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Nearly three years ago, something weird started going on inside my head. The chief symptom was spontaneous vertigo. Some dizzy spells were barely noticeable. Some were accompanied by deafness and profuse sweating. Some sent me crumpling to the ground in spinning agony. My only comfort was in thinking my symptoms were so striking, and so … Continue reading Something in my head
I learned to play Scrabble from a grandmother who didn't cut kids any slack when it came to this game she loved. When I finally learned to play at her level, it felt great. Until it didn't. I was eight years old when I first played Scrabble with Grandma and lost that game by more … Continue reading Grandma is a seven-letter word
The little-known story of an age-old scam... Published by Damn Interesting on September 2, 2019... Nobody knows who did it first. Swindlers have been pulling off the scam for centuries, paying existing investors with the deposits of new ones to create the illusion of an incredibly profitable investment opportunity. Before 1920, it was known as … Continue reading The Eponymous Mr. Ponzi
How the opening of a Chicago canal in 1848 led to the birth of modern financial derivatives, and the early demise of some of the men who traded them... Published by Damn Interesting on November 21, 2017... In April of 1873, an unhappy man walked along Clark Street in downtown Chicago. His name was Aymar … Continue reading Death by Derivatives
How the beloved American Civil War general and two-term president failed at every attempt to make money. Except for one... Published by Damn Interesting on April 11, 2017... In the second half of the 19th century, few Americans were better known—and revered—than the man whose face looks out today from the $50 bill. Ulysses S. … Continue reading The Reconstruction of Ulysses S. Grant
He made a name for himself organizing the world’s most important economic conference, only to have it tarnished by an outrageous accusation. Here's my story of Harry Dexter White, published by Damn Interesting.
By the age of three I had mastered such standard life skills as how to stack things, how to operate a toilet, and how to start a fire. Indeed, I nearly burned our house down. You’d think that such a traumatic experience at that age would make some impression on my developing brain, such that … Continue reading Playing with fire
Published on Narratively on September 3, 2014... An innovative college program opens privileged young eyes to the million undocumented laborers who toil away in an invisible America. Story and photos by Michael Durbin... It’s early June at Camp Chestnut Ridge in Efland, North Carolina. Towering pines outside the dining hall are still dripping after a … Continue reading The Secret Lives of America’s Migrant Farmers
I’m a Wall Street technology manager. Two years ago I set out, citizen journalist style, to learn and write about people whose lives are very different from mine: migrant farmworkers. These are the men, women and children who harvest most of the fresh produce you see at America’s grocery stores. I’ll share what I learned … Continue reading Considering the farmworker: What I’ve learned
From my 2014 blog The Considerate Omnivore... Last summer I accompanied some college students doing educational and health care outreach at migrant farmworker camps. They were generally dismal places, ill-maintained and no place I’d ever want to spend the night. Except for one. It was mid July. Hot. I’d been traveling all day with Julie … Continue reading The Nice Camp
Michael Durbin 