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Transcript

GOING FOR IT: 'The New York Times' Reporter Talya Minsberg On Storytelling During The Biggest Moments In Sports & Embracing The Unknown · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I think it's the best part of being a journalist.
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: As I'm sure you can attest to, it's always learning
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: something new, and so as much as I love reporting
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: on running, it can be really fun to go and
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: learn about a sport that you really didn't know much
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: about before.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Hello, Hello, Emily Abadi.
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: Here you are listening to another installment of our limited
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: series this week on Hurdle, called.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Going for It.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: It's a monumental time for women in sport, as more
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: and more eyes are rightfully paying attention to her in
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: pursuit of what lights her on fire. Leading up to Paris,
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  Speaker 3: I'm bringing conversations to the forefront from women who will
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: be involved in this year's games, from athletes to journalists
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: and even your favorite peloton instructor.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: For today's episode, I love this conversation.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: I'm so elated to bring you my conversation with Talia Minsberg.
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: She's a reporter for the New York Times and this
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: isn't her first rodeo for our conversation. Today, she talks
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: to me about what her experience has been like covering
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: the news before, especially on the ground during such a
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: monumental time in sport, and how she thinks that this
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: year's Olympics is going to be a little bit different.
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: We also dive into how she chooses the stories that
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: she covers, what a typical day can look like for
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: a journalist on the ground, and so much more. Make
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: sure you're keeping up with all things Hurtle over on
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: social at Hurdle podcast. I'm over at Emily a Body
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: and subscribe to the weekly Hurdle newsletter while you're at it.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: The link to do that is in the show notes,
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: and it's absolutely free.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: With that, Let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling today.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: I'm sitting down with Italian Mensburg because she is a
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: reporter for the New York Times.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: How are we doing?
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  Speaker 4: We're great, thrilled to be here.
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  Speaker 3: We're thrilled to be here. I'm thrilled to have you
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: here because it's always a joy for me to be
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: able to sit down with someone else who identifies.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: As a journalist.
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  Speaker 3: I don't get to do that that often just because
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: of the nature of the show, but this series gives
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: me an opportunity to get inside your head.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Ma'am.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely happy to chat always.
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: How are you feeling going into this year's games?
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  Speaker 1: I am so stoked. These are the first Olympics since
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  Speaker 1: twenty eighteen where there have been crowds, and that is
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: going to be ugh. It's energy that everyone has missed.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: It's energy that the athletes have really missed. I mean,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the twenty twenty one Olympics in Tokyo were extraordinary and
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: they were empty and I will forever think about the
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: four hundred meter hurdle finals and Delila Mohammad and Sidney
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: mclough Lavarn and the final ten meters. It was wild
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: and we just this group of journalists I was just
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: looked around at this empty stadium.
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  Speaker 4: There was no one there.
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  Speaker 1: And now to be returning to an Olympics with full stadiums,
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  Speaker 1: I just I think it's going to be electric.
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  Speaker 2: It's going to be electric.
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  Speaker 3: And as you mentioned, this isn't your first Olympics by
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: any means. You have done it a couple of times now.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: You've been working at the Times since twenty eleven when
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: you started there as a news assistant. What a journey
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: that it's been. Did you envision once you landed your
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: first gig at the Times that you would stay there
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: for this long?
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  Speaker 1: I could not have dreamed it. I mean it has
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: been a lot of hard work. I've had a lot
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: of mentors who I'm very grateful for. But I mean,
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: I remember for the twenty twelve Olympics, I had been
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: there for a year and I just raised my hand
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  Speaker 1: and I was like, I like the Olympics and I
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: want to do whatever I can to help. And I
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: helped the social team, and I helped with different coverage,
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: different live coverage. We were experimenting. And that was the
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: same for every Olympics there after. And I went to
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: my first in twenty eighteen, and I mean, it is
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  Speaker 1: such a privilege. It is the hardest I've ever worked
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  Speaker 1: and the most fun I've ever had being an Olympic Games.
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  Speaker 2: I love that.
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  Speaker 3: And we'll get into the ins and outs of what
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: happens on the ground for you in just a little bit,
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  Speaker 3: but to give some context, your job right now at
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  Speaker 3: the Times is too And I'm taking this directly from
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: your bio rite about fitness, longevity and overall health through profiles,
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  Speaker 3: news articles and pieces that explain exactly quote unquote how
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: to how long have you been doing this specific role.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: So I've been doing that specific role since about February
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: of this year. I have had a bit of a
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: circuitous route here. I was on the sports desk until
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: last summer and the New York Times acquired the Athletic
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: and decided to close a sports desk, And now the
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: Athletic does most of the sports coverage for the New
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  Speaker 1: York Times. So I went to the Well desk, which
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: excited about an honor to be there. And then the
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: war broke out in Israel, and I had previously lived there,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: I speak Hebrew, and so I volunteered to help with
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: live coverage there. So I took a bit of a break.
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  Speaker 1: I went from sports to war coverage for about five
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  Speaker 1: six months and then was that math correct?
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: About five six months, and then went to the Well desk.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm still kind of a new kid on the
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  Speaker 1: wel desk, but I'm really really excited to be there.
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  Speaker 3: I will tell you that two journalists sitting in a
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  Speaker 3: room are never going to do math correctly.
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  Speaker 2: Never.
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  Speaker 3: Never.
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  Speaker 4: It's just I panicked, panicked.
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  Speaker 2: It's not in our favor, but I appreciate it.
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  Speaker 3: And even if it wasn't right, I'm just sitting here
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  Speaker 3: nodding like, yeah, that sounds great, that sounds awesome.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, the math maths. Yeah, the math maths.
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  Speaker 3: And wow also because what a crazy contrast of both
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: skill sets and interests and reporting. Right that speaks to
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  Speaker 3: your abilities as a journalist, because for so many, especially
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: the older that one gets in their career, the goal
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: is really to niche down, to get into a specific
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  Speaker 3: content area so that you can become an expert, which
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: you so certainly have within firstly sports and now working
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: within wellness. So to then pivot into this coverage in Israel.
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  Speaker 2: How was that for you?
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  Speaker 4: It was intense?
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  Speaker 1: I mean it was it was really really intense because
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  Speaker 1: I had lived there and have have done a lot
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  Speaker 1: of work in the area and know a lot of
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Israelis and Palestinians, and I've read a lot and feel
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  Speaker 1: like I have as good of a handle as one
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  Speaker 1: could in an impossibly difficult, complex situation. I was really
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: happy to be able to contribute in some way. I
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: always find the language around this to be difficult because
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: it's like there's no like, there's no happy, there's no
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: good like. It is awful in every every lens. But
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: it was I was really glad to be able to help.
