Max Blau's guest appearances

Max Blau

Switchyards: The Podcast

The Lead

Hear-Tell

Mark Shavin

Tracy Brown

Randy Travis

Sean Keenan

David McCraw

Steve Inskeep

Charles Davis

Daniella Zalcman

Richard Griffiths

Blake Sabatinelli

Jim White

Karen Thomas

Ian Urbina

Valerie Boyd

Rebecca Burns

OwlTail

Max Blau is an investigative reporter covering health care, public health, and the environment for ProPublica's South unit, and during his career as a journalist, he has investigated people, corporations and government agencies that have caused harm in their communities. He joins this episode of The Lead to discuss the importance of being radically transparent and participatory during interviews, his approach to beginning investigations, and how one's journalism practice can be deeply connected to their lived experiences.  Guest: Max Blau, investigative reporter with ProPublica's South Unit.

Max Blau is an investigative reporter covering health care, public health, and the environment for ProPublica's South unit, and during his career as a journalist, he has investigated people, corporations and government agencies that have caused harm in their communities. He joins this episode of The Lead to discuss the importance of being radically transparent and participatory during interviews, his approach to beginning investigations, and how one's journalism practice can be deeply connected to their lived experiences.  Guest: Max Blau, investigative reporter with ProPublica's South Unit.

Max Blau on practicing radical transparency in interviews

For parents, building nests, rather than cages, for baby birds can prove difficult.  In Max Blau's story "How Jim White Helped His Bluebird Spread Her Wings," originally published by the Sunday Long Read, a songwriter and his daughter learn to overcome turmoil to love each other on equal terms.  Blau, a 2018 graduate of the Low-Residency MFA program at the University of Georgia, spent years interviewing the subjects of the story, Jim White and daughter Willow Martin. He squared their accounts of a messy custody battle and inter-personal growing pains with family members, and he fact-checked the details against court documents. The result is a story about how parents, as their children forge their own identities, must understand their role with clear eyes. Max Blau is an independent journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. His work has appeared in publications like the Atavist, ProPublica, Atlanta, and Georgia Health News, among many others.

For parents, building nests, rather than cages, for baby birds can prove difficult.  In Max Blau's story "How Jim White Helped His Bluebird Spread Her Wings," originally published by <a href="https://sundaylongread.com/2020/06/21/how-jim-white-helped-his-bluebird-spread-her-wings/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Sunday Long Read</a>, a songwriter and his daughter learn to overcome turmoil to love each other on equal terms.  Blau, a 2018 graduate of <a href="https://online.uga.edu/online-offerings/graduate/low-residency-master-of-fine-arts-in-narrative-media-writing-mfa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Low-Residency MFA program at the University of Georgia</a>, spent years interviewing the subjects of the story, Jim White and daughter Willow Martin. He squared their accounts of a messy custody battle and inter-personal growing pains with family members, and he fact-checked the details against court documents. The result is a story about how parents, as their children forge their own identities, must understand their role with clear eyes. Max Blau is an independent journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. His work has appeared in publications like the Atavist, ProPublica, Atlanta, and Georgia Health News, among many others.

Ep. 12: Max Blau, "How Jim White Helped His Bluebird Spread Her Wings"