https://megancattel.journoportfolio.comRSS Feed for Megan CattelenWed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.wbur.org/podcasts/short-run/the-gun-machine-podcastEvery time there is a mass shooting in America, the first question is why. When we look for answers, we tend to focus on the incident itself — who the shooter was, why they did it and who parachutes in to debate the state of regulation, or lack thereof, that allowed it to happen. What we forget is the centuries of history that got us to this long emergency of gun violence in America. Produced by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, in partnership with The Trace, The Gun Machine looks into the past to bring you...Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.wbur.org/podcasts/short-run/the-gun-machine-podcasthttps://niemanreports.org/lynsey-addario-chai-vasarhelyi-love-war-conflict-reporting-photojournalism/I think Paul comes across really well. He is happy with the film because he is, in some ways, the hero. He is the one who carries the load. He's Scandinavian, which is important to note, because [he comes from] a very egalitarian society where men get the same paternity leave as women. I think that for Paul, he doesn't question his masculinity or himself [when] he decided to be a full-time parent and let me work. But when people see the film, it's kind of shocking to see that role reversal.  I t...Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://niemanreports.org/lynsey-addario-chai-vasarhelyi-love-war-conflict-reporting-photojournalism/https://niemanreports.org/dissident-club-paris-taha-siddiqui-journalists-exile/In addition to running the bar, Siddiqui continues to speak out on press freedom, Pakistani politics, and the challenges of living in exile. His recently published graphic memoir, “The Dissident Club,” recounts his journey from a strict Islamist upbringing in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to his career as a journalist and the beginnings of his life in Paris. Curious and questioning as a child, Siddiqui often clashed with the dogma of his family’s fundamentalist beliefs — tensions that he says pushed...Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://niemanreports.org/dissident-club-paris-taha-siddiqui-journalists-exile/https://niemanreports.org/jason-rezaian-on-why-press-freedom-merits-its-own-beat/TikTok Boom! Making news feel as if it’s coming from a trusted friend, or at least a trusted source, is not a new concept in journalism. But where people go to find it has changed dramatically: more Americans now get their news directly from social media than from any other source. There are compelling reasons for journalists and news organizations to try to establish a presence on these platforms. Chief among them: they are where growing numbers of people get their information. In...Thu, 17 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://niemanreports.org/jason-rezaian-on-why-press-freedom-merits-its-own-beat/https://niemanreports.org/arrest-mech-dara-cambodia-press-freedom/The assertion that we live in a “post-truth” world is gaining currency in these turbulent, polarized times. But journalists must not surrender to that idea, nor sacrifice their core discipline of rigorously testing and verifying facts, wherever those facts might lead. In Nieman Reports’ Winter 2025 issue, Angie Drobnic Holan lays out why fact-checking remains at the heart of journalism — and what’s at stake for all of us: “It holds the line on reality for history’s sake.” “Picture a world where...Mon, 03 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://niemanreports.org/arrest-mech-dara-cambodia-press-freedom/https://niemanreports.org/you-must-stand-up-amanda-becker-on-chronicling-the-fallout-of-roe-v-wades-reversal/When journalist Amanda Becker first read a leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision on ending constitutional protections for abortion, she instantly knew she wanted to chronicle the historic moment when the ruling was handed down. This ultimately led to her new book, “You Must Stand Up,” which documents how abortion access has been dramatically restricted or forced into legal limbo in states across the U.S. after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.Becker, a 2023 Nieman Fellow, is a political repor...Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://niemanreports.org/you-must-stand-up-amanda-becker-on-chronicling-the-fallout-of-roe-v-wades-reversal/https://niemanreports.org/the-lonely-crusade-against-caste/International journalists are hearing echoes. From countries around the world that have witnessed the rise of autocratic and populist leaders, they are watching the U.S. and warning of a characteristic of wounded democracies everywhere: an endangered free press.Thu, 05 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://niemanreports.org/the-lonely-crusade-against-caste/https://niemanreports.org/the-future-of-american-democracy-amid-deepening-polarization/The election of Donald Trump to a new term as president has underscored how politically divided Americans remain – possibly more than at any other time in the last 50 years, with a majority of both Republicans and Democrats viewing the opposing side as the biggest threat to democracy, various studies show. The polarization has undermined faith in traditional news media, in political conciliation and cooperation, and in the U.S. electoral system itself.Archon Fung, the Winthrop Laflin McCormack P...Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://niemanreports.org/the-future-of-american-democracy-amid-deepening-polarization/https://niemanreports.org/the-hands-that-bring-day-of-the-dead-to-life/In Mexico, Day of the Dead is our biggest celebration as a country. We believe that our loved ones and family members who have already died are coming to visit us, once a year, on Nov. 1. To prepare, we make their favorite foods, arrange the flowers they loved, and put the games and trinkets they had a fondness for on an altar. These traditions vary depending on the region in Mexico, but it’s very common for the altars to be filled with candles, flowers, and colorful ornaments. We gather with ou...Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://niemanreports.org/the-hands-that-bring-day-of-the-dead-to-life/https://niemanreports.org/up-to-bat/The team, which was formed in 2019 and has players between the ages of 13 and 62, has become famous in Mexico for playing barefoot and wearing traditional Mayan dresses known as huipiles. Founding members of Las Amazonas told me the idea first came about around 2018, when government health officials launched a series of free aerobic exercise programs in Yucatán to combat rising rates of obesity and diabetes. But the residents were not interested in Zumba or dance. They wanted to play softball. S...Mon, 07 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://niemanreports.org/up-to-bat/https://niemanreports.org/how-ukrainian-media-is-navigating-the-challenge-of-reporting-ethically-on-the-russian-invasion/For the past fifteen months, NewsGuard and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have been working on a project tracking how well 50 news organizations in Ukraine — ranging from the country’s public broadcaster to local and hyperlocal news sites, national radio stations, and nonprofit newsrooms — are adhering to journalistic standards of credibility and transparency. We looked at whether these outlets gather and present information ethically, have effective practices for correcting errors, and handle...Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://niemanreports.org/how-ukrainian-media-is-navigating-the-challenge-of-reporting-ethically-on-the-russian-invasion/https://niemanreports.org/we-are-keen-to-keep-listening-to-people-and-let-their-voices-be-heard-all-over-the-world/The stakes could not be higher with more than 36,000 dead, 83,000 wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and nearly two million Palestinians displaced within the 41-kilometer-long strip of land. In late March, a U.N. report said famine is imminent in northern Gaza, where 70% of the population is already suffering with “catastrophic” food shortages due to difficulties in aid deliveries getting past the border. Since then, the situation has gotten worse, according to World Health Organiza...Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://niemanreports.org/we-are-keen-to-keep-listening-to-people-and-let-their-voices-be-heard-all-over-the-world/https://niemanreports.org/saving-the-first-draft-of-history/Or are journalists obliged to strive for neutrality by treating the candidates as comparable forces deserving comparable scrutiny? But elevating neutrality, and passively watching an authoritarian gain power, could unravel the press freedoms woven into the fabric of the U.S. since its founding. Every digital story The Atlantic has published is online, too, but readers can’t necessarily see them as they looked when they were first published. In 2021, for example, the magazine stopped using the s...Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://niemanreports.org/saving-the-first-draft-of-history/https://niemanreports.org/with-dozens-dead-and-more-wounded-journalists-in-gaza-have-faced-deadliest-six-months-ever-recorded/Nieman Reports’ Winter/Spring 2024 issue spotlights how the war in Gaza is part of an alarming trend of the lack of accountability for killers and jailers of journalists. From the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the rise of authoritarian governments, the miasma of misinformation fostering distrust and suspicion, and the impunity shown by governments, the risk posed to journalists have multiplied in recent years. Since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israeli settlements and a music festival, some 97...Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0100https://niemanreports.org/with-dozens-dead-and-more-wounded-journalists-in-gaza-have-faced-deadliest-six-months-ever-recorded/https://niemanreports.org/an-antidote-to-the-minimization-of-the-long-covid-crisis/In the last year or so, I've become increasingly frustrated with the mainstream media coverage on it. I had a lot of story ideas that I just couldn't do, that I would be pitching and just get “no’s” or that I would pitch a feature and have it work out to be a short news story that I felt didn't really capture the full scope of the issue I wanted to write about. Between that and the changes in Covid data collection that were impacting my projects, it felt like a good time to shift. And so I asked...Tue, 09 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://niemanreports.org/an-antidote-to-the-minimization-of-the-long-covid-crisis/https://www.wbur.org/podcasts/short-run/the-gun-machine-podcastI fact-checked WBUR’s eight-part investigative series, The Gun Machine, a deep dive into America’s most controversial, protected, lethal industry. The series, which won a national Murrow Award in 2024, connects the dots between American arms manufacturers, political loopholes, and the NRA.Thu, 05 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://www.wbur.org/podcasts/short-run/the-gun-machine-podcasthttps://niemanreports.org/best-practices-improving-climate-coverage/After decades of global inaction, the effects of climate change can no longer be ignored. As I sit down to write this newsletter, friends of mine are evacuating in Vancouver to escape raging, disastrous wildfires. Meanwhile, Hurricane Idalia is ripping through the panhandle of Florida, my home state, bringing intense flooding to the region.The convergence of record-breaking temperatures, devastating wildfires, and historic floods have become our new normal each summer. Now, journalists are taske...Mon, 28 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://niemanreports.org/best-practices-improving-climate-coverage/https://www.wbur.org/endlessthread/2023/02/17/russian-anti-war-youtubers-dissentThis week, Endless Thread spends time talking with two young Russian YouTubers who've had to contend with Russia's crackdown on wartime dissent. Natasha and Zack initially gained traction on YouTube for their videos about Russian food, culture, and daily life. Their slice-of-life vlogs became a huge hit, getting millions of views with each upload. But when Russia invaded Ukraine one year ago, both Zack and Natasha had to make tough decisions to stand by their values — which ultimately altered t...Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://www.wbur.org/endlessthread/2023/02/17/russian-anti-war-youtubers-dissenthttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/asian-american-studies-departmentsIn the spring of 2021, Hannah Kang, a junior at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus, took a course on race and graphic-novel narratives. Kang, who is half Korean, said the class was life changing. “It made me realize how late I am to [engage] with this part of my identity,” she told Teen Vogue, admitting she wished more courses like this were available to her as a freshman.“It was very emotionally, psychologically, jarring in a lot of ways, because I saw a lot of my experiences reflected...Mon, 21 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0100https://www.teenvogue.com/story/asian-american-studies-departmentshttps://www.stlpr.org/2021-05-16/1904-worlds-fair-revised-one-artist-memorializes-filipino-and-indigenous-peopleLouisa Francis Bihinang, Mariana Vilana, Antonio Estudillo, Suyon and Maura.These are a few of the Filipinos and Indigenous people who died after they were brought to the U.S. for the 1904 World’s Fair as part of the largest “human zoos” of the time.And Janna Langholz wants to make sure their names aren’t lost to history.She’s an interdisciplinary artist who lives and conducts her research at the Philippine Village Historical Site, a 40-acre stretch of land in Clayton that was once part of the W...Sun, 16 May 2021 00:00:00 +0100https://www.stlpr.org/2021-05-16/1904-worlds-fair-revised-one-artist-memorializes-filipino-and-indigenous-people