I’m a freelance journalist based in South Philadelphia, where I write about our relationships with one another and the world around us. My work explores the way we approach the end of life, the potential for psychedelics to improve mental health and interconnectedness, and the influence we have on our environment (as well as the influence it has on us).

I started my career covering sports, then spent nearly a decade writing and editing stories about the law and the legal profession, including several years as executive editor of The American Lawyer. In 2022 I began freelancing full-time, following my varied interests as far as they might take me. That’s led me to write about the rivalry that defined the dawn of neuroscience, the tangled history of deep-sea diving, the community of death-care workers changing the way we die, environmental justice and education, the connection between mathematics and wildlife conservation, and the ways trees are guiding us forward.

Wherever my curiosity takes me next, I’ll be ready to share the story. When I’m not writing and reporting, you can find me climbing, petting cats and watching plants grow.

Contact me at bseal3@gmail.com.

  • The beloved pawpaw could seed a more sustainable future for small farms. | Civil Eats

    By reducing its reliance on imported fish, the U.S. could build a better seafood system. | Civil Eats

    As climate change raises flood risk, home buyouts are an increasingly important tool to protect communities. | Grid Magazine

    A new EPA program aims to help under-resourced organizations build climate-resilient communities. | Grid Magazine

    The Philadelphia Orchard Project is cultivating fruit that could thrive in a hotter city. | Grid Magazine

    Chester residents are fighting back against a $6 billion proposed LNG facility. | Environmental Health News

    A community living in the shadows of the East Coast’s oldest oil refinery are searching for answers about the air they breathe. | Exel Magazine

    A Philly environmental leader’s grand vision to turn vacant lots into a new park system. | Billy Penn

    The ultimate guide to eco-friendly home renovations. | Philadelphia Magazine

    This year could shape the future of chemical recycling, a controversial practice environmental advocates say is inadequate to address the plastic crisis. | Environmental Health News

    A food forest and campus farm are training Ursinus College students to build a more sustainable future. | Ursinus Magazine

    A million-dollar lien buyback protected some of Philadelphia’s beloved community gardens, but many still face uncertainty. | Green Philly

    Devil’s Pool sings a siren song to Philadelphians in summer, but its safety and sustainability are in question. | Grid Magazine

    Philadelphia’s LED streetlight rollout is an energy win—with drawbacks. | Grid Magazine

    The latest chemical recycling plant closure spurs concerns over the industry’s viability. | Environmental Health News

    A year after its collapse, urban agriculture icon Greensgrow is ready to rise again. | Green Philly

    Mountains of discarded belongings are a spring eyesore in Philadelphia’s University City. | Grid Magazine

    Philly’s climate change curriculum lags behind neighboring New Jersey. | Grid Magazine

    Philly’s Tree Plan will take political will and lofty funding to execute. | Green Philly

    Flowers and trees bloomed early in Philly after a warmer-than-usual winter. | Billy Penn

  • Psychedelic therapy holds the promise of individual and communal healing. In Philadelphia, a growing community awaits its arrival. | Grid Magazine

    The push to legalize magic mushrooms, MDMA, LSD and other hallucinogens is likely to heighten tensions between state and federal law. | Knowable Magazine

    Pharmacologist Jason Wallach is developing an array of psychedelics to be safer and more effective therapeutic agents. | Saint Joseph’s Magazine

    Pennsylvania is getting closer to psychedelic reform, and advocates in Philly are pushing for decriminalization. | Billy Penn

  • Death can be isolating and dehumanizing. What if it didn’t have to be? | Philadelphia Magazine

    Shedding the earthly possessions of a deceased loved one can be overwhelming, but there are people to help. | Grid Magazine

    Private equity has pillaged the nursing home industry for profits at the expense of resident safety. | Lex Magazine

    In Laurel Hill’s Nature Sanctuary, succession forests and wildflowers form a living memorial for loved ones who opt for a green burial. | Green Philly

    Death doulas offer guidance and comfort through the inevitable. | Grid Magazine

  • Can MDMA save a marriage? A new wave of experimental therapy aims to find out. | Nautilus Magazine

    Could a century-old aqueduct point the way to Los Angeles’s clean energy future? | Distillations Magazine

    Seventy years ago, a group of Philadelphia scientists and a brave 18-year-old pushed surgery to its final frontier: open-heart surgery. | Distillations Magazine

    At the dawn of a new age in neuroscience, the rivalry between Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal reached an icy climax. | Distillations Magazine

    Exploration and exploitation are inextricable in the history of deep-sea diving. | Distillations Magazine

    Leslie New is using statistical ecology to inform wildlife conservation strategies. | Ursinus Magazine

    Bill Mongan is exploring the potential for machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve human well-being—and working to prevent AI horror stories. | Ursinus Magazine

    How a mineralogist and Egyptologist teamed up to recreate a pigment of the past. | Carnegie Magazine

    Buzzing about the therapeutic benefits of beekeeping. | Saint Joseph’s Magazine

    Why the Titanic is a portal to get people interested in the bottom of the sea. | Carnegie Magazine

  • Through her fascination with the everyday objects that surrounded her, the artist Joan Brown found the sublime in the domestic. | Carnegie Magazine

    A hunger relief nonprofit got creative to deliver food from pantries to people. | Grid Magazine

    Kala Hagopian turns nature’s canvas into beautiful eco-murals. | Green Philly

    Are Philadelphia’s efforts to eliminate traffic deaths stalling out? | Grid Magazine

    If Philadelphia wants to retain its reputation for walkability, it must find answers to a series of challenging questions. | Grid Magazine

    Roosevelt Boulevard subway could slash congestion, save lives and bring investment to the Northeast. | Grid Magazine

    Inspired by his own disability, this Ather Sharif is helping his newfound community navigate a challenging world. | Saint Joseph’s Magazine

    Penn faces two student worker unionization efforts, amid a surge of labor organizing on campuses around the region. | Billy Penn

    Christina Mallon is a leading figure in the inclusive design movement. | Saint Joseph’s Magazine