Clay Risen

TMN Contributing Writer Clay Risen’s first attempt to build a web site fell apart after he learned that risen.com had been bought by a hardcore Christian rock band. Now, as managing editor at Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, he has lots of web pages. Clay lives in Washington, D.C. Email him here.

A New Beijing, in Focus

Don’t be distracted by the hubbub surrounding the impressive buildings Beijing is constructing for the Olympics, CLAY RISEN advises. It’s the people of the Chinese capital who need your attention. (Op-Ed | July 31, 2008)

Following Function

While America’s urban poverty is a visible and often-addressed problem, the nation’s rural poor live a life apart. CLAY RISEN examines one architecture program’s work to connect them with what they really need. (Op-Ed | April 8, 2008)

Stimulating

The government says your stimulus check will soon be in the mail, but when you finally receive it, should you invest it—or instead blow it on something the economy won’t ever forget? CLAY RISEN offers spending suggestions. (Spoofs & Satire | February 6, 2008)

Online Merchants

‘Tis the season of Amazon and Zappos, but what about those web merchants with more rare offerings, or services you didn’t know were available online? THE WRITERS offer a few of their current favorites. (Of Recent Note | November 27, 2007)

Our Champion

When the New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp died recently from lung cancer, America lost one of its most riveting writers—one the best critics we’ve ever had, contends CLAY RISEN, and quite possibly among the worst. (Profiles | November 8, 2007)

The Backseat Killer

A maniac is chasing an innocent woman. She gets home and runs to her house, just as the pursuing car screeches in to the driveway. How will it end? Only THE WRITERS know, in our annual open-ended gore fest. (Spoofs & Satire | October 31, 2007)

A New Social Construct

Modernism may be dead, but the world desperately needs radically new ideas about living, working, and governing in the 21st-century city. CLAY RISEN on the search for a solution. (Op-Ed | September 13, 2007)

Ozymandias’s Washington

Though the U.S. capital is home to scores of memorials, just a handful of them command the attention of most visitors. CLAY RISEN takes a tour of Washington’s other monuments. (Profiles | July 16, 2007)

Model Behavior

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, CLAY RISEN shares some tips for a young reader who wants to take her strut for a walk down the runway. (The Non-Expert | April 13, 2007)

The Vice Squad

Just in time for President’s Day, a fun activity the entire family can enjoy: Who was the worst vice-president ever? CLAY RISEN reviews history’s candidates who could reach for Cheney’s crown. (Op-Ed | February 16, 2007)

Biloxi Blues

Katrina’s destruction of the Mississippi coast left many residents homeless, unemployed, and vowing recovery. One year later, CLAY RISEN revisits the coast, but finds little sign of progress. (Op-Ed | November 30, 2006)

Washington, D.C.

Official Washington, D.C., is tailored for certain groups of people: tourists, politicians, and lobbyists. But setting aside the monuments and museums leaves a series of parks where the city’s history and social conditions are thrown into stark relief. CLAY RISEN with the final installment in our series. (A Walk in the Park | September 19, 2006)

News Gone Wild

Pop quiz for the journalism students in the audience: What’s an editor to do when her reporter is assaulted and the attacker, whom the reporter strikes back, turns out to be the story’s subject? CLAY RISEN is waiting for answers. (Op-Ed | August 9, 2006)

The House of Truth

Washington’s DuPont Circle may now be a posh address for lawyers and diplomats—and 4,000 Starbucks outlets—but it was once a bohemian hotseat for intellectuals. CLAY RISEN looks at the city’s lost house of liberal revolution. (Profiles | July 19, 2006)

The Weathermen

Why are so many news shows so dully casted—except for the flamboyantly named superhero in front of the blue screen? CLAY RISEN reviews the top 10 best-named weathermen currently rescuing the news. (Op-Ed | May 30, 2006)

I, Servant

Admitting you have a problem is a big hurdle to face, but confessing you need help can be even more difficult, especially when you’re forced to choose your own path. CLAY RISEN asks: Will it be robot or monkey? (Spoofs & Satire | January 26, 2006)

Wrong Way Home

To rebuild the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast, Mississippi’s governor picked a panel of vaunted New Urbanists to submit plans. But is their nostalgia for small-town America appropriate, nevermind prepared for the task? (Op-Ed | November 8, 2005)

From the Ground Up

Even in the face of disaster, life finds a way. But how long can we afford to flout forces beyond our control and live on unsteady ground? And what are we willing to pay? Our writer sends a dispatch from New Orleans. (Op-Ed | September 14, 2005)

Brothers From Another Mother

Did David Childs really steal his Freedom Tower design from a Yale student? And can you call that stealing, or just the way the business works? Our critic explains how plagiarism exists in architecture, and why there actually should be more of it. (Op-Ed | August 31, 2005)

Sincerely Yours LOL!

The recent publication of Robert Lowell’s letters makes us wonder, will someday collections of today’s scribblers’ correspondence include emoticons? A look at the last gasps of letter writing. (Op-Ed | July 6, 2005)

Fame!

