About

Her first book, Dust: The Modern World in a Trillion Particles (2023), argues that dust – from particle pollution and nuclear fallout to desertification and glacial melt – is both the product of industrial modernity and a measure of its consequences. It was called ‘brilliant’ by the Sunday Times,  ‘marvellous’ by the New York Review of Books, and ‘eye-opening’ by the Guardian.

The book grew out of a 2016 trip to the parched desert hinterland of Los Angeles and many subsequent visits to the American West. Her recent writing continues in that territory: an essay on lithium mining at the Salton Sea appeared on the LRB blog in 2024, followed by a piece on endangered species, water politics and the Mojave Desert in 2025.

 

She studied Social Anthropology at the LSE and Geography at UCL, and has written for the Guardian and presented a programme on dust for BBC Radio 4's Four Thought. She works at the London Review of Books as Head of Audience.