Long Lead

Getting personal on the red carpet: How Anthony Breznican gets Hollywood to open up In the age of media training, the longtime entertainment reporter shares his creative approach to generating in-depth celebrity interviews.

@jennaschnuer.bsky.social spoke with Breznican for DEPTH PERCEPTION about entertainment journalism and how covering the Oscars has changed from his early days on the entertainment beat.

Read now:
depthperception.longlead.com/p/oscars-red...

Graphic with DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and text: “Whenever I ask a question that [could be] controversial [and] I know it’ll be tense … I always think about, ‘What am I trying to achieve here? Am I just trying to remind them of a painful thing that happened, or is there an actual question?’ And most of the time, there is a question there. And the question, I think, is, “Can you explain yourself?’ … ultimately, your job is to ask that question.” —Anthony Breznican, entertainment writer

For entertainment reporter Anthony Breznican (@brezwrites.bsky.social), discussing the creative process and understanding why a project moves us is paramount to what keeps him coming back and generating in-depth celebrity interviews.

Graffiti in the streets of Georgia, March 2024

Long Lead's next feature, produced in collaboration with @magnumphotos.bsky.social, comes out next week.

It encapsulates years of reporting across thousands of miles and centers around a global power imposing itself on other countries without restraint.

Follow Long Lead so you don't miss it.

For more insights from top journalists, subscribe to DEPTH PERCEPTION, where the top minds weigh in on questions from the future of the industry to the best advice they've received on covering their beat: longlead.com/newsletters

DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and outlined photo of someone looking at their phone with text: Media professionals weigh in on news consumers' fractured attention spans

This frenetic moment has fractured news consumers' attention, and journalists must find better ways to connect with audiences.

It's been top of mind for journalists as social media continues to evolve and expand and is a question that DEPTH PERCEPTION has asked other media industry pros about.

What do twins know that the rest of us don’t? Amid an epidemic of loneliness and social isolation, a gathering of twins celebrates the power of connection, companionship, and community.

Check out DOUBLE MEANING for the full story: twins.longlead.com

2026 Festival Schedule – Short. Sweet. Film Fest. Registration is now open for the Short. Sweet. Acting Competition.

Documentary film short TWINS FEST — part of Long Lead's feature DOUBLE MEANING — will be screened by the Short Sweet Film Fest, making its festival debut today, Sunday, March 8 in Cleveland, Ohio.
shortsweetfilmfest.com/2026-festiva...

Twins Fest: Inside the Annual Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, OH #twins #documentary #journalism Every year, thousands of twins pilgrimage to Twinsburg, Ohio, a charming spot that could double for any small American town. In the quaint town square, under big…

Each year, thousands of strangers pilgrimage to a small town in the middle of America where they celebrate being the same, but different. In a moment ruled by division, when genuine human connection feels like a relic of another time, what do twins know that the rest of us don't?

Sports Illustrated's Forgotten Pioneer In the Mad Men era of magazine journalism, Virginia Kraft was a globe-trotting writer and a deadly shot with a rifle. Why hasn't anyone heard of her?

Environmental journalist Emily Sohn (@emilysohn.bsky.social) explores the legacy of SI's lost pioneer.

Learn more about Kraft's legacy at THE CATCH:
thecatch.longlead.com

Black and white photo of journalist Virginia Kraft holding a fish with the quote on the right: "It's hard to be a role model, after all, when you're busy doing the hard work of being first." - EMILY SOHN, THE CATCH

Kraft was the first woman to race in a major dogsled event in Alaska, and likely the only mother of four to traverse six continents to take down all of the Big Five trophy animals.

So why hasn’t anyone heard of her?

Black and white photo of journalist Virginia Kraft on a boat.

Women's history month is all about women making an impact and breaking boundaries.

It's the perfect time to read THE CATCH, Long Lead's feature about Virginia Kraft, a Sports Illustrated reporter who broke down barriers in journalism.

"A particular kind of masochistic joy": Jelani Cobb on what it feels like to be a journalist The author, New Yorker writer, and dean of Columbia Journalism School witnesses journalism from all sides.

