IRE Radio Podcast | BONUS: Always Be Curious

Investigations today are full of data, documents and computer programming, but that wasn’t always the case. On this bonus episode, we’re sharing audio from the 2019 CAR Conference. Data journalism pioneer James B. Steele discusses his work with longtime reporting partner Donald L. Barlett. He also offers tips for finding stories and staying curious.

You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.

RESOURCES

Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this podcast? We've collected them for you.

• Read some of Barlett and Steele’s reporting here.
• Members only: Download the tipsheet “How to turn your investigation into a narrative: Getting them to read to the last word” (2019) by James B. Steele.
• Members only: Download the tipsheet “Unsung Documents” (2015) by James B. Steele, Mike McGraw and Joe Stephens.
• Members only: Read the story “Who’s getting rich off your student debt?” (2016) by James B. Steele, Lance Williams and Katharine Mieszkowski.
• Members only: Listen to audio from the 2009 IRE Conference session “Building the story: From getting started to know when to stop” with Donald Barlett and James B. Steele.
• Members only: Read the story “The Betrayal of the American Dream” (2013) by James B. Steele and Donald Barlett.

MUSIC

Dusting (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0

These Times (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0

Palms Down (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0

Up Up Up and Over   (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0

CREDITS

Abby Ivory-Ganja and Kelly Kenoyer co-produced this episode. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.