I am currently the Executive Editor of Rest of World. I co-founded and was the Executive Editor of OneZero, Medium’s tech and science publication. Prior to that, I was the senior features editor of The Verge. Before that, I was the editor of Peradam press, editor-at-large of Bullett magazine, a contributing editor and columnist at The FADER, an editorial associate at World Policy Journal, an assistant editor at McSweeney's, a senior editorial assistant at John Wiley & Sons publishing, a contributing writer to the Icelandic newspaper The Reykjavik Grapevine, and a proofreader for Red Wheel/Weiser publishing. And before that, I worked as a prep cook.
I have experience building small and large editorial teams and leading ambitious, award-winning editorial programs marked by rigorous investigations, scoops, and immersive, narrative-driven features.
E-mail me at mz@restofworld.org. Follow me @mvzelenks.
Occasionally, I also write. Here are some stories I’ve written:
“Dust Rising: As California’s largest lake dries up, it threatens nearby communities with clouds of toxic dust,” The Verge, summer 2018
"There's no perfect minimalist phone — yet," The Verge, spring 2018
"On the road with George Hotz’s $1,000 self-driving car kit," The Verge, summer 2016
"The Valley Below," The Verge, winter 2016
"We built a robot to help you win The New Yorker’s cartoon caption contest," The Verge, summer 2015
"Dark Horse: The story of a record-shattering, all-electric '68 Mustang," The Verge, spring 2015
"A brilliant Tinder hack made hundreds of bros unwittingly flirt with each other," The Verge, spring 2015
"Detours," The Verge, winter 2015
"What's next for Reddit's amateur Serial sleuths?" The Verge, fall 2014
"Meet Chelsea Manning's official portrait artist," The Verge, fall 2014
"Out of thin air: is this the world's newest type of cloud?" The Verge, fall 2014
"A Brief History of Gordon Ramsay's Epicurean Empire," The Verge, summer 2014
"The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Virtual Reality," The Verge, summer 2014
"'The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz' Review" The Verge, summer 2014
"The Human Cost of Your Mother's Day Flowers" Vice, spring 2014
"Colombian Union Leaders Are Being Hunted by Paramilitary Groups" Vice, winter 2014
"What Happens When a Colombian City Ruled by Extortion Finally Says No?" Vice, winter 2014
"Welcome to the Bananapocalypse," Vice, winter 2014
"The Prawn Goodbye: A Mysterious Plague is Wiping Out Shrimp Around the World," Vice, winter 2014
"If the Drug War is Failing, Where'd the Cocaine Go?" Vice, winter 2014
Window by Alexis Penney, Peradam Press (editor), winter 2014
"285 Kent Owner Todd P. Speaks on Closure: 'It Was a Calculated Decision,'" The FADER, winter 2014
"285 Kent Concert Booker Explains Beloved Venue's Closure," The FADER, winter 2014
"No Concessions: Narco Cultura and the Business of Writing Songs for Drug Cartels," The FADER, winter 2014
"Live: Adam Curtis V Massive Attack at New York's Park Armory," The FADER, fall 2013
"Live: Nine Inch Nails at Barclays," The FADER, fall 2013
"We're In This Together: An Oral History of Nine Inch Nails," The FADER, Issue 88, 2013
"Death Metal Angola," The FADER, Issue 88, 2013
"No Concessions: Elysium and Neill Blomkamp's Missed Opportunity," The FADER, summer 2013
"The Incredible Story of Marina Chapman, the Woman Who Was (Maybe) Raised By Monkeys," Bullett, Wild Issue, summer 2013
"No Concessions: Confessions of the Supercut Kings," The FADER, summer 2013
"No Concessions: Finding the Lost Piano Prince of New Orleans," The FADER, summer 2013
"boychild Talks Performance Art, Hood By Air, and Her Greatest Fears," Bullett, summer 2013
"No Concessions: Director Joshua Oppenheimer on His New Film, The Act of Killing," The FADER, summer 2013
"Slipknot Frontman Corey Taylor on His New Book, Religion, and Ghosts," Bullett, summer 2012
"A Union Divided: Occupation and Higher Education at Cooper Union," The FADER, Issue 87, 2013
"No Concessions: Fast & Furious 6 and the Rise of the Perpetual Franchise Machine," The FADER, summer 2013
"Rockaway Resurrection: Rebuilding the Beach After Hurricane Sandy," The FADER, Issue 86, 2013
"Chen Chen & Kai Williams: Shanks," Riot of Perfume, spring 2013
"Live: Stockhausen at New York's Park Armory," The FADER, spring 2013
"Photographer Daniel Arnold on His Return to Instagram & His Scariest Confrontation," Bullett, spring 2013
"No Concessions: Love, Loss, and Liberace," The FADER, spring 2013
"The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Bitcoin, the World’s Most Enigmatic Currency," Bullett, Future Issue, spring 2013
"No Concessions: The Project and the Conservative Film Industrial Complex," The FADER, spring 2013
"No Concessions: Tim Hetherington and His Elegiac Film for Tim Hetherington," The FADER, spring 2013
"The Birth of Phone Hacking and How It Set the Stage for the News Corp. Scandal," Bullett, fall 2012
"Islam Rises from Chechnya's Ashes," World Policy Journal, Democracy Issue, fall 2012
"Democracy in Decline?" World Policy Journal, Democracy Issue, fall 2012
"Inside the World of Astrology Guru Susan Miller," Bullett, summer 2012
"The Case of Sergei Magnitsky," World Policy Journal, summer 2012
"A Day in the Life: Mission Chinese Food's Danny Bowien," Bullett, summer 2012
"The Commune Effect," California Northern, 2011
"Interview: The Tongs of Chinatown," California Northern, 2011
"Interview: Yorgos Lanthimos, Director of Dogtooth," TheRumpus.net, 2010
"Northern Exposure," The Reykjavik Grapevine, 2010
Best American Nonrequired Reading 2010, Houghton-Mifflin (assistant editor), 2010
"The Rumpus International Rivers Interview 4: Dumitru Tsepeneag," TheRumpus.net, 2010
"The Rumpus International Rivers Interview 3: Sasa Stanisic," TheRumpus.net, 2010
"The Rumpus International Rivers Interview 2: Dubravka Ugresic," TheRumpus.net, 2010
"Bringing Nour Home," The Rerykjavik Grapevine, 2009
"The Rumpus International Rivers Interview 1: Gyorgy Dragoman," TheRumpus.net, 2009
"A Window Into Iceland's Soul," The Reykjavik Grapevine, 2009
"Steering Revolution," The Reykjavik Grapevine, 2009
"Inflated Crowns," The Reykjavik Grapevine, 2009
Best American Nonrequired Reading 2009 (Houghton-Mifflin) - assistant editor