The Sunday Long Read Podcast

Sunday Long Read co-founder Jacob Feldman talks with ProPublica’s Max Blau in a wide-ranging conversation about his piece “I Don’t Want to Die”: Needing Mental Health Care, He Got Trapped in His Insurer’s Ghost Network, the art of combining investigative and feature reporting and what it was like to see his story adapted for a stage performance. This episode was recorded in July live at the University of Georgia, in partnership with the school’s Low-Residency MFA in Narrative Nonfiction. This episode was hosted by Jacob Feldman and produced by Matthew Whitehurst. The Sunday Long Read Podcast is executive produced by Étienne Lajoie. This episode would not have been possible without the help and support of Monimala Basu, the director of the MFA program at the University of Georgia. Show notes : 2:18 : ProPublica author page 2:20 : “I Don’t Want to Die”: Needing Mental Health Care, He Got Trapped in His Insurer’s Ghost Network (ProPublica) 3:08 : Creative Loafing author page; Atlanta Magazine author page; CNN author page 3:15 : Max Blau’s personal website 3:38 : About the Local Reporting Network (ProPublica) 4:10 : Sunken Costs (ProPublica) 6:25 : An Unbelievable Story of Rape (ProPublica & The Marshall Project) 6:48 : T. Christian Miller’s ProPublica author page 6:50 : Ken Armstrong’s Marshall Project author page 6:50 : Lizzie Presser’s ProPublica author page 6:51 : Ava Kofman’s ProPublica author page 18:45 : Jason Molina’s long dark blues (Chicago Reader) 59:00 : How Jim White Helped His Bluebird Spread Her Wings (Sunday Long Read)

As summer officially kicks off, Behind the Story host Amanda Ulrich chats with fellow journalist Rowan Jacobsen about his in-depth reporting on sunlight and sun exposure—and its many benefits you may not know about. Rowan gives his take on when you should wear sunscreen, how to write a narrative-driven science story, and whether or not moving to a sunny place may just be the key to longevity. Rowan is a journalist and author who writes about science and nature for many publications, including most recently for Scientific American. He is a current media fellow with Nova Institute for Health. 8:24 Is Sunscreen the New Margarine? (Outside) 8:40 Against Sunscreen Absolutism (The Atlantic) 9:00 Australia’s sun safety guidelines updated to take account of diverse skin types (The Guardian) 35:44 An Ocean Plastics Field Trip for Corporate Executives (Outside) 35:47 Truffle Hound (Bloomsbury Publishing)

SLR podcast host and writer Amanda Ulrich talks with fellow journalist Rhana Natour about her National Magazine Award-winning story, "Coming to America." That piece, written for The Atavist Magazine last year, tells the story of one teenager from Gaza: 14-year-old Layan Albaz, who lost both of her legs in an Israeli airstrike and traveled to the United States for medical treatment. This episode of The Sunday Long Read Podcast was hosted by Amanda Ulrich and produced by Matthew Whitehurst. The Sunday Long Read Podcast is executive produced by Étienne Lajoie.

In a new piece for Vanity Fair, author and presidential historian James Robenalt, who has written about commanders in chief from Warren G. Harding to Donald J. Trump, uncovers the full story of JFK and Jackie’s surprising and little-known home video — and what it might say about the late president’s state of mind in his final months. The SLR’s Amanda Ulrich talks to Robenalt about the story, his interest for the former president, and political assassination attempts. Read James’ piece : Why JFK Staged His Own Murder in a James Bond–Inspired Spy Film—2 Months Before His Assassination This episode of The Sunday Long Read Podcast was hosted by Amanda Ulrich and produced by Matthew Whitehurst. The Sunday Long Read Podcast is executive produced by Étienne Lajoie.

This holiday season, we are rereleasing some of our favorite Sunday Long Read Podcast episodes of all time. A few years ago, SLR cofounder Don Van Natta Jr. spoke to his friends and colleagues, Wright Thompson and Seth Wickersham about their careers, finding your voice in writing and share some fun stories : - Awakening The Giant (ESPN The Magazine, 2014) - The trouble with Johnny (ESPN The Magazine, 2013) - Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building (ESPN The Magazine, 2013) - Spygate to Deflategate: Inside what split the NFL and Patriots apart (ESPN, 2015) This episode of The Sunday Long Read Podcast was produced by Matthew Whitehurst. The Sunday Long Read Podcast is executive produced by Étienne Lajoie.

