Will James
@willjames.bsky.social
Seattle journalist trying to understand many of the worst things
Currently making audio documentaries with KUOW
Podcasts:
Lost Patients (2024)
The Walk Home (2022)
Outsiders (2020)
Married to @sydbrownstone.bsky.social
https://www.will-james.work/
Currently making audio documentaries with KUOW
Podcasts:
Lost Patients (2024)
The Walk Home (2022)
Outsiders (2020)
Married to @sydbrownstone.bsky.social
https://www.will-james.work/
This is the sharpest analysis of the Olivia Nuzzi saga.
As institutional journalism has collapsed, individual journalists have basically had two paths for scraping by: a "prestige play" (hounding for prizes) or an "attention play" (social media celebrity).
Both are corrupt in different ways.
As institutional journalism has collapsed, individual journalists have basically had two paths for scraping by: a "prestige play" (hounding for prizes) or an "attention play" (social media celebrity).
Both are corrupt in different ways.
November 21, 2025 at 7:36 PM
This is the sharpest analysis of the Olivia Nuzzi saga.
As institutional journalism has collapsed, individual journalists have basically had two paths for scraping by: a "prestige play" (hounding for prizes) or an "attention play" (social media celebrity).
Both are corrupt in different ways.
As institutional journalism has collapsed, individual journalists have basically had two paths for scraping by: a "prestige play" (hounding for prizes) or an "attention play" (social media celebrity).
Both are corrupt in different ways.
One of my favorite things I learned while talking with students at @famu1887.bsky.social this week: At its founding, this historically black university was relegated to a former plantation infested with rattlesnakes. So they embraced the rattlesnake as their mascot.
November 20, 2025 at 10:00 PM
One of my favorite things I learned while talking with students at @famu1887.bsky.social this week: At its founding, this historically black university was relegated to a former plantation infested with rattlesnakes. So they embraced the rattlesnake as their mascot.
And I’m excited to start this one by @johnlangan.bsky.social, after @talkscaredpod.bsky.social’s enthusiastic recommendation.
October 26, 2025 at 12:31 AM
And I’m excited to start this one by @johnlangan.bsky.social, after @talkscaredpod.bsky.social’s enthusiastic recommendation.
Here's Brian Eno with the most devastatingly accurate description I've yet heard of things made with generative AI:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/o...
October 8, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Here's Brian Eno with the most devastatingly accurate description I've yet heard of things made with generative AI:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/o...
Reading @edzitron.com on how the rush to automate jobs using AI is a function of bosses being increasingly disconnected from what their companies actually produce, reducing every job to its outputs:
www.wheresyoured.at/the-case-aga...
www.wheresyoured.at/the-case-aga...
October 2, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reading @edzitron.com on how the rush to automate jobs using AI is a function of bosses being increasingly disconnected from what their companies actually produce, reducing every job to its outputs:
www.wheresyoured.at/the-case-aga...
www.wheresyoured.at/the-case-aga...
At what point do journalists get to start taunting tech people with “Learn to write”?
September 29, 2025 at 4:59 PM
At what point do journalists get to start taunting tech people with “Learn to write”?
There's something very powerful about the idea of positioning high-quality podcasts as pro-human in a culture that is increasingly algorithm-driven and AI-created.
Creators of things have a choice: join the slop or bet on there being a backlash to the slop.
From @jodyavirgan.com:
Creators of things have a choice: join the slop or bet on there being a backlash to the slop.
From @jodyavirgan.com:
August 7, 2025 at 6:51 PM
There's something very powerful about the idea of positioning high-quality podcasts as pro-human in a culture that is increasingly algorithm-driven and AI-created.
Creators of things have a choice: join the slop or bet on there being a backlash to the slop.
From @jodyavirgan.com:
Creators of things have a choice: join the slop or bet on there being a backlash to the slop.
From @jodyavirgan.com:
Seattle: Can we please pull out all the stops to bring my neighbor's cat home?
If you live on Capitol Hill, anywhere near 14th and Harrison/Republican, please check your basements and anywhere a cat might get trapped.
If you live on Capitol Hill, anywhere near 14th and Harrison/Republican, please check your basements and anywhere a cat might get trapped.
July 18, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Seattle: Can we please pull out all the stops to bring my neighbor's cat home?
If you live on Capitol Hill, anywhere near 14th and Harrison/Republican, please check your basements and anywhere a cat might get trapped.
If you live on Capitol Hill, anywhere near 14th and Harrison/Republican, please check your basements and anywhere a cat might get trapped.
Reminder to find me at #IRE2025 in New Orleans later this week.
I'll be speaking on the panels below, both discussions on how to make in-depth reporting come to life in audio. Hope to see you there.
I'll be speaking on the panels below, both discussions on how to make in-depth reporting come to life in audio. Hope to see you there.
June 16, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Reminder to find me at #IRE2025 in New Orleans later this week.
