Episode 494: Andrea Elliott

Longform

Andrea Elliott is an investigative reporter for The New York Times. Her recent book, Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in An American City, won a Pulitzer Prize.

”I don’t see reporting as a one-way street. ... I think that people need to know as much as they can about you. And yes, there are boundaries ... but at the same time, the fact of the boundaries is something to talk about with the people you’re writing about. Isn’t it weird that this is my job to be reporting on your life when we can laugh and we can break bread together and I spend all these hours with you and you know about my kids? ... And at the same time, I’m also here to write a book. ... And those two facts I learned to just allow to coexist within me. But it was not easy.”

Show notes:

• @andreafelliott
• andrea-elliott.com
• Elliott on Longform
• 00:00 Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in An American City (Random House • 2021)
• 01:00 "When Dasani Left Home" (New York Times Magazine • Sept 2021)
• 04:00 "Invisible Child: Girl in the Shadows, Dasani’s Homeless Life" (New York Times • Dec 2013)
• 17:00 "An Imam in America: Tending to Muslim Hearts and Islam's Future" (New York Times • Mar 2006)
• 17:00 "An Imam in America: To Lead the Faithful in a Faith Under Fire" (New York Times • Mar 2006)
• 17:00 "An Imam in America: A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds" (New York Times • Mar 2006)
• 17:00 "An Imam in America: A Cleric’s Journey Leads to a Suburban Frontier" (New York Times • Jan 2007)

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