His writing has appeared in Ars Technica, Washingtonian, MEL Magazine, Mental_Floss, TheAtlantic.com and Inside Climate News, and he reported from Brazil as part of an International Reporting Project fellowship. Plautz is a Cleveland native and graduated from Northwestern University, where he helped found the online magazine North By Northwestern. As a Scripps fellow, he will examine high levels of ozone and air pollution in Western states and how the Trump administration will address them.