For DEPTH PERCEPTION, @markyarm.bsky.social discusses with Cobb about his growth as a writer, some recent controversies at Columbia, and why he considers journalism school perhaps more important than ever.

Read now: depthperception.longlead.com/p/new-yorker...

Screenshot from Jelani Cobb's DEPTH PERCEPTION interview: I think that we’ll figure it out, because so much rests upon our ability to do this job. I also think, paradoxically, that if we were to strip away the dark storm clouds, what would become obvious to us is the fact that journalism is more dynamic now than it has been in 50 years. We’re trying all kinds of things that, if we weren’t talking about the collapse of the business model and AI and lack of trust and all the other kinds of things that dominate the landscape, we would be talking about just how amazing the innovations in the field are. People are coming up with new business models. We were previously lazy in a way that had been bred by success. But now we have different types of distribution, different structures, we have just a huge number of nonprofit news organizations that are coming online, and people are actively trying to figure out what’s the most sustainable format for us. When a lot of smart people are all dedicated to trying to solve one question, we tend to make a lot of progress.

Though journalism continues to face major headwinds with layoffs, algorithm changes, and the rise of AI, Columbia Journalism School Dean @jelaniya.bsky.social remains hopeful for the future of the industry and J-school, sharing "journalism is more dynamic now than it has been in 50 years."

Graphic with photographer wearing a press vest and blue overlay with text on top: LONG LEAD PRESENTS DEPTH PERCEPTION Independent journalism matters now, more than ever. Subscribe to Depth Perception.

Independent journalism continues to be as important as ever and Long Lead's DEPTH PERCEPTION newsletter gives readers insights behind the scenes of some of the biggest independent journalists' stories.

Subscribe today to get it in your inbox every Wednesday:
depthperception.longlead.com

"A particular kind of masochistic joy": Jelani Cobb on what it feels like to be a journalist The author, New Yorker writer, and dean of Columbia Journalism School witnesses journalism from all sides.

For @longlead.com Depth Perception, I interviewed @columbiajournalism.bsky.social dean and @newyorker.com staff writer @jelaniya.bsky.social about his growth as a writer, some recent controversies at Columbia, and why he considers J-school perhaps more important than ever.

Sports Illustrated's Forgotten Pioneer In the Mad Men era of magazine journalism, Virginia Kraft was a globe-trotting writer and a deadly shot with a rifle. Why hasn't anyone heard of her?

Among the most important sports journalists of her time, Virginia Kraft chiseled early cracks into publishing’s male-dominated world. So why hasn’t anyone heard of her?

Learn more at THE CATCH: thecatch.longlead.com

She Dove to Escape Grief—And Became One of the World’s Greatest Athletes Embracing her pain, Alenka Artnik pushes the limits of the human body, on just one breath.

THE DEPTHS SHE'LL REACH recounts how freediver Alenka Artnik emerged from obscurity and mental health struggles to become one of the world’s most elite athletes. thedepths.longlead.com

Powerlifter Anna Kurkurina’s Rescue Mission for War-Torn Pets Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this champion weightlifter has saved and sheltered countless injured and orphaned animals.

Amidst the chaos of Russia's war on Ukraine, record-setting powerlifter Anna Kurkurina has rescued and rehomed countless of injured and unhoused pets that have been left to scavenge the war-torn streets.

3 photo graphic showing Anna Kurkurina petting two dogs in the streets of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, a photo of Alenka Artnik freediving, and a photo of sports journalist Virginia Kraft on safari

Women's history month is all about celebrating strong women and the challenges they've had to overcome.

Long Lead's features THE DEPTHS SHE'LL REACH, LIFTING UKRAINE, and THE CATCH focus on women who have broken barriers, overcoming personal struggles to achieve their goals.

Newsletters - Long Lead <p>Long Lead’s in-depth journalism takes more time to report, write, and produce. Stay in touch with us between productions by subscribing to our free newsletters.</p>

Our next feature is out later this month.

