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Our guest on this week's Nieman Storyboard podcast, editor and bestselling author Sari Botton, is an expert in the art of personal storytelling. Through her popular Substack publications, Oldster Magazine, Memoir Land, and Adventures in “Journalism,” and before that as essays editor for Longreads (where we worked together), Botton has shepherded hundreds of writers through the process of telling their own stories — and doing so with a thoughtful eye for what makes personal essays connect with readers without being sensational. “People are so concerned about whether they're going to be a likable character if they tell the ugly truth,” she said. “[But] that's what makes you a likable character. It makes you someone that people can relate to. It means you're just human.” Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Even after publishing so many writers, Botton herself struggled with whether she should write her own memoir, and the impact it might have on her family. Eventually, she found an approach that allowed her to speak her truth while being mindful of family members' privacy, and her book, “And You May Find Yourself…Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo,” was published in 2022.  Botton also was the editor of two bestselling anthologies, “Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York,” and “Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York.”  This week, her magazine Oldster celebrated its fifth birthday, sharing stories that "explore what it means to travel through time in a human body, at every phase of life.” Botton is now working on an Oldster anthology and podcast, and her newsletters now have more than 125,000 subscribers.  Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Storyboard editor Mark Armstrong sits down with audio documentary producer Will James to discuss his work with Seattle's KUOW and his latest investigative project, a collaboration with journalists from The Seattle Times, NPR's “Embedded” and Omari Salisbury's Converge Media.  “We Keep Us Safe,” an eight-episode narrative podcast, looks into the unsolved killing of 16-year old Antonio Mays Jr., who was shot in Seattle’s CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) zone during the 2020 protests following George Floyd's murder. Alongside Seattle Times reporters Sydney Brownstone and David Gutman, the reporting team interviewed nearly 100 people to investigate the shooting of Mays Jr., which occurred after Seattle police had withdrawn from the protest zone. Mays Jr.'s family won a $30.5 million verdict against the city for negligence over its emergency response to the shooting.  Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Associate producer: Marina Leigh Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

On the latest episode of the Nieman Storyboard podcast, Storyboard editor Mark Armstrong sits down with journalist and Pulitzer finalist Shoshana Walter to discuss how she writes about addiction, recovery, and the criminal justice system — and how journalists can cover these stories with care.  Walter is an investigative reporter for The Marshall Project and author of  “Rehab: An American Scandal,” published last year and released this month in paperback. The book weaves together four different stories of people whose lives or work have been impacted by addiction treatment in the U.S., and it shines a light on a system where private treatment centers have little oversight, leading to potential mistreatment, exploitation, and corruption.    “I think for everyone who participated in this book, the driving force was wanting their stories to mean something, to serve a higher purpose,” Walter says. “My hope with any piece of investigative journalism that I do is to raise awareness of an injustice that's going on in the hopes that it can help lead eventually to change.” Get the full show notes and reading list: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2026/08/14/journalist-shoshana-walter-telling-stories-of-addiction-recovery/ Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Associate producer: Marina Leigh Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Ken Armstrong has reported, written, or edited many award-winning stories over his career, and that work has taken various forms — including traditional longform writing, podcasts, and television. But last year an experimental reporting project at Bloomberg News led him to explore an entirely new path: the world of web comics and graphic novels.  The resulting story, “TrAPPed,” illustrated by Anand RK, and written by Suparna Sharma and Natalie Obiko Pearson, told the story of a neurologist in India who was held captive under "digital arrest” as part of an elaborate scam. The web comic was paired with a written longform narrative about the dark side of India's digital revolution.  In May, the story was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary. It's just one example of the many ambitious stories Armstrong was hired to help bring to life at Bloomberg in his role as senior editor and narrative coach for global investigations.  For this week's Nieman Storyboard podcast, I talked to Armstrong about the importance of storytelling in investigative journalism, and how narrative has been central to his work throughout his career.  Get the full show notes: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2026/07/31/pulitzer-winner-ken-armstrong-storytelling-investigative-journalism/ Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

