I'm a New York-based journalist covering food, culture, and travel. Currently, I'm an Associate Editor at Atlas Obscura, where I've written stories about a utopian hippie cult from the 1970s, the ethics of de-extinction, an island full of very unusual feral pigs, and the long, weird history of Jell-O meat salads. You'll also find my bylines in The Guardian, The Washington Post, Condé Nast Traveler, WIRED, The Independent, VICE, Architectural Digest, Eater, Esquire, Travel + Leisure, and Playboy, among other publications.
I'm interested in power structures and the impact they have on small business owners, creatives, and marginalized communities. I've investigated how corruption and systemic inequality allowed oil palm plantations in Thailand to get away with murder (a Longreads "Best of 2021" pick), how Facebook Marketplace scammers stole hundreds of thousands of dollars pretending to sell caviar and crab legs, how a New York restaurant group conned its way to the top slots of TripAdvisor's rankings, and how financial institutions discriminate against sex workers and sex-tech startups.
I gravitate towards complicated people and stories that subvert expectations. I've profiled a cake artist, a radical bread sculptor, the RuPaul of Thailand, a Berghain bartender, a dominatrix, a Cambodian pop star, an avant-garde jelly art duo, a Thai techno DJ, a jam-skater, a Chinatown restaurateur, an architect building off-grid mansions out of trash, the 'Tofu King' of Germany, a street food chef, New York's rule-bending bakers, an indie video game creator, and a Tokyo rock band comprised of Buddhist monks.
I've worn a number of hats during my career. Previously, I was the Staff Writer at October, a sadly defunct Condé Nast drinks publication, where I wrote about brewing beer with hallucinogenic ingredients, and an editor at Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, where I roamed the region writing about things like a chef's journey through Tokyo's best izakayas. I live in Brooklyn, but have called Berlin and Bangkok home. I have an MA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, speak two languages well and several poorly, ask too many questions, and am almost always hungry.
You can reach me at diana.hubbell@atlasobscura.com or at dchubbell@gmail.com for other tips, commissions, and noodle recommendations. I would love to hear from you.
I'm interested in power structures and the impact they have on small business owners, creatives, and marginalized communities. I've investigated how corruption and systemic inequality allowed oil palm plantations in Thailand to get away with murder (a Longreads "Best of 2021" pick), how Facebook Marketplace scammers stole hundreds of thousands of dollars pretending to sell caviar and crab legs, how a New York restaurant group conned its way to the top slots of TripAdvisor's rankings, and how financial institutions discriminate against sex workers and sex-tech startups.
I gravitate towards complicated people and stories that subvert expectations. I've profiled a cake artist, a radical bread sculptor, the RuPaul of Thailand, a Berghain bartender, a dominatrix, a Cambodian pop star, an avant-garde jelly art duo, a Thai techno DJ, a jam-skater, a Chinatown restaurateur, an architect building off-grid mansions out of trash, the 'Tofu King' of Germany, a street food chef, New York's rule-bending bakers, an indie video game creator, and a Tokyo rock band comprised of Buddhist monks.
I've worn a number of hats during my career. Previously, I was the Staff Writer at October, a sadly defunct Condé Nast drinks publication, where I wrote about brewing beer with hallucinogenic ingredients, and an editor at Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, where I roamed the region writing about things like a chef's journey through Tokyo's best izakayas. I live in Brooklyn, but have called Berlin and Bangkok home. I have an MA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, speak two languages well and several poorly, ask too many questions, and am almost always hungry.
You can reach me at diana.hubbell@atlasobscura.com or at dchubbell@gmail.com for other tips, commissions, and noodle recommendations. I would love to hear from you.