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  Speaker 1: There are the Israeli and Palestinian journalists that we have
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  Speaker 1: on the ground too. Every international journalists we have there
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: like they were working twenty four to seven and to
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: get someone new to come in from New York to
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: help out. I was really really happy to be there.
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  Speaker 1: But it was a total shift. I mean, I was
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: like in Budapest with the World Championships a few like
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: two months prior, and then suddenly I'm reporting from a
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: war zone.
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  Speaker 4: So it was it was different.
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  Speaker 2: Have you watched Sprint yet?
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  Speaker 4: I watched two episodes. I have two episodes.
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  Speaker 3: I won't ask you any more questions then, because I
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: do not want to spoil it for you. But I
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: was reflecting on our time in Budapest upon watching it,
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: and thinking to myself, it feels like just yesterday, and
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: yet here we are fast forward X amount of time later,
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  Speaker 3: ready to go back to the Olympics, ready to watch
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: them compete again.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: It feels completely like yesterday. And I've been thinking about
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: that because of the heat. It is so hot in
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: New York right now. It's supposed to be so hot
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: in Paris. And I feel like when we ran into
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: each other in Budapest, we were each doing a long run,
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  Speaker 1: we were each in marathon.
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  Speaker 4: Training, we were and we.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Were just trying to figure out how these pro athletes we're.
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: Going to keep it together.
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  Speaker 2: I really don't know.
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  Speaker 3: Speaking of it being hot in Paris, your most recent
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  Speaker 3: article from July sixth, this Olympics could be the hottest yet.
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: Here is how athletes are preparing. On this note, when
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: you come up with ideas, would you say, what's the
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: ratio of you pitching ideas versus being assigned ideas?
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: That's a great question, and I'm still figuring it out.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: I have a new editor who's wonderful. Her name is
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: Molly Mirrisham. She just came to The New York Times
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: from Outside Magazine, and so we're definitely like in that
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: new reporter editor figuring out our flow moment.
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: But there's definitely a balance.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: There's always been a balance, I think in my previous
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: roles as well, but this.
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: One with the heat.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Molly and I were just chatting and I was like, look,
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: you know, Tokyo is really hot. That was a huge
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: thing that athletes were preparing for. The same thing is
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: going to happen in Paris. I'm pretty sure athletes have
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: been training already for this heat. I'm going to be
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: a new gene for the trials, like, let's see what
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: I can get out there. Yeah, And so I asked
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: a lot of athletes out there and the responses were intense,
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: equal parts intense and hysterical. The sprinters were like, bring
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: it on, we love this, we want the heat. And
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: a lot of the distance runners we're talking about just
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: how gnarly their training is to get ready for it.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: But that was a collaborative idea.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: I would say, yeah, and your siting here, and this
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: is important to note that you talk to a lot
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: of runners.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: Would you say that that is.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: Kind of the zone that you live in the most
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: when it comes to Olympics coverage or do you diversify
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: and crossover to different sports?
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: It's a little bit of everything, I would say. I
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: would say I know a lot about running, and I've
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: spent a lot of time covering track and field, cross country,
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: marathon majors, etc. But when it comes to the Olympics,
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: I feel like I really diversify. When I was at
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: the Tokyo Olympics, I covered beach volleyball live. I learned
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: a ton about beach volleyball. At the Winter Olympics, I
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: did a lot of snowboarding, skiing, a lot of cross
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: country skiing, which I'm from Minnesota, so I should be
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: across country skier.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: I'm not.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: I don't like the cold, It's ridiculous. So once i
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: I'm at the games and ahead of the Games, I
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: try to really think big and broad about Olympics and
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: the other sport I do cover a fair amount is surfing.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: So I'm really excited for surfing at these Olympics.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: So take us then into your process, take us into
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: the beginning stages. You just mentioned that you start to
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: idea before you get on the ground.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: So what does that look like for you?
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: So the Olympics are fun because fun and overwhelming because
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: there are so many people and there are so many sports,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: and there are so many stories. And so even before
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: I tried to, you know, thought about drilling down into
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: specific people and really specific stories that have not been told,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: I tried to think a bit broader. And one of
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: the stories, depending on when this pod comes out it
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: may be live, is I wanted to just write a
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: profile about the Olympic Wave, which is a wave called
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: Tiahopu in Tahiti. It literally translates roughly to wall of skulls,
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: and it's one of the most dangerous waves in the world.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: And so it's also thinking about like, okay, like when
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: we look at the Olympics from ten thousand feet, what
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: are some stories that people may know? Like, oh, yeah,
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: it's this the surfing wave is ten thousand miles away
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: into Heati. Okay, how can we like take the next
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: layer off of that that maybe people don't know too
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: much about. So I try to think big and broad,
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: and then from there I try to really drill down.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: So did you interview the wave? Like, so what exactly?
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: I got on a plane. I jumped right in.
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: And you said, tell me all of your stories wave.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: Who does want to? But I mean, what a great idea.
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: But then also give me some depth into who you
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: talk to for a story like that.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, So, first of all, it's one of those places
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: in one of those waves where I'm a surfer, I
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: would not get anywhere near it. It's like, it is
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: a such a dangerous wave. You have to have such
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: respect and understanding of the surf break to go there,
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: unless you're on a dinghy or jet ski. That being said,
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: I talked to a lot of surfers who spent a
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: lot of time in that surf break in Tiahopu, And
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: so that includes a lot of Olympians who were at
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: the Tokyo Olympics at Surgasaki Beach, which is like exactly opposite.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: It was just this mushy wave where you couldn't really
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: do much. So a lot of Olympians who have been
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: training specifically for this wave. I tried to also talk
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: to a lot of locals, you know, people who grew
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: up there, live there, know the energy of the wave,
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: have spent a lot of time in the nature there,
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: and have like, really what amounts to a relationship with
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: the wave?
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah? I love I love the passion that comes through
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: as you talk about your reporting. And this is only
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: clearly in one instance, but it's really just so interesting
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: to me, not only the depth of the knowledge that
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: you have for the topics that you're reporting on, but
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: then also to be able to spread that across so
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: many stories simultaneously. Do you feel like that ability for
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: you to be able to have your hands in so
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: many things at one time is something that took years
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: to cultivate.
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: Ooh, that's a good question. I feel like I am.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: I can be over enthused about everything, so and I
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: kind of feel like I've been like that for a
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: long time. So once I get kind of excited about something,
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: we'll get really excited about it, which is to say,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: when I learn one little thing, I usually want to
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: learn the next thing. And again with the Olympics, there
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: are so many stories like beach I know so little
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: about beach volleyball before I started really learning about beach volleyball.
