Walking onto campus one morning in early April, coffee in hand, I approached Indiana University’s iconic Sample Gates. It’s always a spirit-lifting sight, especially with the statue of Ernie Pyle on the periphery. The gates were … Read more
Modern society works hard to find ways to talk about subjects that have long been taboo, and that left sufferers isolated and shrouded in shame. Things like mental illness, abortion, addiction and even rape are more and more brought … Read more
There were two things I knew: I wanted to write a story about how heartburn can kill you, as it did my father, and I wanted to write for Undark, a really cool science magazine that … Read more
“The Loneliest Polar Bear” wasn’t just a heart-tugging news story. It was a suspenseful, multi-thousand word saga about an abandoned newborn polar bear. It was rationed into five chapters that were published in the print paper and online. It … Read more
Awards from elite, independent institutions always offer a reminder of the powerful work being done by storytellers of all stripes. None moreso in journalism than the Pulitzer Prizes. This year’s Pulitzer for fiction went to “The … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Mass shootings have become a tragic American story. School shootings are an especially searing chapter in that narrative. This week marks the 20th anniversary of Columbine, a high school in Colorado where 13 students were … Read more
Ever since Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign in the summer of 2015, I have grown accustomed to the constant drumbeat of stories that pose the same question: How can white evangelical Christians support Trump in such overwhelming numbers? … Read more
On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was killed by police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. In the car with Castile at the time of the shooting were his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and … Read more
Today marks the release of “Losing Earth: A Recent History,” Nathaniel Rich. The narrative tracks the story of a handful of scientists and politicians from 1979 to 1989 as they tried to build awareness of climate … Read more
Pitching rises again and again as one of the main challenges facing writers who want to make the leap from idea to publication. Whether you’re a reporter hustling support for an enterprise piece in your newsroom, or a freelancer … Read more