Broadcast Journalism
I Came from Cambodia, 1979
This interview I did on This Person I Met was especially influential to me. We interviewed a Russian author, Anna Krushelnitskaya, on her viewpoints on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I learned how to present information as factually as possible, while still being as sensitive as possible. Click here to listen.
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Part One: "That's Kyiv, My Hometown"
In the height of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022, a Ukrainian student at my high school reached out to our newspaper to request to write a piece about her experiences and beliefs regarding the war. In the end, after seeing the tone with which it was written, we were unable to publish her piece. However, I wanted to give her voice a platform in my podcast.
That's What a War is - Part One
This interview was with Russian-American author Anna Krushelnitskaya, on her viewpoints on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After interviewing the Ukrainian student (in the episode above), I realized that it was necessary to include perspectives from both "sides" of the story. These two interviews, both of which were incredibly moving, represent learning how to present information as factually as possible, while still being as sensitive as possible.
The Price of Plasma
This interview was also incredibly moving. The person we interviewed was a PhD candidate, Andalis Ochoa, researching how donating plasma has become an economic coping strategy for many impoverished people, to the point where it becomes incredibly detrimental to their health. This interview was especially significant to me because it revealed how concealed social justice issues often are, even when they reach dire levels. It takes active searching and genuine desire to learn about these problems to make change.
The Sky is the Limit - Part One
In this episode, I interviewed the host of Ann Arbor Tonight, Zach Damon. He was born with cerebral palsy, and the fact that he's so accomplished even with a physical disability is beyond inspiring. Besides being a television host, he is also a broadcaster, actor, public speaker, media project manager, supervisor, director, filmmaker, producer, and a lifelong activist for the local disabled community. This interview reminded me that each persons' story and their life experiences are infinitely more vast than anybody could ever predict, and sharing this incredibly important context can be extremely inspiring to others.
A Brighter Way - Part One: Those 27 Years
This interview was one of the most personally impactful ones I have ever conducted. Adam Grant had recently been released from a 27-year sentence for an armed bank robbery attempt, and I went into the interview with prejudice that I wasn't aware existed. His story and his experiences with being judged and mistreated by others after being released made me realize my own hypocrisy, and how detrimental even the smallest bit of close-mindedness can be -- it limits us from helping others achieve their rightful potential. This notion guides me to this day.
Angels' Work
This episode featured another University of Michigan professor, Jason Cheng. I was incredibly thankful that he was willing to share his journey with surrogacy, was able to provide him and his partner two healthy twin boys to complete their family. I didn't know much about surrogacy before doing research for the interview, and I was grateful for this chance to hear someone with first-hand experience speak about it.
Underground Superheroes
Lindsay Calka is the managing editor of Groundcover News, a newspaper that works to provide a source of income for hundreds of low-income or homeless individuals in the Ann Arbor community. People in need buy the newspaper from Groundcover, and then sell them for profit. These vendors are also the ones writing most of the articles in the issues, which mostly center around various human rights issues. Because this organization and its impact are so local, I thought it was important to cover it. Giving a voice to the people that Groundcover News benefits -- which I believe is crucial to the growth of grassroots organizations -- was my goal for this podcast episode.
...and Justice for All
The justice system has remained a topic I find a lot of interest in since my interview with Adam Grant in 2023. In this interview with Jen Peacock, the policy director for the Michigan Center for Youth Justice, I had the opportunity to learn a little more about how this system works for youth in particular. MCYJ focuses on ensuring that youth involved in the juvenile justice system have equitable access to qualified legal representation. Because I had no prior knowledge about many of the legal processes that relate to this issue, this interview challenged my ability to really absorb facts on the spot, and ask spontaneous follow-up questions.