He spent several years "writing humor pieces, essays, and stories for leading newspapers and magazines," including "The New Yorker", "Harper's", and "The Atlantic"; his first paid, published piece was in 1976 for "The Village Voice". In 1981, his book of satiric letters, "Modest Proposals", was published by St. Martin's Press. In 1989, his collection of humor pieces, "Diary of a Flying Man", was published by Knopf. In 2002 "The Good, the Bad, & the Difference: How to Tell Right from Wrong in Everyday Situations" was published by Doubleday. His book "Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything" was released by Chronicle Books in August 2012.