Foreign Correspondence

The Feel Good Episode of the Year! Bangladeshi photographer Ismail Ferdous (IG: ismailferdous) went from borrowing money to pay for a camera to his first paid project being published in the New Yorker. He lays out his philosophy of seeking the work that speaks to him and working on personal projects without thinking of where it will be published. Now a freelancer in New York City, he’s been published in a slew of big name publications and regularly works for National Geographic. We also discuss his experience with catching COVID-19.

Countries featured: Bangladesh, Syria, Turkey, United States

Publications featured: National Geographic, New Yorker, AP, New York Times, Instagram

Ismail discusses photographing the George Floyd BLM protests (4:34), his experience falling sick with COVID-19 (8:25), growing up in Bangladesh and discovering photography (16:16), his family’s eventual acceptance of his job as a photographer (26:04), his work on the deadly collapse of the Rana Plaza sweatshop (31:26), stories that never came together on HIV patients in Bangladesh and Syrian refugees (48:07), the rigorous process that is doing a story for NatGeo (54:10) and the lightning round (1:05:35).

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

Ismail’s work on climate change for New Yorker - https://bit.ly/2WY7ZSx

Ismail’s documentary The Deadly Cost of Fashion in New York Times - https://nyti.ms/2CONlxd

After Rana Plaza on Instagram - https://bit.ly/2WX4UCf

After Rana Plaza website - https://bit.ly/39uMQ7K

His NatGeo story on South Asian Americans - https://on.natgeo.com/3hALfjj

NPR podcast Rough Translation - https://n.pr/2ZXvzRo

John Berger’s book Ways of Seeing - https://amzn.to/2CE7xSI

Satyajit Ray wiki bio - https://bit.ly/2WTFi9u

The Opiod Diaries in Time magazine - https://bit.ly/2BAJ2VW

The documentary War Photographer - https://bit.ly/2D1nXEl

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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From covering covert arms deals under Chilean dictator Pinochet to seven-hour speeches by Fidel Castro, Anthony Boadle (@AnthonyBoadle) has written the first draft of Latin America’s history over recent decades. Not without risk - he’s been kicked out of a country (but allowed back), had his apartment broken into (likely by state security) and is familiar with being followed by government handlers. Now Reuters chief political correspondent for Brazil, he follows the wild ride of right-wing Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency.

Countries featured: Argentina, UK, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Canada, USA, Cuba

Publications featured: UPI, Reuters

Anthony discusses Bolsonaro’s impeachment prospects (2:38), his own early education and getting his start covering oil in Venezuela (5:53), joining UPI and moving to Chile under Pinochet (9:00), cloak/dagger with Chilean communists and getting expelled from the country (16:12), the story about Chilean cluster bombs sold to Iraq/Iran that got his apartment broken into (18:32), a close encounter with Pinochet (23:11), moving to Ottawa to cover Canadian politics (32:31), interviewing George W Bush in Washington (38:15), covering a rambling Fidel Castro and breaking the news of his illness (40:14), his "story that got away" on a faulty dengue vaccine in Brazil (53:22), his long family history in Latin America (1:00:33) and the lightning round (1:04:46)

Here are links to some of the things we talk about:

Anthony’s story on Bolsonaro keeping impeachment at bay - https://reut.rs/2W9OwOy

UPI on wikipedia - https://bit.ly/3iWru7h

WSJ’s The Soccer Match that Kicked Off Italy’s Coronavirus Disaster - https://on.wsj.com/3iW92M0

Fernando Gabeira bio on wikipedia - https://bit.ly/3ehtTpD

Four Days in September on IMDb - https://imdb.to/3gQUf3C

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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Roving the African continent to report the bloodiest conflicts is a far cry from being a polished news anchor, sitting behind a desk. Tomi Oladipo (@Tomi_Oladipo) has shown incredible range in his career working for the BBC for 12 years in Africa before becoming a news presenter for German broadcaster DW News in Berlin. Tomi discusses the toll of continually reporting on violence and reflects back on how he feels about many of those stories now.

