Charley Locke

The New York Times for Kids | From 2020-2025, I wrote hundreds of stories for the Kids section of The New York Times about pretty much everything. The stories aren’t online, but ask me if you’d like to see some clips.

Kids and Teen Influencers in Australia Say ‘Bye-Bye’ to Social Media | I talked to teen content creators about how their lives will change without social media, for WIRED (2025).

Are Kids Still Looking for Careers in Tech? | I talked to teenagers interested in STEM about how their interests are changing, for WIRED (2025).

In Circulation | I wrote about Onerva Luoma, a Finnish artist lending out her clothing projects at the library, for Mildew Magazine (2025).

The Tweens Down Under: Life Without Social Media in Australia | I wrote about the teenagers advising the social media ban for under-16s in Australia, for WIRED (2025).

What Do Kids Actually Think About AI? | I talked to kids and teenagers about how they use and think about AI, for WIRED (2025).

Sarah Aspinall, Model and Socialite Who Lived Without a Safety Net, Dies at 80 | I wrote an obituary for Lady Sarah Aspinall, who led a wild life, for The Wall Street Journal (2025).

‘Kaz’ Kajimura, Bay Area Jazz-Club Impresario, Dies at 82 | I wrote an obituary for Kaz Kajimura, co-founder of Yoshi’s and Bay Area legend, for The Wall Street Journal (2025).

How A.I. Sees Us | I wrote about how A.I. parses and makes sense of humans, and what it illuminates about how we see ourselves, for The New York Times Magazine (2025).

27 Kid-Approved Summer Adventures | I talked to kid experts across the country about how to have the best summer ever, for The New York Times for Kids (2025).

Baby Boomers’ Luck Is Running Out | I wrote about how the Trump administration is making life harder for aging Americans, for The Atlantic (2025). This article was featured in the magazine’s One Story to Read Today newsletter.

Is Young Love Really Dead? | I talked to teenagers about what romance and intimacy is actually like for them today, for Vox (2025).

What (Actually) Brings Teens Joy? | I talked to dozens of teenagers across the country about happiness for The New York Times Magazine (2025).

Activist Jennifer Uchendu is highlighting the emotional impact of climate change | I profiled a Nigerian climate activist for National Geographic (2025).

How Poetry Helps Me Resist the Algorithm | I wrote an essay about my one good trick for breaking away from my phone (2025).

Betting $10,000 Every Sunday | I wrote about how many men in the U.S. make friends—betting every week on the N.F.L.—for Bloomberg Businessweek (2025).

The California Redwoods, Yosemite National Park, the Southern California Coast, and Big Sur & Highway 1 | I reported for guidebooks for Wildsam (2021-2025).

Retire? They’d Rather Jump Out of a Plane. | I wrote about a group of skydiving seniors for The New York Times (2024).

Growing Up in Climate Chaos | I wrote about teenagers growing up amidst climate crisis for The New York Times Magazine (2024).

The Secret to Getting Men to Wear Hearing Aids | I wrote about how hearing loss heightens the risk of loneliness for The Atlantic (2024).

Keep Your Notes App Under Lock and Key | I wrote about the fascinating, illuminating, embarrassing 21st-century accidental archive for The Atlantic (2024).

Inside a Newcomer Classroom in Fresno County | I wrote about how the Central Valley sets the standard for how to support immigrant students from across the world for Alta Journal (2024).

Jumping Out of a Plane, with Skydiving Seniors | wrote an essay about what it was like to skydive with septuagenarians for The New York Times (2024).

Hitting the Slopes With a Wild, and Skilled, ‘old’ Bunch | wrote an essay about what it was like to report on elders from the slopes for The New York Times (2024).

Retirement Gets Harder the Longer You Wait | I wrote about how retiring in your 80s affects self-identity and mental health for The Atlantic (2024).

The Only Child Stigma, Debunked | I wrote about why so few people consider having one child—and why they should—for Vox (2024).

These Skiers Are Still Chasing Powder in Their 80s and 90s | I skied with the Wild old Bunch, elders in their 70s, 80s, 90s, and up who still shred at Alta in Utah, for The New York Times (2024).

What You Can Learn from Regret | I wrote about how (and why) to reckon with regret, including poignant lessons from a couple who know what they’re talking about, for Vox (2024).

The Last Day | I reported on what it’s like to retire in America through the stories of seven people for The New York Times (2024). This story was highlighted by Longreads.

What Are Extracurricular Activities For? | I wrote about how kids, teens, and parents (and for that matter, anybody) should think about extracurriculars for Vox (2024).

Getting Old, Explained | wrote a front-of-book for Bloomberg Businessweek about the aspects of aging that we rarely talk about — sex, friendship, self-image — by talking to expert elders (2023).

From Pepperoni Math to Nepo Babies, Summer Is for Interns | I wrote about the Weird Wild West of summer internships for Bloomberg Businessweek (2023).

How to (Actually) Talk to Kids | I talked to the experts (thoughtful kids) on why adults are so awkward and how to talk to children like a normal person for Vox (2023).

You Should Have More Friends of All Ages | I wrote about why we should all make friends with people considerably older and younger than us (and how to make that happen) for Vox (2023).

The Traffic Jam in Low Earth Orbit | For The New York Times Magazine, I reported and developed an exploration of the staggering amount of stuff we’ve sent into space (2023).