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: That sport is so hard. It is so hard, and
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: I found really exciting to learn. I mean, I think
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: it's the best part of being a journalist, as I'm
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: sure you can attest to if you're always learning something new,
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: and so as much as I love reporting on running,
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: it can be really fun to go and learn about
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: a sport that you really didn't know much about before.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: This is something that I'm sure a lot of people
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: don't take into consideration when they're reading an article, and
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: that is just how much time goes into the background,
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: the research that needs to happen so that you can
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: then show up to the people that you want to
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: interview and ask smart, intelligent questions that they are like, Okay,
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: this woman knows.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: Her stuff absolutely.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's also it's really just respecting who you're
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: speaking with I never want to go up to someone
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: and ask for their time, and then it becomes clear
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: that I have no idea what I'm talking on. I'm
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: almost asking them to do my work for me.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, no, I can definitely relate with that.
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: So for you, you mentioned this story about the big wave,
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: But when it comes to overall ideation for other things
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: that you know you're going to want to report out
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: while you're on the ground, what kind of background work
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: goes into that ahead of things.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: It's a lot of reading, it's a lot of talking
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: to people, it's a lot of I find it's a
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: mix of talking to people who follow the Olympics or
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: specific sports really closely, and then also my friends who
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: could not care less. I'm like, what do you find
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: in Like, what do you know about the summer Olympics?
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: What do you think is interesting? And sometimes asking people
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: who aren't following anything at all can be a great
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: way to find some stories that few people are talking about.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Sometimes the people that are really in the weeds are like,
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: you know, I want to know like this athlete's training
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: plan and what they eat in their post race, you know,
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: blah blah blah and that stuff.
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: Is fascinating to me.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: But sometimes it's like my dad, who is not a
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: sports guy, Well send me an article and be like
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: this was weird and it will totally spark something. So
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: I really like also asking people who are really observing
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: it from far away and don't really have any close
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: connection to any sports, but maybe having something they're a
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: little curious about, which can be a real spark.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: I only just recently learned about the geography of this Olympics,
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: being that so much of it is actually not in Paris.
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's going to be complicated.
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: That is very complicated, especially like with the soccer.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: I was looking at tickets the other day and I
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: thought to myself, Oh, I'm free this day. And then
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: I was like, oh, but do you have the time
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: to take a four hour train to go to Nice
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: to watch this, or to go to Versailles to do this.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: It's all over the place.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: And that's something we need to take into consider when
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: you're thinking about reporting. So if I'm trying to do
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: a story and I want to get a certain number
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: of athletes or make it to a certain number of
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: games or matches or races, I got to think logistically,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: and that's that's going to be a huge part of
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: these Olympics. Because the events are all over France and
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: even within Paris, everyone's kind of expecting it to be
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: a little complicated, like, yeah, it's going to be super crowded.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: Everyone should be depending on public transit. But public transit
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: is public transit. If it's full, if it's late, et cetera.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: So there's you're going to have to be flexible, and
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: so that's something I also try to be aware of.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: That is excited and enthusiastic. I am, as you know,
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: I want to get these ten stories done. Well, you
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: could spend one day like stuck in traffic for a
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: long time and then just need to pivot.
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so let's talk logistically then about, for instance, the
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: ten stories maybe that you want to get done. Is
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: that a realistic number of the amount of pieces that
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: you're trying to create while you're on the ground.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: Is it more? Is it less? What does that look like?
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: So ten was a big number. As soon as I
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: said that, we talked about math already. Okay, yeah, so
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: it really depends the times used to do a fair
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: amount of live coverage at the Olympics, We'll be doing
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: a bit less this year, at least, I will be
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: doing a bit less than I did at the Tokyo
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: and Beijing Olympics. For example, on days where we did
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: live coverage, you could be getting a lot of copy
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: out the door because it's fast, it's you're writing, you're
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: getting through edits, and it's published. For feature stories, ones
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: that are a bit longer, ones where you may be
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: working pretty closely with a photographer art director, those take
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: a little bit longer. So it really depends on the
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: kinds of stories that we're working on. A same example,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: the heat story that you mentioned that that was a
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: faster turnaround. The wave story I'm working on that'll be
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: a slower one. So there's a bit of a calculus.
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: It's so interesting as well, because then you kind of
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: have to think about what the overall investment is on
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: behalf of the times to send you out there for
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: how many days will you be out there? Three weeks?
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: So you're in Paris for three weeks. It's arguably the
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: most expensive time to visit Paris. New York Times is
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: putting you up so that you can do your job,
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: which you normally get paid for as you are, and
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: then do you feel a certain amount of pressure or
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: anxiety or some kind of way about creating a certain amount,
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: or is it more about the quality of each piece
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: that you're creating.
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: I would say it's a bit quality over quantity.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: But a lot of the New York Times is full
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: of I think I can safely say type A people
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: who want to do really good work, who want to
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: do all of their work well, who want to hit
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: all the deliverables, who want to get good pieces, different
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: kinds of features and scoops and all of it. But
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: it's also you know, working closely with editors, and there's
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: a big team of us, and there's very much a
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: team mentality. At the Olympics, no one is sleeping much,
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: no one is doing much of anything except working really hard.
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: So it's you.
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: Know, I'm I'm guessing I've at the times, I've been
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: both an editor and a reporter, so I could imagine
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: a situation in Paris where they're like, hey, put your
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: reporting on hold, we need you to edit some things
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: and get them out the door. And that's great too,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: and then I would shift my priority and do that.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's all so interesting to me, just thinking about
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: the structure and how it all unfolds, especially with such
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: time sensitive material and with new and exciting things happening
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: every single day.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: Right there are big stories that are.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: Happening minute by minute, and you're there on the ground,
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: reporting in a place where so many people would kill
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: to be.
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: When I say that to.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: You and I remind you that you are in this position,
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: in a place where so many people would love to
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: be reporting live on the Olympics, how does that make
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: you feel?
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: I feel so fortunate. It's not lost on me for
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: a second. There's I think about this a lot. The
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: first Olympics I went to was pyong Chang in the
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: twenty eighteen It was twenty eighteen winter, and I was
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: working so hard and I was having so much fun
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: and on the like I don't know, fifteenth day of
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: being there, I met a colleague at breakfast and I
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: was just buzzing and smiling and so excited. And he
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: looked at me and he was like, we have been
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: here for so long as left, so you don't still
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: have to be happy, like you can show that you're time.
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: And I was like, no, this is so cool. I'm
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: just so happy to be here.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: And I feel that even when I'm exhausted, even when
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: I wish I was eating a meal or getting a
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: little more sleep. It is, it is not lost on
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: me how lucky I am to be there.
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: So then give us a snapshot of what a day
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: could look like. And it is it is not lost
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: on me that they all look very different. But you
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: have done this a few times now, so take me
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: through what happens from like the moment you wake up
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: and when that might be.