Countries featured: Nigeria, Kenya, Germany, UK, Sudan

Publications featured: BBC, DW News

Tomi discusses working during coronavirus in Germany (1:30), his birth in the UK and tough times growing up in Nigeria (4:00), moving to Kenya to finish school and getting a taste of the world (10:16), working his way up as a BBC intern (17:17), returning to Nigeria and how he covered the rise of Islamic militants Boko Haram (22:30), expanding to cover conflicts all over Africa (37:26), what his work is like at DW News (40:04), missing out on Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe's downfall (45:05), covering the popular uprisings in Sudan that toppled the dictatorship (49:37) and finally the lightning round (53:54).

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

DW News website - https://bit.ly/3i7XBAu

African Writers Series of books - https://bit.ly/2CNcxUG

Tomi's story 'Has an internet blackout killed Sudan's revolution?' - https://bit.ly/2NznLhD

Hazardous handshakes and other indignities in the time of Ebola - https://bit.ly/2BgeSab

The Athletic's podcasts - https://bit.ly/31lzp7M

A Great Day in Harlem jazz documentary - https://bit.ly/3i7XMMa

Giant Steps by Kenny Mathieson - https://amzn.to/2BPzG8f

The Bang Bang Club - https://amzn.to/3dLfjGU

The Vulture and the Little Girl photo - https://bit.ly/2CI02JP

Photo of Tomi at Nairobi attack in the NYT - https://nyti.ms/3i6PDYz

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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Sometimes you have to get fired again and again (and again) to figure out your place in the world. Ed Clowes’ (@edclowes) story is not your common journalistic tale. Kids, don’t try this one at home. He gets fired for increasingly noble reasons though, ultimately getting kicked out of the city-state of Dubai. Be warned, despite the title of this episode, it is more about the Middle East than London.

Ed discusses bumbling his way through a series of London jobs (4:57), moving to Dubai for a magazine sales job but getting into the journalism side (6:43), getting fired from a job in PR (16:03), finding his feet again at the newspaper Gulf News only to get kicked out of the country (21:05), how censorship works in Dubai and how the government directed an anti-Trump shift at the paper (32:40), finding work in the UK and feelings on moving home after being away so long (38:34), delving into what it's like living in the classist, mixing pot of a shopping mall that is Dubai (43:11), what it's like working at The Telegraph (54:37) and end on the lightning round (1:01:45).

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

Ed's story about Uber in Dubai - https://bit.ly/3fg1alY

His story about JP Morgan report on climate change - https://bit.ly/2UEpnKM

Hot Ones interviews on Youtube - https://bit.ly/2zs3XJw

Full Size Run on Youtube - https://bit.ly/3e0Kv5F

Reuters story on UK coronavirus response - https://reut.rs/3cZilH1

NYT investigation into the taxi industry - https://nyti.ms/2lEESUF 

Ed's story Trump backer defends Saudi Arabia - https://bit.ly/37riuln

BBC's Jon Sopel on Twitter - https://bit.ly/3fg1mlc

His record label Everything Will Be OK - https://bit.ly/2XWaJRc

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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After public health got too depressing and following gorillas through the jungle proved monotonous, Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) turned to journalism. She quickly made a name for herself covering at civil unrest in Hong Kong, also doing a couple years' stretch working for the Vice News Tonight television show on HBO. She discusses her circuitous path in the industry that has taken her around the world and how after working in every medium she is increasingly focusing on photojournalism.

Laurel talks about hanging with the apes (8:24), getting her start at offbeat publication Coconuts in Hong Kong covering protests (16:26), landing her gig with Vice's HBO show (21:28), striking out as a freelancer and her thoughts on photojournalism (31:22), going into a New Zealand volcano only for the story not to pan out (39:13), producing a full-episode documentary for Vice on Chinese migrant workers, (43:12) and takes on the lightning round (49:23).

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

Laurel's website showcasing her work - https://bit.ly/3ckdcZA

Bangkok's "Mexican" Gangsters video - https://bit.ly/303TCi7

Vice News Tonight migrant worker documentary - https://bit.ly/2TUsRIM

Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina - https://amzn.to/2XEQSVq

Photojournalist Ami Vitale's website - https://bit.ly/3gNgMPE

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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How do you cover violence in a thoughtful way? Megan Crepeau (@crepeau) had plenty of time to chew that question over working the overnight beat at The Chicago Tribune, trawling the city with police scanners and looking for news. Now she brings that perspective to covering Chicago’s main criminal court, one of the busiest in the United States.

