In this episode, Emmy Liederman is joined by multilingual journalist and author Fernanda Santos. Santos was the first Brazilian to work as a staff writer at The New York Times, where covered the American Southwest. She is now a full-time professor at Arizona State University and a contributing columnist at The Washington Post. 

Fernanda’s book, “The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshot,” honors the men who died together in one of the deadliest days in American firefighting. Her connection to these victims and their relentless sense of unity is also the subject of her Ted Talk. In this episode, she talked about how she maintains trust with her sources, best practices for pitching the right stories and how she continues to learn alongside her students every day. Santos also discussed her journey to rediscovering joy after the sudden death of her husband Mike Saucier, who was also a journalist and author. 

We also paid tribute to TCNJ journalism professor Robert Cole through a segment with alum Brian Hershberg, who thanks Cole for giving him the confidence he needed to build a successful career. 

Important Links:

Fernanda’s TED Talk, website, and Twitter