For a certain type of tech executive, and a certain type of fan of tech executives, the point of technology journalism is to cheerfully show off the cool new toys Silicon Valley creates.

For the staff of Wired, the point of technology journalism is to hold the most powerful companies and people in our society accountable for the decisions they make. That has made the magazine remarkably unpopular with many people in the tech world (including newly minted trillionaire Elon Musk) and more popular than ever with everyone else: the magazine added more than two hundred thousand subscribers in the past year.

Tim Marchman, Wired’s senior director of science, politics, and security, loves accountability journalism and has a particular fondness for scoops showing the tight ties between our government and Bay Area tech leaders. With his colleague Leah Feiger, the senior politics editor at Wired, Marchman dramatically expanded the magazine’s politics staff and oversaw its award-winning coverage of how Musk and a group of teenagers ran a buzzsaw through the federal government, and what havoc they wreaked in the name of “efficiency.”

Earlier this month, I interviewed Marchman at Jimmy’s Corner during an event to celebrate the release of CJR’s new special issue, about what access means in journalism today. Listen below to hear him discuss why going hard on politics was a natural choice for a tech magazine, explain how his team got so many scoops about DOGE, and respond to the haters.

Show Notes:

A 25-Year-Old with Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System, Vittoria Elliott, Dhruv Mehrotra, Leah Feiger, and Tim Marchman, Wired.

The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover, Vittoria Elliott, Wired.

Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup,’ Makena Kelly, David Gilbert, Vittoria Elliott, Kate Knibbs, Dhruv Mehrotra, Dell Cameron, Tim Marchman, Leah Feiger, Zoë Schiffer, Wired.

Credits:

Host: Megan Greenwell
Producer: Amanda Darrach
Audio engineer: Fernando Fermino
Video technician: Alex Hamm

One of the most fascinating sports business stories of the moment is the explosive growth of the WNBA. TV viewership is up dramatically, multiple teams sell out regularly, and stars like Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson have become household names. This year, the players’ union won a groundbreaking new contract, including their first-ever revenue share and a 4x jump in minimum salaries.

The league’s recent surge in popularity has also brought new questions of access. The WNBA was the only major pro league that didn’t reopen its locker rooms to reporters after COVID closures, and many media outlets have clamored for a way to talk to players that doesn’t require going through team PR. The Indiana Fever stripped a press credential from a longtime beat writer after disagreeing with his framing of a Clark injury. For years, women’s basketball was enough of a backwater that journalists had more or less free rein; now everyone is trying to figure out what meaningful coverage looks like in a transformed world.

Last week, as part of a special daylong event tied to the release of CJR’s new Access Issue, Sports Illustrated staff writer Emma Baccellieri—one of the best reporters out there focusing on women’s sports—stopped by to talk about how covering the league has changed. I interviewed her about how her job has evolved, why it’s more difficult than ever to ask questions of WNBA players, and what’s happening with college players getting paid through name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. Listen below—or wherever you get your podcasts.

Show notes:

For Veterans Like Alysha Clark, This New WNBA Era Just Means More, Emma Baccellieri, Sports Illustrated

Should We Be Worried About Caitlin Clark and the Fever? Clare Brennan, Dan Falkenheim, Blake Silverman, Emma Baccellieri, Sports Illustrated

Expect Officiating to Be a Recurring Storyline During This WNBA Season, Emma Baccellieri, Sports Illustrated

Fever reporter claims credential revoked over Clark reporting, Michael Voepel, ESPN

Megan Greenwell, host
Amanda Darrach, producer
Fernando Fermino, audio engineer
Alex Hamm, video technician

Some of the most interesting journalism experiments aren’t taking place on the websites of publications. Instead, they’re happening on Facebook and WhatsApp and Reddit and WeChat and even Nextdoor, which I didn’t realize was anything other than a place for Karens to complain about loitering.

Documented, an eight-year-old digital outlet that covers and serves immigrants in New York City and beyond, is behind many of these experiments—from producing a Chinese-language newsletter on WeChat to starting conversations on Nextdoor with Haitian Creole speakers in Flatbush, Brooklyn. In her first eighteen months at Documented, Ethar El-Katatney, the editor in chief, has elevated the publication’s investigative work and begun an expansion into video, but she refuses to lose sight of the mission: to give immigrants the information they need on the platforms they use.

I interviewed El-Katatney about the common threads between Documented’s guides to city living and its long investigations, how differently her reporters work depending on what community they serve, and why Documented is expanding its ambitions to help other newsrooms.

Show notes:

Documented Gears Up for Trump, Lauren Watson, CJR

The Lost Prisoners of Chinatown’s Gang Era, April Xu, Documented

Fake Immigration Courts Take Advantage of Immigrants Desperate for Answers, Rommel H. Ojeda, Documented.

Guide of Resources for Immigrants, Nicolás Ríos, Documented

Megan Greenwell, host

Amanda Darrach, producer