The Nieman Storyboard podcast returns for Season Two with Pamela Colloff, reporter for ProPublica, staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, and author of the new book “Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast.”  Note: this episode includes discussion of cases involving sexual assault.  Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ "Catch the Devil" tells the story of a con artist named Paul Skalnik who spent time in and out of jail for a string of crimes. He soon became a frequent jailhouse informant for prosecutors who were looking for confessions from people who were locked away and awaiting trial.  Skalnik ended up testifying in at least 37 cases in Pinellas County, Florida, alone. His testimony sent dozens of people to prison, four of whom were ultimately sentenced to death. Colloff's book focuses on the trial of a man named Jim Dailey, who had been linked to the murder of a 14-year-old girl.  This is Colloff's first book, after years of reporting award-winning longform narratives starting at Texas Monthly. Colloff talks about the origins of the idea, and breaks down the reporting, editing, and fact-checking process. We also discuss how true crime reporting has evolved toward an approach that is more trauma-informed and sensitive to the impact on victims and victims' families.  Show credits  Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Author Tricia Romano joins Storyboard editor Mark Armstrong to talk about how she reported and wrote her oral history of The Village Voice, “The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture.”  Romano was a writer for the legendary New York City alt-weekly, and it was a Voice reunion in 2017, following the death of former Voice staffers Nat Hentoff and Wayne Barrett, that led her to take on the project.  Romano talks about her process for staying organized during the project, how she supplemented her book advance with grants to help fund it, and how to determine whether an oral history is the right path for your book or story idea.  Romano, who's also a Storyboard contributor, began her eight-year career at the Village Voice as an intern. As a contributing writer, she wrote features and award-winning cover stories about culture and music. Her reported column, Fly Life, gave a glimpse into the underbelly of New York nightlife. She has been a staff writer at the Seattle Times and served as the editor in chief of the Stranger, Seattle’s alternative newsweekly. A fellow at MacDowell, Ucross, and Millay artist residencies, and her work has been published in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Daily Beast, Men’s Journal, Elle, Alta Journal, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. Get the full show notes and reading list from this episode:  https://niemanstoryboard.org/2026/02/19/tricia-romano-how-to-write-an-oral-history/ Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter:  https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Award-winning journalist and executive producer Soledad O’Brien joins Storyboard contributor Christina M. Tapper for this week’s Nieman Storyboard podcast to discuss her career journey from TV news to documentaries, and how she came to embrace the form for storytelling on on social issues. As one of the most respected voices in journalism, working at NBC, MSNBC, and CNN, O’Brien founded Soledad O’Brien Productions, a media production company that explores stories of race, class, gender, and identity, in 2013. Most recently, she anchored and produced the political magazine show "Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien" during a 10-season run for Hearst TV. O’Brien’s reporting has been honored with 10 Emmys and three Peabody Awards. In 2025, O’Brien served as the executive producer for HBO Max’s documentary short, “The Devil is Busy,” about a day at an Atlanta abortion clinic and the fight for reproductive rights. O’Brien and her team decided to tell the story through Tracii, the head of security at the clinic who is a devout Christian. Patients and clinicians are featured in the documentary, but it’s Tracii’s story that is the thread from start to finish in this post-Dobbs era piece. Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Listening and Watching List: “Murder on the Towpath with Soledad O’Brien” “Who Killed JFK?”“War on La Radio”“The End of Affirmative Action”“Black and Missing”“The Perfect Neighbor”“Katrina: Come Hell or High Water”Geeta GandbhirChristalyn HamptonShow credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Episode producer and interview by Christina M. Tapper Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Journalists Leah Sottile and Ryan Haas join Storyboard Editor Mark Armstrong to discuss the second and final season of their serialized podcast “Hush,” from Oregon Public Broadcasting.  Sottile and Haas first began working together on the 2019 OPB/Longreads podcast “Bundyville,” and they've continued their collaborative work as journalists and podcasters ever since. This week, they've announced that they will be starting an independent publication called The Western Edge. (For updates, you can follow Sottile and Haas on Bluesky or on their individual Substacks.) Get the full show notes: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2026/01/22/leah-sottile-ryan-haas-true-crime-podcasting-journalism/ Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Reading list Leah Sottile: Bluesky, SubstackRyan Haas: Bluesky, Substack“Hush Season Two: The Case of Sarah Zuber”Justin St. Germain, Oregon State University professor“Dying for a Fight”“In Cold Blood,” Truman CapoteOregon Public Broadcasting“Hush Season One: The State of Oregon v Jesse Lee Johnson”“Bundyville”“Twin Peaks”Justice for Sarah Zuber Facebook Page“When the Moon Turns to Blood” (Leah Sottile)“Blazing Eye Sees All” (Leah Sottile)“A Living Manifesto on Journalism in 2026 and Beyond” (Leah Sottile, December 2025)Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Associate producer: Marina Leigh Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Award-winning journalist Tonya Mosley joins Storyboard contributor Christina M. Tapper for a discussion about interviewing, live coverage, and how to tell complex family stories.  Mosley is the co-host of NPR’s “Fresh Air,” where she has in-depth conversations with newsmakers like politician and author Stacy Abrams, actor George Clooney, and artist Mickalene Thomas. It’s not just Mosley’s ability to have conversations with a wide range of people that make her one of the most notable interviewers in journalism and media. It’s also her research.  “I have a wonderful team at ‘Fresh Air’ who puts together a research document and it's all the things that they can find out about the person, and they break it up: here's television work, here's audio work, here's what's been written about them. I read all of that,” she says. “But then the fun thing to do after that is to find the things that weren't in the document. So then I go digging myself.”  In her own research, Mosley scours non-mainstream platforms, including Black media. It’s Mosley’s way of covering all of her bases and honoring the guest’s time. Read the full show notes: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2026/01/08/nprs-tonya-mosley-on-the-art-of-the-interview/ Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Episode producer and interview by Christina M. Tapper Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

