Contributor

B. David Zarley

Senior Staff Writer

Contact

[email protected]

B. David Zarley is a senior staff writer for Freethink, where he covers health and medicine, including infectious disease, psychedelic research, mental health, and the brain. A graduate of SUNY Fredonia, his work has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Verge, Jezebel, Frieze, Sports Illustrated, VICE, Paste Magazine, and numerous other publications. He lives in Chicago and can be reached via Signal by request. Send him story ideas!

In the midst of a crisis, Venezuelans are training self-driving cars

Hundreds of thousands of formerly middle class Venezuelans, thrown into poverty by economic collapse, are now sitting at computers as they help train self-driving cars to identify and avoid obstacles.

B. David Zarley

Art

Chico MacMurtrie's art transcends the southern border

If all goes to plan, six robotic sculptures will arc across the border dividing El Paso and Ciudad Juárez in the fall of 2020.

B. David Zarley

Urban Living

The future of micromobility in Africa

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, improvements to infrastructure shift focus from cars to micromobility. The city’s transportation plan calls for hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes and pedestrian pathways for increased safety.

B. David Zarley

Sustainability

Paving the way with recycled roads

The world is facing a massive build up of waste. But this solution of recycled roads may pave the way for a cleaner future.

B. David Zarley

Daan Roosegaarde is a Dutch architect on a mission to create a more efficient and beautiful world through innovative

Sustainability

Merging nature and sustainable design: An interview with Daan Roosegaarde

From towers that create pockets of clean air to a luminescent bike path that glows like children's ceiling stars, Daan Roosegaarde's entire practice is centered around the beauty of living with nature and removing pollution from urban life.

B. David Zarley

Public Health

Uganda begins massive new Ebola vaccine study

The Ebola outbreak in the Congo is now the second deadliest on record. How can we stop the devastation? A study in Uganda could hold the key for a new vaccine.

B. David Zarley

Food

Clean meat: A new protein is making its way onto the chef's table

Clean meat is becoming a more widely known, and much loved food category. But do you expect to see it on your gourmet plate any time soon? These chefs think yes.

B. David Zarley

Building Community

The Crib: A place to call home

For young LGBTQ adults, this is the shelter that accepts many people that are too often turned away.

B. David Zarley

Prosthetics

Advanced prosthetics are not only powerful, they’re beautiful

"There's a deep, deep relationship between the functionality of the device and a person's identity of what their body is."

B. David Zarley

Medicine

Hope grows for patients with spinal cord injuries

Severe spinal cord injuries resulting in total paralysis are usually considered permanent, with no hope of recovery. And yet, in a handful of patients spanning multiple levels of severity, movement is being regained.

B. David Zarley