Megan talks about how the coronavirus outbreak is upending business as usual at the court and the associated jail (5:50), growing up in small town Idaho (11:45), Northwestern journalism school and early struggles with confidence (18:00), getting her foot in the door with The Chicago Tribune editorial board (24:36), writing a personal finance column for the Trib’s free commuter daily RedEye (29:08), covering violence thoughtfully on the overnight breaking news shift (35:05), the crazy story of a man representing his brother in a murder trial (48:00), how the court system failed to view mental health in a nuanced way in the case of a cop killing (52:46), her role helping the Tribune to unionize (1:01:16) and finally the lightning round (1:07:35)

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

Megan's story on man representing himself - https://bit.ly/3bpVsvs

Her story on the man's conviction - https://bit.ly/2LiKvBp

The Chicago Reader - https://bit.ly/2LgOEFN

Bon Appetit Youtube channel - https://bit.ly/3boXeNv

NYT’s Red Dawn coronavirus exposé - https://nyti.ms/2LkFyIk

Tony Briscoe (ex-Tribune Great Lakes reporter) on Twitter - https://bit.ly/2yLoFDX

Martha Gellhorn wiki - https://bit.ly/3cnZGVT

His Girl Friday on IMDb - https://imdb.to/2WZxwtZ

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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Aarti Betigeri (@pomegranitaa) takes us from Australia to India and back again, touching on some new publications like Monocle magazine and geographies like Sri Lanka along the way. She also keeps it real about the struggles of working in a media landscape dominated by Murdoch and seeking more rights for Australian freelance journalists. We also talk about her experience through the Australian bushfires.

Aarti discusses getting into broadcast journalism out of university and becoming a TV presenter (8:00), leaving that behind to move to India as a freelancer (12:07), working for Monocle magazine (21:04), moving back to Australia and the freelance scene there (28:53), Murdoch’s influence in Australia (34:48), the Australian bushfires (37:12), her "story that got away" about Maoist-controlled jungles of central India (40:25), writing about a Chinese-backed boondoggle of a port project in the boonies of Sri Lanka (50:28) and takes on the lightning round (57:00).

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

Aarti’s column on Covid, India and TV news - https://bit.ly/2VY9uQo

Her story on an Indian coffee roaster - https://bit.ly/3faqNFz

Centralia photo book on Maoist controlled central India - https://bit.ly/2WhFuOw

Aarti’s story on Sri Lankan port Hambantota - https://bit.ly/3bZlLKa

Her story about dealing with Australian bushfires - https://bit.ly/2xsd6AS

Her site with story back catalogue - https://bit.ly/3bYoqnb

Australian independent news site Crickey - https://bit.ly/2xrR5lG

NYT's A Royal Instagram Mystery - https://nyti.ms/2YskqYc

Taffy Brodesser-Akner's work - https://nyti.ms/3d8wIcr

Ed O’Laughlin's Not Untrue and Not Unkind - https://amzn.to/2Ss6YzQ

Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists - https://amzn.to/2xpM8d4

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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The world of Chinese high finance is actually way more stupid and ridiculous than you probably realize. Seriously, sometimes millions or billions of dollars change hands for relatively stupid reasons like, delivery coffee + China, what’s the worst that could go wrong? Pete Sweeney (@petesweeneypro), an opinion columnist for Reuters Breakingviews, gives us a crash course. Also discussed: You might think that journalists report just about everything, but there are many stories that don’t get reported, especially in China.

Pete discusses the strange corner of the world he lives in (2:06), leaving the U.S. to start a beer business in Ecuador (7:51), reinventing himself as a journalist in his 30s (14:20), working at China Economic Review (19:05), a major story in China that never made it into international news (26:05), joining Reuters to cover the huge boom/bust of the Chinese stock market (41:19), his transition to opinion writing (52:57) and takes on the lightning round (1:01:19).