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: So you'll appreciate this.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: As a runner, I frequently do the calculus of Okay,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: should I get a little more sleep or should I
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: get a run in. Frequently I choose the run because
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: I'm I just choose the run unless I'm really, really,
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: really tired, and then sometimes I chose sleep. But so
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: I try to get up and get a run in.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: This was I will say, everything will be so different.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: The last two Olympics we were in bubbles, so there
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: was no leaving the hotel. So this is I'm like,
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: the opportunity to run in Paris. I am not going
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: to sleep in Paris.
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: I know that.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: So I would try to get up and get a
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: run in, get some food in, and then, depending on
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: the day, usually there's a place at the Olympics called
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: the MPC, the Media Press Center, I believe, and most
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: major news organizations have little offices within the MPC. So
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: I would get to the MPC pretty early, and that's
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: where all the reporters, editors, photographers, photo editors have either
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: already gathered or are gathering and then dispersing again and again.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Depending on the day, I may be going straight to
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: an arena or if not, the PC, and then it's
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: figuring out who's doing what the priorities of the day are. Again,
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: frequently you kind of know that the night before, but
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: it just depends. But it could be running around to
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: three different venues. It could be doing some work at
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: the MPC and then going to the track. It could
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: be spending a lot of time working with a photographer
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: and figuring out logistics of how you're getting to where
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: you need to go, but then getting in a different
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: car and a different train to get to the other place.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: And then it's a combination of writing, editing, watching, talking,
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: figuring out the next thing, finding a handful of trail mix.
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: Rinse, repeat, priority, priority, priority, and when you say interviewing,
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: is a lot of that interviewing happening in the mix zone,
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: or do you have an opportunity, even during this crazy
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: time with all these athletes, to ever get time with
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: them outside of that mix zone.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Remarkably you can, Yeah, And it really depends frequently. It
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: depends on the athlete, and it depends on what their
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: competition schedule is. So I'm thinking of an example the
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: last Winter Olympics where I talked to a German bob
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: sled athlete at her hotel, and it was pretty early on.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: It was also in the pandemic bubble in that everyone
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: was excited to interact with another human. There was just
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: so little interaction and it was just a bit of
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: a quieter Olympics because of that. But is anyone going
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: to get some own biles to talk in between rounds
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: of competition? Absolutely not, And that's true for many of
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: the biggest name competitors and the biggest sports. They are
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: just so focused and rightfully, so we'll take the time
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: in the mix zone that they need to take and
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: then go do their thing.
• 23:37
  Speaker 4: So it really does depend.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, how could you fault them?
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: Right? Like they're there to do the one thing that
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: they train all year for, and yet everybody else also
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: wants to highlight them during this major moment. It's a
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: little bit of a conflict of interest right completely.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: And I'm always wildly impressed with the athletes coming through
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: the mixzone, who can really gather their thoughts right after competition,
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: no matter how it went, and express what they're going through.
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: So let's talk a little bit about that mixed zone,
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: because I think that that is something that a lot
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: of people listening to this might not know much about.
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: What does it look like, how does it operate, and
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: who has to go through there.
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: So it does depend on a few different things.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: But for track and field in particular, the athlete will
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: get off the track, they'll go through there's it's like
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: a it's like a airport line of different things that
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: each athlete needs to do. And you got to remember
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: this is the Olympics, so it is the world media.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: There are so there's a ton of TV stations from
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: a million different countries, and if it's a German athlete,
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: there's gonna be they really are going to want to
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: talk to the Germans. TV station is going to want
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: to talk to the German athlete, and then next to them,
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: the Japanese TV station is going to want to talk
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: to the Japanese athlete.
• 24:49
  Speaker 4: So they weave through.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: Usually it's TV first, and then there's print media, and
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: it's kind of like an airport line that people gather
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: in different spots. Different people are trying to get different athletes.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: It's a little chaotic. They don't have to stay a
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: certain amount of time. Athletes usually recognize their country's media,
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: like their country's journalists, either by face or language. And
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: then sometimes there will be athletes that come through with interpreters,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: which can be helpful. And then there are sometimes press conferences,
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: so in addition to going through the mix zone, there
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: will be an organized press conference where let's say the
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: top three athletes in a certain event will come through,
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: and then in something that resembles a boardroom under a stadium,
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: journalists get to ask questions.
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: And so do the athletes need to stop and talk
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: to people in the mix zone.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: I don't know the answer for the Olympics, because the
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: answers do differ a little bit.
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: So it need to fact check that.
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: I don't know if this wouldn't be a podcast with
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: a New York Times reporter if you didn't tell me
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: at one point or another that you needed to fact
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: check some.
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: I'm just not positive, so I can't say for sure.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: I will say that, you know, one of the more
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: memorable moments in the mix zone from Tokyo. Again, because
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: it was a pandemic Olympics, it was athletes were very raw.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: They were by themselves, they couldn't come with family, they
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: didn't have friends there. They were relying on each other
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: for emotional support. And there was one moment where Noah
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Lyles came through the mix zone and he just started
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: to sob and he just talked about how hard it
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: had been for him and how much he missed his
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: people and missed the crowds and this wasn't what he imagined.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: And it was really moving. And no one asked questions.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: They just everyone let him talk and that was his
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: choice and it was this really moving moment. But then
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: there are plenty of other athletes who I'm sure felt
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: similarly and were like, I'll answer a question or two,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: but I just want to be by myself.
• 26:51
  Speaker 4: And I can absolutely respect that too.
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: Wow.
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: What a wild, wild time and truly so interesting to
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: think about how different this is going to be. Are
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: so many athletes, some of whom are experiencing it for
• 27:03
  Speaker 3: the first time, but others who they only have had
• 27:06
  Speaker 3: that one other Olympic experience, So it's just yeah, so different.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: It's so different. And that's why this four hundred meter
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: hurdle world record performance sticks in my mind because I
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: just I remember looking around and being like, we're the
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: only people that saw that live.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and the stadium would have been going nuts. Yeah.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: So it's I I'm really especially happy for athletes who,
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: if this is their second Summer Olympics, are getting to
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: perform which they're doing. They're performing in front of an audience.
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: Taking a break from today's episode to give some love
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: to my sponsor at Element for making this special series possible.
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• 29:16
  Speaker 3: You mentioned that really special moment with Noah in Tokyo.
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: I'm sure that there have been so many standout moments
• 29:22
  Speaker 3: for you in your reporting over the years. When you
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: think about some of the most poignant moments that you've
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: witnessed in sport, what comes to mind?
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: There are so many, and that's such a gift to
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: even be able.
• 29:38
  Speaker 4: To say as such. I would say.
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: So.
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: I grew up in Minnesota. My grandparents lived in San Diego,
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: and I always told them that one of the greatest
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: gifts they gave me unintentionally was living in San Diego,
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: because I learned to surf as a kid, and I
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: love it. I'm horrible, I am a I am a
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: very not talented surfer, but I love it. I love
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: me in the ocean. I love like understanding a new wave.
