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Chris Smith on Muck Rack

Chris Smith

San Francisco
As seen in: Amazon Web Services, The Daily Mirror, The Independent (UK), The Telegraph, California, SAGE Publishing, SFGate, Slate, Substack, Vanity Fair and
Covers:  politics, culture, music, history, science
Writer, journalist, poet || music, surfing, giallos, cats || Working on Divest Now! Fighting Apartheid at America's Most Radical University, for UC Press
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Chris Smith’s Journalist Portfolio

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"Southern Cross"

"Southern Cross"

A short poem.

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The Last Normal Day

The Last Normal Day

An essay on my last "normal" day before the pandemic hit, for Luke O'Neil's Welcome to Hell World (with an in…

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The Ward

The Ward

A modern ghost story published in the short story anthology, Through Death's Door.

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The Strange Case of Ex-Radical David Horowitz

The Strange Case of Ex-Radical David Horowitz

Feature profile for California magazine. Most people don't change their political stripes. David Horowitz …

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Welcome to Zamrock! 1972-1977: How Zambia's Liberation Led to a Rock Revolution

Welcome to Zamrock! 1972-1977: How Zambia's Liberation Led to a Rock Revolution

Contributing author to this short book released by Now-Again records on the musical, political, and cultural …

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Coded and Loaded: How Politicians Talk About Race and Gender Without Really Talking About Race an...

Coded and Loaded: How Politicians Talk About Race and Gender Without Really Talking About Race an...

Reported essay for California magazine on "dog whistling"--the ways in which politicians use coded language t…

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His Truth is Marching On

His Truth is Marching On

Profile for California magazine of R.J. Rushdoony, the founder of the Christian Reconstruction movement and a…

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Earthbound

Earthbound

Essay on growing up skating in the suburbs of Detroit.

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Housing a Movement: Adverse Possession in California - Arts & Culture - Utne Reader

Housing a Movement: Adverse Possession in California - Arts & Culture - Utne Reader

Profile of Steve DeCaprio, Oakland squatter guru and housing justice advocate. This story was reprinted in Bo…

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We're a Zambian Band-The Appendix

We're a Zambian Band-The Appendix

Profile of Jagari Chanda, "Zambia's Mick Jagger," and the rise, fall, and rebirth of Zambia's pysch-rock scen…

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Into the Deep Freeze: What Kind of Person Chooses to Get Cryonically Preserved?

Into the Deep Freeze: What Kind of Person Chooses to Get Cryonically Preserved?

A deep dive into the culture of the cryonics community. This won a CASE "Bronze" award for feature writing.

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How a Palestine Tourism Poster, Designed by a Jewish Artist in the 1930s, Took On New Meaning

How a Palestine Tourism Poster, Designed by a Jewish Artist in the 1930s, Took On New Meaning

Short piece on the half-life of a 1930s Palestine tourism poster.

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Angels, Protesters and Patriots: What a Long-Ago Skirmish Says About Love of Country

Angels, Protesters and Patriots: What a Long-Ago Skirmish Says About Love of Country

Reported essay on the political uses of patriotism. (Reprinted in Utne Reader.)

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Radio Freedom: A History of South African Underground Radio

Radio Freedom: A History of South African Underground Radio

Historical piece on the South African liberation movement's underground, anti-apartheid radio station.

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Rules of the Tribe: Hardcore Punks and Hair Metal in the 1980s-The Appendix

Rules of the Tribe: Hardcore Punks and Hair Metal in the 1980s-The Appendix

Feature on the rise and fall of Discharge, an English hardcore punk band who tried to go hair metal--with dis…

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Lighting Up Soweto

Lighting Up Soweto

Feature on grassroots resistance to the post-apartheid South African government's economic reforms.

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DNA's Identity Crisis

DNA's Identity Crisis

Investigative piece on prosecutors' misuse of DNA statistics.

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The New Face of South Africa

The New Face of South Africa

Feature profile of a Soweto activist and member of South Africa's first post-apartheid generation.

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Famous Enough

Famous Enough

Profile of Rod Benson, sports social media pioneer and arguably the most famous pro basketball player never t…

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The War Department's WWII Advice Booklet for Soldiers Headed to Syria

The War Department's WWII Advice Booklet for Soldiers Headed to Syria

Short piece on a long-forgotten American mission in Syria, circa World War II.

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Once Found, Now Lost

Once Found, Now Lost

Essay for a literary magazine on the relationship between international reporters and their fixers.

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Ask Me About Psych Rock in Zambia

Ask Me About Psych Rock in Zambia

Profile of Keith Kabwe, singer for Zamrock band Amanaz, for the debut issue of Symbolia magazine.

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A violent cease-fire in Gaza

A violent cease-fire in Gaza

Reportage from Gaza during the Second Intifada.

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Economic Leverage

Economic Leverage

Historical piece on the campus anti-apartheid movement.

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