Search results for “context”

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The 1619 project: Tracing steps backwards to find a way forward

The 1619 project: Tracing steps backwards to find a way forward

Four centuries ago this year, a privateer named the White Lion anchored off Point Comfort, an English colony in what is now Hampton, Virginia. In its cramped hold, it carried…
November 26, 2019
Is it real? Or is it Instagram?

Is it real? Or is it Instagram?

The Internet of 2019 is rife with social-media influencers and articles about them. Much of the coverage is fawning and superficial: how to become one, how to make $3,000  per Instagram…
November 13, 2019
A narrative "troika:" direct testimony, news analysis and biographical journalism

A narrative “troika:” direct testimony, news analysis and biographical journalism

It was probably aimed more at the American public than its media, but one message embedded in former Ambassador William B. Taylor Jr.’s recent prepared remarks to a Congressional impeachment…
November 5, 2019
These boots were made for discovery

These boots were made for discovery

Tom Curwen’s new boots, size 17AAA, handmade by boot maker Randy MerrellThey say every good narrative is a journey.Los Angeles Times reporter Thomas Curwen starts his by looking down. Literally.…
October 25, 2019
Mastering the awkward art of the interview

Mastering the awkward art of the interview

In the seven years since Max Linsky co-founded the Longform Podcast (with Evan Ratliff and Aaron Lammer), he has interviewed hundreds of storytelling luminaries: journalists, non-fiction writers and public figures.…
October 25, 2019
Lessons from biographer Robert Caro's instructive mini-memoir "Working"

Lessons from biographer Robert Caro’s instructive mini-memoir “Working”

If there were no Robert Caro, he could not easily be invented. Consider the job description: Commit your career to exhaustive research into the lives of two legendarily powerful men,…
October 15, 2019
"The third is when you can make a basket without worrying about whether it is good enough."

“The third is when you can make a basket without worrying about whether it is good enough.”

If this sentence seems lacking a word, it is. We’ll get to that in a moment. Until then, bookmark the notion of “good enough” — an aspiration that seems to…
October 11, 2019
"Life is too short to write something boring."

“Life is too short to write something boring.”

I’m obsessed with structure. From John McPhee’s sketch for “Travels in Georgia,” which resembles a Fibonacci Spiral, to the lopsided bell curve of the classic story arc, there are examples…
September 26, 2019
When gun violence visits, a pastor finds faith and a reporter finds those not noticed

When gun violence visits, a pastor finds faith and a reporter finds those not noticed

“Pittsburgh. El Paso. San Bernardino. Las Vegas. Aurora. Orlando. Sandy Hook. Isla Vista. Gilroy. Colorado Springs.”David Montero’s voice trails off.  “I just feel like there are obvious ones I’m missing.…
September 19, 2019
When gun violence visits, a workaday mayor — and hard-working journalist — respond

When gun violence visits, a workaday mayor — and hard-working journalist — respond

By early August of this year, 253 American cities had been added to the map of mass shootings. For a day or two after yet another event, officials in these…
September 18, 2019