Connections: The Chinese Traveler and the Bus Rider
One morning in a previous era, when international trips and handshakes were still possible, a stranger and I joined forces to assist a traveler from afar.
Writing Other People’s Stories, Part III: Getting Out of the Way
Why telling a story in someone else’s voice is perhaps the biggest challenge of all—and the utmost (terrifying) privilege
Writing Other People’s Stories, Part II: All Great Features Are Profiles
When writing a profile, you’ll need to upend your assumptions and tour someone’s inner and outer life with radical openness.
Writing Other People’s Stories, Part I: Empathy in First Person
Writing about other people’s lives is an exercise in trust, empathy, self-awareness and humility. We don’t always get it right, but it’s our job to keep trying.
Interview Skills: How to Connect
On the art and science of convincing people to share their stories: It’s about sincerity.
Down and Out in a Piper Apache
Stuck in the air in a wounded airplane, with a crash-landing imminent, a pilot reflects on Orwell’s “power of facing unpleasant facts.”
What She Wants Me to Know
At the airport, a Syrian doctor starts a casual conversation that becomes something much more than that.
Fear of Flying
When a daughter struggles with self-esteem, a dad quietly boosts her out of the nest.
