Strictly Q&A

From a Kickstarter about avocados to conviction as an American spy

From a Kickstarter about avocados to conviction as an American spy

Jason Rezaian’s twin allegiances were baked into his life and his journalism. He was born and raised in Marin County, California, the son of an Iranian father and American mother.…
January 22, 2019
Jan Gardner
A writer Instagrams his way back to love ... or something close to it

A writer Instagrams his way back to love … or something close to it

Since Tyrone Beason moved to Seattle in the mid 1990s, the city has undergone record-breaking growth and transformation. Gone are the funky old hangs of the 1950s and ’60s, the…
January 4, 2019
Elie Gardner
A "final" phone call from the wildfires inspires an unusual, intimate story written under the fire of deadline

A “final” phone call from the wildfires inspires an unusual, intimate story written under the fire of deadline

 The first sentence is treacherous: This is how I die.It stands alone, in italics – first person, no quote marks. It reads like an epitaph beneath a photograph of six…
December 19, 2018
Julia Shipley
A conversation with Tommy Tomlinson: Getting naked in print and public

A conversation with Tommy Tomlinson: Getting naked in print and public

 The first time I met Tommy Tomlinson, he and his wife, Alix Felsing, took me to their favorite spot for breakfast in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they lived and where…
October 9, 2018
Chip Scanlan
A conversation with Alexandra Petri on conjugating gender and politics

A conversation with Alexandra Petri on conjugating gender and politics

 I‘ve always thought writing should be learned by osmosis. Like if you read enough good books you shouldn’t need to know the exact rules about dangling participles. But I’m a…
September 27, 2018
Anna Claire Vollers
Parachute reporting in a foreign land: Getting it fast and getting it right

Parachute reporting in a foreign land: Getting it fast and getting it right

On May 3, 2018, volcanic fissures opened in a residential neighborhood on the island of Hawai‘i, forcing more than 2,000 people to evacuate their homes. While the Kīlauea volcano has…
August 23, 2018
Shannon Wianecki
Q&A: How a letter, honesty and patience won the trust of a shamed school cop

Q&A: How a letter, honesty and patience won the trust of a shamed school cop

This week marks a return to school for students around the country, including at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, where six months ago a gunman shot and killed…
August 16, 2018
Pat Walters
Q&A: Greg Bishop on a quarterback, a suicide and a search for answers

Q&A: Greg Bishop on a quarterback, a suicide and a search for answers

The risks of tackle football run through the center of a tortured conversation that escalates with each new tale of the shattered life of a famous pro. More and more…
July 31, 2018
Elliott Almond

Take Two: Avi Selk on spiders, aggregation and writing fast

EDITOR’S NOTE: Yesterday, we featured contributor Rebecca Boyle’s interview with Washington Post general assignment reporter Avi Selk about his intriguing, elegiac story of the world’s longest living spider.Today, we broaden…
July 19, 2018
Rebecca Boyle
Avi Selk eulogizes the long life and too-soon death of Spider 16, and what she taught us

Avi Selk eulogizes the long life and too-soon death of Spider 16, and what she taught us

EDITOR’S NOTE: Writing about science and animals (creatures?) can be challenging. It is essential to get it right. It is also essential to make it accessible. In other words, to…
July 18, 2018
Rebecca Boyle