Foreign Correspondence is a podcast that brings you hour-long interviews with journalists around the world hosted by Jake Spring.
Episodes
Sunday Jul 12, 2020
Sunday Jul 12, 2020
From covering covert arms deals under Chilean dictator Pinochet to seven-hour speeches by Fidel Castro, Anthony Boadle (@AnthonyBoadle) has written the first draft of Latin America’s history over recent decades. Not without risk - he’s been kicked out of a country (but allowed back), had his apartment broken into (likely by state security) and is familiar with being followed by government handlers. Now Reuters chief political correspondent for Brazil, he follows the wild ride of right-wing Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency.
Countries featured: Argentina, UK, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Canada, USA, Cuba
Publications featured: UPI, Reuters
Anthony discusses Bolsonaro’s impeachment prospects (2:38), his own early education and getting his start covering oil in Venezuela (5:53), joining UPI and moving to Chile under Pinochet (9:00), cloak/dagger with Chilean communists and getting expelled from the country (16:12), the story about Chilean cluster bombs sold to Iraq/Iran that got his apartment broken into (18:32), a close encounter with Pinochet (23:11), moving to Ottawa to cover Canadian politics (32:31), interviewing George W Bush in Washington (38:15), covering a rambling Fidel Castro and breaking the news of his illness (40:14), his "story that got away" on a faulty dengue vaccine in Brazil (53:22), his long family history in Latin America (1:00:33) and the lightning round (1:04:46)
Here are links to some of the things we talk about:
Anthony’s story on Bolsonaro keeping impeachment at bay - https://reut.rs/2W9OwOy
UPI on wikipedia - https://bit.ly/3iWru7h
WSJ’s The Soccer Match that Kicked Off Italy’s Coronavirus Disaster - https://on.wsj.com/3iW92M0
Fernando Gabeira bio on wikipedia - https://bit.ly/3ehtTpD
Four Days in September on IMDb - https://imdb.to/3gQUf3C
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
Roving the African continent to report the bloodiest conflicts is a far cry from being a polished news anchor, sitting behind a desk. Tomi Oladipo (@Tomi_Oladipo) has shown incredible range in his career working for the BBC for 12 years in Africa before becoming a news presenter for German broadcaster DW News in Berlin. Tomi discusses the toll of continually reporting on violence and reflects back on how he feels about many of those stories now.
Countries featured: Nigeria, Kenya, Germany, UK, Sudan
Publications featured: BBC, DW News
Tomi discusses working during coronavirus in Germany (1:30), his birth in the UK and tough times growing up in Nigeria (4:00), moving to Kenya to finish school and getting a taste of the world (10:16), working his way up as a BBC intern (17:17), returning to Nigeria and how he covered the rise of Islamic militants Boko Haram (22:30), expanding to cover conflicts all over Africa (37:26), what his work is like at DW News (40:04), missing out on Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe's downfall (45:05), covering the popular uprisings in Sudan that toppled the dictatorship (49:37) and finally the lightning round (53:54).
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
DW News website - https://bit.ly/3i7XBAu
African Writers Series of books - https://bit.ly/2CNcxUG
Tomi's story 'Has an internet blackout killed Sudan's revolution?' - https://bit.ly/2NznLhD
Hazardous handshakes and other indignities in the time of Ebola - https://bit.ly/2BgeSab
The Athletic's podcasts - https://bit.ly/31lzp7M
A Great Day in Harlem jazz documentary - https://bit.ly/3i7XMMa
Giant Steps by Kenny Mathieson - https://amzn.to/2BPzG8f
The Bang Bang Club - https://amzn.to/3dLfjGU
The Vulture and the Little Girl photo - https://bit.ly/2CI02JP
Photo of Tomi at Nairobi attack in the NYT - https://nyti.ms/3i6PDYz
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday Jun 14, 2020
Sunday Jun 14, 2020
Sometimes you have to get fired again and again (and again) to figure out your place in the world. Ed Clowes’ (@edclowes) story is not your common journalistic tale. Kids, don’t try this one at home. He gets fired for increasingly noble reasons though, ultimately getting kicked out of the city-state of Dubai. Be warned, despite the title of this episode, it is more about the Middle East than London.