On the latest episode of the Nieman Storyboard podcast, photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Stephanie Keith joins Storyboard Editor Mark Armstrong to discuss her latest project, which became a powerful cover story for New York magazine: a series of photos taken in the corridors of 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, where undocumented immigrants showing up for routine hearings were being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.  She captured the sudden and heartbreaking moments where people were separated from their families, or taken away without their loved ones even knowing what happened.  Get the full show notes: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2025/12/04/photojournalist-stephanie-keith-documenting-ice-new-york-magazine-cover/ Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Editors Mentioned  Stephanie Keith“Portfolio: The Trap at 26 Federal Plaza” (Photographs by Stephanie Keith. Article by Andrew Rice and Paula Aceves, New York magazine, 2025)Keith's coverage of the Standing Rock protests (2016)Jody QuonAndrew RicePaula AcevesShow credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Associate producer: Marina Leigh Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

Writer, author, and cultural critic Sasha Bonét joins Storyboard contributor Christina M. Tapper for a wide-ranging conversation about Bonét’s writing process for “The Waterbearers,” a memoir about mothers and daughters. Bonét and Tapper discuss surrendering to how a story unfolds, rather than forcing it, and how to turn a physical place into a key character. Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Get the full episode show notes and reading list: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2025/11/13/sasha-bonet-leaving-room-for-story-family-home-character/ Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Episode producer and interview by Christina M. Tapper Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

On the latest episode of the Nieman Storyboard podcast, journalist Claudia Rowe joins Storyboard Editor Mark Armstrong to discuss her most recent book, “Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care,” which has been named a finalist for the 2025 National Book Awards. “Wards of the State” is a narrative nonfiction book told through the stories of six former foster kids to examine the failures of the American foster care system.  Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Show credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Associate producer: Marina Leigh Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

On the latest episode of the Nieman Storyboard podcast, award-winning journalist, author, and producer Danyel Smith joins Storyboard contributor Christina M. Tapper to discuss building the confidence to tell her own story and being a model for others to do the same.  Smith, the first woman and first Black person to serve as editor-in-chief of Vibe, and who later served as editor of Billboard, is the author of “Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop.” The book is part memoir, part cultural criticism, while giving Black female music artists their due. Smith is also the host of the podcast “Black Girl Songbook” and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame selection committee member.  Get the full reading list and show notes: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2025/10/09/danyel-smith-confidence-to-tell-your-own-story/ Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Show credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Episode producer and interview by Christina M. Tapper Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

What makes an editor-writer relationship work? We sit down with a reporter and editor who have achieved something of a rarity in the news business — a 16-year partnership across multiple publications.  Michael Kruse and his editor, Bill Duryea, first teamed up at the Tampa Bay Times (then St. Petersburg Times) in 2009. They moved together to Politico and Politico Magazine in 2015, where they continued to work together for ten years. Kruse is a senior staff writer there, and now Duryea has just joined the Washington Post as the senior editor for America.  With Duryea's move comes an opportunity to reflect on their work together and what they've learned about reporter-editor relationships.  Get the full reading list and show notes: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2025/09/25/michael-kruse-bill-duryea-lessons-reporter-editor-partnership/ Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Associate producer: Marina Leigh Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.

The New Yorker’s Interactives Visual Features Editor Sam Wolson joins Storyboard Editor Mark Armstrong for a conversation about his latest story, “There’s No Place at Home: A Mother and Her Trans Teen Decide to Leave the U.S.,” about a mother and her trans teenager deciding to move to Mexico after President Trump’s efforts to restrict gender-affirming care.  The story is an interactive visual feature that combines photorealistic 3D models — using photos taken at the family’s house in Maine — with illustrations by Lilli Carré and reporting and writing by Wolson. For Wolson, “ there was something really powerful in that raw physicality of their home and what it means to leave a home that felt really valuable to the telling of this story in a way that I don't think you would've had if you just were hearing them talking about leaving it." Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/ Show Credits Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong Associate producer: Marina Leigh Episode editor: Kelly Araja Audience editor: Adriana Lacy Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Cover design by Adriana Lacy Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.