In one of her latest longform articles for ProPublica, reporter Lizzie Presser tells the story of teenagers caught on opposite sides of the drug trade: those who are selling opioids and those who are using them. In an interview with SLR Contributor Amanda Ulrich, Presser talks about her writing and research process and shares her personal reflections on the drug trade. This episode of The Sunday Long Read Podcast was produced by Amanda Ulrich and Matthew Whitehurst. The Sunday Long Read Podcast is executive produced by Étienne Lajoie.

In March, after years of work, producer Naomi Despres and screenwriter John Gatins released “Little Wing,” the story of a young pigeon racer, first told by Susan Orlean, in The New Yorker. In this episode of The Sunday Long Read Podcast, Despres and Gatins explain the trials and tribulations of getting an adaptation like this one out into the world and how much loyalty is owed to the authors of the original tale. Naomi Despres is the producer of the movies “Little Wing,” starring Brooklynn Prince and Brian Cox, “Kill the Messenger,” and others. John Gatins wrote “Little Wing,” as well as “Flight,” featuring Denzel Washington, and “Coach Carter.”

A self-described “Star War Kid” and “nerd,” Marc Bernardin left journalism a few years ago to follow his dream: becoming a television writer. Bernardin explains to host Jacob Feldman why nerd culture took over entertainment, and what it was like making the jump from magazine newsroom to Hollywood writers’ room. Marc Bernardin is a writer, director, and producer on shows such as Picard, Carnival Row and The Continental. He has also won a Writers Guild Award for his work on the show Castle Rock. Bernardin has also written multiple comic books and is the co-host, with Kevin Smith, of the podcast Fat Man Beyond.

Edith Zimmerman rocketed to media stardom early in her career. Her editing of the influential and hilarious website The Hairpin got her a place on Forbes’ 30 under 30—at only twenty-eight, she was a “much sought after writer,” noted the magazine. Zimmerman hasn’t lost an ounce of her humor in the years since, but she has slowly rediscovered herself. In the last episode of Take a Joke, Zimmerman and host Don Van Natta Jr. share their respective experiences stopping drinking, reminisce about the glory days of Internet writing and chat about Zimmerman’s cartooning.

Dina Gusovsky was an award-winning investigative reporter before she put that career aside to pursue comedy in 2016, joining Late Night with Seth Meyers. Not because she wanted to move away from the news, but the opposite—she saw comedians doing deeper dives than journalists. In the second episode of “Take a Joke,” an SLR series on the mixing of humor and reporting, Jacob Feldman talked to Gusovsky about that decision and the adjustments she had to make in her new role. Gusovsky also discussed how her personal back story—her family fled Soviet Russia when she was a child—has influenced the perspective she brings to the show, to comedy, and to her stories. Take a Joke is sponsored by Funny Girls, a program from The Harnisch Foundation that helps third through eighth graders to develop their leadership skills.

Welcome back to The Art of Remembering, a Sunday Long Read podcast series on the fascinating world of obituaries. Our fourth guest is magazine writer and author Garrett Graff. In early 2023, the prolific journalist was tasked with one of the toughest assignments of his career: writing the obituary of his friend, New York Times editor and reporter Blake Hounshell. In a conversation with Don Van Natta Jr., Graff describes his experience working on this emotional piece in a short amount of time. The Art of Remembering is sponsored by our friends at Air Mail, a weekly newsletter from former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley, formerly of The New York Times.

Welcome back to The Art of Remembering, a Sunday Long Read podcast series on the fascinating world of obituaries. Our second guest, Kathleen McElroy, is a journalism professor at The University of Texas at Austin after spending nearly 30 years in the industry, including serving as Associate Managing Editor at The New York Times. Her 2013 article in the Journal of Black Studies focused particularly on obituaries, and the way they shape how civil rights leaders—and the entire movement—are remembered (or misremembered). The Art of Remembering is sponsored by our friends at Air Mail, the sophisticated digital weekly dispatch from Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley