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Darren Samuelsohn

@lovejournalism.bsky.social

1.4K followers 184 following 75 posts

author of love, journalism - a love letter from the beat: Priors: USA TODAY, The Messenger, Insider, Politico, E&E News, The Olympian, Columbia Missourian www.lovejournalism.com

Posts Replies Media

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Rob Schwartz talked me out of Vietnam and into Tibet. The monsoon washed out the road to Kailash, so we made a movie instead. Rob's review: "the script is pretty weak." My latest at love, journalism: 3 Weeks in Tibet. open.substack.com/pub/darrensa...

open.substack.com

3 Weeks in Tibet

How journalism got me to the top of the world

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Rob Schwartz's dad became a household name in 1997 when Mitch Albom wrote "Tuesdays with Morrie." My latest episode of The love, journalism Show - as TWM approaches 3-0. open.substack.com/pub/darrensa...

open.substack.com

The Wisdom of Rob and Morrie

His dad said it plainest: Love wins. Love always wins.

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Reposted by Darren Samuelsohn

Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 24/09/2026

As the Trump admin flouts another court order, check out my chat with my friend and colleague Darren Samuelsohn on @lovejournalism.bsky.social about covering an assault on the rule of law. When this ran, it was the Kennedy Center. Now it's press freedom. buff.ly/BgdLsvR

Episode 35: Adam Klasfeld - No Boss, Same Beat

My former reporter says he wanted to be his own assigning editor.

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

30 years ago a dying professor at Brandeis named Morrie changed how we talk about death. What almost nobody knew: he wrote his own version of the book — and it sat in a drawer for a decade after he died. My friend Rob Schwartz found it. This is his story. open.substack.com/pub/darrensa...

open.substack.com

The Wisdom of Rob and Morrie

His dad said it plainest: Love wins. Love always wins.

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I hired Adam Klasfeld once. Watched our newsroom collapse together. Now he runs his own — @allrisenews.com — still covering every Trump case that matters. New episode: my old reporter, three years later, on what independence actually costs. www.lovejournalism.com/p/adam-klasf...

lovejournalism.com

My Messenger Co-Pilot

Adam Klasfeld worked for me once. Now he answers to no one.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

"Would you consider someone like Joe Rogan a journalist because of their influence?' I asked. Sandy Davidson's answer, from this week's episode

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The world's first journalism school turns 118 years old today. My old law professor and I talk about who even counts as a journalist anymore. www.lovejournalism.com/p/sandy-davi...

lovejournalism.com

Is the Love of Truth Slipping?

Watch now (50 mins) | The world's oldest journalism school turns 118 today — I called the professor who taught me there.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Today's love, journalism post is from my notebook, written on Sept. 11, 2001: I’m 26. A reporter covering the energy and environmental and beat. That morning I was supposed to be staking out a closed-door Senate summit on pollution standards. None of that happened. open.substack.com/pub/darrensa...

open.substack.com

From the Notebook: September 11, 2001, The National Mall

My diary entry a few hours into the DC evacuation

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

"How do I interact with sources if I'm not drinking with them?" That's a real fear journalists carry into sobriety. @taylorsixhl.bsky.social founder of the Journalists Recovery Network, breaks it down in the new episode. "The Identity Underneath the Byline" open.substack.com/pub/darrensa...

open.substack.com

The Identity Underneath the Byline

A conversation with Taylor Six, founder of the Journalists Recovery Network.

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Axios co-founder Mike Allen breaks down how he went from thousands-word Playbook emails to Axios' Smart Brevity and now Simplify, his latest book with our fellow Politico alumni Jim VandeHei and Roy Schwartz. Full episode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA7L...

