James Verini, a freelance writer based out of Nairobi, won the 2015 National Magazine Award for Feature Writing.

“That is probably the most alien, jarring thing about working in Africa: life is much cheaper. More to the point, death is very close to you. We're very removed from death here. Someone can die at 89 in their sleep here and it's called a tragedy. In Africa, I find that I'm often exposed to it. That's part of why I wanted to live there.”

Thanks to TinyLetter and Trunk Club for sponsoring this week's episode.

Show Notes:

jamesverini.com

Verini on Longform

[1:00] "Love and Ruin" (The Atavist Magazine • Feb 2014

[2:00] "Escape or Die: Capture by Somali Pirates" (New Yorker • Apr 2015)

[5:00] "Hostage Support Programme"

[9:00] @andrewmarantz

[10:00] "Close Your Heart" (Slate • Sep 2014)

[27:00] Homebody/Kabul (Tony Kushner)

[31:00] Verini's New York Observer archive

[32:00] "Will Success Spoil MySpace.com? " (Vanity Fair • Mar 2006)

[33:00] Verini's Portfolio archive

[34:00] "The Pirate Pose" (Tom Wolfe • Portfolio • Apr 2007)

[35:00] "Putin's Power Grab" (Portfolio • Nov 2007)

[40:00] Luke Mogelson's archive on Longform

[46:00] "The War for Nigeria" (National Geographic • Nov 2013)

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