Hello I'm Adam

I make films, I draw comics and I write a newsletter.

Here you can watch the video journalism I'm most proud of, read my short fiction and peruse an archive of more than one hundred letters.

A photo of Adam

146 / Love and Gratitude

Advice for staying motivated through long projects.


145 / The Case for Optimism

This is a hard time to be an artist. Here’s why I keep going.


144 / Napier's Law

What a Tudor mathematician taught me about visual storytelling


143 / Strawberry Fields

The myth of the creative sabbatical.


Award-winning documentary films

I’m a staff video producer at The New York Times, writing and directing beautiful videos with strong opinions. In 2018 we released Operation Infektion which received two Emmy nominations and won an ONA Award. The challenge with these videos is in taking sophisticated arguments — meeting the high standards of the Times — and using the film form to shape them into visual stories the audience can both see and feel.

Jaron Lanier Fixes The Internet

Fed up of having your data stolen by big tech? Silicon Valley’s maverick futurist has a plan to fix the internet.

America's Unfair Felony Murder Law

The story of Adnan Khan, who served 16 years at San Quentin prison for a murder the judge, jury and prosecution all agreed he did not commit.

Operation Infektion

This Emmy-nominated documentary traces the history of fake news back to the KGB in rip-roaring style.

Video essays which have inspired thousands

I have written and directed a dozen original video essays which tell vivid stories about history, creativity and science. My series The Long Game — a radical reexamination of great artists, from Leonardo DaVinci to Vincent Van Gogh — has inspired thousands of people to make art, no matter their age. I still receive emails from strangers telling me the videos shone a light for them in dark times. Making these films trained me in telling compelling stories with complex ideas.

Cause And Effect: The Great War

I made this as an experiment in telling an old story in a new way. It offers a new spin on the causes of The Great War.

He Turned Paper Into Pixels

Everything in our information age - from email, to Facebook, to YouTube, is all based on the most simple of ideas.

The Long Game

How do you make art without an audience? How long does it take to achieve greatness? This series answers those questions and more.

Dark and strange comic stories

I came late to comics, only discovering their beauty and potential in my 30s. As a filmmaker I find them a fascinating sister-medium: similar and yet different. As an artist, drawing comics has become a way to explore darker and more complex parts of myself. Here you’ll find short stories, self-published zines and other works I have created in my sketchbooks over the years.

Connection Error

Scientists on the verge of a major discovery are thwarted by an HP Printer.

Biteguard Fever Dreams 2

Five new short stories, hand-drawn and painted, shipping worldwide!

Aquanimity

A grouchy swimmer learns a dramatic lesson in acceptance in this new short story