Stories by Lauren Smiley : Contently

PROJECTS

73 projects for 19 clients

Glamour

Two White Moms. Six Black Kids. One Unthinkable Tragedy. A Look Inside the ‘Perfect’ Hart Family

The true crime story of a prolific Facebook "master post-er" - who for years shielded her family's problems from scrutiny via her posts until, investigators believe, she intentionally drove them off a California cliff.

View

Wired

The Mission to Build the Ultimate Burger Bot

A Silicon Valley idealist sets out to automate the fast food business he grew up in.

View

Wired

The Digital Puppy That Keeps Seniors Out of Nursing Homes

An overseas workers conversing with US seniors - via a puppy avatar.

View

Wired

What an Immigrant Murder in Kansas Says About America

The story on an Indian techie killed in a Kansas bar by a white man who screamed "Get out of my country!"

View

Medium

The Shut-In Economy

The cultural shift of an on-demand world: getting used to getting served.

View

The Atlantic

What it's Like to Work at the Museum of Ice Cream

My report on the near minimum wage workers in an Instagram factory.

View

topic.com

Life Inside the RVs of Silicon Valley

In a Silicon Valley Hooverville next to the Stanford campus - people live in a line of Jaycos and Winnebagos.

View

Wired

The College Kids Doing What Twitter Won't

The housemates who are taking on Twitter's bots - publically identifying them on the platform.

View

The Verge

The screen time debate is pitting parents against each other

Hell is other parents' screen-time policies.

View

Fast Company

How Thumbtack Creates Work By Giving The Yellow Pages An AI Twist

A profile on the on-demand company for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies issue.

View

backchannel.com

The Tech Resistance Awakens

What it means when tech workers get off the Google bus and into the resistance.

View

The Verge

Signal Boost

The Trump resistance flocks to privacy apps popular in repressive regimes.

View

newrepublic.com

America's Disastrous Voting Tech

Hacking attempts are scary. Dinosaur voting tech is scarier.

View

New York Magazine

Women Biohackers in Silicon Valley

The newest double standard: Men are biohacking; women are just neurotic.

View

story.californiasunday.com

When Toys Talk (and Listen)

When AI-fueled toys chat with kids.

Lauren Smiley

Boots-on-the-ground tech reporter.

Filter by

PROJECTS

Glamour

Two White Moms. Six Black Kids. One Unthinkable Tragedy. A Look Inside the ‘Perfect’ Hart Family

Wired

The Mission to Build the Ultimate Burger Bot

Wired

The Digital Puppy That Keeps Seniors Out of Nursing Homes

Wired

What an Immigrant Murder in Kansas Says About America

Medium

The Shut-In Economy

The Atlantic

What it's Like to Work at the Museum of Ice Cream

topic.com

Life Inside the RVs of Silicon Valley

Wired

The College Kids Doing What Twitter Won't

The Verge

The screen time debate is pitting parents against each other

Fast Company

How Thumbtack Creates Work By Giving The Yellow Pages An AI Twist

backchannel.com

The Tech Resistance Awakens

The Verge

Signal Boost

newrepublic.com

America's Disastrous Voting Tech

New York Magazine

Women Biohackers in Silicon Valley

story.californiasunday.com

When Toys Talk (and Listen)