2-minute drill: Mike Allen on Playbook to Axios to Simplify

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

My first day at Politico, Mike Allen said "welcome to the NFL." Sixteen years later, I got to ask him about it — plus Playbook, Axios, and his new book, Simplify. www.lovejournalism.com/p/mike-allen...

lovejournalism.com

Mike Allen: “Welcome to the NFL”

What he first said after spotting me. Now simplifying at Axios.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

First time I've handed the whole column over to someone else. Taylor Six, founder of the Journalists Recovery Network, on the double life she lived for years and the moment a stranger in a bar called it exactly what it was. Live now on love, journalism. www.lovejournalism.com/p/journalist...

lovejournalism.com

You Are Not Alone

Guest post by Taylor Six of the Journalists Recovery Network

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Today's Hemingway was airplane delays, sloppy handwriting, and a stranger asking what my chicken scratch was. Below it: thanks for indulging the poems, and what's coming this September. open.substack.com/pub/darrensa... open.substack.com/pub/darrensa...

open.substack.com

What’s That Chicken Scratch?

Thanks for indulging me. Now back to the beat.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

RIP Union Station Sbarro's - sorry we didn't get the chance to say goodbye

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Poem three from the book: Little Laughs of Recognition. Up now. www.lovejournalism.com/p/little-lau...

lovejournalism.com

Little Laughs of Recognition

The Hemingways collection, one at a time.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

open.substack.com/pub/darrensa...

open.substack.com

The Nine-Tenths Underwater

Some news: chairman of the National Press Club’s Board of Governors, and a little black book of poems.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

It's one of the joys of not being a sportswriter anymore: reporters get fed stats and soft serve, but they cannot cheer. Sports Nirvana, new at love, journalism. www.lovejournalism.com/p/sports-nir...

lovejournalism.com

Chicago and Miami come to DC. Thank god I'm nowhere near the press box.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

ICYMI - How @thehonestbroker.bsky.social Became Voldemort in Climate Science on The love, journalism Show www.lovejournalism.com/p/how-roger-...

lovejournalism.com

Episode 30: How Roger Pielke Jr. Became Voldemort in Climate Science

Congress investigated him, FiveThirtyEight fired him, and somewhere along the way he picked up the environmental wonk's EGOT.

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

New The love, journalism Show - @thehonestbroker.bsky.social, who calls himself "Voldemort of climate science." Congress investigated him, FiveThirtyEight fired him, & he built his own extreme weather dashboard after the feds pulled theirs. Full conversation: www.lovejournalism.com/p/how-roger-...

lovejournalism.com

How Roger Pielke Jr. Became Voldemort in Climate Science

Congress investigated him, FiveThirtyEight fired him, and somewhere along the way he picked up the environmental wonk's EGOT.

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Please, God, Let There Be a Bowling Alley in Heaven www.lovejournalism.com/p/please-god...

lovejournalism.com

Please, God, Let There Be a Bowling Alley in Heaven

Introducing love, journalism's The Hemingways collection

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Wrote 9 of these in one burst — one page each, chasing a title instead of a plan. Free today at lovejournalism.com. open.substack.com/pub/darrensa...

open.substack.com

Please, God, Let There Be a Bowling Alley in Heaven

Introducing love, journalism's The Hemingways collection

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Clips are coming from last night's doozy of an E&E RIP live tribute show. Here's Debra Kahn of the @politico.com on what the news biz looks like these days for 24/7 energy and environment coverage. www.youtube.com/shorts/MnwRC...

Pro briefs are the new whiteboard #substack #shorts

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Going live at 5:30 PM today ET — saying goodbye to E&E News with a growing lineup of editors, reporters, and colleagues from across the decades. Starting soon: www.lovejournalism.com/p/eenews-pol...

lovejournalism.com

One Night, One Send-Off

Paying tribute to Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Greenwire launched in the early '90s — a reporter who left the NYT to start something of his own. It became part of E&E News in 2001. From there, 3 decades of energy and environment coverage — 5 presidents' worth of policy, politics, & the people who covered it in the weeds. It all ends this month.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

