Spring in Paris

I've had a strangely busy first half of the year. Here's what I've been writing:

For NPR, I covered the fire at the Notre Dame cathedral from my perch in Paris. The web piece briefly led the entire NPR.org homepage. I also appeared on Morning Edition to discuss the piece with Steve Inskeep. You can listen below.

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This spring I landed my first-ever magazine cover story. Michigan Alumnus let me profile Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez-Soto, who has been seeking asylum in the U.S. for ten years and recently completed a Knight-Wallace fellowship in Ann Arbor. The piece captured the attention of the National Press Club; Washington Post columnist and former Iran prisoner Jason Rezaian; and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, all of whom have advocated for Gutiérrez’s asylum.

It's unbelievable that this Mexican journalist, a Knight-Wallace fellow at @UMich is facing deportation. To continue denying his asylum request is incredible miscarriage of justice. https://t.co/Bqk0HbUEG7

— Jason Rezaian (@jrezaian) March 10, 2019

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I made my debut in Next Avenue, a site for Americans over the age of 50 put on by Twin Cities Public Television (TPT). I've published two pieces for them so far:

• A Q&A on the Oscars with my longtime mentor Bob Mondello, film critic for NPR’s All Things Considered (this piece was cross-posted on ReWire, TPT's sister site geared toward young professionals)
• A reported piece exploring why so many Americans over 65 shared fake news on Facebook during the 2016 election. The piece was cross-posted to PBS’ Facebook page and received over 700 comments, many of them some variation of "PBS is fake news".

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In March I wrapped up a 5-month contract assignment as a part-time editorial staffer with my old stomping grounds at Current. Some stories I covered for them:

• Controversies over a Rhode Island PBS host with a history of blackface and an episode of Finding Your Roots featuring a 2020 Presidential candidate
• A showdown between Car Talk and the company that used to manage its vehicle donation program
• Breaking the news of WNYC President Laura Walker’s planned exit from the organization
• WLRN in Miami maps out its own future
• A new collaboration between public radio stations in the Delmarva Peninsula
• New public TV innovations in 360-degree video and local livestreaming
• New reporting initiatives covering immigrant communities at Minnesota Public Radio and expanding an investigative team at Colorado Public Radio
• Postmortem on an Arkansas public radio initiative that fell apart
• News on a planned PBS theme park

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I also continued my work as an NPR film critic. There are a few reviews during this period I’m especially proud of:

• A dialogue with my friend and colleague Veronica Esposito regarding Girl, the controversial Belgian drama about a trans ballerina
• Breakdowns of every 2019 Oscar-nominated short film: Animated, Live-Action and Documentary
• Reviews of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, JT LeRoy, Hail Satan?, High Life, Out of Blue, Ferrante Fever, Mapplethorpe, Dear Ex, The Image Book, All These Small Moments, and Buffalo Boys

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And more's to come. Next week I head to the Cannes Film Festival -- my first time in Cannes -- so look for coverage of that coming soon. I'll be there as a correspondent for Jewish Currents, and may appear in other publications, as well.

I will be back in the U.S. for the month of June, and am tentatively scheduled to deliver a talk on freelance writing survival skills in Detroit on June 11. The talk will be held at the soon-to-open Detroit Writing Room, and will be the first event in the space. An Eventbrite page will post soon with ticket info. If you're in the area and want to attend, please stop by!

As always, if you want to get in touch with me, please use my site contact form. I am always looking for more paid writing and editing opportunities.