Writer

Todd Ruffner-Schoenfeld

Editor in chief. A knack for the fine print, and likes it.

Todd Ruffner-Schoenfeld has spent his working life being handed things he did not yet understand. He started at the bottom, a developer in a bullpen, and worked his way up to running IT. The places were a strange assortment: consulting firms, accounting firms, a biotech startup, a tech startup in Silicon Valley and, of all places, Chiquita. Four small businesses of his own along the way. The work never really changed. Get into something unfamiliar, find out what is actually going on, and help someone make a hard decision with it. HeadLines Decoded is that job, pointed at the news.

Selected work

A printed page covered in red pen corrections on a desk beside reading glasses, a red pen and a cold cup of coffee

Society Why We Read Our Own Site Like Strangers We graded ourselves an A this week. The first thing the audit found was that the audit itself had quietly… 20 Jul 2026

An illustrated DNA double helix unspooling into a glowing clock face inside a stylized cell.

Series Parts Decode Your Wellbeing: Age Reversal Just Reached Human Trials. Here Is What Is Real. Age reversal left the petri dish and entered human trials this year. What that sentence does and does not mean. 20 Jul 2026

Waterfront view of the Philadelphia Navy Yard showing industrial cranes, piers, modern manufacturing buildings, and American flags flying under a blue sky

Business The $24 Million Bet on U.S. Shipbuilding: The Arsenal of Democracy Twenty-four million dollars aimed at reviving American shipbuilding. What that buys, and what it does not. 19 Jul 2026

Illustration of job seekers meeting recruiters across booth tables at a busy indoor Orlando hiring fair

Business Orlando Job Fair This Thursday July 23, 2026: Who’s Hiring and What the Local Market Looks Like Who is hiring in Orlando this Thursday, and what the roster of employers says about the local job market. 19 Jul 2026

Title card for the article: Halloween on the High Seas 2026: Disney Cruise Line Turns Fall Into a Floating Story

Disney Halloween on the High Seas 2026: Disney Cruise Line Turns Fall Into a Floating Story Disney Cruise Line turns autumn into a floating story. What Halloween on the High Seas is in 2026 and who… 19 Jul 2026

Painted illustration of oil tankers spread across a wide open seaway at dusk, a warship in the distance and a faint far shoreline on the horizon, evoking the Strait of Hormuz.

Business The U.S. Is Blockading Iran, and Both Sides Are Squeezing the Strait of Hormuz. Here’s What It Does to Your Gas Bill. A blockade in the Gulf and a chokepoint under pressure. The line from the Strait of Hormuz to the number… 15 Jul 2026

Title card for the article: The EPCOT Passholder Lounge Is Hidden and Worth Finding. The DVC Lounge Is RELAXING!

Disney The EPCOT Passholder Lounge Is Hidden and Worth Finding. The DVC Lounge Is RELAXING! Two lounges most guests walk straight past at EPCOT. Where they are, who gets in, and which one is worth… 15 Jul 2026

A painted illustration of a dark wooden cabinet. One shelf is lit by a shaft of warm gold light and holds a plain pillow, a worn running shoe, a glass of water and a wooden metronome. The shelves above and below fall away into deep navy shadow, stacked with folded blankets and a device with a glowing wavy line across it.

Health Nervous System Care Is the New Daily Essential The industry calls it neurowellness and it is the biggest wellness story of the year. Some of it holds up… 14 Jul 2026

Conceptual illustration representing the tension between upfront GLP-1 medication costs and longer-term health outcomes and medical cost savings for payers.

Health Insurers Say They ‘Can’t Afford’ Ozempic and Zepbound. What the Data on Healthier Patients and Cost Savings Actually Shows. Insurers say the new weight-loss drugs are unaffordable. The data on healthier patients tells a more complicated story. 10 Jul 2026

Title card for the article: The Truth Behind Young Washington: How One Young Man’s Mistake Helped Start a World War and Forged America’s First Leader

Culture The Truth Behind Young Washington: How One Young Man’s Mistake Helped Start a World War and Forged America’s First Leader One young officer's mistake in the Ohio Valley helped set off a world war, and made the man who would… 10 Jul 2026