I'll be speaking on the panels below, both discussions on how to make in-depth reporting come to life in audio. Hope to see you there.
I'll be speaking on the panels below, both discussions on how to make in-depth reporting come to life in audio. Hope to see you there.
I did think it was a little over-the-top for them to place me in a ceremonial coffin during the awards event.
June 11, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I did think it was a little over-the-top for them to place me in a ceremonial coffin during the awards event.
Unbelievably proud to have collaborated with these two, who just won the nation's top honor for young journalists for their work on Lost Patients.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
June 11, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Unbelievably proud to have collaborated with these two, who just won the nation's top honor for young journalists for their work on Lost Patients.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Kenny Taylor died last night after suffering a stroke a few months ago.
Kenny became one of the first tenants to ever live in DESC housing after moving off the streets of Seattle 30 years ago. He lived in DESC’s Union Hotel ever since.
This is a picture he gave me. It’s of his cat, Treasure.
Kenny became one of the first tenants to ever live in DESC housing after moving off the streets of Seattle 30 years ago. He lived in DESC’s Union Hotel ever since.
This is a picture he gave me. It’s of his cat, Treasure.
May 29, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Kenny Taylor died last night after suffering a stroke a few months ago.
Kenny became one of the first tenants to ever live in DESC housing after moving off the streets of Seattle 30 years ago. He lived in DESC’s Union Hotel ever since.
This is a picture he gave me. It’s of his cat, Treasure.
Kenny became one of the first tenants to ever live in DESC housing after moving off the streets of Seattle 30 years ago. He lived in DESC’s Union Hotel ever since.
This is a picture he gave me. It’s of his cat, Treasure.
Many cases right now of people saying what society needs is propaganda they happen to agree with.
The unsatisfying truth is that it actually need more journalism, which is a different thing.
An insightful read by @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social:
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/free-advic...
The unsatisfying truth is that it actually need more journalism, which is a different thing.
An insightful read by @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social:
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/free-advic...
May 21, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Many cases right now of people saying what society needs is propaganda they happen to agree with.
The unsatisfying truth is that it actually need more journalism, which is a different thing.
An insightful read by @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social:
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/free-advic...
The unsatisfying truth is that it actually need more journalism, which is a different thing.
An insightful read by @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social:
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/free-advic...
I met Jayden last year in the open-air fentanyl market near 12th and Jackson in Seattle.
He’s in his early 20s and grew up in foster care in Yakima County. He told me about how the constant threat of fentanyl withdrawal drives illegal commerce on the corner.
He’s in his early 20s and grew up in foster care in Yakima County. He told me about how the constant threat of fentanyl withdrawal drives illegal commerce on the corner.
April 15, 2025 at 12:02 AM
I met Jayden last year in the open-air fentanyl market near 12th and Jackson in Seattle.
He’s in his early 20s and grew up in foster care in Yakima County. He told me about how the constant threat of fentanyl withdrawal drives illegal commerce on the corner.
He’s in his early 20s and grew up in foster care in Yakima County. He told me about how the constant threat of fentanyl withdrawal drives illegal commerce on the corner.
In Seattle, you can pass by corners where dozens of people are buying and selling fentanyl and stolen goods out in the open.
I asked an outreach worker what we’re seeing. His answer may be the most articulate description I’ve ever heard of the pockets of poverty/disorder on display in cities:
I asked an outreach worker what we’re seeing. His answer may be the most articulate description I’ve ever heard of the pockets of poverty/disorder on display in cities:
April 14, 2025 at 11:28 PM
In Seattle, you can pass by corners where dozens of people are buying and selling fentanyl and stolen goods out in the open.
I asked an outreach worker what we’re seeing. His answer may be the most articulate description I’ve ever heard of the pockets of poverty/disorder on display in cities:
I asked an outreach worker what we’re seeing. His answer may be the most articulate description I’ve ever heard of the pockets of poverty/disorder on display in cities:
Really proud Lost Patients is among this year’s Best of the West contest winners.
“This is an important, informative, and beautifully told story with the power to change how listeners think about public policy and the institutions that shape so many lives.”
bestofthewestcontest.org/2025-contest...
“This is an important, informative, and beautifully told story with the power to change how listeners think about public policy and the institutions that shape so many lives.”
bestofthewestcontest.org/2025-contest...
April 5, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Really proud Lost Patients is among this year’s Best of the West contest winners.
“This is an important, informative, and beautifully told story with the power to change how listeners think about public policy and the institutions that shape so many lives.”
bestofthewestcontest.org/2025-contest...
“This is an important, informative, and beautifully told story with the power to change how listeners think about public policy and the institutions that shape so many lives.”
bestofthewestcontest.org/2025-contest...
It boils down to this:
There used to be places where the poorest people could live indoors — even those with serious addictions, mental illnesses, criminal records, and disabilities.
And now many of those places are gone.
There used to be places where the poorest people could live indoors — even those with serious addictions, mental illnesses, criminal records, and disabilities.
