Rose Cahalan
@rosecahalan.bsky.social
Senior editor at 5280 Magazine. Alum of @TexasMonthly, @TexasObserver, @TheAlcalde, and @RiceUniversity.
Nineteen years after Michelle Vanek vanished on a Colorado mountain, she appeared in a rescue volunteer's dream with a message: Send a team of women to find me.
I really loved editing this longread, by the talented Heather Hansman, for 5280
www.5280.com/she-disappea...
I really loved editing this longread, by the talented Heather Hansman, for 5280
www.5280.com/she-disappea...
She Vanished on a Colorado Mountain. 19 Years Later, a Mysterious Dream Helped Rescuers Find Her.
Michelle Vanek disappeared on Mt. of the Holy Cross in 2005, setting off the largest search for a missing hiker in state history. The trail went cold—until an all-women team reopened the case.
www.5280.com
September 2, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Nineteen years after Michelle Vanek vanished on a Colorado mountain, she appeared in a rescue volunteer's dream with a message: Send a team of women to find me.
I really loved editing this longread, by the talented Heather Hansman, for 5280
www.5280.com/she-disappea...
I really loved editing this longread, by the talented Heather Hansman, for 5280
www.5280.com/she-disappea...
Reposted by Rose Cahalan
Are beavers a nuisance or a necessity? Here’s why Colorado wildlife officials are wading into the debate.
Are beavers a nuisance or a necessity? Here’s why Colorado wildlife officials are wading into the debate.
You think the fight over wolves has been fierce? Let’s talk for a minute about declaring beavers a “keystone” species in Colorado.
coloradosun.com
August 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Are beavers a nuisance or a necessity? Here’s why Colorado wildlife officials are wading into the debate.
This story is a must-read, devastating as it is. I can't fathom how anyone can continue to use AI chatbots in good conscience
The exchanges between Adam and ChatGPT are devastating. This, in my mind, is the worst one.
One of his last messages was a photo of the noose hung in his bedroom closet, asking if it was "good." ChatGPT offered a technical analysis of the set up and told him it 'could potentially suspend a human."
One of his last messages was a photo of the noose hung in his bedroom closet, asking if it was "good." ChatGPT offered a technical analysis of the set up and told him it 'could potentially suspend a human."
August 26, 2025 at 5:26 PM
This story is a must-read, devastating as it is. I can't fathom how anyone can continue to use AI chatbots in good conscience
Reposted by Rose Cahalan
"Google’s AI summaries are cratering traffic and rewiring the web. In schools, ChatGPT hasn’t just killed the student essay; it seems to be threatening basic building blocks of human cognition."
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event
Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.
www.theatlantic.com
August 19, 2025 at 3:26 PM
"Google’s AI summaries are cratering traffic and rewiring the web. In schools, ChatGPT hasn’t just killed the student essay; it seems to be threatening basic building blocks of human cognition."
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
"We won the dinosaur lottery."
Always a treat to edit @asherelbein.bsky.social! He spoke with the "incredibly lucky" scientist who helped unearth a 67M-year-old dinosaur fossil from beneath Denver's science museum, denvermuseumns.bsky.social:
www.5280.com/dinosaur-fos...
Always a treat to edit @asherelbein.bsky.social! He spoke with the "incredibly lucky" scientist who helped unearth a 67M-year-old dinosaur fossil from beneath Denver's science museum, denvermuseumns.bsky.social:
www.5280.com/dinosaur-fos...
“Incredible Luck”: How Paleontologists Found a Dinosaur Fossil Under the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
“We won the dinosaur lottery,” says curator James Hagadorn, who helped ID the 67.5-million-year-old bit of bone.
www.5280.com
July 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
"We won the dinosaur lottery."
Always a treat to edit @asherelbein.bsky.social! He spoke with the "incredibly lucky" scientist who helped unearth a 67M-year-old dinosaur fossil from beneath Denver's science museum, denvermuseumns.bsky.social:
www.5280.com/dinosaur-fos...
Always a treat to edit @asherelbein.bsky.social! He spoke with the "incredibly lucky" scientist who helped unearth a 67M-year-old dinosaur fossil from beneath Denver's science museum, denvermuseumns.bsky.social:
www.5280.com/dinosaur-fos...
"The phone dropped, and then screaming."
I spoke with search and rescue volunteer Jake Smith about how a 40-person team pulled off the highest-altitude helicopter hoist rescue in Colorado history, including a near-fatal lightning strike that happened during the call:
www.5280.com/torreys-peak...
