What was your first job as a journalist?
obit desk
Have you ever used a typewriter?
yes
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
William Boot
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
I ignore 99.99999% of all pitches. The emails I read come from scientists and researchers.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I record all my interviews and then upload them to Otter.ai to get a transcript. Love it! Also skype, ecamm, Google Docs, MS Office, etc
What's your favorite social network?
probably Twitter
Who do you wish followed you?
Any figure I plan to profile. That way I could DM them
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
no
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
I'm most proud of our docu film Maisha. But my Long Read pieces are what probably generated the most buzz
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
read a lot, and write a lot. you'll get better after your 10,000th byline
When's the best time to pitch you?
how's never?
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
too numerous to name. it's a daily scourge
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I subscribe to Economist, New Yorker, NYT, Guardian, The Atlantic, London Review of Books... I'm a big fan of Dave Pell's NextDraft newslettr
