The Freelance Journalism Podcast
Jul 28, 2026 · 1 hr 40 min · 11 segments
Since the Washington Post abruptly fired her in 2025, Karen Attiah has stayed busy. She founde Resistance Studies Series that summer to teach online, after…
Karen AttiahGuest
Katherine Reynolds LewisHost
Yeah, how do I balance or not balance? I mean, I, well, first of all, I mean, with a book on Jamal Khashoggi and it's out there, I mean, I'd completed a manuscript and then my former publisher, for whatever reason, you know, I believe it's political, but decided to not continue with the, editing process.
So right now in the process of, like I said, righteous indignation and fury, and I think everything going on in terms of censorship and attacks against journalists, it's all the more important to try to get this book back out there.
Um, I actually took an enforced break a few weeks ago to, you know, finish, um, the, uh, a new proposal given everything that's happened at, especially everything that's not just happened to me, but I mean, yes, but also what's happened to the Washington post itself.
Um, that, you know, this project now for me, almost what, um, eight years after, almost, gosh, after Javale's murder, now takes on a new chilling meaning for me.
Maybe, you know, who knows, maybe I was meant to capture the Washington Post itself being butchered.
But yeah, I find myself saying, okay, this week, this next, you know, this week is just on that.
in terms of structuring my days, I try, I mean, with, with recent events in my family, it's obviously been hard, but, um, in general, I try to, when I get up, um, and I try to like meditate or have some like kind of morning rituals, I try to save anything related to deep work, like books, stuff like that.
First thing in the morning, like if I can, before it was like, yeah, tea and calm West African Cora music is my is my thing.
So I just, you know, following just sort of the science in terms of like deep work before the world works, what wakes up before the emails before.
Otherwise, sometimes it just means blocking off a week or a day just for long form work.
You know, are you on the newsletter or are you working with an editor or you just sort of hit publish? And what does that feel like to be freed from the confines of the word count or the, you know, sort of standard newspaper opinion piece?
I probably, I miss the, if there's anything I do miss, it's like the collaboration with having someone who's like just kind of dedicated to making your work better or having ideas or at the very least being like, hey, it's Thursday.
And like I said, I think I'm still you're still catching me in a time where I'm like, how do I want to show up in terms of cadence, in terms of my work, like in terms of am I a news person anymore? Is that even what I really want to do? But as far as the craft goes, I think of anything.
Yeah, how do I balance or not balance? I mean, I, well, first of all, I mean, with a book on Jamal Khashoggi and it's out there, I mean, I'd completed a manuscript and then my former publisher, for whatever reason, you know, I believe it's political, but decided to not continue with the, editing process.
So right now in the process of, like I said, righteous indignation and fury, and I think everything going on in terms of censorship and attacks against journalists, it's all the more important to try to get this book back out there.
Um, I actually took an enforced break a few weeks ago to, you know, finish, um, the, uh, a new proposal given everything that's happened at, especially everything that's not just happened to me, but I mean, yes, but also what's happened to the Washington post itself.
Um, that, you know, this project now for me, almost what, um, eight years after, almost, gosh, after Javale's murder, now takes on a new chilling meaning for me.
Maybe, you know, who knows, maybe I was meant to capture the Washington Post itself being butchered.
But yeah, I find myself saying, okay, this week, this next, you know, this week is just on that.
in terms of structuring my days, I try, I mean, with, with recent events in my family, it's obviously been hard, but, um, in general, I try to, when I get up, um, and I try to like meditate or have some like kind of morning rituals, I try to save anything related to deep work, like books, stuff like that.
First thing in the morning, like if I can, before it was like, yeah, tea and calm West African Cora music is my is my thing.
So I just, you know, following just sort of the science in terms of like deep work before the world works, what wakes up before the emails before.
Otherwise, sometimes it just means blocking off a week or a day just for long form work.
You know, are you on the newsletter or are you working with an editor or you just sort of hit publish? And what does that feel like to be freed from the confines of the word count or the, you know, sort of standard newspaper opinion piece?
I probably, I miss the, if there's anything I do miss, it's like the collaboration with having someone who's like just kind of dedicated to making your work better or having ideas or at the very least being like, hey, it's Thursday.
And like I said, I think I'm still you're still catching me in a time where I'm like, how do I want to show up in terms of cadence, in terms of my work, like in terms of am I a news person anymore? Is that even what I really want to do? But as far as the craft goes, I think of anything.
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