Writing — Ryan Doan-Nguyen

Selected Writing

Scorched by history: Discriminatory past shapes heat wave survival in minority and low-income neighborhoods

Millions of Americans are facing major heat waves. But in cities, the heat hits hardest for low-income residents of color. What explains racial heat inequality, and how can we fix it? Revisiting history to address urban infrastructure shortfalls may be key.
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Napalm, Birthed in Harvard’s Basement

Napalm is one of history’s deadliest weapons. Reaching temperatures of more than 5,000 degrees, it adheres to skin and burns down to the bone. Through months of investigation, I’ve attempted to write my own history of napalm at Harvard.
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A Community in Healing: Monterey Park, 6 Months After the Shooting

More than six months later, San Gabriel Valley residents are still recovering from the shooting that night: minutes before being stopped by Tsay at Lai Lai, the 72-year-old assailant had killed 11 people at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park.
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‘The End of One Era’: Marching Toward a New Boston Pride

After years of mounting controversy, the Boston Pride organization dissolved last year — bringing an end to one of the oldest gay rights nonprofits in the United States and the parade it had been organizing for the past 50 years. What's next for Pride in Boston?
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The Black Box of Harvard’s Campus Police

In the pre-dawn hours of April 3, a false 911 call sent Harvard University Police officers equipped with assault rifles and riot gear into a suite occupied by four Black seniors — triggering a wave of scrutiny of the University’s private police force and its practices.
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Millions of Missing People: Seeking Southeast Asian Studies at Harvard

Faculty and students have long vocalized the need for an institutional home for Southeast Asian studies. But what’s at stake goes beyond just an administrative formality. At stake, ultimately, is the question of who belongs at a place like Harvard.
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Behind the Curtain of A.R.T.’s “Evita”

Eva Perón’s meteoric rise from humble origins to prominence immortalized her in popular culture. “But at the center of it, she was quite misunderstood from my own perspective,” said 24-year-old actress Shereen Pimentel, who stars in the titular role.
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When Wildfires Make Your Air Unhealthy

Following a week marked by ominous orange skies and record-breaking air pollution caused by raging wildfires in Canada, cities along the Eastern Seaboard find themselves facing a decline in air quality that may repeat itself throughout the summer.
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Standing Out, United: Harvard affinity celebrations honor graduates’ diverse journeys

Briana Acosta is used to sticking out. As “one of a handful” of low-income students on financial aid at her private high school in Houston and one of its only students of color, Acosta said she struggled with “really feeling out of place.”
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Minority athletes hope their Olympic journeys will sway intolerant hearts and minds

As the spotlight now shifts to the Paralympics, athletes like Edra shoulder not only their countries’ hopes for gold, but the responsibility of representing their identities and cultures, which spectators increasingly scrutinize.