• 30:03
  Speaker 4: I love it.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: And so a lot of the surf reporting I've done
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: has been such a gift. And I wrote a piece,
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: I want to say two years ago about a wave
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: on the north shore of o Wahoo, and I've been
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: very lucky to spend a lot of time in Oahu.
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: And it was about this moment in women's surfing where
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: more and more women were surfing pipeline, and Pipeline, which
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: is a very dangerous wave and a very iconic wave,
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: has all of these women dominating this wave. And it
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: used to be a wave that women were one. There
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: would be one woman in the lineup of two hundred men,
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: and watching young girls paddle out and watching young girls
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: watch some of the older women competing in pipeline. Was
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: this really incredible thing because even when I was little
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: there in San Diego, I served at the surf break
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: called Lahoya Shores, and it was like very beginner friendly
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: and everyone was really nice, but I would be the
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: only girl out there sometimes and I was never treated poorly,
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: but I felt it. And seeing one of the most
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: iconic waves in the world become a space where more
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: and more young girls were like, I'm going to surf
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: that wave. I can surf that wave was such an
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: incredible thing to witness. To witness that shift and to
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: talk to these young women who are just queens of
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: pipe and that that was a really special moment to
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: report on, to watch and to be in the presence of.
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: You've been working at the Times for over a decade now.
• 31:41
  Speaker 3: Arguably it is easy to assume that you learned how
• 31:44
  Speaker 3: to do a majority of your storytelling while working at
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: the Times. But what else would you say has contributed
• 31:52
  Speaker 3: to your overall voice in your reporting? Where would you
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: credit most of your inspiration too.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: I grew up in a house where my parents were newsies,
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: Like there were two newspapers, the local News and the
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: New York Times were on the kitchen table every day,
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: and pr was on all the time. So my parents
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: are definitely people that were very plugged into the news
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: and curious about the world.
• 32:17
  Speaker 4: And I also grew up.
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: In a family and a community where asking questions and
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: challenging authority was always encouraged. So I was never told like, yeah,
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: this is just the way it is. I was always
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: encouraged to ask why, which I'm sure got incredibly annoying
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: as a little kid. But I think that really helped
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: me become the journalist I am today, because I rarely
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: just not in smile when someone says something that doesn't
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: really make sense or where I want another explanation, And
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: so I think I can credit my community and my
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: family for that.
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: What's been the biggest mistake that you've made while working
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: at the Times?
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: Oh this is I have a great one.
• 32:59
  Speaker 3: Actually, I have a good one too, from my days
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: when I worked for somebody else.
• 33:03
  Speaker 4: Oh I'm excited.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you go ahead first.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: So I co wrote a piece with a reporter named
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: Nick corsiniti There is also a reporter at The New
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: York Times named Nick Confessori. And I was on the
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: phone with the editor and she was like, you worked
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: with Nick, right, And I was I was actually in
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: Hawaii reporting and I was like, yeah, yeah, and she
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: was like, Confesssori and I was like, yeah, driving, just
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: did not pay attention to the last name. The article
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: comes out and I get a message from Nick Confessori
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: and he was like, hey, Bud, that was definitely Corciniti.
• 33:38
  Speaker 4: And I was humiliated and.
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: Luckily it was caught quickly, but I was like, how
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: did I not I co wrote it with Nick Corsinedi,
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: and somehow on the phone with the editor just completely
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: I just heard Nick coo and I was like, yep,
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: that's the guy.
• 33:55
  Speaker 4: And I was, oh, my gosh.
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: I was so humiliated, and I remember I was driving
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: across the eye and in that moment, I was like,
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: I'm not cut out for this. I totally had this
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: moment of like being like, you're done. You messed it
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: up this time. And to both their credits, they're both
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: extraordinary reporters and extraordinarily kind, and they thought it was
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: hysterical as I was having a full breakdown.
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: And was this digital only when you realize the mistake
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: or was it in print as well?
• 34:22
  Speaker 4: Digital only?
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: Thank goodness, it was. I realized it was like within
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: five minutes of publication, but I was still just so rightly.
• 34:31
  Speaker 4: So that was a mistake.
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: So that was that was my.
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: Biggest totally understandable and also I'm sure that the time
• 34:38
  Speaker 3: difference didn't make it feel any less anxiety written, because
• 34:42
  Speaker 3: whenever you're not where you're supposed to be and something
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: goes wrong, it feels, I would argue, eighteen thousand times
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: worse because you're not there in that moment where everybody
• 34:51
  Speaker 3: else is to remediate it.
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, like I was driving and I was like, oh
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: my god, I'm so oh, yeah, it was awful.
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: Oh my goodness. But it happened.
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: But like I said, that was a digital easy fix.
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: Has there been a print mishap?
• 35:07
  Speaker 4: I'm sure there has.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: Because I've I've definitely had corrections as unfortunately, I would
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: say most people have. I don't have a big enough
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: ego to say I don't, but I don't know.
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know. Do you remember your first correction?
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: Yes, because I also had a full breakdown about it
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: and now it I don't even remember what it was.
• 35:31
  Speaker 4: I know, I just remember that what could it have been?
• 35:36
  Speaker 4: I mean, it can be.
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: There are so many like The New York Times is
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: extremely as they should be strict about corrections. So if
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: you get someone's title incorrect, for example, if they're a
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: clinical director instead of a medical director, it could be
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: you know, anything like that, that is a correction. And
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: so there have been times where I've gotten a title
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: incorrect and that feels so silly because I should be
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: fact checking that seven times over, which I do. But
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: when that happens, it's still, Oh, I hate it.
• 36:07
  Speaker 3: But for those that don't know, you're not the only
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: person that touches the article to fact check it.
• 36:12
  Speaker 4: Oh yeah, and that is plain that.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: So at the New York Times, you have at least
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: at least two editors looking at your copy, and I
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: very much want to pride myself on handing in clean copy.
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: That is, the names are correct, the titles are correct,
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: the quotes are everything in there. I have fact checked
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: at least twice over, and having two more editors is
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: just another two rounds of safety and two rounds of
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: gut check, and two rounds of like, eh, maybe that
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: sentence could be phrased a little differently, or I don't
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: totally understand what you were saying there. And that is
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: a total privilege of working at the Times. And is
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: very I think it's very evident in the copy that
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: is published.
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: Ah wow.
• 36:56
  Speaker 3: So I want to bring it back around to the
• 36:58
  Speaker 3: Olympics as they are coming. What would you say that
• 37:01
  Speaker 3: you are most excited for with this upcoming games.
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: I'm excited to hear athletes talk about what this games
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: is like for them mentally compared to Tokyo. A lot
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: of athletes were pretty open, Noel Ales being one of them,
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: about how difficult it was.
• 37:22
  Speaker 4: I mean twenty twenty.
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: The twenty twenty Olympics happened in twenty twenty one, we
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: still call them the twenty twenty Olympics. I honestly think
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: in part because all the merch was printed all like,
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: everything was printed, so true, but no one was doing
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: particularly well in twenty twenty one, and I think it
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: was a bit of a heavy games, even though everyone
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: tried to be really celebratory. And I'm really curious to
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: talk to talk to athletes about what this Olympics feels
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: like for them, for those who are returning.
• 37:50
  Speaker 4: And I also think.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: We're there's a lot of this is a heavy time
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: in history, or at least it feels like it for
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: a variety of reasons and I feel like everyone wants
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: a few good, feel good stories, and I really hope
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: we get a lot of those, and I think we will.
• 38:06
  Speaker 3: So my question then becomes knowing that the goal is
• 38:10
  Speaker 3: always to find the untold stories, and also knowing that
• 38:14
  Speaker 3: everyone has an understanding of how different the two experiences
• 38:19
  Speaker 3: will be from Tokyo to Paris. How do you approach
• 38:23
  Speaker 3: knowing what your goal is to talk to so many
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: athletes about that difference with your own unique spin?
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: How do you think about that?
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: That's a question I have to keep figuring out. Yeah,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: that's I think.
• 38:35
  Speaker 4: You know.
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: I'm getting to the Olympics a few days before they begin,
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: so I think I land on Tuesday and the opening
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: ceremony is Friday, and I'm really hoping to use those
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: first few days to really hit the ground running and
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: figure out who I want to talk to logistically, how
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: I'm going to get from point A to point B.
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: Who are some athletes that maybe have voices that haven't
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: been heard. You're gonna have to stay tuned.
• 38:56
  Speaker 4: I guess.
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 38:57
  Speaker 3: And so are you there for both the Olympics and
• 38:59
  Speaker 3: the perilm or does someone else come in and do
• 39:01
  Speaker 3: Paralympics for your desk.
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: Someone else is coming in and doing to do the Paralympics,
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: and that's Alana Bergeron, who's a wonderful, wonderful journalist, and
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: she's going to do a fantastic work.
• 39:11
  Speaker 4: I'm excited for her.
• 39:13
  Speaker 3: So aside from the fact that you've already outlined that
• 39:17
  Speaker 3: your days are quite hectic, how do you find any
• 39:21
  Speaker 3: way to take care of Talia when you're so ingrained
• 39:26
  Speaker 3: in your work During that three week period.
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: I think about the little moments where I can really
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: take in where I am and what I'm doing. There
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: was one moment the first Olympics I was at I
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: hadn't looked away from the computer in like fourteen hours,
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: and none of us had slept, and the lead photo
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: editor and a photographer were like, we're so close to
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: Bob's led. Let's just go watch Bob's led. And so
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: we got on this bus and we went to Bob's
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: led and no, it wasn't bob sled was luge, which
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: is insane.
• 39:59
  Speaker 4: The they go so fast. I can I cannot.
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: I do not know how to describe it. But taking
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: that moment, it was probably an hour. It was an
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: hour away from the office in my computer but just
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: being with these two people who are extraordinary photo editors
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: and photographers, and just witnessing. This was this moment of
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: like just being present and grasping what I was able
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: to witness and what kind of work I was doing.
• 40:24
  Speaker 3: Do you write outside of the writing that you're doing
• 40:27
  Speaker 3: for the times while you're on the ground for an
• 40:29
  Speaker 3: event like this?
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: The answer should be yes, and it is less so
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: because I feel like I really, actually, you know what,
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: I wonder if I have journals somewhere. This is this year,
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: I've been doing one page a day because I've been
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: I really just know that I should be journaling more.
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: So I'm hoping to. I'm hoping to journal.
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: Can we unpack the should? There? Yes? Why the should?
• 40:54
  Speaker 3: Why do you feel as though you should be journaling more?
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: I think it could be helpful for me and my
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: mental health, and I think, like many of us, I'm
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: trying to take a little more space away from my computer,
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: screen and phone and watch and all of it.
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: How does it feel for you in the act of journaling?
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: Sometimes going back to the toll type a thing, I'm like,
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: I am doing the thing I said I was going
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: to do the thing, and I'm doing the thing.
• 41:21
  Speaker 4: Yeah, but it also feels good, you know.
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it feels good to write, to get something on paper.
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it feels like a responsibility. Sometimes it feels like
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: Emily's really good at this, and I look up to Emily.
• 41:35
  Speaker 3: Oh my goodness, I'm gonna be honest with you. I've
• 41:37
  Speaker 3: been on a slacking journal kick lately. I'm actually I've
• 41:40
  Speaker 3: been really good at it, oddly enough when I'm not
• 41:43
  Speaker 3: at home. But it's like I feel as though I
• 41:47
  Speaker 3: get home and I'm working so hard to get my
• 41:49
  Speaker 3: feet back under me that what used to be a
• 41:52
  Speaker 3: really grounding practice for me feels like an extra to
• 41:56
  Speaker 3: do at this moment. I know for certain that when
• 42:00
  Speaker 3: I hit the ground running in Paris that is going
• 42:03
  Speaker 3: to be a huge priority for me. Is really pausing
• 42:07
  Speaker 3: to take stake of how I'm feeling where I'm at,
• 42:12
  Speaker 3: because when it comes down to it, and I think
• 42:15
  Speaker 3: about how this has been something that's been a goal
• 42:18
  Speaker 3: for me for so long as well, it's like be
• 42:21
  Speaker 3: where your feet are, and I think that sometimes as
• 42:24
  Speaker 3: I say this, I'm like thinking about the fact that
• 42:26
  Speaker 3: I've been a little hesitant on my journaling practice at home.
• 42:29
  Speaker 3: I really do need to just take a step back
• 42:31
  Speaker 3: and realize, like, how fortunate I am to have the
• 42:34
  Speaker 3: opportunity to take inventory.
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: Of what's going on.
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, see, you're motivating me to get back into my
• 42:41
  Speaker 3: journaling practice.
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: It's gonna and it will be so fun for you
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: to read back. I mean, you read an email from
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: a year ago, and that's that's not a journal, but
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: it's a memory of like, look at how hard I've
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: worked to get here and now I'm here.
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's kind of wild.
• 42:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, speaking of reading an email from a year ago,
• 42:56
  Speaker 3: your past three Olympic experiences, what do you see happening
• 42:59
  Speaker 3: from here you've been at the time since twenty eleven?
• 43:03
  Speaker 2: Is the street continuing?
• 43:04
  Speaker 3: What do you project for yourself as you move forward
• 43:06
  Speaker 3: in your career?
