Alex Lauer

Alex Lauer is the features editor at InsideHook. Since joining the company in 2016, he’s covered a wide range of topics, including cars, the environment, books and business. His reporting broke stories on the rise of Bookshop (the anti-Amazon online bookseller), the fall of Best Made Company (and sale to Duluth Trading) and the false promises of a supposedly “environmentally-friendly” NFT initiative. His hands-on methods — driving in a Sherp (of Kanye West fame) in northern Minnesota and idling in the electric Ford Mustang Mach-E for 12 hours in the middle of winter — offer a reliable and unique perspective on popular issues. Previously, he wrote for City Pages in the Twin Cities after graduating from the University of Minnesota. After starting at IH in New York City, he now lives in Minneapolis, MN. Follow him on Instagram: @alexlauer.

All Articles From Alex Lauer
A Promaster Dive Orca, Fujitsubo Automatic and Promaster Dive Automatic in green, all Citizen watches that are now for sale at Huckberry

A Japanese Watchmaking Titan Is Now Available at Huckberry

Citizen’s reliable dive watches and retro-styled curiosities are both on offer

Holding up a crispy piece of banana peel bacon. The fake meat recipe went viral, but is it any good?

Does Banana Peel Bacon Take Fake Meat a Step Too Far?

I cooked two versions of the viral, polarizing vegan recipe to find out

Three photos of lawn games, Molkyy in the upper left, kubb on the right and lawn bowling in the bottom left

How to Beat Your Friends at Every Lawn Game, According to the Pros

We asked champions in cornhole, Spikeball and more for one tip that’ll significantly improve your game

British soldiers in a trench at the Battle of the Somme in September 1916. “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien fought in the battle but eventually contracted trench fever.

How the Horror and Fellowship of WWI Shaped "Lord of the Rings"

As Amazon rolls out "The Rings of Power," historians explain the personal experience J.R.R. Tolkien brought to Middle-earth

A pictures of a sailboat in a digital photo frame from Aura Frames

The Best Gift I Gave This Year Was This Digital Photo Frame

They’re on sale for Labor Day, so feel free to steal my idea

An Caravel 20FB travel trailer from Airstream sits on a beach with string lights behind a Ram 1500 Limited truck. Here's how to win both from Omaze.

How to Win the Airstream of Your Dreams, Plus the Truck to Tow It

The Caravel trailer is the star, but the Ram 1500 is no slouch

Errol Musk, Elon Musk's father and South African engineer

Get to Know Errol Musk, Elon's "Brilliant," "Terrible" Father

Unpacking the emerald mine, his stepdaughter and other stories

A cutting board, set of cast iron cookware and espresso machine, all of which are on sale at Sur La Table's Overstock Sale

The 6 Best Kitchen Upgrades at Sur La Table’s Overstock Sale

Including one of the best deals on cast iron cookware we’ve ever seen

A blue Volkswagen ID.4 SUV, the electric vehicle Erika Gilsdorf took on her "What Fuels You" road trip

What It’s Really Like to Road Trip in an EV Across America

Erika Gilsdorf, who has put thousands of miles on a Volkswagen ID.4 SUV, shares the highs, lows and eccentricities of the electric experience

The Stainless Sets from Made In

The 5 Best Cookware Deals From Made In's Summer Sale

Score discounts on the brand's kitchen knives, carbon-steel pans and more

A stainless steel fry pan from All-Clad with a lid on a blue background

Want Huge Cookware Discounts on Prime Day? Head to All-Clad.

Score deals up to 74% off on nonstick sets, stainless steel pans and more

Shelves at a Phantom Fireworks store on the left side. On the right side, a fireworks factory in China.

It’s the Fourth of July. Do You Know Where Your Fireworks Came From?

A behind-the-scenes look at the little-known Chinese industry, from Jessi Dragoiu of Phantom Fireworks

An orange 2022 McLaren GT, which is currently being given away by Omaze. Here's why "the golfer's supercar" is the supercar you should want.

The Golfer’s Supercar: Making the Case for the Everyday McLaren

In the upper echelons of motoring, you may think you want an unbridled exotic, but you probably want a McLaren GT

A grilling skillet from Nexgrill with a red handle and holes in the stainless steel basket, pictured on a yellow background.

The One Grilling Tool You’re Missing Is a Skillet With Holes in the Bottom

This isn't your ordinary grill pan

Lightyear 0, the first production-ready solar-powered car. We take a look at the EV, which is expected to begin production in 2022.

We Finally Have a Price Tag for a Solar-Powered Car, And It’s Not Pretty

The Lightyear 0 is a giant leap for EV kind, but can it be more than a plaything for the rich?

Ron Simons, the Broadway and movie producer of SimonSays Entertainment, standing in front of a curtain. We spoke with him ahead of the 75th Annual Tony Awards in 2022 to talk about the racial reckoning on Broadway, his groundbreaking plays and the future of Black artists in the theater.

Ron Simons Talks Broadway’s “Banner Year” for People of Color

Ahead of the Tony Awards, the winningest Black producer talks about changing the "stark white" nature of theater, his groundbreaking shows this season and his biggest worry for the future