Ed discusses bumbling his way through a series of London jobs (4:57), moving to Dubai for a magazine sales job but getting into the journalism side (6:43), getting fired from a job in PR (16:03), finding his feet again at the newspaper Gulf News only to get kicked out of the country (21:05), how censorship works in Dubai and how the government directed an anti-Trump shift at the paper (32:40), finding work in the UK and feelings on moving home after being away so long (38:34), delving into what it's like living in the classist, mixing pot of a shopping mall that is Dubai (43:11), what it's like working at The Telegraph (54:37) and end on the lightning round (1:01:45).
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
Ed's story about Uber in Dubai - https://bit.ly/3fg1alY
His story about JP Morgan report on climate change - https://bit.ly/2UEpnKM
Hot Ones interviews on Youtube - https://bit.ly/2zs3XJw
Full Size Run on Youtube - https://bit.ly/3e0Kv5F
Reuters story on UK coronavirus response - https://reut.rs/3cZilH1
NYT investigation into the taxi industry - https://nyti.ms/2lEESUF
Ed's story Trump backer defends Saudi Arabia - https://bit.ly/37riuln
BBC's Jon Sopel on Twitter - https://bit.ly/3fg1mlc
His record label Everything Will Be OK - https://bit.ly/2XWaJRc
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday May 31, 2020
Sunday May 31, 2020
After public health got too depressing and following gorillas through the jungle proved monotonous, Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) turned to journalism. She quickly made a name for herself covering at civil unrest in Hong Kong, also doing a couple years' stretch working for the Vice News Tonight television show on HBO. She discusses her circuitous path in the industry that has taken her around the world and how after working in every medium she is increasingly focusing on photojournalism.
Laurel talks about hanging with the apes (8:24), getting her start at offbeat publication Coconuts in Hong Kong covering protests (16:26), landing her gig with Vice's HBO show (21:28), striking out as a freelancer and her thoughts on photojournalism (31:22), going into a New Zealand volcano only for the story not to pan out (39:13), producing a full-episode documentary for Vice on Chinese migrant workers, (43:12) and takes on the lightning round (49:23).
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
Laurel's website showcasing her work - https://bit.ly/3ckdcZA
Bangkok's "Mexican" Gangsters video - https://bit.ly/303TCi7
Vice News Tonight migrant worker documentary - https://bit.ly/2TUsRIM
Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina - https://amzn.to/2XEQSVq
Photojournalist Ami Vitale's website - https://bit.ly/3gNgMPE
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday May 17, 2020
Sunday May 17, 2020
How do you cover violence in a thoughtful way? Megan Crepeau (@crepeau) had plenty of time to chew that question over working the overnight beat at The Chicago Tribune, trawling the city with police scanners and looking for news. Now she brings that perspective to covering Chicago’s main criminal court, one of the busiest in the United States.
Megan talks about how the coronavirus outbreak is upending business as usual at the court and the associated jail (5:50), growing up in small town Idaho (11:45), Northwestern journalism school and early struggles with confidence (18:00), getting her foot in the door with The Chicago Tribune editorial board (24:36), writing a personal finance column for the Trib’s free commuter daily RedEye (29:08), covering violence thoughtfully on the overnight breaking news shift (35:05), the crazy story of a man representing his brother in a murder trial (48:00), how the court system failed to view mental health in a nuanced way in the case of a cop killing (52:46), her role helping the Tribune to unionize (1:01:16) and finally the lightning round (1:07:35)
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
Megan's story on man representing himself - https://bit.ly/3bpVsvs
Her story on the man's conviction - https://bit.ly/2LiKvBp
The Chicago Reader - https://bit.ly/2LgOEFN
Bon Appetit Youtube channel - https://bit.ly/3boXeNv
NYT’s Red Dawn coronavirus exposé - https://nyti.ms/2LkFyIk
Tony Briscoe (ex-Tribune Great Lakes reporter) on Twitter - https://bit.ly/2yLoFDX
Martha Gellhorn wiki - https://bit.ly/3cnZGVT
His Girl Friday on IMDb - https://imdb.to/2WZxwtZ
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday May 03, 2020
Sunday May 03, 2020
Aarti Betigeri (@pomegranitaa) takes us from Australia to India and back again, touching on some new publications like Monocle magazine and geographies like Sri Lanka along the way. She also keeps it real about the struggles of working in a media landscape dominated by Murdoch and seeking more rights for Australian freelance journalists. We also talk about her experience through the Australian bushfires.
