Episode 113 with Nicole Santa Cruz, Multitalented Journalist, Former Chronicler of The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, and Reporter Covering Issues of Inequality for ProPublica

Episode 113 Notes and Links to Nicole Santa Cruz’s Work 

 

    Nicole Santa Cruz is a reporter covering issues of inequality in the Southwest. She joined ProPublica from the Los Angeles Times, where she spent nearly 12 years as a staff writer. As lead reporter on the Times’ Homicide Report, a groundbreaking public service project that documents every homicide victim in Los Angeles County, she reported on the lives of hundreds of people, highlighting neighborhoods that were disproportionately affected by violence and uncovering trends, including an increase in women being killed even as officials hailed a decline in murders. Santa Cruz also assembled a first-of-its-kind database of county prosecutor memos detailing fatal police encounters.

She began her career on the Times’ national desk, from which she was dispatched to the swamps of Louisiana to cover the BP oil spill and to her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, to write about the 2011 mass shooting at an event held by then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Santa Cruz’s work at ProPublica focuses on investigating the impact of inequities on marginalized communities. She is based in Phoenix.

 

    On Episode 113 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Nicole Santa Cruz, and the two talk about her bookworm childhood, her decision to take up journalism, as well as her early days of reporting on Orange County and some sensational stories in SoCal. Much of the discussion focuses on her time at the extremely important Los Angeles Times “Homicide Report,” as well as her current work covering ideas of inequality in the Southwest. 

A Selection of Nicole's Articles through MuckRack

 

The Los Angeles Times “Homicide Report”

 

"What covering hundreds of homicides taught me" from 2021 Los Angeles Times

At about 2:30, Nicole gives background on her reading life as a child and adolescent

 

At about 4:50, Nicole talks about the formative experience of working in journalism at the University of Arizona

 

At about 7:40, Nicole talks about her early reading interests

 

At about 8:45, Nicole shouts out Lane DeGregory, Thomas French, and George Sánchez as some of the many journalists who inspired and inspire her 

 

At about 12:25, Nicole responds to Pete’s question about accurate portrayals of newsrooms and Nicole’s experience with journalism

 

At about 13:15, Nicole answers Pete’s question about representation in what she read, especially in journalism 

 

At about 14:40, Nicole details early days in her career, including covering Michael Jackson’s death

 

At about 16:30, Pete asks Nicole about her early experiences with being an empathetic and sympathetic listener as a journalist; Nicole also talks about seeing mental health care for journalists perspectives changing 

 

At about 18:55, Pete wonders about the Gabriele Giffords shooting as emblematic and foreshadowing

 

At about 23:00, Nicole chronicles her work on the BP oil spill

 

At about 26:00, Nicole provides background on the earliest iterations of The Homicide Report and how she became involved in 2013

 

At about 27:45, Pete wonders about The Homicide Report’s philosophy/mission, and Nicole talks about the idea of “humanizing

 

At about 30:40, Pete gives an example of a Homicide Report post, and asks Nicole about the paper’s rationale on including the race of the victim, and the fraught term “gang-related”

 

At about 34:50, Pete wonders about sensationalizing certain murders

 

At about 39:10, Pete refers to the retrospective Nicole wrote about her time at The Homicide Report, as the two discuss some heartbreaking stories Nicole chronicled and revisited 

 

At about 40:30, Pete references Roberto Saviano’s quote about “dying twice” and The Holocaust Museum in making the point about the power of individual stories

 

At about 42:00, Nicole gives perspective on why some felt it a “point of pride” to know people from The Homicide Report 

 

At about 44:30, Nicole discusses relationships with police connected to the report

 

At about 45:45, Nicole reflects on the common question she was asked in the homicide reporting field

 

At about 48:30, Nicole repeats what she’s been told about a “before and after” for loved ones of homicide victims

 

At about 50:00, Nicole sums up her work with ProPublica, including a desire to use data in new and efficient ways 

 

At about 53:30, Nicole responds to Pete’s question about how ideas of objectivity in journalism have changed in recent years in the “Age of Trump” 

 

At about 56:00, Pete asks Nicole about a “dream project”

 

At about 57:00, Pete talks about his admiration for the “public service” done by Nicole Santa Cruz

    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you’re checking out this episode. 

This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.

The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

    Please tune in for Episode 114 with Reyna Grande. Reyna is an award-winning novelist and memoirist. She has received an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlan Literary Award, and the Latino Book Award, among many honors and awards. I have known Reyna for about 10 years now, as she visited my classes in LA a few times to speak to students. I look forward to talking with her about her highly-anticipated March 15 release of A Ballad of Love & Glory. The episode will air on March 22.

    This episode is the last of five this week. On Monday, March 21, there will be a drawing for a $100 gift card to bookshop.org. In order to enter the drawing:

1. DM Pete on Twitter by Monday at 8am PST with the five code words that are contained (one per episode) within each day’s podcast. 
2. Retweet any five tweets that have episode links for Episodes 109-113, with Ben Guest, Bryce Hedstrom, Taylor Byas, James Tate Hill, and Nicole Santa Cruz, respectively.