The Monday Media Diet with Liz Landers

On politics, The Promise, and Wadi Rum

Liz Landers (LL) was introduced to us via the great Zach Weiss. She’s currently covering politics at Vice. We’re super happy to have her on the page with us this week. -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

Hello! I’m Liz Landers, chief political correspondent for Vice News in Washington, D.C. My work focuses on politics both inside and outside of the Beltway. I do everything from covering Congress to the White House, but we also travel frequently to hear from real people about how policy, politics, and the democratic process affects them. Outside of work, I’m a native Floridian with a penchant for bright colors, skiing, travel, yoga classes, art museums, and a great meal - preferably a burger with fries and wine - with friends. 

Describe your media diet. 

Since I work in news, I consume a lot of media. I flip on Morning Joe in the mornings while I’m drinking coffee, and also scroll through Twitter to see what news happened overnight. I subscribe to several political newsletters - Washington Post’s, Axois’, and Politico Playbook - and I’ll skim those. If it’s a Thursday, I watch our news magazine program at 10pm. I typically read a few stories from the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, or NBC News on my computer throughout the day depending on what news is breaking. I try to watch the evening news broadcasts if I’m around a TV by 6:30pm. On Fridays, I read The Africa Brief Substack newsletter. The weekends are for catching up on longer-form reading.

What’s the last great book you read?

The Promise by Damon Galgut. A painfully beautiful novel about a family emerging from the apartheid era: a promise that haunts them for generations through their tragedies and dubious moral decisions. The storytelling features several members of the family and they are all characters. I rarely read fiction, but this was a reminder to read more.

What are you reading now?

Strongmen by Ruth Ben-Giat, a book about dictators and despots. See, I told you, there are mostly non-fiction books on my bedside table! It’s not particularly uplifting, dear reader, but important. 

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

Cover to cover, baby! I mostly read fashion magazines in print these days: Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Vanity Fair all land in my mailbox. I love looking at all the ads for the latest collections, the editor in chief letters, the shopping recs. I read it all.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

My friend Ali Vitali released a book Electable about women in politics, and why there’s never been a woman in the White House. We covered the 2016 campaign trail together and she got really interesting access to other female presidential candidates from 2020 - in addition to adding her own insights and reporting, too. If you care about this upcoming 2024 presidential campaign, read this!

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone? 

My journalist friends are going to laugh because it’s ubiquitous in our business now, but an app called Otter. It’s a transcription service that audio records whatever you need and then transcribes that in real time. I use it primarily when I’m speaking with lawmakers on Capitol Hill or crashing a TV interview. It’s highly useful!

Plane or train?

Plane in the United States. Even when I’m going to New York these days, I mostly fly. If I’m traveling in Europe, then I like to take the train because it’s so efficient and tends to be more scenic than the Acela corridor.

What is one place everyone should visit? 

Wadi Rum. I went during a trip to Jordan a few years ago and the desert is so otherworldly, I don’t feel a need to ever go to outerspace. Go with Bedouin guides who bring local hospitality like traditional tea service to the experience.

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.

I’m always falling into rabbit holes for work (Twitter threads about who-knows-what), but recently it’s been Met Gala outfit posts: I’ll click the Vogue Instagram post of some celebrity look, then I want to read all the comments, then I’ll get recommended content featuring a zillion memes about Jared Leto as Choupette, and I’ll keep clicking and alas, there goes 20 or 30 minutes.

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Liz (LL)

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