One night only: The love, journalism Show LIVE Wednesday, Aug 5, 5:30pm ET. A growing lineup of special guests joining me — old E&E editors and colleagues — to talk 25 years of energy and environmental news: climate, public lands, oil, oil spills, nukes and more. Subscribe now for the link.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

"The Fish" is still one of my most-read essays. Next up: live Wednesday, Aug 5, 5:30pm ET, co-hosting with Cy Zaneski a tribute to E&E News. You'll meet several of my old editors from over the years, plus more colleagues. Subscribe now & don't miss the link. www.lovejournalism.com/p/eenews-pol...

lovejournalism.com

A long farewell to the fruits of Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

In December 2007 I had no return ticket from Bali and no particular story in mind. One thing led to another and I ended up in a Borneo swamp with one of the great scientists of the 20th century. She died in March. I found out in June. This is what I wrote. www.lovejournalism.com/p/birute-gad...

lovejournalism.com

Extinction when it comes

A tribute to Birute Gadilkas, three months late

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

@volts.wtf on what @grist.org offered journalists like me in the early 2000s. Two words. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMQx...

"Freedom and Obscurity"

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

David Roberts built a 440-episode clean energy podcast: @volts.wtf - Most people don't know why he became a podcaster in the first place. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlLE...

The wrist injury pivot

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

It was such a great conversation and a long time coming @volts.wtf - I'm promising myself I'll make some clips too in the coming days since there's so much in this worth sharing.

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

New series: Power Lines. Decades of photos, dozens of countries — and somehow a power line snuck into the frame every time. An accidental archive, launched today at love, journalism. www.lovejournalism.com/p/power-line...

lovejournalism.com

Introducing the love, journalism photo archives

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Something important is happening in Washington right now, mostly beneath the surface. E&E News - the trade publication that shaped the first quarter-century of my career - is shutting down, folded into Politico for good. www.lovejournalism.com/p/eenews-pol...

lovejournalism.com

A long farewell to the fruits of Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

David Roberts of @volts.wtf once tried to poach me. I stayed at E&E News. He built a 440-episode clean energy empire. A conversation a long time coming about the beat, the institutions that didn't make it, and what's left. New -> The love, journalism Show. www.lovejournalism.com/p/david-robe...

lovejournalism.com

David Roberts Came to Bury E&E News. I Helped Build It.

The climate beat I left. The one he never did. And the summer that's making the argument for both of us.

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Wildfire smoke is choking American skies again this week. There used to be a whole newsroom whose job was covering exactly this kind of story, every day, for decades. It's been gradually folded into something else. Wrote about it: www.lovejournalism.com/p/eenews-pol...

lovejournalism.com

A long farewell to the fruits of Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Lindsey Graham, a mushroom hunt, and the worst Appalachian Trail hike I've ever been on — a new essay on the Saturday a climate bill started to collapse, and what it cost to file the story from the trail: www.lovejournalism.com/p/worst-appa...

lovejournalism.com

Worst Appalachian Trail Hike Ever

The Saturday Lindsey Graham ruined a perfectly good mushroom hunt

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

RIP Sen. Lindsey Graham, 71. In 2010 he was a third of the "Three Amigos" — with Kerry and Lieberman — chasing 60 votes on climate. I covered it for E&E News. An essay and photo from outside the White House that spring: www.lovejournalism.com/p/kerry-grah...

lovejournalism.com

Kerry, Graham, Lieberman, revisited

The Three Amigos at the White House trying to fight climate change on 3/9/10.

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Don't be friends with the band. Manu Raju channels his inner Lester Bangs for politics and policy journalists. youtu.be/Zle_S-4Lk9o

Manu Raju channels Lester Bangs - for politics and policy journalists

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Understanding Congress in 2 minutes with CNN's Manu Raju - He learned as a trade reporter, where you need to think on your toes and study the habits of lawmakers moving about the hill's labyrinth to find that next kernel or quote. www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Jo...

