She's a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, a Yale lecturer, and one of the most celebrated journalists working today. So why does Susan Dominus still feel like she's figuring it out? In a candid conversation with Maryam, Susan gets into the imposter syndrome that nearly stopped her from calling herself a writer, the sibling rivalry that quietly shaped her ambition, and the career regret she wishes she could go back and fix. Plus: what AI has changed about her reporting, why she thinks Substack isn't enough, and the advice she gives every student who wants to break into media. If you've ever played it safe when you knew you shouldn't have — this one's for you. 
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Key Moments

01:28 - The Psychology Behind the Byline 🧠
Susan explains why people tell journalists things they've never told anyone else, and why being truly seen is rarer than we think.

03:15 - The Bookish Kid Who Pretended to Read 📚
Susan paints a vivid picture of her Westchester childhood — the youngest of three, already pretending to read before she could, and processing her entire emotional life through books.

09:29 - The Piano Teacher Ultimatum ⏰
Her piano teacher forced a choice: piano or the school newspaper. Susan didn't hesitate for a second. 

13:07 - Imposter Syndrome at Yale 😰
Getting into Yale didn't cure the self-doubt — it deepened it. Susan opens up about feeling like a "pretty average suburban kid" surrounded by legacy admits, children of academics, and people she found genuinely intimidating.

14:25 - "I Couldn't Risk It" 😶
Susan admits she avoided Yale's competitive writing classes entirely, not because she wasn't interested, but because she was too afraid to find out she wasn't good enough. 

21:13 - The Good Girl Who Waited Until 30 ⏳
Despite always wanting to be a writer, Susan spent her entire 20s as an editor — partly for job security, partly to please her parents.

27:08 - How AI Changed Susan's Entire Reporting Process 🤖
Susan goes from AI skeptic to convert in real time. She breaks down exactly how she used NotebookLM and Google Gemini on her most recent NYT piece, and why she can't imagine going back to the way she did her job before.

30:17 - The Wasserstein Book Origin Story 📖
Susan traces her obsession with the famous Wasserstein family, and reveals the question that consumed her childhood: what would it feel like to grow up in a family where someone tells you "the sky's the limit"?

33:42 - The Limits We Put on Ourselves 🪞
Maryam holds up a mirror: Susan has won Pulitzers, teaches at Yale, and writes for the NYT Magazine — and yet she still talks about herself like someone playing it safe. 

40:24 - The Twitter Regret She Can't Shake 🐦
Susan confesses that when the NYT begged her to tweet out her column back in 2011, she was too uncomfortable with self-promotion. Her advice to young journalists: get on the edge of what's new, even when it scares you.

43:11 - What She’d Tell Her 30-Something Self 💡
Susan closes with a deceptively simple piece of wisdom: if something new is forming around you at work, stop wishing it away and get involved.

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