Maggie BenZvi is a contributing editor for Coffee or Die. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago, a master’s degree in human rights from Columbia University, and has worked for the ACLU as well as the International Rescue Commitee. She has also completed a summer journalism program at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. In addition to her work at Coffee or Die, she’s a stay at home mom and contributor to the UNspoiled network of podcasts. Notably, she doesn’t drink coffee.
Editor’s Note: In the interest of accurately reporting the events of Spc. Guillen’s murder, we have included details in this article that may be upsetting to some readers. While the command at Fort Hood remains steadfast in their refusal to ...
The search for missing soldier Vanessa Guillén appears to have come to a tragic end on Tuesday, when human remains were found in a shallow grave near the Leon River 25 miles from Killeen, Texas. Private First Class Guillén, who was 20 years old, ...
Major Richard Star loved to run. A U.S. Army reservist for 28 years and 10 months, Star served almost 15 of those years of active duty, starting with Operation Desert Storm. “I just enjoyed running,” Star said. “And you breathe in deeply, ...
When Private First Class Vanessa Guillén disappeared on April 22, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas, sprang into action. Five-hundred soldiers a day were searching around the base, and the 1st Cavalry Regiment provided over 100 hours of ...
A newly minted West Point graduate, Alix Idrache was not expecting May 24, 2016, to be a particularly exceptional day. “I was having a regular day. I just graduated, I’m really happy,” he said. But then he logged on to his Facebook account — “I had ...
If you’ve watched, read, or listened to anything made by Black Rifle Coffee Company, you can rest assured Logan Stark has had a hand in its creation. One of the company’s OGs, Stark is the Editor in Chief of BRCC and oversees all content from ...
Erin Scanlon never expected to become the face behind a proposed Congressional bill. All she did was attend a party in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Sept. 9, 2016. “There was this nonprofit that had this event,” said Scanlon. ...
The world of podcasts is a wide and varied one. Offerings have nearly doubled over the last two years — and with more than 900,000 podcasts to choose from, there's sure to be one to match the tastes and interests of the more than 50 percent of ...
Black Rifle Coffee Company has earned a reputation for its commitment to the well-being of veterans, first responders, and active duty military. From cooperating with OSD on its supply drops to partnering with Leupold Optics to engage donors for the ...
Outperform Serve and Develop, or OSD, is a nonprofit organization that has made a name for itself by providing gaming consoles to actively deployed service members. This month, the organization has been presented with a huge opportunity from ...
You know, we were supposed to numb you.” The thought had clearly just occurred to him. I started to panic. “Has that not happened?” He laughed. “That has not happened.” Shit, I thought. It’s officially too late. Andre ...
In a small, dead-end valley in Springfield, Oregon, on Camp Creek, three generations of the Petersen family still work the ranch they have owned since 1941. Over the decades, despite the majority of the land being devoted to a variety of things ...
John Croft is no stranger to the art of leadership. His entire adult life, people have looked up to him. At the beginning of his 26-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps (“26 years, 10 months, nine days,” he specified with pride), he earned the ...
In high school, Jordan Way played football and lacrosse, as well as participating in ballroom dancing. He worked with the school’s Best Buddies program, partnering with special needs students in a mentoring capacity. “One of our nicknames for him was ...
Last Christmas, we gave you a list of the very best coffee moments in movie history. The term “very best” was contested by a number of readers, who scoffed at some of our choices. This year, we’ve listened to the gripes and watched a few more films ...
Evan Hafer, the founder and CEO of Black Rifle Coffee Company, was suspicious. He was holding staff meetings every two days, being told that their in-house fulfillment center was only a few shipments behind, and yet customer ...
On November 2, a team of gamers partnered with Black Rifle Coffee Company and Leupold Optics for a charity Twitch livestream to raise money for the Boot Campaign. Over the course of 10 hours playing “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” the streamers ...
If you’ve ever watched a video or seen an ad from Black Rifle Coffee Company, you’ve seen the work and style of co-founder Jarred Taylor. “Everything is devoted to creation,” Taylor said, describing his overall philosophy. “So every piece of time, it ...
U.S. Army Major Lisa Jaster hadn’t necessarily been one to make waves during her military career when her sergeant major approached her with an unexpected suggestion in 2015. “I really feel like the military has given me a ton of amazing ...
U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Richard Stayskal never intended to be an activist. “I liked being a nobody in the quiet,” Stayskal said. But his career as a Green Beret has been interrupted as he balances battling stage 4 lung cancer and crusading on ...
The smell was insistent and abhorrent, the sting of burning metal filling my nostrils. Walking up from the subway at an unfamiliar station, I emerged into a cloud of dust so thick that I could barely see the man standing next to me. I was completely ...
Being a double-amputee doesn’t mean you can’t find your place in the agricultural world — and for Alex Jauregui, that place is as a beekeeper. Jauregui served for 11 years in the U.S. Army and deployed four times — twice to Iraq and twice to ...
In the eyes of this butcher, the craft of cutting and selling meat is making a comeback, and he couldn’t be happier that its role in human history is being celebrated. “Butchering is the second oldest profession known to mankind,” said Paul ...
On top of being a physically demanding job, carpentry is more of a visual process than most people realize. When you throw in the extreme weather often found in the northeast United States, it takes a special kind of person to excel in this line of ...
His service in the U.S. Marine Corps was key to this industrial inspector and entrepreneur’s career. Jay Locatelli was in a Marine Recon unit from 1998 to 2000, stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. He started his own industrial inspection ...
Dilan Call has been an electrician for 11 years, and currently works out of the Local 490 union in Concord, New Hampshire. While being an electrician isn’t always an easy job, Call sees it as a key component to the American economy, and he’s ...
Even after a residential blaze gave him third-degree burns, firefighting was a lifestyle Arron Williams couldn't leave behind. He got hooked after going on a ride-along in high school, and now going into his seventh year with his local Fire ...
More than anything, metal fabrication is a profession that requires precision and care. Those who perform the job start with large pieces of metal, and then cut, weld, burn, machine, and form them into a final product. That product could be anything ...
Welding is strenuous work, but creating something with your own hands is inherently satisfying. There are many different types of products that welders have a hand in creating. For welder Travis Kasperson, who creates agricultural implements such ...
The mix of art and craft keeps this blacksmith of 20 years going. Jonathan Rummel, owner/operator of Hand Forged Works in North Andover, Massachusetts, sees himself as both an artisan and a craftsman. “I think there’s a fine line between the ...