I spoke with search and rescue volunteer Jake Smith about how a 40-person team pulled off the highest-altitude helicopter hoist rescue in Colorado history, including a near-fatal lightning strike that happened during the call:
www.5280.com/torreys-peak...
“The Phone Dropped, And Then Screaming”: Saving Two Hikers, One Struck by Lightning, in a Record-Setting Rescue
Alpine Rescue Team member Jake Smith explains how more than 40 people came together to save two hikers stranded on Torreys Peak.
www.5280.com
June 30, 2025 at 5:08 PM
"The phone dropped, and then screaming."
I spoke with search and rescue volunteer Jake Smith about how a 40-person team pulled off the highest-altitude helicopter hoist rescue in Colorado history, including a near-fatal lightning strike that happened during the call:
www.5280.com/torreys-peak...
I spoke with search and rescue volunteer Jake Smith about how a 40-person team pulled off the highest-altitude helicopter hoist rescue in Colorado history, including a near-fatal lightning strike that happened during the call:
www.5280.com/torreys-peak...
Since 2019, the number of Kroger-owned stores has stayed about the same, but 10% fewer employees, each working 10% fewer hours, now staff them.
The result? Massive food waste, overcharging, and unsafe conditions, King Soopers workers told me. My latest in 5280:
www.5280.com/king-soopers...
The result? Massive food waste, overcharging, and unsafe conditions, King Soopers workers told me. My latest in 5280:
www.5280.com/king-soopers...
King Soopers Is so Bad, Some of Its Own Workers Won’t Shop There
Grocery workers told 5280 that understaffing is so severe that they often can’t put food on the shelves before it spoils, let alone keep up with changing expired price tags.
www.5280.com
June 10, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Since 2019, the number of Kroger-owned stores has stayed about the same, but 10% fewer employees, each working 10% fewer hours, now staff them.
The result? Massive food waste, overcharging, and unsafe conditions, King Soopers workers told me. My latest in 5280:
www.5280.com/king-soopers...
The result? Massive food waste, overcharging, and unsafe conditions, King Soopers workers told me. My latest in 5280:
www.5280.com/king-soopers...
The shroom boom is coming to Colorado, and it's a new Wild West. Fascinating, funny, mind-expanding feature by my colleague @milehighrobert.bsky.social, who microdosed in the name of journalism!
"Colorado’s psychedelic movement has not only been supported by clinicians and policymakers, but it’s also increasingly embraced by private capital financiers, wellness gurus, wine moms, and tech bros."
@milehighrobert.bsky.social for 5280:
www.5280.com/i-tried-magi...
@milehighrobert.bsky.social for 5280:
www.5280.com/i-tried-magi...
I Tried Magic Mushrooms for My Mental Health. Here’s What Happened.
In Colorado, scientists are looking to bring psychedelic mushrooms to the masses. Could their purported healing properties help me?
www.5280.com
June 3, 2025 at 10:32 PM
The shroom boom is coming to Colorado, and it's a new Wild West. Fascinating, funny, mind-expanding feature by my colleague @milehighrobert.bsky.social, who microdosed in the name of journalism!
A great tribute to a Texas journalism legend. When I worked at the Observer, Ronnie would often stop by the office to do some writing and regale us with wild, meandering stories. He paved the way.
Ronnie Dugger, founding editor and longtime publisher of the Texas Observer and for many years the crusading conscience of the progressive movement in Texas and beyond, died of complications of dementia at a hospice center in Austin on May 27. He was 95.
Ronnie Dugger, 1930-2025
The Observer's crusading founding editor—a profilific author and agitator who helped animate the spirit of a true Texas liberalism—has died at 95.
www.texasobserver.org
May 27, 2025 at 3:54 PM
A great tribute to a Texas journalism legend. When I worked at the Observer, Ronnie would often stop by the office to do some writing and regale us with wild, meandering stories. He paved the way.
This flamboyant Colorado bird has one of the best mating dances in the animal kingdom. But fewer than 4,000 Gunnison sage-grouse remain, and advocates say changes to the Endangered Species Act could drive them to extinction.
My latest:
www.5280.com/gunnison-sag...
My latest:
www.5280.com/gunnison-sag...
Can One of Colorado’s Rarest Birds Survive the Trump Administration?