• 43:08
  Speaker 4: That is a million dollar question.
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: It feels like I feel so incredibly lucky to do
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: the work I do. I feel so incredibly lucky to
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: be excited about my work. I feel so incredibly lucky
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: to admire so many of my colleagues. I just feel
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: really fortunate to be in a space and a place
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: where I learn so much from so many people every day.
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: And I hope I'm in this interesting place right where
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: You're right, like, I'm kind of torn where I really
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: love doing the work that I've been doing, and I
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: do feel like I have this niche, and I also
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: love the idea of continuing to explore other things. So
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: I'm really not sure, and I'm kind of okay with that.
• 43:45
  Speaker 3: This is a two part question, the first part being
• 43:47
  Speaker 3: what would you say, can you identify or articulate what's
• 43:51
  Speaker 3: been one of the most impactful interviews you've ever done.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say this is, you know, going back
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: to this curveball of doing some reporting on the Israel
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: Gaza war. I interviewed these peace activists, these Israelian Palestinian
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: peace activists, pretty early in the war, and in this
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: moment where everyone was so polarized. You were on team
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: A or Team B. And if you're on Team A,
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: you can recognize Team a's pain, and if you're on
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: Team B, you can recognize Team bee's paid. But there
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: was this you're just one team or the other, and
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: it felt very intensely like that in a lot of
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: interviews and conversations and coverage, frankly, and talking to these
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: two activists who cared for each other so deeply and
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: were so clearly able to see and recognize and empathize
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: with the pain they were experiencing and the trauma they
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: were experiencing. And to hear them say in this moment
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: where very few people are looking at the person on
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: the air, quote other team and saying the only way
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: we survive is if we both survive was incredibly powerful.
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: And I think it was powerful because it was every
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: conversation was so heightened, and they had this very quiet
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: power and very quiet logic, and speaking with them and
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: seeing the love and care they had for each other,
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: it was so simple and so obvious to them and
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: also so revolutionary.
• 45:25
  Speaker 3: I think it's also really special that you approach a
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: conversation and have an ability, both as a journalist but
• 45:32
  Speaker 3: mostly as the human being that you are, to create
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: space for these people to feel safe and seen in
• 45:38
  Speaker 3: your reporting. And so by doing that in this heightened
• 45:42
  Speaker 3: place that for them meant so much. I'm sure now
• 45:48
  Speaker 3: when you think forward and think about what you're about
• 45:53
  Speaker 3: to get into, is there anyone in particular that you
• 45:57
  Speaker 3: think would be a dream get during these games?
• 46:00
  Speaker 4: Oooh, I don't know.
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: I think that the obvious answer, which I think is
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: every Olympic reporter's answer for those listening Emily's nodding is simone. Yeah,
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: Simone is one of one. She is a generational talent,
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: and she is a leader.
• 46:21
  Speaker 4: She is a leader.
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: She's so beyond the sport that talking to her and
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: about the lead up to this Olympics and what it
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: is to walk into these Olympics with the pressure she
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: has on her shoulders would be fascinating.
• 46:34
  Speaker 4: But beyond that, I.
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: Do I am really curious to talk to athletes who
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: live in areas where there is conflict and how it
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: feels to be wearing a flag that means so much
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: to so many people. And that's Israelis as Palestinians, that's Ukrainians,
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: that's Russians.
• 46:52
  Speaker 4: To name a few.
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, there are a lot of people that are coming
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: to these Olympics who live in places where a lot
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: of people have a lot of opinions about the flag
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: on their backs. And that's a pretty intense place to
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: come in.
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and so I'm.
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: Very curious as to what it is to be an
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: athlete wearing a flag where people have a lot of opinions.
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: And that look, that's true with Americans.
• 47:13
  Speaker 3: Too, Yeah, especially right now, especially right now, we know
• 47:17
  Speaker 3: who your dream get would be. Do you have a
• 47:20
  Speaker 3: specific event that you're most excited to watch?
• 47:24
  Speaker 4: The women's fifteen hundred?
• 47:26
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, it's going to be electric.
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: It is going to be electric. It's such a cool
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: moment in distance running. And the women's fifteen hundred in Eugene,
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: Oregon was outstanding. In Nikki Hilt's like, oh, the last
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: one hundred meters, it is crazy.
• 47:43
  Speaker 4: It was a great, great race.
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: And I've had the privilege of profiling Nikki before, so
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: it's been so cool to follow them in their journey.
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: But yeah, women's fifteen hundred I think will be extraordinary.
• 47:55
  Speaker 2: Especially after what just happened at the Paris Diamond League.
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: And Faith, yeah, Faith Kipiegon is another one of those runners.
• 48:01
  Speaker 2: Three forty nine Yeah wow was that three forty nine?
• 48:04
  Speaker 4: I think it was.
• 48:05
  Speaker 2: I don't want to don't quote me out yeh yeah.
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: Well we gotta fact check that too. I gotta fact
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: it was a new world record. That is confirmed.
• 48:11
  Speaker 3: We confirmed new world record and confirmed sub three point fifty.
• 48:14
  Speaker 3: But I don't remember if it was forty nine or
• 48:16
  Speaker 3: forty seven. I want to say it would be forty nine.
• 48:18
  Speaker 4: I think it was forty nine.
• 48:19
  Speaker 3: Anyway, don't quote us on this. Yea journals are saying yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 48:23
  Speaker 3: The fifteen hundred, I agree with you is going to
• 48:24
  Speaker 3: be absolutely nuts. I would be remiss as we start
• 48:27
  Speaker 3: to wind down here. I didn't ask you at all
• 48:29
  Speaker 3: why you have a vested interest in track and field,
• 48:32
  Speaker 3: but I feel like it would be helpful, just for
• 48:34
  Speaker 3: context to really start to put a bow on this,
• 48:35
  Speaker 3: if you could shed a little bit of light on
• 48:38
  Speaker 3: why this area of sport really intrigues you.
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: Yes, And before I do that, I have to say
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: the one other thing I'm looking forward to, which is breakdancing.
• 48:45
  Speaker 2: OHI oh yeah. I don't call it break dancing.
• 48:47
  Speaker 4: What do they call it?
• 48:48
  Speaker 3: Now?
• 48:48
  Speaker 2: Breaking?
• 48:48
  Speaker 4: Breaking, breaking seat?
• 48:50
  Speaker 2: I need to fact check that I'm here for you.
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: That's that's I am not covering that sport in great detail,
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: but I think it will be so interesting watching a
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: new Olympic sport, Like watching skateboarding Tokyo was fascinating.
• 49:01
  Speaker 4: Skateboarding will be fun. Everyone should watch that.
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: Track and field I loved I've loved running as long
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: as I could remember. My sister and I this is
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: like sounds very Americana, but we would chase cars down
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: our block and then scream to the cars and ask
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: them how fast we were going.