It’s one thing to be Mario Lopez and have a single claim to the history books, but it’s quite another to distinguish your celebrity with a striking, but unrecognized achievement. Clay Risen takes a look at three famous men, not necessarily known for inventing chewing gum or cornering the pencil market. (Personalities | April 11, 2005)

The Non-Expert: Cameron’s Physics, Tara’s Slips

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, CLAY RISEN helps two readers with vital questions of national security: Can cars backtrack mileage if driven in reverse, and who is responsible for forcing celebrities down our throats? (How To | January 28, 2005)

Beyond Therapy

Which story is front-page material: Kerry’s tan, or his position on loose nukes? Bush’s plans for immigration reform, or a bulge in his jacket? By fluffing rumors and stuffing their shirts, the political media this election season has constantly failed the public. One day before the vote, Washington’s Clay Risen explains how we’ve been duped. (Opinions | November 1, 2004)

Concerning My Neighbors, The Hicks

It’s easy for Yankees to see the South as a swamp, full of evangelist in-breds and Fox-fed yokels, when the media reinforces the stereotype. Nashville’s finest Clay Risen takes on poet Charles Simic for the sake of southern culture. (Opinions | August 11, 2004)

Withering Heights

Great buildings deserve strong guardians and even stronger PR, and so do bad buildings apparently, as shown in the case of 2 Columbus Circle. Clay Risen wades in to explain how Tom Wolfe and Robert Stern have gotten it so wrong. (New York, New York | August 3, 2004)

If on a summer’s vacation…

Now past the halfway-mark for summer, we’ve all either taken our summer vacations or we’re still planning where to go. For those of us who fall into the latter camp, beware your choices. THE WRITERS remember ways summer vacations have gone so horribly wrong. (Stories | July 28, 2004)

Barking At The Gate

The White House Correspondents Association dinner is D.C.’s biggest night—politicos mix with editors mix with celebrities, all very realalcoholik. But, as Washington’s Clay Risen writes, it’s also among the lowest points of journalism. (Opinions | May 5, 2004)

The Non-Expert: Economy-size

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week CLAY RISEN counsels a young man beleaguered by visions of marked-down tuna fish and cases of Two Buck Chuck. (How To | April 2, 2004)

The Non-Expert: IT

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week a reader sends in a cryptic plea for help in the ways of ‘IT,’ and CLAY RISEN deciphers ‘IT’s’ true meaning. (How To | February 20, 2004)

Too Little, Too Soon

The plan for the Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center site is nearly finished, but what good is a design competition when we’re still trying to decipher the meaning of the event? Architecture critic Clay Risen stares deep into the pools. (New York, New York | January 13, 2004)

Where I’m Coming From

Southerners routinely get trashed up north, where they’re either derided as racists or hayseeds, or the offspring of siblings. Going home to Nashville for Thanksgiving, somewhat-southerner Clay Risen gets fed up with all the mouthin’ off. (Opinions | December 1, 2003)

Notes on a Federal Culture

Urban character is easy—Chicago has architecture, New York has culture, Los Angeles has a six-hour flight to New York—but what about cities with zero personality? Let’s say, Washington? D.C. writer Clay Risen comes up with a few traits for home. (Opinions | October 23, 2003)

Downtown Dealing

In recent years public architecture has a bad record in New York, especially after the uglification of modernism. Why then are people not paying more attention to Ground Zero? Clay Risen has a few ideas about the political process of development. (Opinions | September 24, 2003)

The Knickerbocker

Of all the classic New York hotels, one of its finest, The Knickerbocker, has fallen into almost-total obscurity. Clay Risen opens doors that have been too long forgotten and too much made over. (New York, New York | September 9, 2003)

Another Roadside Attraction

The Washington Post’s new free newspaper Express is targeted to illiterate youngsters with wallets. CLAY RISEN reports on the difficulties of selling young and hip. (Opinions | August 8, 2003)

Waiting for Aiken

Since 1989, anyone named after some variation of Urkel has lived a miserable existence. Clay Patrick Risen considers his future, in the shadow of American Idol. (Opinions | July 9, 2003)

The Facts of Life

Fact-checking: It’s not an easy job, and it’s not without its faults. Which is why it wasn’t any feat of genius for Stephen Glass or Jayson Blair to crack the system. Clay Risen reports from the head offices. (Opinions | June 17, 2003)

Washington Gothic

Within the halls of Washington, D.C., lurks a stench of unsolved crimes, muttering highwaymen, and altogether strange behavior. Clay Risen peers into the capital’s dark corners. (Personalities | May 21, 2003)

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Psychoanalysis in literature is old hat, but there were days when it was new. Clay Risen returns to Mary McCarthy to see which neuroses still ring true. (Opinions | May 5, 2003)