The Gunnison sage-grouse has lost 90 percent of its habitat. Impending changes to the Endangered Species Act could finish it off.
www.5280.com
May 19, 2025 at 7:09 PM
This flamboyant Colorado bird has one of the best mating dances in the animal kingdom. But fewer than 4,000 Gunnison sage-grouse remain, and advocates say changes to the Endangered Species Act could drive them to extinction.
My latest:
www.5280.com/gunnison-sag...
My latest:
www.5280.com/gunnison-sag...
Rattlesnake moms support each other by "babysitting" their babies, scientists studying a snake mega-den in Colorado have learned 🐍 www.5280.com/surprising-f...
4 Ssssurprising Facts About That Viral Colorado Rattlesnake Mega Den
1. Rattlesnake moms babysit each other’s pups. 2. Every snake has a one-of-a-kind color pattern, like a fingerprint—and more.
www.5280.com
April 30, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Rattlesnake moms support each other by "babysitting" their babies, scientists studying a snake mega-den in Colorado have learned 🐍 www.5280.com/surprising-f...
I'm such a sucker for when an interviewee says "That's a great question."
Even though I usually know my question wasn't that good...it's so nice to hear 😂
Even though I usually know my question wasn't that good...it's so nice to hear 😂
April 29, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I'm such a sucker for when an interviewee says "That's a great question."
Even though I usually know my question wasn't that good...it's so nice to hear 😂
Even though I usually know my question wasn't that good...it's so nice to hear 😂
Reposted by Rose Cahalan
The latest victim of Trump cuts? Beetles keeping an invasive plant at bay in Colorado
The latest victim of Trump cuts? Beetles keeping an invasive plant at bay in Colorado
A coalition using root-eating beetles to control invasive leafy spurges has been cut off from its federal grant money, putting the program, and the Yampa River watershed, in jeopardy
coloradosun.com
April 29, 2025 at 1:42 PM
The latest victim of Trump cuts? Beetles keeping an invasive plant at bay in Colorado
More than fifty years ago, a University of Colorado professor vanished under suspicious circumstances. The Cold War mystery has never been solved—and a new exhibit lets visitors play detective. www.5280.com/thomas-riha-...
Who Killed Thomas Riha? A New Exhibit Explores One of Colorado’s Coldest Cases
More than fifty years ago, a University of Colorado Boulder professor named Thomas Riha vanished. The Cold War mystery has never been solved.
www.5280.com
April 24, 2025 at 6:33 PM
More than fifty years ago, a University of Colorado professor vanished under suspicious circumstances. The Cold War mystery has never been solved—and a new exhibit lets visitors play detective. www.5280.com/thomas-riha-...
"Don't f— with moms."
Wrote about Colorado's @pettersen.house.gov, her record of advocating for working parents in her home state, and why she brought her nine-week-old to the House floor this week:
www.5280.com/colorado-rep...
Wrote about Colorado's @pettersen.house.gov, her record of advocating for working parents in her home state, and why she brought her nine-week-old to the House floor this week:
www.5280.com/colorado-rep...
A Colorado Representative Just Scored a Rare Win for Working Moms in Congress
The Colorado Rep is leading a bipartisan effort to let new parents in Congress vote remotely—all while holding her nine-week-old son.
www.5280.com
April 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
"Don't f— with moms."
Wrote about Colorado's @pettersen.house.gov, her record of advocating for working parents in her home state, and why she brought her nine-week-old to the House floor this week:
www.5280.com/colorado-rep...
Wrote about Colorado's @pettersen.house.gov, her record of advocating for working parents in her home state, and why she brought her nine-week-old to the House floor this week:
www.5280.com/colorado-rep...
Gondolas in Denver?!
For my first 5280 Magazine byline, I asked urban planning experts if a new proposal to build an aerial tram over downtown could really lift off. (Answer: probably not, but hey, at least we're dreaming big.)
www.5280.com/could-gondol...
For my first 5280 Magazine byline, I asked urban planning experts if a new proposal to build an aerial tram over downtown could really lift off. (Answer: probably not, but hey, at least we're dreaming big.)
www.5280.com/could-gondol...
Could Gondolas Really Soar Over Denver? We Asked the Experts
Transportation gurus weigh in on whether the bold new plan for an aerial tram downtown is a flight of fancy—or if it stands a chance of lifting off.
www.5280.com
April 1, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Gondolas in Denver?!