• 49:18
  Speaker 4: Like how fast with how many miles we are?
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: And that's like when I was a little kid, and
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: I'm so lucky my parents saw how much I loved
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: running and put my sister and I in like a
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: it's called icaa inner city Athletic Club just this like
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: beaten down track in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and like volunteer coaches,
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: and we just did these track meets as kids, and
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: we were so lucky to have parents who just supported
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: us as long as we were having fun. There was
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: never any pressure to perform any certain way, and it's
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: just been like the greatest love of my life.
• 49:52
  Speaker 3: Hype up song on your playlist, whether you are going
• 49:56
  Speaker 3: to the track or heading for another long night of reporting.
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: Oh, I mean just the entirety of Cowboy Carter right
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: now is the easiest answer. But also sometimes Lift Me
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: Up by Rihanna if you need like a slower moment
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: to like really get you there.
• 50:14
  Speaker 2: Wow, I love that.
• 50:16
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah yeah.
• 50:16
  Speaker 3: If you could do any singular Olympic sport, what would
• 50:19
  Speaker 3: it be, and if you could specify the event as well?
• 50:22
  Speaker 2: If that is relevant we would like to hear it.
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: Okay, I have thought about this a lot, and I
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: think I would want to be on a soccer team.
• 50:30
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 50:31
  Speaker 4: I don't it is.
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: I am in awe of individual competitors, swimmers, gymnasts, runners, skateboarders,
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: serve all of it. Oh my gosh. The pressure is insane.
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: And to be able to win or lose as part
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: of a team. I think that is one thing I
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: loved cross country. I loved running cross country, so that
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: team element. But yeah, and also who doesn't want to
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: be a part of the US women's soccer team.
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 50:54
  Speaker 3: I had Lindsay Horan on the show not that long ago,
• 50:57
  Speaker 3: and she's a captain for said team, and true.
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: Such a vibe.
• 51:01
  Speaker 4: They have to have the most fun.
• 51:02
  Speaker 2: The most fun, the most most fun.
• 51:05
  Speaker 4: Can I throw it back at you, what's your answer.
• 51:07
  Speaker 2: If I could do any Olympic sports?
• 51:09
  Speaker 3: I'm actually with you on the soccer That was my
• 51:12
  Speaker 3: answer to someone not all that long ago.
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: I think I would want to be a right forward.
• 51:16
  Speaker 3: That's the position where I played when I was much younger.
• 51:19
  Speaker 3: I'm talking like age eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen.
• 51:22
  Speaker 2: Preteen years.
• 51:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it was my soccer era, I played right forward,
• 51:26
  Speaker 3: and then I also sporadically filled in as goalie, which now,
• 51:29
  Speaker 3: like if I had to do that, it would be
• 51:31
  Speaker 3: absolutely frightening because the balls are just moving so much
• 51:34
  Speaker 3: faster than they do at age twelve.
• 51:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: And also that is the only position in soccer where
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: it just oh the pressure of.
• 51:39
  Speaker 3: That, the pressure, yeah, the pressure also like Kreeker as
• 51:43
  Speaker 3: a defender, like, I just don't think I could be
• 51:44
  Speaker 3: like the last thing keeping you before the goalie that
• 51:47
  Speaker 3: that stresses me outely.
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: So definitely right forward for me. Yeah, yeah. Beyond that, if.
• 51:53
  Speaker 3: You had to pick a track and field event, my
• 51:55
  Speaker 3: track and field event, I think I'm a four hundred
• 51:58
  Speaker 3: meter runner.
• 51:58
  Speaker 2: Nice. Yeah.
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: I started as a two hundred meter runner.
• 52:03
  Speaker 4: Oh wow, you fast.
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: I was very I was just a teeny ten year old,
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: you know. And then as soon as I got in
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: high school, my coach was like, you are absolutely a
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: distance runner, and I kicked and screamed, and then he
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: put me in the mile and I was like, oh, okay, okay.
• 52:19
  Speaker 4: I mean I love the idea of four hundred because
• 52:21
  Speaker 4: it's over really fast.
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but oh fifteen, I'm just like so enthralled with
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: the fifteen hundred right now, But I think if I'm
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: being honest with myself, I'm with you four hundred.
• 52:31
  Speaker 2: Four hundreds. All right. Well, I'm happy that we were
• 52:34
  Speaker 2: able to do this.
• 52:35
  Speaker 3: I'm so so thankful that you made the time, and
• 52:38
  Speaker 3: I'm so excited to both follow along with your coverage
• 52:41
  Speaker 3: in Paris and then also rendezvous with you at whatever
• 52:44
  Speaker 3: hour of the day.
• 52:46
  Speaker 2: We can make it half of them when we're out there.
• 52:48
  Speaker 2: It's going to be so awesome.
• 52:49
  Speaker 4: Five am training runs. We're going to see each.
• 52:51
  Speaker 3: Other five am training runs along the cn That's it.
• 52:55
  Speaker 2: It's it.
• 52:56
  Speaker 3: For those that don't follow along with you, just yet,
• 52:58
  Speaker 3: give me your info, my friend, how do they keep
• 53:00
  Speaker 3: up with you?
• 53:01
  Speaker 2: How do they follow along with you? Give me the deats.
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: You can find my work on the New York Times
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: and I'm on Instagram very sporadically.
• 53:09
  Speaker 4: But that's Teemansburg.
• 53:11
  Speaker 3: Last question, best pep talk you've ever been given? Do
• 53:16
  Speaker 3: you remember who it came from?
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: Okay, this is not a pep talk, but it is
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: a pep talk, and it's from Laura Green. And if
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: you do not follow her on Instagram, follow Laura Green
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: on Instagram.
• 53:26
  Speaker 4: But before I ran.
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: I think it was New York, I don't remember what year.
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: She posted this reel that I have saved and I
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: watch it before races where she just looks dead at
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: the camera and she just reminds all of us that
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: no one cares.
• 53:39
  Speaker 4: You run the race you're proud of. Have fun.
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: But you know what, no one cares. Everyone just wants
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: to meet you at brunch because they love you and
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: want you to have a good time. And that is
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: a pep talk. I think many of us runners who
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: can be a little obsessive about times, or at least
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: I can, it's really helpful to be like, reminder, no
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: one cares.
• 53:57
  Speaker 4: You do you make yourself proud.
• 53:59
  Speaker 2: That's it.
• 54:00
  Speaker 3: Remember follow Laura Green. We'll make sure to send her
• 54:02
  Speaker 3: this podcast. Absolutely I'm over at Emily a Body and
• 54:06
  Speaker 3: at Hurdle podcast Another Hurdle Conquered.
• 54:09
  Speaker 2: Catch you guys next time.