Reporting
As a freelance journalist, I've reported on environmental justice for national outlets. While working as an enterprise reporter with WFYI in Indianapolis, I focused on economic equity through a data and equity lens. In addition to audio features reporting, I covered the aftermath of the FedEx mass shooting in April 2021 and reported on the outlet's own diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Back in 2018, I pursued a nine-month fellowship with KALW's Audio Academy in San Francisco, where I reported my own features, voiced newscasts, and took graduate-level courses on audio journalism and storytelling. Here is some of my work for those outlets.
Financial margins in the child care industry remain razor thin for providers, even with help from state and federal grants. An Indiana survey found 73 percent of providers have seen operating costs increase during the pandemic, according to the state’s Office of Early Education and Out-of-School Learning.
“There are some times that I’m able to get paid,” Indianapolis child care provider Hobbs said, “and there are some times that I'm not.”
Credit: LiTrina Hobbs/Care Bear Child Care
Maybe you got a DUI in your 20s. Maybe you stole diapers from a Walmart as a young mom. No matter how long ago it was, having even a single criminal conviction on your record can affect your ability to get a higher-paying job, quickly clear background checks, or even rent an apartment.
But there are still barriers to getting a record expunged -- and one of the biggest is outstanding court costs and fees.
Credit: Courtesy of the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic
According to Indianapolis’ Office of Minority and Women Business Development, the number of business consultations it has offered to aspiring entrepreneurs has more than doubled in the past year, from 176 consultations in 2019, to 379 in 2020. An increased interest in entrepreneurship among communities of color is especially significant in a state like Indiana, which has historically lagged in that category.
Credit: Doug Jaggers/WFYI
Many people approaching traditional retirement age choose not to retire for a variety of reasons. Some are driven by a sense of purpose and community; others are pulled back by financial necessity.
One third of older adults in central Indiana have difficulty paying for basic needs, according to a new study from SAVI and IUPUI. Because of racial disparities in lifetime earnings, the magnitude of those effects look different across race.
Credit: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels
Nearly one million people were at this Sunday’s Pride March in San Francisco. It’s one of the biggest events in the city — but, after all is said and done, who cleans it all up?
After the last parade float cruises down Market Street, it may seem like that’s the end of the show. But as it turns out, there are actually two parades.
Credit: Pria Mahadevan
*San Francisco Press Club Award: First Place, Radio/Audio Non-Commercial News Story, 2020
San Francisco voters banned all flavored tobacco sales in June of 2018, and full enforcement of that law began on January 1st of 2019. But what happens when small businesses have to pull these products off their shelves, and how is the city helping with the transition?
Credit: Pria Mahadevan
It’s a sunny but chilly New Year’s Day, and a couple hundred people are gathered outside the Fruitvale BART station. The crowd is eclectic – an older woman parks her blue lawn chair right in front of the main stage, young parents cart their chatty toddlers in strollers, and a few people burn incense sticks while silently weaving through the crowd.
Every year since Oscar Grant was killed by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle, Grant’s family has held a vigil in his memory. Although that might sound somber, the general feeling here is positive. Friends and family greet each other with wide smiles and big hugs. Ten years later, this is a space for gratitude, resilience, and hope.
Credit: Pria Mahadevan
Listener Katie Taylor asked us why there are so many sand dollars on Ocean Beach, and if our sand dollar population is healthy. This was part of KALW's listener engagement project called "Hey Area."
Credit: Angela Johnston / KALW
More than 40,000 people gathered in San Francisco for the third Women's March in 2019. Like at previous Women’s Marches, people of all ages arrived at Civic Center Plaza toting signs critiquing the Trump administration. This year, many also carried signs reflecting the newer issues of the Me Too movement, like, “I Stand with Christine Blasey-Ford” or “Mute R. Kelly.”
But the march also fell in the midst of an ongoing controversy involving Women’s March leadership, which has been accused of anti-semitism.
