Nieman Storyboard
In-depth conversations about the craft of journalism and storytelling, presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Hosted by Mark Armstrong, editor of Nieman Storyboard, founder (emeritus) of Longreads and co-founder of the podcast company Ursa.
Nieman Storyboard
The New Yorker's Sam Wolson on interactive storytelling about a mother and her trans teenager leaving the U.S.
The New Yorker’s Interactives Visual Features Editor Sam Wolson joins Storyboard Editor Mark Armstrong for a conversation about his latest story, “There’s No Place at Home: A Mother and Her Trans Teen Decide to Leave the U.S.,” about a mother and her trans teenager deciding to move to Mexico after President Trump’s efforts to restrict gender-affirming care.
The story is an interactive visual feature that combines photorealistic 3D models — using photos taken at the family’s house in Maine — with illustrations by Lilli Carré and reporting and writing by Wolson. For Wolson, “ there was something really powerful in that raw physicality of their home and what it means to leave a home that felt really valuable to the telling of this story in a way that I don't think you would've had if you just were hearing them talking about leaving it."
Get the full show notes and reading list: https://niemanstoryboard.org/2025/09/11/new-yorker-sam-wolson-interactive-storytelling/
Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/
Show Credits
Hosted and produced by Mark Armstrong
Associate producer: Marina Leigh
Episode editor: Kelly Araja
Audience editor: Adriana Lacy
Promotional support: Ellen Tuttle
Operational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter Canova
Nieman Foundation interim curator: Henry Chu
Music: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Cover design by Adriana Lacy
Nieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.