Aarti discusses getting into broadcast journalism out of university and becoming a TV presenter (8:00), leaving that behind to move to India as a freelancer (12:07), working for Monocle magazine (21:04), moving back to Australia and the freelance scene there (28:53), Murdoch’s influence in Australia (34:48), the Australian bushfires (37:12), her "story that got away" about Maoist-controlled jungles of central India (40:25), writing about a Chinese-backed boondoggle of a port project in the boonies of Sri Lanka (50:28) and takes on the lightning round (57:00).
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
Aarti’s column on Covid, India and TV news - https://bit.ly/2VY9uQo
Her story on an Indian coffee roaster - https://bit.ly/3faqNFz
Centralia photo book on Maoist controlled central India - https://bit.ly/2WhFuOw
Aarti’s story on Sri Lankan port Hambantota - https://bit.ly/3bZlLKa
Her story about dealing with Australian bushfires - https://bit.ly/2xsd6AS
Her site with story back catalogue - https://bit.ly/3bYoqnb
Australian independent news site Crickey - https://bit.ly/2xrR5lG
NYT's A Royal Instagram Mystery - https://nyti.ms/2YskqYc
Taffy Brodesser-Akner's work - https://nyti.ms/3d8wIcr
Ed O’Laughlin's Not Untrue and Not Unkind - https://amzn.to/2Ss6YzQ
Tom Rachman's The Imperfectionists - https://amzn.to/2xpM8d4
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday Apr 19, 2020
Sunday Apr 19, 2020
The world of Chinese high finance is actually way more stupid and ridiculous than you probably realize. Seriously, sometimes millions or billions of dollars change hands for relatively stupid reasons like, delivery coffee + China, what’s the worst that could go wrong? Pete Sweeney (@petesweeneypro), an opinion columnist for Reuters Breakingviews, gives us a crash course. Also discussed: You might think that journalists report just about everything, but there are many stories that don’t get reported, especially in China.
Pete discusses the strange corner of the world he lives in (2:06), leaving the U.S. to start a beer business in Ecuador (7:51), reinventing himself as a journalist in his 30s (14:20), working at China Economic Review (19:05), a major story in China that never made it into international news (26:05), joining Reuters to cover the huge boom/bust of the Chinese stock market (41:19), his transition to opinion writing (52:57) and takes on the lightning round (1:01:19).
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
Pete’s column about Luckin Coffee - https://bit.ly/3alhizC
His column about Xinjiang - https://reut.rs/2KkjtJa
Caixin’s English language edition - https://bit.ly/3cysYAz
Archillect on Instagram - https://bit.ly/2XO22c6
Arts & Letters Daily - https://bit.ly/34MRQSB
Thucydides wiki - https://bit.ly/3ezqEew
Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between - https://amzn.to/2ymDgVQ
Pete’s op-ed on raising a pig (page 13) - https://bit.ly/2KgCa0t
BBC TV show Press on IMDb - https://imdb.to/3bm16j8
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Sunday Apr 05, 2020
Megha Rajagopalan (@meghara) brings top-notch investigative journalism to Buzzfeed - yes, the site that rose to prominence based on listicles. She installed Buzzfeed’s first bureau in Beijing, only to be kicked out of the country after revealing the depths of China’s police state. Reporting on surveillance and human rights has been the hallmark of her career, from writing about Myanmar’s opening up to following around Filipino police officers committing atrocities.
We talk about the questionable endeavor that is pursuing a journalism degree (5:08), cutting her teeth covering politics for Reuters in Beijing (14:22), starting Buzzfeed’s bureau in China (24:00), her bombshell story on China’s muslim internment camps and getting kicked out of China (29:30), moving to Israel and then London (41:19), missing out on a trip to Tibet and her prospects for ever returning to China (44:17), her story on U.S. government funding for Filipino police committing atrocities in their war on drugs (50:54), and she takes on the lightning round (58:45).