And now many of those places are gone.
March 31, 2025 at 6:41 PM
It boils down to this:
There used to be places where the poorest people could live indoors — even those with serious addictions, mental illnesses, criminal records, and disabilities.
And now many of those places are gone.
There used to be places where the poorest people could live indoors — even those with serious addictions, mental illnesses, criminal records, and disabilities.
And now many of those places are gone.
Writing is thinking. Writing in school is practice for thinking clearly in life.
Using AI to write essays in school nullifies the benefits of this.
I can't imagine thinking like this person: that if you can use AI to write at a job, there's no point in learning how to write on your own at all.
Using AI to write essays in school nullifies the benefits of this.
I can't imagine thinking like this person: that if you can use AI to write at a job, there's no point in learning how to write on your own at all.
March 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Writing is thinking. Writing in school is practice for thinking clearly in life.
Using AI to write essays in school nullifies the benefits of this.
I can't imagine thinking like this person: that if you can use AI to write at a job, there's no point in learning how to write on your own at all.
Using AI to write essays in school nullifies the benefits of this.
I can't imagine thinking like this person: that if you can use AI to write at a job, there's no point in learning how to write on your own at all.
Lost Patients is an Ambies finalist for best documentary podcast. Very cool.
@sydbrownstone.bsky.social @esmyjimenez.bsky.social @kuow.org @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social
www.ambies.com/2025-nominees
@sydbrownstone.bsky.social @esmyjimenez.bsky.social @kuow.org @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social
www.ambies.com/2025-nominees
February 14, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Lost Patients is an Ambies finalist for best documentary podcast. Very cool.
@sydbrownstone.bsky.social @esmyjimenez.bsky.social @kuow.org @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social
www.ambies.com/2025-nominees
@sydbrownstone.bsky.social @esmyjimenez.bsky.social @kuow.org @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social
www.ambies.com/2025-nominees
I had the pleasure of reviewing author Josephine Ensign's new book, "Way Home" for Harvard Public Health @harvardchanschool.bsky.social.
Ensign, a UW nurse and academic, searches for solutions to American homelessness in stories from Seattle's streets.
harvardpublichealth.org/policy-pract...
Ensign, a UW nurse and academic, searches for solutions to American homelessness in stories from Seattle's streets.
harvardpublichealth.org/policy-pract...
February 7, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I had the pleasure of reviewing author Josephine Ensign's new book, "Way Home" for Harvard Public Health @harvardchanschool.bsky.social.
Ensign, a UW nurse and academic, searches for solutions to American homelessness in stories from Seattle's streets.
harvardpublichealth.org/policy-pract...
Ensign, a UW nurse and academic, searches for solutions to American homelessness in stories from Seattle's streets.
harvardpublichealth.org/policy-pract...
Haunted by this quote, from an article about a family ruined by Amway.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
February 2, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Haunted by this quote, from an article about a family ruined by Amway.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Washington, one of the first states to legalize weed, limits the potency of edibles and and flower.
But there's no limit on the potency of concentrates.
The industry has fought efforts to regulate.
But there's no limit on the potency of concentrates.
The industry has fought efforts to regulate.
January 12, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Washington, one of the first states to legalize weed, limits the potency of edibles and and flower.
But there's no limit on the potency of concentrates.
The industry has fought efforts to regulate.
But there's no limit on the potency of concentrates.
The industry has fought efforts to regulate.
Equally wild:
While reporting on psychosis last year, what I absorbed was that weed mainly triggered schizophrenia in people already at risk for it.
But more recent studies show that weed use can just cause schizophrenia – a lifelong, incurable condition – on its own, without a known genetic risk.
While reporting on psychosis last year, what I absorbed was that weed mainly triggered schizophrenia in people already at risk for it.
But more recent studies show that weed use can just cause schizophrenia – a lifelong, incurable condition – on its own, without a known genetic risk.
January 12, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Equally wild:
While reporting on psychosis last year, what I absorbed was that weed mainly triggered schizophrenia in people already at risk for it.
But more recent studies show that weed use can just cause schizophrenia – a lifelong, incurable condition – on its own, without a known genetic risk.
While reporting on psychosis last year, what I absorbed was that weed mainly triggered schizophrenia in people already at risk for it.
But more recent studies show that weed use can just cause schizophrenia – a lifelong, incurable condition – on its own, without a known genetic risk.
This is wild.
One study found that *one-fifth* (!) of schizophrenia cases might be prevented if young men did not develop cannabis use disorder.
One study found that *one-fifth* (!) of schizophrenia cases might be prevented if young men did not develop cannabis use disorder.
January 12, 2025 at 6:07 AM
This is wild.
One study found that *one-fifth* (!) of schizophrenia cases might be prevented if young men did not develop cannabis use disorder.
One study found that *one-fifth* (!) of schizophrenia cases might be prevented if young men did not develop cannabis use disorder.