Understanding Congress in 2 minutes with Manu Raju

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

"We decided not to attend class that day." A senior year Ferris Bueller move — skipping school to watch Kerry Wood strike out 20 Astros. Manu Raju on the day that made him a Cubs fan for life. youtu.be/F6rWYKHsQgc

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

"The thing about journalism is it always wants more. No matter how much you give, it wants more and more and more." — Manu Raju, on the beat that never stops and the one night at Wrigley Field it did. New episode + essay: www.lovejournalism.com/p/manu-raju-...

lovejournalism.com

Manu Raju's first pitch

Journalism always wants more. But for one night at Wrigley Field, something else was top of mind for this CNN reporter.

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Grateful to the National Press Club Journalism Institute for this piece on burnout and recovery. If any of this resonates — whether you're in journalism or not — I hope it helps. www.pressclubinstitute.org/2026/07/07/r...

pressclubinstitute.org

Reclaiming the human behind the headline: Navigating burnout and recovery - Journalism Institute

Covering the White House and Capitol Hill during some of the most intense political cycles in modern American history might look like the pinnacle of professional success. But as the volume of informa...

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

"There are alternative alliances being created that don't involve us." @susanpagedc.bsky.social on America's fracturing relationships at 250. The love, journalism Show youtu.be/6JuOP1kq-24

The Post-WWII Alliance System Is Fracturing | Susan Page on America at 250

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Queen Elizabeth privately told President @barackobama.bsky.social she was skeptical of Brexit and critical of how Cameron handled it. Views she never expressed in public. @susanpagedc.bsky.social discusses on The love, journalism Show. youtu.be/AmXoDdJlzI4

The Queen Privately Criticized Brexit — and Told Obama | Susan Page

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

@susanpagedc.bsky.social — Washington bureau chief of USA TODAY and author of The Queen and Her Presidents — on Donald Trump's unlikely connection to Queen Elizabeth II, his Scottish mother's love of the monarchy, and what the Queen privately told him at their 2019 state dinner. youtu.be/Lu-yegn4JhY

Trump and the Queen: What She Saw | Susan Page on America at 250

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

250 years after the divorce, I asked @susanpagedc.bsky.social what the Queen saw in us. Her book "The Queen and Her Presidents" lands just in time for America's 250th. www.lovejournalism.com/p/queen-eliz...

lovejournalism.com

What Did the Queen See in Us?

Watch now | Susan Page on Queen Elizabeth II, the presidents and America at 250

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Hotmail is 30 on July 4. Back then, nobody was thinking about professional identity. Nobody was thinking about anything except: is this thing on? www.lovejournalism.com/p/30-years-o...

lovejournalism.com

The original Substack turns 30

Hotmail celebrates a birthday (too) on July 4. Who's still got one?

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

30 Years of Hotmail: Is this thing still on? Launched on July 4, 1996, our first digital identities were formed with our names and silly words www.lovejournalism.com/p/30-years-o...

lovejournalism.com

The original Substack turns 30

Hotmail celebrates a birthday (too) on July 4. Who's still got one?

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

A New York publisher. An elevator. An honest moment. Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones, shares the story of what a publisher told her cousin about becoming a writer — and why she thinks he wasn't wrong. www.youtube.com/watch?v=raSp...

Natalie Goldberg: The Elevator Story Every Writer Needs to Hear

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

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Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones, stopped writing for two years. At 78, she found her way back — through Bob Dylan. In this clip from The love, journalism Show, she talks about depression, determination, and the vow she made to just keep going. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGFq...

Natalie Goldberg's Bob Dylan Moment

YouTube video by The love, journalism Show

Darren Samuelsohn @lovejournalism.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Writing Down the Bones turns 40 this year. I’ve given away a couple of my own dog-eared copies over the decades — and I’m apparently not alone, because Natalie Goldberg has sold millions and gone on to write 16 additional books. www.lovejournalism.com/p/natalie-go...

lovejournalism.com

Natalie Goldberg called me back

Writing Down the Bones turns 40. I've been waiting 30 years for this conversation.

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