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
My exclusive about Brazil’s environmental protections under coronavirus - https://reut.rs/2WQbRFN
My story on Brazil meat exports to China stalling under coronovirus - https://reut.rs/2x66jwq
Steve Coll’s Private Empire: Exxonmobil and American power - https://amzn.to/3bMAuHG
Michael Lewis essay J-School Confidential - https://buff.ly/39Yx1Vn
Megha’s story about Xinjiang internment camps - https://bit.ly/2waFzdM
Her story about US-support for Philippines atrocities - https://bit.ly/348bnN8
David Sanger’s The Perfect Weapon - https://amzn.to/2V1wpsr
Mike Forsythe on Twitter - https://bit.ly/2X4MO26
Rukmini Callimachi on Twitter - http://bit.ly/2Vfw7hz
Nikole Hannah-Jones on Twitter - https://bit.ly/39I9V55
John Hersey’s Hiroshima - https://amzn.to/3aMrQcq
Wall Street Journal’s Pulitzer-winning “9 to Nowhere” - https://bit.ly/3dUHTXC
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday Mar 22, 2020
Sunday Mar 22, 2020
"If you think it’s just fun, you’ve never interviewed Mick Jagger because that motherfucker will rip you into shreds." Freelance journalist Paul Schrodt (@paulschrodt) takes the podcast to a very different place, telling us what it’s like to report on the business of entertainment. He also got into digital journalism at a time when it was still the wild west but just starting to overtake print journalism, providing a window into that fascinating time.
Note: This is a special extended episode in light of coronavirus.
We talk about his transformation from "spacey kid" to journalist (5:25), our experience together in college when they were trying to teach "new media" (18:40), getting his start at Esquire.com when the online team had like 3 people (32:45), his turn at the pressure boiler startup Business Insider (40:00), striking out as a freelancer (50:13), deep thoughts on entertainment journalism (57:19), his story tracking down why movies you love might be nowhere on streaming (1:02:31), and we finish with the lightning round (1:15:43).
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
The Chicago Reader website - https://bit.ly/2J3qQ7d
Business Insider - https://bit.ly/2WA9wiq
Paul's story on life insurance for Money magazine - https://bit.ly/3dnoG0b
His story on the horror streaming service Shudder - https://bit.ly/2QClN1Y
His story involving the Mick Jagger interview - https://bit.ly/2WyoghF
His story You Can't Stream Your Favorite Movie Anywhere - https://bit.ly/2y0A6qH
The movie Game Day on IMDb - https://imdb.to/3b93kBY
JustWatch.com - https://bit.ly/33E2SsE
FiveThirtyEight - https://53eig.ht/2y0Ag1h
Slate Political Gabfest podcast - https://bit.ly/2QC5MJd
Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking - https://amzn.to/3b93hpM
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Terrence Edwards (@TerryReports) has gone deep on Mongolia. Moving there with the Peace Corps, he’s been in the country for more than a decade, braving 30 below temperatures in a yurt (ger) and runaway horses. He is Bloomberg’s point man for coordinating with Bloomberg TV Mongolia, a local affiliate in Mongolian languages, and does work for Bloomberg across all formats from serious text reporting on mines and politics to hilarious viral videos.
He talks about growing up in Long Island (9:52), making his own DIY journalism major and pursuing internships (14:34), his time in the Peace Corps showering only once ever two weeks (19:41), getting his foot in the door with journalism jobs in Ulaanbaatar (34:45), being Bloomberg’s jack of all trades (42:52), coordinating across the region on a story about coronavirus (47:41), and finally the Lightning Round (51:56).
Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
Jake's story on Amazon rainforest wood - https://reut.rs/3aDwwkk
Terrence’s funny video story on staying in a yurt - http://bit.ly/3aNEIP9
His story China’s Neighbors at Risk as Deadly Virus Continues to Spread - https://bloom.bg/3aEzox4
The Brazil Archive by The Intercept - http://bit.ly/331jWJ1
Hodinkee watch vlog - http://bit.ly/39ynS6v
Coffee vlogger James Hoffman - http://bit.ly/2Txbo9B
Chasing Cosby podcast - https://lat.ms/38xbi63
The Paycheck podcast - https://bloom.bg/2PXwpIh
Follow us on Twitter @foreignpod or on Facebook at facebook.com/foreignpod
Music: LoveChances (makaihbeats.net) by Makaih Beats
From: freemusicarchive.org