My name is Joe, a Scorpio E/INFJ originally from rural southern Wisconsin, complete with cows, raspberry fields and star-filled skies. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in journalism and mass communication in 2008, and moved to Chicago shortly thereafter.
I work as a writer, reporter and the news editor at Built In. In addition, you can read my writing on pop culture and politics at Queering The Burbs, my Substack newsletter. I also volunteer as the communications manager of the Batavia Community Diversity Initiative nonprofit.
Prior to all that, I worked as a social marketing manager and managing editor at Dose/OMGFacts and senior reporter at The Huffington Post. My work has also been featured in the Village Voice, Fodor’s, Riot Fest Magazine, INTO, Gapers Block, Windy City Times, Chicagoist, the 2013 queer anthology Boys, and elsewhere. In 2017, I was named a National Press Foundation fellow.
I live in west suburban Chicago with my partner Stefin, two cats and a (too) large record collection.
Recent essays:
- ‘Supermarket Sweep’ went off air but never left our hearts (2/4/19)
- What really happened when Erykah Badu ‘put up a prayer’ to R. Kelly (1/21/19)
- Want more? Check out my weekly pop culture and politics writing at Queering The Burbs
These are a few of my favorite published works:
- The enduring power of Patti LaBelle’s ‘background singers’ (INTO, 12/20/18)
- Aretha Franklin’s final Chicago show proved the power of live music (Riot Fest, 8/17/18)
- The legend of the Loveland frogman (OMGFacts, 8/16/18)
- It isn’t easy being a ‘humane’ slaughterhouse (HuffPost, 5/13/17)
- No, food stamp users aren’t buying ‘lots’ of soda (HuffPost, 1/18/17)
- These lesbian farmers aren’t here to take over America — they want to grow it (HuffPost, 9/14/16)
- The slow-moving disaster happening at farms around America (HuffPost, 7/28/16)
- The hidden cost of cheap pizza (HuffPost, 6/3/16)
- 20 years later, considering the legacy of ‘Jock Jams,’ the ‘Red Bull of Music’ (HuffPost, 7/24/15)
- Chicago Public Schools under fire over dirty conditions, rotten food (HuffPost, 10/8/14)
- Yes, even rock stars like Dum Dum Girls freak out when they meet their idols (HuffPost, 7/22/14)
- Chicago teen: ‘When you’re in Englewood, that is the wrong place’ (HuffPost, 6/27/13)
- It’s not easy peeing ‘T’: Trans activists strive for safety and equality (Gapers Back, 6/22/11)
- Hunx and His Punx: A ‘bad boy’ take on ’50s girl pop (EDGE, 4/26/11)
- An interview with Mink Stole (Chicagoist, 8/11/10)
- Move over, metrosexuals: Meet the straight bears (The Village Voice, 6/22/10)
- For gay Iranians, a matter of life or death (EDGE, 6/20/09)
I spoke on a 2013 “Print to the Future” panel moderated by Alison Cuddy at Revolution Brewery. Other speakers included Ed Marszewski, Mara Shalhoup and Charles Whitaker. Watch highlights here:
More podcast appearances and interviews:
- Fox Valley Voice podcast interview (4/7/21)
- Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast interview (6/15/18)
- Champagne & Snark podcast interview (10/27/16)
- Food Tank Q&A interview (8/16)
- VAM Presents: SOLIDARTY video interview (6/25/16)
- Raw material: Riot Fest and the summer wrap-up (quoted in NewCity, 8/31/15)
- Queer nightlife gets powered by Generators (quoted in the Chicago Tribune, 2/5/15)
- In tribute: The after party for music fandoms (quoted in WBEZ, 8/21/13)
- West Chicago’s queer explosion (quoted in WBEZ, 1/31/13)
In 2016, I interviewed my parents for HuffPost’s Talk to Me series:
