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Latest Work​​
For TIME, I wrote about how cherished myths about opportunity helped make a second Trump administration possible.
The Los Angeles Times published an essay about the crisis of work in America adapted from my new book.
For TIME, I wrote about the death of third places and ways to solve the loneliness epidemic in America.​​
For Sherwood, I wrote about how fast food inflation enraged America and why its so complicated to pay for things in America.​
For The Washington Post, I visited the home and ecological sanctuary of poet laureate W.S. Merwin on Maui.​
For Slate’s Fast Food Week, I counted all the sad ways that Canadian McDonald’s surpass American ones.​
For The Atlantic, I covered how food delivery apps have taken over the restaurant industry.​
For The Atlantic, I wrote about the rise of 15-minute groceries and history of fast delivery in the U.S. across the decades.
Over at WIRED, I wrote about the unholy union between Uber and taxi cabs and the trouble with disruption culture.​​​
For The Washington Post, I wrote about the 50th birthday of the Egg McMuffin and the decline of American entrepreneurship.
I wrote about the myth surrounding pandemic unemployment benefits and labor force participation for The Washington Post.
Here’s a deep dive I wrote for Marker on the eerie, wild rise of ghost kitchens during the pandemic.​
Latest News
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For the Factually! podcast, Adam Conover and I talked about life, work, and historic low union density in America.
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I appeared on Andrew Yang’s podcast Forward to talk about opportunity, AI, and guaranteed income.
I joined Alex Wagner to talk about Trump 2.0, the economy, and my new book on Alex Wagner Tonight.
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Publishers Weekly reviewed 99% Perspiration:
“Eye-opening...The history deflates myths of American meritocracy, and stories of ordinary individuals drive home the ill consequences of believing that anyone can succeed if they try hard enough.”
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​I appeared on C-SPAN’s After Words to talk about 99% Perspiration and how the American Dream became so elusive.
I joined Krys Boyd of KERA’s Think to talk about my new book and the troublesome myths around hard work in America.
I spoke with Smithsonian Magazine about my new book and why stability has replaced mobility in the modern American Dream.
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reviewed 99% Perspiration:
“Fascinating...The book bristles with facts and personal case studies that show how adherence to the American Abracadabra limits the nation’s ability to take care of its own.”
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The Los Angeles Times reviewed 99% Perspiration:
“99% Perspiration... is more than a mere diagnosis. It’s also a far-reaching study of how and why national myths are propagated and a ground-level account of the way we live and work now. It is, as they say, a good read, wrung from troubling realities.”
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The folks at Library Journal call 99% Perspiration “an articulate critique of rags-to-riches mythology and government policies about labor in the United States.”
The Book Page review of 99% Perspiration is out:
“Chandler’s breezy writing style makes the book an easy read with plenty of eye-popping statistics and gut-wrenching anecdotes. More importantly, 99% Perspiration will make readers question their own relationship to work, what their jobs mean to them, and why employment is so integral to our identity.”
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The Next Big Idea Club has named 99% Perspiration one of its Must-Read Books of January 2025.
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In the first review of 99% Perspiration, Kirkus calls it “A welcome call for a return to fairness and common sense.”
I joined 99% Invisible to talk about the social factors that brought about the birth of the fast-food industry.
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I had a long chat on NPR 1A with Todd Zwillich about AI and technology in the service industry.
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I popped in on The Today Show to talk about the post-pandemic popularity of drive-thrus.
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I talked with Steve Inskeep on NPR Morning Edition about McDonald’s corporate layoffs and the broader economic landscape.
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Season 4 of The Food That Built America is now airing! Check me out across a handful of episodes here.
I joined Boston Public Radio to talk about my work on the gig economy, Uber, and the impact of tech disruption.
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Catch me talking business and convenience culture in the new History Channel series The Fast History Of... Now streaming here.
I joined Nuala McGovern at BBC Context to talk about the Super Bowl and the online sports gambling trend.
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I’m talking fast food and 1980s trends on the reboot of the National Geographic’s The ‘80s. (Now streaming on Disney+.)
I joined Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street podcast to talk about the sad tale of defunct fast-food chains.
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I appeared on The History Channel’s latest season of Modern Marvels. Check it out here!
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I talked about the good and bad of fast food with Dr. Marcia Chatelain on Ed Levine’s Special Sauce podcast.
Dr. Marcia Chatelain and I discussed the fast-food franchises that disappeared for the America’s Test Kitchen podcast Proof.
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I spoke with Tracy Smith for CBS Sunday Morning about drive-thru culture in the time of coronavirus.
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I joined the Gastropod podcast to talk about how McDonald’s became a juggernaut and fast food’s unlikely place in civil rights movement.
Drive-Thru Dreams made NPR’s list of favorite books.
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Smithsonian Magazine picked Drive-Thru Dreams as one of the best food books of the year.
Amazon named Drive-Thru Dreams a Best Book of the Year.
Sarah Gonzalez and I talked about the history, technology, and future of french fries for NPR’s Planet Money.
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I joined the legendary Ed Levine for the Serious Eats podcast Special Sauce to talk food and writing. Part I | Part II
The great Houston Matters had me on to discuss the cult of Whataburger and America’s affection for fast food.
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I drove around with Derrick Shore of KPRC’s Houston Life and visited Whataburger, Taco Bell, and McDonald’s.
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I joined NPR/KCUR’s Central Standard to chat Kansas history and how White Castle transformed the hamburger into the national meal.
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Louisa Torres of NPR’s The Salt and I discussed the intricacies and complexities of America’s relationship with fast food.
Drive-Thru Dreams has been selected as one of the 10 Best Books of the Month by Amazon Book Review.
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I joined NPR/KBUR’s On Point to talk Drive-Thru Dreams, American mobility, fast-food history, and Taco Bell.
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Kate Bernot and I caught up about the culture and criticism of fast food for The Takeout.
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Over at Vox, Rachel Sugar and I discussed how fast food explains national divides and offers unlikely meeting places.
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I also talked about Drive-Thru Dreams and American history with Anna Diamond over at The Smithsonian.
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Just ahead of its release, Drive-Thru Dreams was named a
Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week.