this button do?
a new video series. technology for people who aren’t nerds (yet).
analysis
copyright cops: We've become accustomed to seeing members of the public use their cell phones to film police officers on duty. Now, we're starting to see cops pull out theirs, but it isn't to record.
They're playing copyrighted music in an apparent attempt to exploit copyright filters.
they did it again, this time with Toy Story. This investigation helped inspire a legal brief in the Journal of Law and Policy.
international
When I lived in Tokyo, I happened to meet this dude at a party cracking jokes. Turned out he's actually funny for a living – and he does it in Japanese. So when I made a trip back to Japan, I knew I had to get him on camera to tell his story.
Meet Ike Nwala, a Nigerian-American comedian who’s on Japanese TV every day.
I’m holding about $5k in merchandise in this screenshot.
If you want a legit pair of the new Off-White Converse sneakers, that’ll run you $1500. You can get a great knockoff version for just $80 – but most Americans have no idea where these fake shoes actually come from.
We went to Putian, China, home to a thriving underground counterfeit shoe industry – and met the guy who’s been supplying hypebeasts with high quality fakes via a Reddit connection.
Or, read this article we wrote about how his empire almost fell apart here.
One of the wildest pieces I’ve ever made. Music, voodoo spells, and the influence of Hulk Hogan on a small neighborhood in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Warning: there is a bit of graphic violence in this one, and one of the top comments is ‘poor chicken’. It is accurate.
celebrity culture
i took a tidying course with Marie Kondo herself: I went through a training camp, got (gently) scolded by Marie Kondo for not thanking my clothes, and helped a mom prepare for her new life. What a time to be alive.
Santa Claus is a Black Man: Yes, this one goes under ‘celebrity’, because if you’re from New Orleans, you know the truth.
Santa Claus is real, but he doesn't live at the North Pole. He's 75 years old, and he lives right over down in the 7th Ward.
Also, he's black.