The Sunday Long Read Podcast

Seth Wickersham and Wright Thompson both write for ESPN The Magazine and have been discussing stories since their time together at the University of Missouri (they discussed several while guest editing The Sunday Long Read in September). Don chatted with them about how they developed their confidence, the stories that got away, and what they'd like to be remembered for—or at least Don tries to get them to answer that last one. We think you'll enjoy it. 

This week's episode contains explicit language.

Souad Mekhennet is a national security correspondent for The Washington Post and the author of the national best-selling, "I Was Told To Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad." Last month, she was named the 2017 recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award. In this conversation with her friend and former colleague, Don Van Natta Jr., Mekhennet describes her 16 years covering Jihad for the Post, The New York Times and other publications; the techniques she uses to gain the trust of sources, including terrorist leaders, and how she manages their expectations; where her immense bravery and courage likely come from. She also discusses several of her most renowned pieces, including one for The New York Times that she and Don collaborated on in 2005 about a German man's imprisonment and torture in an Afghanistan prison by officials believed to be with the CIA, as well as her most recent story, The Jihadist Plan To Use Women To Launch the Next Incarnation of ISIS. Their conversation lasts 59 minutes.

In the middle of his Twitter hiatus, two-time National Magazine Award winner Chris Jones (left) chats with Don Van Natta Jr. Jones shares behind-the-scenes details from his favorite stories—including profiles of Roger Ebert and Teller. He also explains why he's just now learning to cook and how he managed to expense both poker losses and marijuana.

It was about time The Sunday Long Read Podcast caught up with Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who extended her lead in list appearances this week. It's a longer episode, but equally jam-packed with stories and tips—and make sure to stick around for the first-ever lightning round!

Christopher Goffard, now at The Los Angeles Times, is an experienced journalist of over 20 years. Most recently, he's the reporter, writer and voice of Dirty John, a captivating series told via print and chart-topping podcast. Christopher tells Jacob why he assigns his journalism students stories of everyday people, the way he first learned about "Dirty John" Meehan, how creating a podcast was "harder work than I think I've ever done" (but work he recommends to any journalist), and why he isn't comfortable with the True Crime label for Dirty John.

Sunday Long Read producer Jacob Feldman joins Don to talk about his latest story on the NFL and discuss the podcast project.

Michael N. Graff, an award-winning writer and editor from North Carolina, has appeared four times in The Sunday Long Read, including last week when Don selected Michael’s essay “Is the Secret to Successs… Faking It?” as his Favorite of the Week. In our second SLR Pod, Don chats with Michael, who was married yesterday to Laura Houston (Congrats!), about the writing life, the difference between journalism and essay-writing, the importance of nailing the most authentic details in our stories and this thing Michael has for crab cakes. A special thanks to writer Tommy Tomlinson, a mutual friend of Michael and Don, for framing two revealing questions. The podcast runs for about 40 minutes. Subscribe here.

For nearly 30 minutes, Don chatted with Jody about how the 30 for 30 Podcasts idea was born, the critically acclaimed first 30 for 30 Podcasts episode, The Trials of Dan and Dave and whether this is the golden age of pods or we’re sitting atop a podcast bubble that’s about to burst.

Through a mixture of humorous tales and handy insights, Uproxx editor-in-chief Brett Michael Dykes explains to Don how he turned a few viral posts on a personal blog into a series of jobs in digital media. He also discusses the book that inspired him to write, where he gets his best thinking done, as well as why he goes by The Cajun Boy online.