The first few months on the job were incredibly isolating. I felt sort of ridiculous because I didn't speak Arabic and you know I eventually went and learned a little bit but it just was like one of those really humbling moments as a reporter. There's nothing more ruinous for a journalist either as a correspondent abroad or at home then to sort of sit and wait for your story to suddenly present itself.
Evan Osnos is a staff writer for The New Yorker. His new book is Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury.
“I'm always trying to get inside a subculture. That's the thing that I think has been the most enduring, attractive element for me. Is there a world that has its own manners and vocabulary and internal rhythms and status structure? And who looks down on whom? And why? And who venerates whom? Who's a big deal in these worlds? And if I can get into that, it doesn't even really matter to me that much what the subculture is. I'm fascinated by trying to map that thing out.”
Show notes:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices