My secret weapon for job interviews (ft. Chris Stedman)
Hi y'all!
Welcome back to Starting Out with me and Transom.
I’m so excited to share this interview with Chris Stedman, host and writer of Unread. It’s a really special show that I’m so glad was made. Unread is a show about Chris’ friend Alex.
Alex was a massive Britney Spears fan. He was such a big fan that he hung out on Britney forums and learned choreography and incorporated song titles into his everyday speech. A man after my own heart.
At the same time, Alex struggled with mental illness. He died by suicide and notified his friends by scheduling emails to be sent after his death. The email that Chris received contained a trove of files, hinting at the idea that a woman he was messaging with on a Britney forum was Britney herself.
Our interview contains some spoilers for the show; if you haven’t listened yet, I highly recommend listening before you hear Chris talk about it. It’s a warm, often funny portrait of who Alex was, and how his friends from all over found each other in the aftermath of his death.
Also in this issue of Starting Out: a worksheet that will help you prepare for job interviews. It’s a living document — so if there are suggestions y’all, feel free to share them by replying to this email.
Photo by James from Unread
Alice: You’re mainly a writer, right? How did you end up making a podcast?
Chris: I've always loved audio. As a kid I made my own radio shows on a tape recorder, and in college I had a show for the campus station.
I knew I liked audio, but I felt like I had no technical know-how at all. I see myself first and foremost as a writer. And so I'm used to exploring issues and telling stories through the written word.
When Alex died, I was doing what I always do when I'm trying to figure out how I feel about something, which is writing. Most of the time that writing is something that I don't share publicly. But as I kept writing about Alex's death, and specifically as I was trying to understand this mystery in his goodbye note, I found myself starting to wonder if it might be something I would want to share more broadly.
There were a couple things that moved me in that direction. The first was when I shared the GoFundMe for Alex's family, I heard from so many people who thanked me for naming how Alex died. I was just matter-of-fact and said he died by suicide, but I heard from a bunch of people who had also been touched by suicide in some way.
It just made me realize, “Wow, this is a thing we don't talk about enough.” I found myself looking for resources and narratives to help me make sense of my own experience, and I had a hard time finding them. So that was sort of one piece. And then the other was, you know, as I talked with Alex's family and friends, they all were encouraging and supportive of the idea of exploring it more publicly.
Because the center of the mystery was these audio files, I just felt like trying to describe them wouldn't do them justice. You had to hear them in order to understand why my reaction to them was so visceral. Which is why this became a podcast instead of something written.
I've talked to many people now who are like, “How do you get a podcast made?” And I feel like my story is not instructive at all, because it just feels very lucky. I literally just slid in the DMs of Beth Anne Macaluso, who now heads up development for iHeart, and was like, “Hey, I have this idea for a show. I don't know if you would have any interest at all, but if so I'd really like to talk to you about it.” And she said, “Yeah, let's talk.” She became such an advocate for the show at iHeart, which I'm very grateful for.
Resources
When I’m nervous about a job interview, it helps me to do a practice round — often I’ll call my dad and practice the interview on the phone with him. Other times I like to write out (by hand, that helps it stick in my brain) the questions I’m anticipating being asked and how I’d like to respond.
I built out a version of that for you — a worksheet with a few things to do in advance of your interview, and some questions that you might be asked. As I said in the intro, this is a living document, and I’m happy to hear your questions and ideas.
Here’s my job interview worksheet!
Classifieds
Internships
Embodied, North Carolina Public Radio ($17/hr)
Science Vs., Gimlet ($25/hr)
Intern, Pushkin ($17/hr)
Newsroom Intern, St. Louis Public Radio ($15/hr)
Talk Show Intern, St. Louis Public Radio ($15/hr)
Fellowships
Second Century News Fellow, Wisconsin Public Radio (46,000/yr)
Lee Ester News Fellowship, Wisconsin Public Radio (46,000/yr)
News Fellow, Seattle Public Radio ($58,008 - $68,400/yr)
Associate Producer and other entry-level roles
SiriusXM is hiring a ton of APs, so many that I can’t list them all here! Go nuts!
News Reporter, Mississippi Public Radio ($38,000 -$40,000/yr)
Assistant Producer, Insight, CapRadio ($44,000 - $53,299/yr)
Associate Producer/Producer, Minnesota Public Radio ($22-$32/hr)
Associate Producer, The Brian Lehrer Show, New York Public Radio ($69,900/yr)
Associate Producer, The Takeaway, NYPR ($69,900/yr)
Associate Producer, Originals/Partner Editorial Podcasts, Pineapple Street Studios (67,000-68,000/yr)
If you are hiring interns, fellows, or other entry-level positions, send your job postings and rates to startingout [at] transom [dot] org and I’ll list them in the next issue. Please note that Starting Out features only paid opportunities. Also — if you got a job from this classifieds section, let me know! I want to celebrate your success!
Chris recommends
Switched on Pop: they recently did a great 4-episode run on the impact and power of Britney’s music. Very insightful, and such a fun listen.
Through the Cracks: stunning and so tender. One of my favorites of 2021.
Oh No Ross and Carrie: provocative, educational, and entertaining. Also, I couldn’t have made Unread without Carrie’s perspective.
Eat, Pray, Britney: the deepest of deep dives on all things Britney. They had me on their show once, too, and were so wonderful.