Subscribe to the LONG LEAD newsletter to be the first to know when it's out: longlead.com/newsletters

Long Lead banner with text LONG LEAD in the middle and blue overlay, featuring photos from Long Lead's projects lining the top and bottom of the screen. Photos include an MRI of a brain after being hit by a rubber bullet, a pair of twins looking at each other, a diver, archival photos from WWII Japanese American incarceration camps, a builder in Canaan, Haiti, a woman looking through binoculars, a woman scooping her hand with water, an animation of people falling into a whole, a close up of a cat being cleaned, a tent with an American flag hanging

Long Lead's features span across mediums, earning awards from the Edward R. Murrow for best podcast to Webby and Signal awards for our photo essays.

Visit Long Lead's site to experience more.
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"A particular kind of masochistic joy": Jelani Cobb on what it feels like to be a journalist The author, New Yorker writer, and dean of Columbia Journalism School witnesses journalism from all sides.

For DEPTH PERCEPTION, @markyarm.bsky.social discusses with Cobb about his growth as a writer, some recent controversies at Columbia, and why he considers journalism school perhaps more important than ever.

Read now: depthperception.longlead.com/p/new-yorker...

Headshot of journalist Jelani Cobb with DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and text: "There’s a particular kind of enjoyment that comes from getting lost in a story. And that doesn’t really happen until, like, the 3,000-word mark. Maybe it’s a dying pleasure, because the economics and the attention economy have pushed toward everything being much more succinct." —Jelani Cobb, Historian and Columbia Journalism School Dean

When reflecting on how it feels to be a journalist, Columbia Journalism School Dean @jelaniya.bsky.social refers to it as a “particular kind of masochistic joy.”

It's this joy that keeps him coming back while balancing being a staff writer at The New Yorker, a dean, and working on his new book.

The Last Drops of Mexico City One of the world’s most populated cities may run out of drinking water in the near future. Scenes from the parched megalopolis show how water scarcity could one day impact cities around the globe.

Learn more by reading THE LAST DROPS OF MEXICO CITY, a Long Lead and Magnum Photos collaboration. Read it today: mexicocitywater.longlead.com

Cutzamala System is a lifeline that provides more than a quarter of Mexico City’s drinking water. But due to dwindling water levels, prolonged drought, and overuse, Cutzamala’s main reservoir at Valle de Bravo was stretched to a breaking point in spring 2024.

Long Shadow Podcast · Long Lead & PRX · Through a series of riveting, complex narratives, LONG SHADOW makes sense of what people know — and what they thought they knew — about the most pivotal moments in U.S.…

Listen now to what Rolling Stone called a Best Podcast of 2025 wherever you get your podcasts: open.spotify.com/show/70a5obP...

Seven individual episode cover art banner with LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET podcast cover in the middle

The web once gave power to the people, and going online was actually fun.
Across seven episodes, LONG SHADOW’s fourth season retraces 30 years of web history — a tangle of GIFs, blogs, apps, and hashtags — to answer the bewildering question many ask when they go online today: “How did we get here?”

Screenshot of Long Lead's DEPTH PERCEPTION newsletter landing page on Substack

Independent journalism has never been more important.

Subscribe to Long Lead's DEPTH PERCEPTION to hear from journalism's top voices about the stories that are making headlines.
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How motherhood changed Elizabeth Flock’s approach to investigative journalism In her latest piece and an upcoming book, the journalist, podcaster, and author focusses on an ancient forest on the Poland-Belarus border.

In this week's DEPTH PERCEPTION, Kelly Kimball speaks to Flock about how motherhood has reframed her understanding of the stories she pursues, and how tracing Kossak’s legacy is an entry point to interrogating what it truly means to nurture life in a world under threat.

Read now.

Headshot of journalist Elizabeth Flock with DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and text: “Before [I had my kid], as an investigative journalist, I was chasing the problems … Now, I have made that shift towards solutions and wisdom, taking a step back, looking at the bigger picture.” —Elizabeth Flock, investigative journalist

Investigative journalist Elizabeth Flock hopes to resurrect stories of nurturing and ancient wisdom that are missing from the world, leading her to her latest project about Simona Kossak, a Polish biologist who raised, nurtured, and studied wild animals in the Białowieża Forest.