For my first 5280 Magazine byline, I asked urban planning experts if a new proposal to build an aerial tram over downtown could really lift off. (Answer: probably not, but hey, at least we're dreaming big.)
www.5280.com/could-gondol...
For my first 5280 Magazine byline, I asked urban planning experts if a new proposal to build an aerial tram over downtown could really lift off. (Answer: probably not, but hey, at least we're dreaming big.)
www.5280.com/could-gondol...
On March 24, I'll join 5280 Magazine in Denver as senior editor. I'll be ~75% writing, 25% editing in this role—a longtime dream. Couldn't be more excited for this new adventure at an ambitious, creative, ASME-winning magazine I've long admired!
February 24, 2025 at 9:43 PM
On March 24, I'll join 5280 Magazine in Denver as senior editor. I'll be ~75% writing, 25% editing in this role—a longtime dream. Couldn't be more excited for this new adventure at an ambitious, creative, ASME-winning magazine I've long admired!
It's my last day at @texasmonthly.bsky.social. I'm so grateful for an amazing five years at one of the best magazines in the nation, with some of the smartest, kindest journalists around. You can apply for my job here! It's a good one. www.texasmonthly.com/about/jobs-a...
Jobs and Internships
Since 1973, Texas Monthly has chronicled life in contemporary Texas, reporting on vital issues such as politics, criminal justice, the environment,
www.texasmonthly.com
February 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
It's my last day at @texasmonthly.bsky.social. I'm so grateful for an amazing five years at one of the best magazines in the nation, with some of the smartest, kindest journalists around. You can apply for my job here! It's a good one. www.texasmonthly.com/about/jobs-a...
Kerrville flies under the radar a bit as a Texas travel destination, but dang, is it a lovely place. I was lucky enough to spend a near-perfect weekend there for this story www.texasmonthly.com/travel/kerrv...
Kerrville Is the New Kerrville
Planning a trip for the Folk Festival? Here’s where to stay, eat, and explore while you’re in town.
www.texasmonthly.com
February 7, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Kerrville flies under the radar a bit as a Texas travel destination, but dang, is it a lovely place. I was lucky enough to spend a near-perfect weekend there for this story www.texasmonthly.com/travel/kerrv...
Reposted by Rose Cahalan
Thank you @dansolomon.com for this impassioned and necessary defense of Y’ALL www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/... @texasmonthly.bsky.social
The New York Times Denounced “Y’all.” We’d Like a Word.
Is this even really a debate?
www.texasmonthly.com
December 7, 2024 at 2:54 PM
Thank you @dansolomon.com for this impassioned and necessary defense of Y’ALL www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/... @texasmonthly.bsky.social
New bee alert 🐝
The blue-tinged, solitary species was first spotted near Del Rio in 1987, but its identity remained a mystery until now, writes Chris Collins www.texasmonthly.com/travel/new-n...
The blue-tinged, solitary species was first spotted near Del Rio in 1987, but its identity remained a mystery until now, writes Chris Collins www.texasmonthly.com/travel/new-n...
New Bee, Who Dis? A Shy, Solitary Insect Is Discovered in Texas
The identity of this reclusive species was a mystery that took decades to solve.
www.texasmonthly.com
December 2, 2024 at 8:30 PM
New bee alert 🐝
The blue-tinged, solitary species was first spotted near Del Rio in 1987, but its identity remained a mystery until now, writes Chris Collins www.texasmonthly.com/travel/new-n...
The blue-tinged, solitary species was first spotted near Del Rio in 1987, but its identity remained a mystery until now, writes Chris Collins www.texasmonthly.com/travel/new-n...
The other day, I saw dozens of butterflies flitting around a mistflower and wondered why they go so crazy for that plant. Molly Glentzer found the answer 🦋 www.texasmonthly.com/travel/mistf...
November 21, 2024 at 3:11 PM
The other day, I saw dozens of butterflies flitting around a mistflower and wondered why they go so crazy for that plant. Molly Glentzer found the answer 🦋 www.texasmonthly.com/travel/mistf...
Reposted by Rose Cahalan
All of our journalists, editors, copy editors, and more, in one place. 🤠
Give our starter pack a follow: go.bsky.app/6aWUdXw
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November 13, 2024 at 8:12 PM
All of our journalists, editors, copy editors, and more, in one place. 🤠
Give our starter pack a follow: go.bsky.app/6aWUdXw
Give our starter pack a follow: go.bsky.app/6aWUdXw