What Is It That Triggers a Story?

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee is a contributing writer for National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine. His new podcast is Chameleon: Scam Likely.

“I want a crumpled piece of paper where there are enough ridges and valleys and lines for me to be able to navigate, and they have to be authentic. And then of course the best stories among them will have surprise and intrigue, and things that are completely unexpected happen somewhere along the way. But it's hard to anticipate all of that. You still have to have a little bit of faith.”

Show notes:

• @Yudhijit
• yudhijit.com
• Bhattacharjee on Longform
• Bhattacharjee’s National Geographic archive
• Bhattacharjee’s New York Times archive
• 03:00 "Who’s Making All Those Scam Calls?" (New York Times Magazine • Jan 2021)
• 06:00 "The Downfall of India’s Kidney Kingpin" (Discover Magazine • Aug 2010)
• 09:00 Natalie Angier’s New York Times archive
• 09:00 George Johnson’s New York Times archive
• 09:00 Gina Kolata’s New York Times archive
• 18:00 Bhattacharjee’s Science archive
• 26:00 "The Man Who Captures Criminals for the D.E.A. by Playing Them" (New Yorker • July 2018)
• 29:00 "My Father and Me: A Spy Story" (GQ • June 2012)
• 29:00 The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell (Penguin Random House • 2016)

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