A Soldier’s Unwelcome Return: my first piece for @LatinoUSA, thanks to this brave vet for sharing his story #VeteransDay

Spring 1972 — Alex Hernandez in the spring of 1972 at Marble Mountain, during the Easter Offensive. Photo via Alex Hernandez

When Alex Hernandez returned home from Vietnam, he was not expecting the welcome –or unwelcome– home he received. After stepping off the plane in San Francisco, Alex was kicked in the leg by a child who yelled, “Baby killer!” The boy’s parents stood laughing in the background. In this segment, Alex shares his return story—including a time he was sure he would not make it home. Years later, as Alex has taken steps in his life to overcome the trauma Vietnam brought him, he has something he wants to tell that boy in San Francisco who he never forgot.

Texting may increase your anxiety (but emojis may help!) My study via @PopSci #MIAW15

“The fact that no one can see you, and the fact that you have time to think about what you’d like to say before you send a message are both features that can reduce people’s anxiety about social interaction, and can help them to talk about more personal topics without feeling embarrassed or shy,” says Mila Kingsbury, the lead author of the new study and a psychology doctoral candidate at Carleton University.

“However, no-one had really studied how anxious people interpret the messages they are receiving.”

Read my story in PopSci here!

Listen: transgender community looks to PA to mandate insurance coverage, my first piece for @NewsWorksWHYY #LGBTQ

Listen on WHYY here.

With the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage across the country last month, some may think the fight for LGBT rights is over. But transgender people still struggle to get basic rights, including comprehensive health care.

Pennsylvania could join a handful of other states in requiring insurance coverage for all transition-related medical care for transgender people. It would be the first state to do so by way of legislation. But some people are not so hopeful.

2 Million Homecare Workers Need Court to OK Raise @womens_enews #1u

My new story out today on Women’s eNews about home care workers, predominantly female and people of color, are still excluded from the basic minimum wage and overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Labor Department is waiting for a district court ruling to change that.