How Journalists Can Think Like Scientists

6 Likes, 1 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "#philipjohnson"

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Russell Sage Foundation’s Social Science Summer Institute for Journalists. Helmed by Nicholas Lemann and Tali Woodward, it’s an intimate seminar that teaches journalists how to write about the social sciences and think like social scientists. Guests speakers included Andrea Elliott and Shamus Khan. It’s held in a Philip Johnson building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. I’m already using the tools I acquired there. I highly recommend it for everyone: from graduate students to veteran reporters.

[Image via my Instagram]

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The Reverse Cowgirl Rides Again

Over on Instagram, I reminisced about how I ended up being not-referenced-referenced in the movie “Julie & Julia.” At the time, I had a very popular blog on Salon. It was called The Reverse Cowgirl. Subsequently, a less popular blog, which was about cooking, was turned into a movie.

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The Girl

12 Likes, 0 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "Iterations 🎨"

I’m taking a comics-making class, and this is something I did in the third session. It’s iterations of my main character. She’s in her underpants. I decided to take the class so I could practice drawing. What I like best about the class is that it asks you to focus on creativity. Sometimes, when you’re a journalist, creativity is not encouraged. But if journalism isn’t an act of creation, then what is it?

Buy my digital short story: "The Tumor." It’s been called "a masterpiece of short fiction."

What's the Ratio

I got ratioed here — and, surely, I was out of line — but I was annoyed. I’d recently read this interview with Abigail Disney, and I found her really charming: humble, shrewd, and filled with moxie. In any case, she ended up responding to his tweet in a far more sophisticated way than I did, so there you go.

Want more? Buy "The Tumor." It’s been called "a masterpiece of short fiction."