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For Slate, I wrote about the sudden and sad decline of Wendy’s.
For The Wall Street Journal, I wrote about what the popularity of chicken thighs says about American demography and preferences.
For Sherwood, I wrote about McDonald’s history of product launches and its huge gamble on its biggest-ever burger, the Big Arch.
For Bloomberg Businessweek, I wrote about the chaotic and high-caloric story of Crumbl and the perils of fast growth.
For Bloomberg Businessweek, I wrote about the rise of H Mart, immigration, and the expansion of American appetite.
For The Financial Times, I wrote about American hustle culture and how the U.S. business culture compares to other countries.
I wrote about the gutting of the federal government and its darker message about public service for TIME.
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
Season 7 of The Food That Built America is now airing! Check me out across a handful of episodes here.
I appeared on PBS NewsHour to talk about misconceptions about SNAP and new work requirements.
I joined Alexis Madrigal and KQED Forum to talk about work obsession, tech jobs, and hear listener stories.
For the Slate Money podcast, Emily Peck and I talked about American work culture and our strange individualistic ways.
The Financial Times named 99% Perspiration as one of its monthly picks for January 2025.
AudioFile’s reviewed the audiobook for 99% Perspiration:
Chandler “reveals a remarkable grasp of history that encourages listeners to look at all forms of success more broadly. He’s also a gifted narrator whose performance makes this audiobook an engaging way to refresh our ideas about effort and work.”
For the Factually! podcast, Adam Conover and I talked about life, work, and historic low union density in America.
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
The Next Big Idea Club has named 99% Perspiration one of its Must-Read Books of January 2025.
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.
I had a long chat on NPR 1A with Todd Zwillich about AI and technology in the service industry.
I popped in on The Today Show to talk about the post-pandemic popularity of drive-thrus.
I talked with Steve Inskeep on NPR Morning Edition about McDonald’s corporate layoffs and the broader economic landscape.
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.
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.
I’m talking fast food and 1980s trends on the reboot of the National Geographic’s The ‘80s. (Now streaming on Disney+.)
I appeared on The History Channel’s latest season of Modern Marvels. Check it out here!
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.
I spoke with Tracy Smith for CBS Sunday Morning about drive-thru culture in the time of coronavirus.
I joined the Gastropod podcast to talk about how McDonald’s became a juggernaut and fast food’s unlikely place in civil rights movement.
Sarah Gonzalez and I talked about the history, technology, and future of french fries for NPR’s Planet Money.
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.
I drove around with Derrick Shore of KPRC’s Houston Life and visited Whataburger, Taco Bell, and McDonald’s.
I joined NPR/KCUR’s Central Standard to chat Kansas history and how White Castle transformed the hamburger into the national meal.
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.
I joined NPR/KBUR’s On Point to talk Drive-Thru Dreams, American mobility, fast-food history, and Taco Bell.
Kate Bernot and I caught up about the culture and criticism of fast food for The Takeout.
Over at Vox, Rachel Sugar and I discussed how fast food explains national divides and offers unlikely meeting places.
I also talked about Drive-Thru Dreams and American history with Anna Diamond over at The Smithsonian.
Just ahead of its release, Drive-Thru Dreams was named a
Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week.