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

Pete’s column about Luckin Coffee - https://bit.ly/3alhizC

His column about Xinjiang - https://reut.rs/2KkjtJa

Caixin’s English language edition - https://bit.ly/3cysYAz

Archillect on Instagram - https://bit.ly/2XO22c6

Arts & Letters Daily - https://bit.ly/34MRQSB

Thucydides wiki - https://bit.ly/3ezqEew

Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between - https://amzn.to/2ymDgVQ

Pete’s op-ed on raising a pig (page 13) - https://bit.ly/2KgCa0t

BBC TV show Press on IMDb - https://imdb.to/3bm16j8

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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Megha Rajagopalan (@meghara) brings top-notch investigative journalism to Buzzfeed - yes, the site that rose to prominence based on listicles. She installed Buzzfeed’s first bureau in Beijing, only to be kicked out of the country after revealing the depths of China’s police state. Reporting on surveillance and human rights has been the hallmark of her career, from writing about Myanmar’s opening up to following around Filipino police officers committing atrocities.

We talk about the questionable endeavor that is pursuing a journalism degree (5:08), cutting her teeth covering politics for Reuters in Beijing (14:22), starting Buzzfeed’s bureau in China (24:00), her bombshell story on China’s muslim internment camps and getting kicked out of China (29:30), moving to Israel and then London (41:19), missing out on a trip to Tibet and her prospects for ever returning to China (44:17), her story on U.S. government funding for Filipino police committing atrocities in their war on drugs (50:54), and she takes on the lightning round (58:45).

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

My exclusive about Brazil’s environmental protections under coronavirus - https://reut.rs/2WQbRFN

My story on Brazil meat exports to China stalling under coronovirus - https://reut.rs/2x66jwq

Steve Coll’s Private Empire: Exxonmobil and American power - https://amzn.to/3bMAuHG

Michael Lewis essay J-School Confidential - https://buff.ly/39Yx1Vn

Megha’s story about Xinjiang internment camps - https://bit.ly/2waFzdM

Her story about US-support for Philippines atrocities - https://bit.ly/348bnN8

David Sanger’s The Perfect Weapon - https://amzn.to/2V1wpsr

Mike Forsythe on Twitter - https://bit.ly/2X4MO26

Rukmini Callimachi on Twitter - http://bit.ly/2Vfw7hz

Nikole Hannah-Jones on Twitter - https://bit.ly/39I9V55

John Hersey’s Hiroshima - https://amzn.to/3aMrQcq

Wall Street Journal’s Pulitzer-winning “9 to Nowhere” - https://bit.ly/3dUHTXC

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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"If you think it’s just fun, you’ve never interviewed Mick Jagger because that motherfucker will rip you into shreds." Freelance journalist Paul Schrodt (@paulschrodt) takes the podcast to a very different place, telling us what it’s like to report on the business of entertainment. He also got into digital journalism at a time when it was still the wild west but just starting to overtake print journalism, providing a window into that fascinating time.

Note: This is a special extended episode in light of coronavirus.

We talk about his transformation from "spacey kid" to journalist (5:25), our experience together in college when they were trying to teach "new media" (18:40), getting his start at Esquire.com when the online team had like 3 people (32:45), his turn at the pressure boiler startup Business Insider (40:00), striking out as a freelancer (50:13), deep thoughts on entertainment journalism (57:19), his story tracking down why movies you love might be nowhere on streaming (1:02:31), and we finish with the lightning round (1:15:43).

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:

The Chicago Reader website - https://bit.ly/2J3qQ7d

Business Insider - https://bit.ly/2WA9wiq

Paul's story on life insurance for Money magazine - https://bit.ly/3dnoG0b

His story on the horror streaming service Shudder - https://bit.ly/2QClN1Y

His story involving the Mick Jagger interview - https://bit.ly/2WyoghF

His story You Can't Stream Your Favorite Movie Anywhere - https://bit.ly/2y0A6qH

The movie Game Day on IMDb - https://imdb.to/3b93kBY

JustWatch.com - https://bit.ly/33E2SsE

FiveThirtyEight - https://53eig.ht/2y0Ag1h

Slate Political Gabfest podcast - https://bit.ly/2QC5MJd

Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking - https://amzn.to/3b93hpM

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Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats

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