E189: Introducing The Engagement with D. Watkins of Baltimore Public Media

In this episode, Rebecca talks with Baltimore author, journalist, and educator D. Watkins about The Engagement, his new magazine-style radio show launching October 19th on WYPR and Baltimore Public Media. Watkins explains why he believes the best conversations happen on public radio, how the show will bring sources directly into dialogue with the audience, and why he’s committed to interviewing people with lived experience rather than relying only on credentialed experts. He also shares a story about a two-year investigation into workplace discrimination that never saw publication, and what it means to earn a source’s trust without asking anything transactional in return. They also dig into Watkins’ own storytelling roots, from the personal essay writing that shaped his memoirs to the childhood hours spent in NA meetings with his father that, he realizes in the conversation, taught him how to recognize when people are speaking from the heart. The two discuss the difference between journalism’s need for facts and memoir’s demand for vulnerability, and Watkins closes by describing what success looks like for the show six months in: a space where layered perspective replaces simple talking points.