Show Notes and Links to Keegan Hamilton’s Work and Allusions/Texts from Episode
On Episode 45, Pete talks with Keegan Hamilton about his reporting for Vice News. The conversation focuses on his work for three thorough, shocking, engrossing, and nuanced multimedia pieces about the trial of El Chapo, fentanyl’s explosive growth in the US and abroad, and recent developments and fighting in Micoachan, México’s “Tierra Caliente,” fifteen years after Felipe Calderón declared “war” on the cartels.
Keegan Hamilton is a senior reporter, podcast host, and Emmy-nominated producer at VICE News, where he covers organized crime, prisons, and the drug trade.
Keegan Hamilton's Personal Website with Links to His Work
Vice News Article: "On the Front Line of Mexico’s Forever War Against the Cartels" by Keegan Hamilton and Miguel Fernández-Flores
YouTube trailer for “Painkiller: America’s Fentanyl Crisis,” a Spotify podcast series, found here
Chapo: Kingpin on Trial Podcast
At around 2:00, Keegan talks about his role as a “senior editor” at Vice News
At around 2:40, Keegan talks about his beginnings of journalism, and his love for Jack McCallum and Frank DeFord and other great writers for his beloved Sports Illustrated
At around 4:20 (coincidentally!), Keegan talks about his work at alt-weeklies and how they have informed his own writing and local alt-weeklies’ role in advancing narrative nonfiction and long-form, nuanced pieces
At around 7:00, Keegan talks about writers who have inspired him and continue to inspire him, including Charles Bowden, Terrence Papá, Ioan Grillo, and Sam Quinones
At around 11:40, Keegan talks about his view of himself as what it means to be a “writer” and “journalist,” particularly with the acceleration of multimedia in recent years
At around 14:00, Keegan talks about his writing work during the pandemic
At around 16:00, Keegan talks about Vice and their target audience(s)
At around 17:00, Keegan talks about his podcasting techniques and what’s he’s learned about the mechanics of the medium
At around 19:45, Keegan and Pete discuss the romanticization of organized crime figures, including “El Chapo,” whose U.S. trial Keegan covered in a recent Vice podcast series, as well as common misconceptions about the drug trade and its participants
At around 25:20, Keegan discusses the importance of speaking Spanish pretty well and his valuable and helpful translators, including producer Miguel Fernandez
At around 27:00, Keegan describes the thesis/pitch for the Vice News podcast/article/project chronicling 15 years of the “drug war” in Michoacán, México
At around 29:35, Pete and Keegan talk about some rays of hope in the story of the drug war, and a well-written scene at the end of Keegan’s article on Michoacán that shows a possible more tranquil future in La Tierra Caliente
At around 30:35, Pete and Keegan talk about the Michoacán autodefensas and the role of indigenous communities in forming strong groups for security and self-sufficiency
At around 32:40, Pete and Keegan discuss the role and responsibility of The United States in the “drug war,” as the users of the illicit drugs are overwhelmingly in the US
At around 34:50, Pete and Keegan toss around ideas for Keegan’s next project(s)
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 Spotify and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1.
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.
Episode 233 with Jazmina Barrera Velázquez, Author of Cross-Stitch/Punto de Cruz, and Wise Chronicler of the Vagaries of Friendship and History and their Effects on the World
Episode 232 with Kate Brody, Author of Rabbit Hole and Master of Writing Intriguing and Flawed Characters and Crackling Plotlines
Episode 231-April 13, 2024 Live Event to Launch Jose Vadi's Chipped, a reflective, creative, subtly brilliant essay collection
Episode 230 with Chelsea T. Hicks, Author of the Story Collection, A Calm & Normal Heart, Revitalizer and Student of the Osage Language, and Crafter of Poetic, Timely, and Timeless Stories
Episode 229 with Will Sommer, Author of Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Reshaped America, and Keen and Thorough Chronicler of the QAnon Movement Through The Washington Post
Episode 228 with Jennifer Croft, Author of The Extinction of Irena Rey and Award-Winning Translator, and Master of Worldbuilding, Highly-Allegorical Yet Masterfully-Plotted Fiction, and Nuance
Episode 227 with Gina Chung, Author of Green Frog, a Dazzling Collection of Poignant, Offbeat, Chillingly-Realistic and Fantastical Stories
Episode 226 with Priscilla Gilman, Author of The Critic's Daughter and Skilled and Thoughtful Chronicler of the Universal and the Intimately Personal
Episode 225 with Andrés N Ordorica, Author of How We Named the Stars and Generous Creator of Poignant, Resonant "Love and Loss" Scenes and Utterly Memorable Characters
Episode 224 with Peter Coviello, Enthusiastic and Deeply Knowledgeable Critic and Celebrator of Moving Art, and Author of the Essay Collection, Is There God After Prince
Episode 223 with Sarah Rose Etter, Master Balancer of Surrealism, Realism, Dark Humor, and Themes of Grief and Anxiety that are Timely and Timeless
Episode 222 with Andrew Leland, Author of The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, and Masterful Chronicler of His and Other Journeys with Blindness and its Intersections with our World
Episode 221 with Martha Anne Toll, Renaissance Woman, Book Reviewer, Creative, and Award-Winning Writer of the Moving, Contemplative Three Muses
Episode 220 with Aniefiok Epoudom: Keen Chronicler of Hip-Hop, Football Culture and Pop Culture in the UK, and Savvy and Nuanced Master of Telling Personal Stories; Author of
Episode 219 with Roxanna Asgarian, Principled and Dogged Reporter, Caring and Clear-Eyed Journalist and Author of We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America
Episode 218 with Melissa Rivero, Author of Flores and Miss Paula, Keen Observer of Modern Corporate Life and Nuanced Chronicler of Grief’s Many Permutations
Episode 217 with Jeff Sharlet, Author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, and Sharp-Eyed Chronicler of Impending Fascism and Previous Fighters in The Movements
Episode 216 with Kate Maruyama: Author of Bleak Houses, Master Worldbuilder, and Skilled Observer and Chronicler of Family Traumas, Class and Privilege, and Psychological Horrors Modern and Timeless
Episode 215 with Nick Fuller Googins, Reflective and Dynamic Worldbuilder, Educator, and Creator of the ”Hopeful” Climate Crisis Novel, The Great Transition
Episode 214 with Leah Myers, Chronicler of the Heartfelt, the Specific, the Universal, and the Myth and Proud History of the Jamestown S’Klallam in the Memoir, Thinning Blood
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
Anne of Green Gables
Gulliver’s Travels
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends