A series of interesting conversations with interesting people.
Arielle Duhaime-Ross wanted to be a zoologist, but research in a lab wasn’t cutting it for her. Inspired by the science podcasts she would listen to daily, she decided to combine her passion for science and investigation by enrolling in NYU’s journalism program. A few internships and a run at The Verge later, she is now the environment and climate correspondent for Vice News Tonight. We chatted with her about her journalism journey and what it felt like to “break” her first news.
You are the environment and climate correspondent for VICE News Tonight covering anything from the wild horse population in Nevada to the water crisis in Newburgh, NY. We always like to know — what does a typical week look like for you?
I joined the world of TV production in June, so I haven’t yet begun to feel like there’s such a thing as a “typical week.” But there are patterns that have begun to develop. If I’m in the office, I spend my days writing and editing scripts, recording VO (voice-overs for my segments), and researching future stories. If I’m on the road, all bets are off. I could be hiking in the Peruvian Andes to get to a glacial lake, or I could be speaking to people who live in East Chicago, where there’s an ongoing lead crisis. It varies, and I love that.
That said, no matter where I am, I try to stick to my morning routine. I get up early-ish, and listen to a podcast version of the previous night’s episode of The Rachel Maddow Show while I’m getting ready for work. After that, I’ll read the Times over a bowl of oatmeal — I eat a lot of oatmeal — and scroll through an app called Newsblur. I’ve yet to give up on RSS readers, and that’s how I identify articles I want to share with my team or save to read later on Pocket and Instapaper.
In addition to VICE News Tonight and The Verge, your work has also appeared in Scientific American, Nature Medicine, The Atlantic, and Quartz. How did you first get your foot in the door with these publications?
My natural instinct is to say I got lucky, but I think that’s the kind of thing women say too often. So here’s the less wishy-washy answer: I was working toward my master’s in science, health and environmental reporting at NYU, and I asked the Wall Street Journal’s Christopher Mims, who at the time was a tech writer for Quartz, to give me an internship. It took a few tries because my emails kept getting lost in his inbox, but he gave me a shot in my second semester at NYU. Quartz was pretty young at the time, and it was a wonderful place to learn how news actually gets reported. The following semester, I got a summer internship at Scientific American, and that lead to an internship at Nature Medicine, the medical journal, during my final semester.
I don’t think every science journalist needs to go to J-School to get their start. But in my case, it worked. I got my first staff job at The Verge because I attended a “meet the editors” wine and cheese event for my master’s program. Gizmodo’s Katie Drummond, who was the science editor at The Verge at the time, spoke at the event and said she was looking for a reporter. I had been keeping an eye on The Verge since the launch of its science section. So, I made a beeline for her after she got off stage, and chatted her up. I liked her instantly and told her I wanted the gig. A few interviews later, The Verge hired me.
When did you know you wanted to be a journalist and would you say there was a moment you finally considered yourself a one?
I definitely never set out to be a journalist. As a child, I wanted to be a herpetologist (which, despite repeated questions by friends and family, isn’t the study of herpes). I was pretty determined, and I ended up pursuing a bachelor’s in zoology. But research didn’t do it for me. What I loved was learning about the history of science, critiquing new findings, and comparing them to previous work by other research teams. It took me a while to figure that out, however. When I worked in the lab, I listened to a lot of science podcasts, and at some point I realized that “science journalist” was probably an actual job title that I could work toward. I did some googling that night, and NYU’s program popped up.
As for your second question: I’m not exactly sure when I started feeling like a true journalist. I’m guessing it might have been around the time I was reporting on Theranos, the blood testing company that used to be a Silicon Valley darling. John Carreyou at the Wall Street Journal was the real MVP when it came to investigating Theranos. But I managed to break some news, and I think The Verge did solid work. Elizabeth Lopatto and I were on it when other science journalists ignored it entirely. That felt real to me.
You write about some pretty complicated subjects, ranging from biology to psychology, ecology, and beyond. Is if difficult to report such complicated subjects in a way that’s accessible to readers without oversimplifying them?
It’s always a balancing act. By simplifying the science, you run the risk of getting things wrong. But I tend to think there’s always a way to make science accessible and accurate. That’s the type of writing that science journalists (and, I would argue, sci fi writers) spend their careers perfecting. And yes, that can be really hard. But I have a great team of people surrounding me at VICE, and we bounce ideas off each other constantly. It really helps, and I get a real kick out of those brainstorming sessions.
Your job takes you to some pretty interesting places, from covering the effects of the cruise industry on local communities in the Northwest Passage to covering a man’s DIY fecal transplant in Burlingame, California (which, to be honest, was a crazy story). Are there any places/stories that have stuck with you in particular?
My first big trip with VICE was to the Canadian Arctic, in a town called Pond Inlet in Nunavut. Being Canadian, I’d always wanted to go that far north. It felt especially meaningful to me because I spent time with a native community there. Canada has not been good to its native communities, and I felt the weight of that during the trip. At the same time, I witnessed a lot of joy there. And the community members I met were deeply patient with me; they took the time to teach me about their lives. I’m really grateful for that experience; I’ll carry those moments with me for a long time.
What are your go-to places — sites, apps, people, etc — for finding new stories to read and watch in Pocket?
Newsblur is my go-to; I have it set up just right. I also subscribe to a bunch of useful newsletters, like Climate Nexus, Axios Generate, and Carbon Brief. I like Nuzzel because it gives me an idea of what people in my Twitter feed are sharing. I don’t spend as much time on Twitter as I used to, so it catches me up.
What have you been finding interesting lately / what have you been saving and recommending about recently?
I cover climate and the environment, so I spend a lot of time reading about environmental regulations and the new EPA chief, Scott Pruitt. That means I pay a lot of attention to articles written by Coral Davenport, Andrew Revkin, and Amy Harder. The non-work stuff I read is still heavy on politics. I love FDA-related stories, and medical device regulation news. STAT is a great sources of news these days, and The Atlantic’s science reporters bring much needed analysis to complicated news stories. But I try to disconnect from all that when I can. I always carry a book with me, either in paper or ebook format. I recently read 2140, Kim Stanley Robinson’s new sci fi book about rising sea levels in New York City. Robinson has a history of tackling climate change in his books, and this one did a great job of using current science to project what could happen in the near future. I also finished the latest Paper Girls, a Brian K Vaughan comic book that fans of Stranger Things might appreciate. I’m a big Brian K Vaughan fan, and I try to keep up with the things he’s working on.
If you had the chance to escape and read all of your current Pocket saves where would you go to do it?
I’d go to the library in Montreal that I used to go to on weekends as a child. I didn’t always fit in as a kid, so on weekends, I spent a lot of time alone browsing the adult fiction section. That library is where I read about reptile ecology, and warriors in far away lands. Later, it was where I looked for answers when I started figuring out that I was queer. In many ways, it’s my happy, safe place.
Who would you want to see us interview next?
Rachel Maddow, for sure. Heben and Tracy, the host’s Buzzfeed’s Another Round podcast, would also be a great choice. They’re brilliant women, and I’d love to know what they’re reading. And as long as I’m on the subject of podcasters, I’d recommend Rose Eveleth, the host of Flash Forward, a podcast that explores different future scenarios (I was one of her guests, recently). Her Twitter feed is one of the best ones out there. I bet she’d have some good recs.
You can check out more of Arielle’s incredible reporting here and follow what she is recommending on Pocket here.
