Alex Christian

For my first longer read for WIRED, I reported on the Ever Given’s grounding in the Suez Canal and how – three months on – its crew were still stuck on board, with its cargo left unloaded amid a supply chain crisis.

My story was subsequently featured in the New York Times’ DealBook business newsletter.

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Young soccer players hoping to be talent spotted by a big club rely on luck as much as skill: the off-chance that a scout just happens to see them playing the game of their lives. I investigated the AI tool that may shorten those odds – one that landed an 18-year-old a Premier League trial.

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One year after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I reported from a NATO training camp in the north of England for WIRED magazine – where Ukrainian civilians are being transformed for the frontline in just five weeks.

From money leagues, to refreshing timelines to find out who got the assist, to watching Brighton vs Burnley – FPL has definitely changed fans’ relationship with footy. I asked psychologists and expert players why a data-heavy, nigh-on impossible to win game draws in millions.

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The article was later translated and published on WIRED Japan.

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When KSI and Logan Paul touched gloves in LA, they became the first boxing debutants to headline a major fight card. I spoke to both ahead of their grudge match, and explored the cult of personality that powers YouTube.

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I detailed the boom in WFH surveillance as employers began tracking their remote workers during the pandemic and, in a long-distance game of cat-and-mouse, how employees found ingenious ways of avoiding Big Brother’s gaze.

This story was subsequently featured as a news item on BBC Radio Scotland.

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Back in 2019, Anthony Joshua fighting Andy Ruiz for the Heavyweight Championship of the World in Saudi Arabia was a big deal. It became the first of a series of sporting mega events hosted in the Gulf Nation—with the 2034 FIFA World Cup set to be the apex. But this was the very first one: and I explored the finances, geopolitics and history involved in taking boxing to the Middle East.

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Ahead of the delayed Tokyo Olympics, for WIRED’s July-August issue, I spoke to Team GB star and World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson about how her training was adapated to lockdown and postponement.

Alongside the tech, I explored athletes’ psychology and how they dealt with their training cycle and physical peak being pushed back a year.

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I interviewed former FBI Director James Comey ahead of his talk for the Australian HR Institute. We chatted ethical leadership, his decision making in the Hillary Clinton email scandal, and encounters with Obama and Trump in the Oval Office.

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Amid the 2022 hiring crisis and economic boom, a new hiring trend emerged — handing entry-level workers $100,000-plus salaries before their careers had even begun. I looked into the macro-economic factors powering the trend, and its potential repercussions.

My story was included in the BBC’s weekly ‘Essential List’ round-up.

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I profiled the digital nomad: remote workers who base themselves in exotic destinations across the world.

Here, I explored the ancient city of Tulum, Mexico; home to Maya ruins, Insta-perfect beaches, speedy Wi-Fi and a flourishing digital nomad community who work from anywhere.

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As the world went into ‘Quiet Quitting’ hysteria, I reported on the Gen Z-driven, TikTok-accelerated trend with a wider lens — speaking to a young worker who’d quiet quit their job, while using data and expert interviews to show what this term’s popularity said about the workplace today.

This truly was a global story – I was interviewed about it on Korean channel Arirang TV.

E-cigarettes were supposed to be for hardened smokers trying to wean themselves off tobacco – but then Juuls became a lifestyle accessory for Gen Z. Now, a surge in US deaths is leading to a big rethink over the safety of vaping.

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As everyone’s working hours crept up in the remote working era, I took a deep dive into how unpaid overtime had become part of the job — long before we began WFH.

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As workouts from home boomed, I spoke to British fitness royalty Joe Wicks about how technology was innovating training for millions stuck indoors. I also looked at how Big Tech’s growing foothold in the market could impact UK startups and trainers.

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The Great Resignation of the pandemic era didn’t just see millions of workers switch jobs — but careers, too. I spoke to workers who’d shaken up their 9-to-5, and experts on what this phenomenon said about work in the post-pandemic era.

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All smiles, step-overs and dance moves, Jesse Lingard became one of the poster boys – and star players – of England’s semi-final run at the 2018 World Cup. Before the heroics in Russia, I profiled the Three Lions forward and explored the modern day footballer’s place in society: the media training, the Insta posts and Fornite goal celebrations.

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Be it Nigeria’s USA 94-inspired kit, the rebirth of geometric patterns or fans wearing them as a fashion statement, Nineties football shirts are everywhere. It’s fuelled a roaring business in replica kit – I spoke to the biggest traders for The Face.

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For WIRED’s May-June issue, I spoke to the bright mind behind Litho: a controller which, harnessing the power of AR, can transform a TikToker into a CGI whiz.

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The article was later translated and published on WIRED Japan.

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For WIRED’s May-June issue – in a rare interview – I spoke to the chief product officer of Netflix about the streaming giant’s latest tool to keep eyeballs hooked: Play Something.

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Vince Staples was doing press for his new (and very good) album Big Fish Theory. So, I asked him his favourite Pixar films. He weighed in on Woody vs Buzz, the inherent tragedy of Disney and why he hates Marlin from Finding Nemo.

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Before coronavirus plunged Britain into lockdown, I profiled the new wave of indoor DIY workouts, powered by cool, new technologies in fitness.

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In Wired’s Jan-Feb 2020 issue, I profiled the Gloucestershire studio that’s churning out props for Hollywood blockbusters – thanks to a robotic arm and a tonne of polystyrene.

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He threatened to kill me before I could get my first question out. Then we chatted Seinfeld, the Secret Service, and anti-politics. We got on well in the end.

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In March 2016, Anthony Joshua was deep into training camp for his maiden world title fight. I sat down with the future heavyweight champ and profiled Britain’s other 11 world belt-holders.

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Notorious cinephobe (and ex-England striker) Michael Owen had claimed he’d only seen ten movies, ever. So, I asked him to review each one of them. Six of them were Rocky films.

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Footy fans are a noisy, passionate bunch – but their support often boils over into abuse. I asked ex-pros and experts about the devastating psychological toll it can take on players.

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Kano to Eskimo, Rinse to Novelist: I spoke to the biggest MCs and rounded up the names-to-drop for a comprehensive three-page primer on the rising 2016 UK grime wave.

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Before he became a cryptocurrency king, 50 Cent was just your ordinary rapper-turned-actor. I asked him about jewellery shopping with Floyd Mayweather and his fondness for dinosaurs.

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Very few operate a glittering array of switches for their day job. So I asked a famous spaceman, an F-16 fighter pilot and a Le Mans-winning racing car driver, ‘What does that button do?’

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