I spent six months reporting and writing my latest @wired.com story about a Syracuse man who has become laser-focused on countering ICE—no matter the personal cost.

Opposing ICE Might Save the Country. It Could Also Ruin Your Life

For months, lone vibe coder Rafael Concepcion has obsessively built tools to counter the federal immigration crackdown—pivoting as he’s been outmatched. He’s also lost his job and become a target.

wired.com

Sometimes the generosity of a fellow human is too beautiful for me to bear.

"It all started when a videoclip from episode 1,308 of The Joe Rogan Experience popped up in Smith’s Instagram feed." We truly live in Hell World www.wired.com/story/22-cel...

One Vigilante, 22 Cell Tower Fires, and a World of Conspiracies

Inside the mind of the most prolific anti-5G arsonist in the world—and the incoherent, very online political violence of our era.

wired.com

Sitting on a late-night commuter train, vibing out to the “Tax Problems” section of Paul Hogan’s Wikipedia article. Life can be so magical sometimes.

“You’ve got Groypers running Department of Homeland Security Twitter accounts” www.wired.com/story/22-cel...

One Vigilante, 22 Cell Tower Fires, and a World of Conspiracies

Inside the mind of the most prolific anti-5G arsonist in the world—and the incoherent, very online political violence of our era.

wired.com

"It all started when a videoclip from episode 1,308 of 'The Joe Rogan Experience' popped up in Smith’s Instagram feed..." Great reporting from @brendankoerner.bsky.social here. www.wired.com/story/22-cel...

One Vigilante, 22 Cell Tower Fires, and a World of Conspiracies

Inside the mind of the most prolific anti-5G arsonist in the world—and the incoherent, very online political violence of our era.

wired.com

Could not be more timely: @brendankoerner.bsky.social goes inside the world of the most prolific destroyer of US tech infrastructure, a guy whose vague internet 5G brainrot put him in prison-and he still clings to conspiracy. This is the shape of political violence now www.wired.com/story/22-cel...

One Vigilante, 22 Cell Towers, and a World of Conspiracies

Inside the mind of the most prolific anti-5G arsonist in the world—and the incoherent, very online political violence of our era.

wired.com

Another day farther away from my one true dream of watching "Bad Lietutenant" with Darryl Strawberry.

This YouTube comment from Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You" is the best novel I've read this year.

Takes like this are why I keep using the internet.

Grateful for this chance to chat about my OnlyFans story, the nuts and bolts of reporting, and my radical pro-puppy agenda.

Longform Profiles Interview #31: Brendan I. Koerner

In this interview, Brendan I. Koerner reflects on the hidden world of OnlyFans chatters and the ethical and emotional challenges of his undercover reporting.

longformprofiles.substack.com

I want to tell a little story about the beauty of unexpected human connections. It starts around twenty years ago, when Dikembe Mutombo (intentionally?) fractured LeBron James’s face.

LeBron James Suffers Broken Cheekbone After Hard Elbow From Dikembe Mutombo (2004)

YouTube video by BBall Vault

youtube.com

The woman who leads the juror orientation session at the Poughkeepsie courthouse is maybe the best public speaker I've ever seen.

Sad to report that it’s time to put “the golden age of…” on an ice floe.

Would love to read a book about how and when youth sports became America’s foremost religion.

So much human misery is attributable to our failure to heed these wise words. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...

Did I just stumble upon a rare 3rd Amendment case in the wild?

I want a doc on the lives of the people who constantly write "Come to Galatasaray!" on footballers' Insta posts.

Is this actually a thing. Kids renting tanks for prom.

May we all be this at peace as we near the turning of our last page.

My Final Days on the Maine Coast

Diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, writer Joseph Monninger meditates on life, death, and beauty from his small seaside cottage down east.

downeast.com

As an IRS agent, Tigran Gambaryan was perhaps the most effective crypto investigator in history. Then last year he was charged in Nigeria with money laundering and thrown in prison. Throughout, he was texting with me from a secret phone. This is his full, untold story. www.wired.com/story/untold...

The Untold Story of a Crypto Crimefighter’s Descent Into Nigerian Prison

As a US federal agent, Tigran Gambaryan pioneered modern crypto investigations. Then at Binance, he got trapped between the world’s biggest crypto exchange and a government determined to make it pay.

wired.com

A certain state government wants to charge me $648 for audio recordings of four police interviews.

I remember this game like it was yesterday. Still the single best kicking performance I've ever witnessed. www.nytimes.com/athletic/592...

An alphabetical list of all 1,208 states that were part of the Holy Roman Empire. Pick your favorite. hrestates.blogspot.com/2008/12/alph...

Yeoman's work still being performed by whoever runs this Tumblr. 70sscifiart.tumblr.com

You haven't really made it as a director until there's a standalone Wikipedia entry about the movies you failed to make. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special...

A fantastic @wired.com piece by @brendankoerner.bsky.social about the lives of young men doing door-to-door solar-panel sales one just came by my house the other day! Every new industry creates some sort of Glengarry-Glen-Ross boiler-room culture -- this is solar's: www.wired.com/story/specta...

The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

He thought he’d make millions of dollars selling solar panels door-to-door. The reality was much darker.

wired.com

"Because literally if I fail, I’m fucked, I’m going to be homeless. And that’s not going to happen. I will knock until I die." The spectacular burnout of a solar bro — from the truly spectacular @brendankoerner.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/specta...

The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

He thought he’d make millions of dollars selling solar panels door-to-door. The reality was much darker.

wired.com

I've long been curious about the chatty young men in crisp polos and khaki shorts who peddle solar panels door-to-door. So I decided to delve into their strange, grueling, and occasionally lucrative culture for my latest @wired.com story.

The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

He thought he’d make millions of dollars selling solar panels door-to-door. The reality was much darker.

wired.com