Jenna Schnuer

Long Lead's Depth Perception : “It's very insidious.” Melanie Haiken on reporting out the schemes insurance companies use to limit eating disorder treatment

 Melanie Haiken avoids sticking to a single beat, but there is a throughline in her work: deep reporting.

It’s a talent she developed while getting her master’s in journalism at The University of California, Berkeley and during a follow-up stint working at the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR). And for the past 25 years, the San Francisco-based writer used this skill to cover everything from J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired travel to environmental issues for an ever-expanding list of publications including Sierra, Afar, National Geographic, and Yoga Journal.

Another one of her core topics: mental health issues like addiction and eating disorders. It’s a beat where Haiken’s professional and personal interests overlap. Her mother was an alcoholic and one of her kids went through years of treatment for anorexia and bulimia.

That combination of professional and personal experience is on full display in Haiken’s recent series for MindSite News, a nonprofit news site founded by Rob Waters and Diana Hembree that focuses on mental health issues. Her four-part series, “Deadly Denials: When Insurers Fail to Cover Treatment for Eating Disorders, People Suffer. Sometimes They Die.,” covers the often pernicious actions of insurance companies on people suffering from eating disorders.

Read my interview with Melanie Haiken on "Depth Perception."

Long Lead's Depth Perception : Kim Cross had no plans to write about true crime. One major case refused to be ignored.

 Spending years reporting and writing a true crime book was not part of Kim Cross’ plans. Before she really dug in on the case that would become In Light of All Darkness, Cross didn’t listen to true crime. She didn’t read true crime. She didn’t think about true crime. Well, mostly. It just wasn’t her genre of choice.

“Before In Light of All Darkness, the only true crime book I had ever read that I can think of for sure is In Cold Blood. And I read it because it was Truman Capote,” says Cross.

Cross typically wrote about bicycling, fishing, and massive weather events — the latter of which inspired her first book, What Stands in a Storm. The title detailed the impact of a spate of tornados that thrashed 21 states in April 2011, killing more than 300 people. It wasn’t easy reporting, but the devastation was driven by nature, not human cruelty.

So Cross wasn’t expecting to tell Polly Klaas’ story, despite her family’s direct link. Her father-in-law, Eddie Freyer, Sr., served as the lead FBI agent on the 1993 abduction, rape, and murder case.

Find out what changed and why Cross decided to write the book.

Via Podcast

I worked as the editorial consultant and launch producer to help get the Via Podcast up and running. Was a great joy working with the team at Via to develop a show that would get people dreaming about their next great trip in the American West. 

Listen to the show. 

CNN: T. Rex’s Older and Equally Sizable Relative Discovered in New Mexico

A formerly unknown relative of the most iconic of all dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex, has been newly identified, according to a study released Thursday. The revelation adds a new clue that could help paleontologists unravel another step in the evolutionary chain that ended with the massive predatory tyrannosaur, T. rex.

Called Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, the creature likely roamed Earth up to 7 million years before T. rex emerged. The bones have been dated to 72 million to 73 million years old during the late Campanian-early Maastrichtian Period.

But Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis’ bones were discovered decades before the creature officially got its scientific name.

Read the article on CNN.com.

National Geographic: 10 Best Things to Do in Alaska

Alaska’s more than 663,000 square miles of land and 66,000 miles of shoreline offer an almost embarrassing abundance of idyllic landscapes and bucket list experiences. From spotting whales and bears to discovering Indigenous-made art, here are the best ways to delve into the northernmost state in the U.S.

Read the piece.