The Secret Gardener

Your parents’ hobbies seem odd and quaint until you discover you can’t sleep late on the weekends anymore. Clay Risen finds early middle age in the flower boxes of his backyard. (Opinions | April 10, 2003)

Springtime for Washington

Daisies and rifles are never easy bedfellows, especially when both are just starting to bloom. D.C. resident Clay Risen reports on the effects of going to war just when the weather’s turning nice. (Opinions | March 18, 2003)

Lost in Translation

The Chinatown bus network: offerring inexpensive transport between the major Chinatowns of the eastern U.S. The New York Times coos over the novelty. Clay Risen actually takes a ride on the bus and has a decidedly different take. (Opinions | March 10, 2003)

What Lies Beneath

New York and Washington have their differences, but the greatest disparity (at least to someone who just moved from Manhattan) is in their subway systems. Clay Risen reports from beneath two cities. (Opinions | February 25, 2003)

The Summing Up

We may spend more time with our co-workers than our families, but that doesn’t mean we have to like them. Our D.C. correspondent Clay Risen starts a new job and barely gets past the front desk. (Stories | February 4, 2003)

Joe Mitchell’s Secret

Considered the best profile writer New York’s ever seen, Joseph Mitchell’s influence is unfortunately on the wane. Clay Risen on why today’s prose-makers have lost their way. (Personalities | January 7, 2003)

The Non-Expert: Santa Claus

Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week THE WRITERS determine once and for all the existence of Santa Claus. (How To | December 20, 2002)

Santa’s Not-So-Little Helper

You know Santa: cheeks like a rose, nose like a cherry. Now meet the Krampus, a boozy goat-horned menace that whips children around Europe. Clay Risen meets a group of Krampuses and learns why they’re great at a party. (Stories | December 4, 2002)

Tunnel Visions

There may be a thousand art exhibits in the city at any time, but few are housed in an abandoned subway tunnel buried under Brooklyn. Clay Risen reports among art and giant alligators. (New York, New York | November 19, 2002)

Scary Stories

In celebration of Halloween, we’ve asked all the Contributing Writers to share a scary story. Here then, seven ways to get freaked out. (Stories | October 31, 2002)

Branding

No longer content with acronyms or surnames, companies now hire brand consultants to name their children. Clay Risen goes through the best and the worst of new-age monikers, including those easily pronounced as ass-enter. (Opinions | October 22, 2002)

Hart Island

New York City is a collection of islands, and one, Hart Island, is completely inaccessible, possibly because it’s reserved for the dead. Clay Risen reports on the home of potter’s field and an abandoned missile base. (New York, New York | October 10, 2002)

Crooks and Longarms

Barring Times Square, nighttime New York is awash in a warm glow. Who do we thank for this? Why, our streetlamps! Clay Risen investigates the rich history of light in the city. (New York, New York | September 12, 2002)

The Illustrierter Bacillus

While looking through his parents’ attic Clay Risen finds the May 14, 1942, issue of the Nazi party propaganda paper Illustrierter Beobachter. Nobody has any idea how it got there. A look between the pages. (Opinions | August 26, 2002)

Joseph Zoettl’s Grotto

The American South has many strange places to visit, though most towns don’t have their own Hanging Gardens of Babylon, complete with plastic elephants. Clay Risen reports on an odd attraction, built by a fascinating man. (Personalities | August 14, 2002)

New York’s Real Skyscrapers

The proposed designs for downtown Manhattan are roundly disappointing, particularly for their lack of imagination. CLAY RISEN has an idea: How about some tulip poplars? (New York, New York | July 25, 2002)

Prison on the Park

Central Park is a lot of things: the pastoral center of New York City, a relaxing stroll on a Saturday afternoon, a patch of grass lined with horse manure. It’s also home to a minimum-security prison. Clay Risen investigates. (New York, New York | July 9, 2002)

The Nights of Malta

It’s an acquired taste. It’s a strange delicacy. Hoping to get a feel for a new flavor, Clay Risen gives a bottle of ‘non-alcoholic cereal beverage’ a shot. Bottoms up. (New York, New York | June 25, 2002)

Looking for LeRoy

New York’s fashionably-lit are always looking for the next hot thing in plastic glasses. With the days of Dave Eggers now frozen, and Franzen quickly fading, could writer J.T. LeRoy be it? Clay Risen investigates a recent reading. (New York, New York | June 4, 2002)

New York Stub Scene

If you happen to leave early from a show at the Philharmonic, be prepared to be asked for your ticket. No, not by an usher, but by a young would-be concert goer who’ll either take your seat or talk trash behind your back. Welcome to the New York Stub Scene. Clay Risen reports. (New York, New York | May 14, 2002)

Nothing Like The Sun

New York’s new daily paper The New York Sun was launched two weeks ago with great expectations, brio, and fanfare. So far we’ve seen a lot of wire stories, copy errors, and sloppy writing. Smarternysun.com editor Clay Risen surveys the results. (New York, New York | April 30, 2002)

Thursday, August 28, 2008

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