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15 years later
“My world’s on fire” is a free, biweekly newsletter about disasters from journalist Colleen Hagerty. I understand news about disasters can feel a bit overwhelming (particularly these days), but my aim with this dispatch is to help you feel a little bit more at ease by equipping you with in-depth reporting and insights about our unpredictable world. If you find value in my reporting, please subscribe and share to support this new venture.
“There were a lot of reporters trying to make a distinction between good looters and bad looters. But the fixation on looting in the first place was a distraction… It was like all the suffering was invisible to some people. All they could see was crime.”
This isn’t from a current news report.
It’s a line from Atlantic reporter Vann R. Newkirk II in Floodlines, his immersive, deeply reported podcast following the preparation, impact, and official response – or lack thereof – to Hurricane Katrina. A response that disproportionately disadvantaged Black residents; a response that cost lives.
The podcast was released March 11, the day the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic. Days later, streets across the US would empty in response.
Weeks later, they would once again fill – overflow – with protesters.
15 years out from the storm, the eight-part series feels uncomfortably current.
As Newkirk later reflected for The Atlantic:
“We had endeavored to distill something meaningful and useful from that modern American disaster, in hopes that what we learned might—someday, somehow—help someone. But until we wrapped up our work, as I wiped my desk with bleach at 3 a.m., it had not occurred to me that I might be that someone, and that someday might be now.”
It’s been a week of nearly nonstop breaking news and incredibly important stories, a very small sample of which I listed below. I hope you’ll give this smart journalism a read or listen, and pass it along to keep these conversations going.
Let’s not be in the same place 15 years from now.
Reading, Writing, Listening, Watching:
‘This is what happens to us.’ (Washington Post)
A running list of hoaxes and misinformation surround the protests (BuzzFeed)
The front pages of an outraged America (Poynter)
Leslie Lamar Parker, a 31-year-old father of two, died on May 11, 2020, after a battle with coronavirus. Here is an essay he wrote about how he wanted to remember this time. (The Counter)
I’m always eager to hear any tips, story ideas, or suggestions you have – find me on your social network of choice (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), via email ([email protected]), or in the comments.
Thank you for becoming an early part of this community, and special thanks to all who have shared this newsletter with their networks.
Here’s a little something for reading to the end.
Colleen