America’s Culture Wars Have Liberal Parents Opting for Home-Schooling | I wrote about how conservative politics are re-shaping education and pushing liberal families in red states to home-school their kids for Bloomberg Businessweek (2023).

Dating in Your 70s Has Never Been This Much Fun | I wrote about what it’s actually like to look for love later-in-life, from love coaches at seniors’ speed-dating night at the Romeoville library, for The Wall Street Journal Magazine (2023).

Restoring Asylum | I wrote about the immigrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard by DeSantis operatives and how the political stunt may have given them a legal path to stay in the U.S. for ACLU Magazine (2023).

Separate and Unequal | I wrote a cover story about the California school district segregating students of color and the community fighting for their education in a cover story for ACLU Magazine (2022).

Commonplace Books are Like a Diary Without the Risk of Annoying Yourself | I wrote an essay about writing down lines I love for The New York Times Magazine (2022).

Envisioning Life After Climate Change | I contributed reporting for a climate special issue for The New York Times Magazine (2022).

In One Memoir, Stories of Two Outsiders in Small-Town Louisiana | I reviewed Diary of a Misfit: A Memoir and a Mystery by Casey Parks for The Washington Post (2022).

The Run for the Money | I wrote a feature on the dire state of U.S. public schools after the pandemic and how Covid-19 relief funding could reshape education for The New York Times Magazine (2022).

Do Not Touch Their Hair | I wrote a feature about Black kids discriminated against because of their natural hairstyles for The New York Times for Kids (2022).

‘Grandfluencers’ Are Sharing a New Vision of Old Age | I wrote a Styles cover story on how senior influencers are reimagining what aging looks like for The New York Times (2022). This story was selected for NYT’s Weekend Reads.

It Makes You Feel a Little Less Alone | I wrote a feature on how teen survivors of school shootings are forming community and finding a way forward together for The Washington Post Magazine (2022).

For “70 Over 70,” the award-winning podcast from Pineapple Street Studios (glowing NYT review here), I found and interviewed dozens of elders with meaningful stories over Zoom (2020-2021).

How the $4 Trillion Flood of Covid Relief Is Funding the Future | I wrote a feature about how the pandemic reshaped American industry for The New York Times Magazine (2021).

For Hello Sunshine x Reese’s Book Club, I produced, edited, and art-directed a video series of short stories written and animated by female authors and illustrators across the world (2021).

The Best Pandemic Advice Comes from the Very Young and the Very Old | I wrote an opinion piece about talking to elders and kids for The Washington Post (2021).

For Pop-Up Magazine, I produced stories to be performed onstage. After the pandemic hit, we shifted to online shows. You can see some of the digital stories I produced here and here, but nothing captures the magic of seeing them live in the theater (2019-2020).

I co-produced and reported Pop-Up Magazine’s first-ever audio episode (2020).

The Impossible Job of a Parent Navigating Zoom School | I wrote a feature about the chaos of remote school for one Texan family for The Atlantic (2020).

Bachelorette Parties Have Overtaken Austin. What Does It Mean for the City? | I wrote a feature about the changing face of Austin for Texas Monthly (2019).

What Would Texas Be Without Buc-ee’s? | I wrote a Styles story about the beloved convenience store chain and Texas identity for The New York Times (2019).

Meet the Next Generation of Texas Hunters | I wrote about Black teenagers who hunt for Texas Monthly (2018).

For Texas Monthly, I pitched, created, and edited an ongoing multimedia project about how the Me Too movement affected Texas women in their daily lives (2018).

Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders’ 7-Hour, 166-Person Audiobook, Feels Like a Movie | I wrote about the always inventive and humbling George Saunders for WIRED (2017).

Missing Richard Simmons Is Gripping. And Also Kinda Icky | I reviewed Pineapple Street Media’s hit podcast for WIRED (2017).

The Next Big Crime Podcast Is Coming From Inside the Jail | I wrote the first profile of the incarcerated production team behind the Ear Hustle podcast for WIRED (2017).

WIRED | I did a livestream for WIRED about how kids and teenagers are using AI (2025).

Hustle Culture | Olivia Rockeman interviewed me about freelancing for her newsletter, Hustle Culture (2025).

Reluctant to Retire | I was interviewed about retirement in America on The Brian Lehrer Show (2024).

Most people retire at some point, but how do you know when the time is right? | Mike Collins interviewed me for WFAE’s Charlotte Talks (2024).

How to Know When It’s Time to Go: Retiring on Your Own Terms | Scott Shafer interviewed me about retirement for KQED’s Forum (2024).

Journalist Charley Locke examines the ritual of retirement | Amanda Ulrich interviewed me for The Sunday Long Read (2024).

A Bittersweet Toast to Retirement | Josh Ocampo, an editor for NYT Insider, interviewed me and photographer Victor Llorente about our magazine feature (2024).

How to Learn from Regret | Brian Lehrer interviewed me about how regret can inform our lives for WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show (2024).

Your Intergenerational Friendships | Brian Lehrer interviewed me about the value of making friends who aren’t your age for WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show (2023).

Culture wars have American parents opting for home-schooling | I was interviewed about my feature story for the Bloomberg Businessweek podcast (2023).

Fed up with school shootings, young people take action | I co-hosted an episode of “Colors: A Dialogue on Race in America” (2022).

Young children facing hair discrimination fight back | I was interviewed on an episode of “Colors: A Dialogue on Race in America” (2022).

The Women’s Voices Project Podcast | I was interviewed for an episode of Texas Monthly’s podcast (2018).