Why we’re launching ‘Why We Wrote This’
To know Monitor journalists as people is to understand Monitor journalism. Our audio team gets behind the mic (of course!) to talk about the thinking behind an illuminating new podcast.
Does the world need another podcast?
We think so. Our newest podcast, “Why We Wrote This,” tracks with a sharpening of mission at the Monitor – a new push to go deeper by looking at the values behind the news that can unite, rather than divide. Our show will make that work clearer.
This weekly podcast allows us “to dive deeper into the great reporting that the Monitor is already doing [while] also giving our audience a chance to really hear from us as people,” says Samantha Laine Perfas, host of “Why We Wrote This.” With distrust in the media at an all-time high, the hope is that this podcast will create a point of connection between reporters and news consumers and start to bridge that gap.
“I loved getting to know my colleagues,” says producer Jingnan Peng, on developing some of the first episodes. He points out that even though these episodes aren’t traditional news stories, they still allow listeners a way to go deeper than the headlines and experience what’s happening in the world. “There are all these interesting journeys they can go on when they listen to these episodes.”
“For loyal Monitor readers ... this is an opportunity to get to know the Monitor family and to be a part of it,” adds team editor Clayton Collins. “And to people who don’t know us ... it’s an opportunity to get to know a big extended family that happens to just have a really interesting way of looking at the world.”
Episode transcript
Samantha Laine Perfas: Welcome to Why We Wrote This. I’m your host, Samantha Laine Perfas.
[MUSIC]
Laine Perfas: Today marks the first official day of our new podcast. For those of you who have been with us, this podcast used to be called “Rethinking the News.” As of today, we’ve switched over to our new podcast title, “Why We Wrote This.” In each episode we will interview a Monitor reporter or editor about a story they wrote and why they wrote it. Now I’m joined by our editor, Clay Collins, and our producer, Jingnan Peng. And we’re going to talk about this change. Before we get into it, do you guys want to introduce yourselves and share a little bit about what you do?
Jingnan Peng: Hi, everyone. My name is Jing. I mainly produce feature videos and podcasts. I worked with you guys on a podcast called “Say That Again?” It’s about accent and dialects and language and how they affect our social lives. And we got shortlisted for a national journalism award. So, yeah.
Clay Collins: And I’m Clay. I’ve been here longer than I care to admit! I came up as a writer and editor, and I’ve been the Monitor’s innovation/new ventures guy on the editorial side. I helped launch the weekly magazine. And then I helped launch The Daily and edited that for a couple of years. Now I get to be in the middle of the action on audio, which is very exciting.
Sam, you’re usually the one asking all the questions on mic. So I want to just flip the script for a minute here and ask you: We’ve worked through a bunch of pre-launch episodes, what we’ve been calling our “pilot season,” and started to see “Why We Wrote This” get some lift with staff and early listeners, coming off a series of great narrative podcasts. What do you think makes “Why We Wrote This” the right show for the Monitor now, and for the times in which we’re living?
Laine Perfas: So I’ve been working at the Monitor for about seven years, and about five years ago we started working in audio again. I’ve been spearheading some of our audio efforts. We’ve done short form, long form, narrative, Q&A. What we’ve learned through the past few years is that our listeners just really love hearing from us. And this podcast is coming at a time when distrust in the media is really high. We at the Monitor are really aware of that and we take it very seriously. With this relaunch, it’s allowing us to dive deeper into the great reporting that the Monitor is already doing, but also giving our audience a chance to really hear from us as people, the journalists who are often behind the scenes. And I think that’s really cool. But I also want to hear from you guys. So Jing, you are the main producer of this show. What are you most excited about?
Peng: Well, the first thing that comes to mind actually is just editing down an interview. It’s something really satisfying when you hit that delete button, trim down something and it’s even better. But also I loved getting to know my colleagues as people with really compelling stories that gives them a certain energy that they bring into the stories that they do. For example, Martin Kuz went to Ukraine to report on how Ukrainians are responding to the Russian invasion. And he talked about his own father’s story – leaving Ukraine for good because of the repression from Russia. I’m able to see how he as a reporter saw some of the qualities of his own father in the spirit of the Ukrainians that he interviewed. It was also really fun to learn that Kendra [Nordin Beato], our reporter who did a cover story on Title XI, is currently coaching girls soccer. You know, that informs the way she reports on Carol Hutchins, this legendary softball coach. You feel close to these reporters. So, Clay, what do you like most about this new show?
Collins: I mean, first, getting to see both of you work has been amazing. Sam’s interviewing skills are really top notch, and to watch you take stories down in length as quickly as you do, Jing, is really impressive too. But also, it’s so much about being an opportunity to see Monitor journalism from the inside as the special work that it is. So in this run up series, we had, you know, Taylor Luck. He went into Saudi Arabia to work on an economic story. And then midway through, he saw it turn into a story on social expectations and transformation. And he talked about how he did that. We had Stephanie Hanes looking at the nuclear power debate, but looking at it in terms of the humility that it has taken for people on both sides of that debate to see the merits of the other side’s argument. That’s pretty cool. And then, of course, we had the joy that our photo director, Alfredo Sosa, expressed when he was hiking up that mountainside in Montana. We got to hear him huffing and puffing and talking about the work just in a really interesting way. Sam, you’ve been doing this the longest of any of us and you’ve often described that emotional power of audio. Can you say more about that?
Laine Perfas: Yeah, I, it’s one of the reasons I’ve really, in my career as a journalist, loved this pivot to audio. I think in the past I’ve always talked about, there’s this moment when you’re listening to an episode of someone sharing their really deep personal story, and you could hear them getting emotional and then you feel your own throat tighten. So I’m hoping that this podcast will provide many opportunities for our listeners to connect with not just the people out in the world, but also our own staff who are bringing themselves into their reporting. Jing or Clay, do either of you have anything else you want to add before we go?
Peng: I would just say to the audience that even though what we do is different from a traditional news story, there are all these interesting journeys they can go on when they listen to these episodes.
Collins: For loyal Monitor readers, many of whom have been with us for many years, decades, this is an opportunity to get to know the Monitor family and to be a part of it. And to people who don’t know us, who are coming in cold, it’s an opportunity to get to know a big extended family that happens to just have a really interesting way of looking at the world.
[MUSIC]
Laine Perfas: Thanks for listening. If you like what you heard, you can find more information and subscribe to our podcast by visiting csmonitor.com/whywewrotethis. In general, that’s where you’ll find our show notes and links to podcast apps like Spotify and Apple. This episode was hosted by me, Samantha Laine Perfas, and co-produced and edited with Clay Collins and Jingnan Peng. Our sound engineers were Tim Malone, Alyssa Britton, with original music by Noel Flatt. Produced by the Christian Science Monitor, copyright 2022.
