Podcast
Nieman Storyboard
Hosted by Nieman Foundation for Journalism · EN
In-depth conversations about the craft of journalism and storytelling, presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Hosted by Mark Armstrong, editor of Nieman Storyboard, founder (emeritus) of Longreads and co-founder of the podcast company Ursa.
10episodes
Episodes
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Journalist Tricia Romano on the pros and cons of writing an oral history
Feb 1900:48:52Tap to summarizeAuthor 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 CreditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →Soledad O’Brien on character-driven storytelling in documentaries, and the power of being a witness
Feb 500:54:29Tap to summarizeAward-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 creditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongEpisode producer and interview by Christina M. TapperEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →Leah Sottile and Ryan Haas on deconstructing ‘true crime’ in podcasting and journalism
Jan 2200:50:53Tap to summarizeJournalists 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 listLeah 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 CreditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongAssociate producer: Marina LeighEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →NPR's Tonya Mosley on the art of the interview
Jan 801:00:00Tap to summarizeAward-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 CreditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongEpisode producer and interview by Christina M. TapperEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →Photojournalist Stephanie Keith on documenting ICE and capturing a moment that became the cover of New York magazine
Dec 400:53:57Tap to summarizeOn 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 creditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongAssociate producer: Marina LeighEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →Sasha Bonét on ‘leaving room for the story to shape itself’ and how a family home can become a character
Nov 1301:00:40Tap to summarizeWriter, 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 CreditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongEpisode producer and interview by Christina M. TapperEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →National Book Award finalist Claudia Rowe on writing about teens and the foster care system
Oct 2300:56:26Tap to summarizeOn 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 creditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongAssociate producer: Marina LeighEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →Danyel Smith on developing taste as a writer and building confidence to tell your own story
Oct 901:02:10Tap to summarizeOn 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 creditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongEpisode producer and interview by Christina M. TapperEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →Michael Kruse & Bill Duryea: Lessons from a 16-year reporter-editor partnership
Sep 2500:47:24Tap to summarizeWhat 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 CreditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongAssociate producer: Marina LeighEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
Transcribe →The New Yorker's Sam Wolson on interactive storytelling about a mother and her trans teenager leaving the U.S.
Sep 1100:59:54Tap to summarizeThe 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."Get the full show notes and reading list: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2025/09/11/new-yorker-sam-wolson-interactive-storytelling/Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/Show CreditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongAssociate producer: Marina LeighEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation interim curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.
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