LACIS is pleased to welcome former student, Jacob Kushner, back to campus for a week-long residency this December!
His visit will feature a variety of special events including a public lecture, career presentation, and classroom visits. Questions can be directed to Sarah Ripp (skripp@wisc.edu / 608-444-3725).
About Jacob Kushner:
Jacob Kushner is an international correspondent who writes magazine and other longform articles about Africa, Germany, and the Caribbean. He reports on migration, science, global health, foreign aid and investment, prejudice, terrorism and violent extremism, climate change, and wildlife.
Originally from Milwaukee, Jacob graduated from UW-Madison with a B.A. in journalism and Latin American studies and later received his MA in Political Journalism from Columbia University. While in Madison he wrote for The Daily Cardinal, La Comunidad News, the Wisconsin State Journal, and Wisconsin Watch. In February 2020 he published This is How the Heart Beats: LGBTQ East Africa, a book collaboration with photographer Jake Naughton (UW Journalism & African Studies ’10).
Jacob’s articles have appeared in dozens of publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s, The New Yorker, The Economist, National Geographic, Foreign Policy, VICE Magazine and The Guardian. He is the author of China’s Congo Plan, which was favorably reviewed in The New York Review of Books. He has photographed for National Geographic and field-produced for VICE on HBO, and PBS NewsHour.
A former Fulbright Fellow in Berlin, his forthcoming book, White Terror, chronicles the true story of a terrorist plot by white extremists to rid Germany of immigrants.
Connect with Jacob: Twitter: @JacobKushner | Instagram: @Jacob_Kushner | facebook.com/JacobFKushner | Website: jacobkushner.com
Lecture: (12/7 @ Noon): "Stopping the Next One: Chronicling the race to prevent the next pandemic"
Covid-19 was catastrophic. The next pandemic could be even worse.
In a major journalistic series for the BBC, with support from the Pulitzer Center, Jacob Kushner (Journalism, LACIS ’10) and Harriet Constable took readers and viewers on a journey to six continents to learn about six different animals that carry diseases that could cause the next pandemic. From Coronavirus-carrying camels in Kenya, to killer mosquitoes at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, to Golden Lion Tamarin monkeys in Brazil (with input by renowned UW-Madison primatologist Karen Strier), the series introduces the curious creatures with the biggest pandemic potential. By meeting the scientists working on the front lines, we learn what we can do to help stop the next pandemic—before it’s too late.
Career Presentation (12/8 @ 5 p.m.): Career Conversation with Jacob Kushner – International Journalist
Join us to discuss:
-Working as a foreign correspondent
-Tips for freelancing (pitching stories)
-Reporting on science, migration, conflict, and human rights
-Becoming a 'subject expert' and leveraging your expertise