Sticky Note Conversations

This week on Sticky Note Conversations, we're revisiting our conversation with award-winning journalist Michael Lyle — a discussion that feels more urgent than ever. As press freedom faces unprecedented challenges, Erika and Michael dig into what it really means to be a truth-seeker in today's America.

From covering the October 1 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip to interviewing people experiencing homelessness in 115-degree heat, Michael pulls back the curtain on the realities of journalism that movies never show — the hours of public records requests, the door-knocking anxiety, and the emotional weight of asking people in their hardest moments to tell their stories.

They also dive deep into housing policy as a policy choice, why poverty is intentional, the book Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott, why AI will never replace human journalists, and what democracy really means (and whether we actually have it).

Plus: dream interview bucket lists, the difference between politics and policy, and why Michael will never stop calling it Twitter.

Show Notes:

In This Episode

  • (00:00) - Show Intro Teaser
  • (00:42) - Why Press Matters
  • (02:56) - Meet Michael Lyle
  • (03:22) - Truth Seeker Identity
  • (04:53) - Reading And Writing Life
  • (07:15) - Invisible Child Deep Dive
  • (11:32) - Becoming A Journalist
  • (14:04) - Early Career And Recession
  • (17:48) - Freelancing And Cameroon
  • (19:53) - Realities Of Reporting
  • (24:19) - Erika Journalism Origins
  • (26:41) - Words Matter in Reporting
  • (27:30) - Accountability in Interviews
  • (28:08) - Hardest Interview After Tragedy
  • (29:24) - Letting People Tell Stories
  • (32:23) - Why AI Can’t Replace Journalists
  • (33:38) - Falling Into Politics and Policy
  • (37:16) - Housing and Homelessness Policy
  • (40:02) - Poverty as a Policy Choice
  • (41:53) - Why Politics Breaks Policy
  • (43:49) - Do We Really Have Democracy
  • (48:45) - Wrap Up and Where to Read
  • (50:02) - Dream Interviews Bucket List
  • (52:42) - Final Thanks and Sign Off

Guest

Michael Lyle is an award-winning journalist and reporter at Nevada Current, part of the States Newsroom network of nonprofit newsrooms filling news deserts across the country. He was named the 2011 Journalist of Merit by the Nevada Press Association. His work focuses on housing policy, homelessness, politics, and social justice issues in Nevada.

Books & Resources Mentioned

  • Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in America's City by Andrea Elliott
  • Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
  • Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
  • The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
  • The Meth Lunches by Kim Foster
  • States Newsroom — nonprofit newsroom network (statesnewsroom.com)
About the Show

Sticky Note Conversations is hosted and executive produced by Erika Washington. Music, mixing, and editing by Black Gypsy LLC. Special thanks to KUNV 91.5 in Las Vegas. This show is powered by Make It Work Nevada, a project of Tides Advocacy.

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Creators and Guests

Producer
Erika Washington
Composer
Wil Black

What is Sticky Note Conversations?

To keep my thoughts in order and my to-do lists remotely manageable I create arrays of sticky notes on my desk and wall. New idea? Stick note! Someone I want to meet with? Sticky Note! Need to remember to pay a parking ticket? Write it on a sticky note. Over the course of the last year, I have wanted to create a podcast that allowed me to dive deep into conversations with interesting people.. I wanted to have real conversations that were more than sound bites or regurgitated talking points about fluffy topics. My hope is that each episode feels like old friends catching up. Revealing great information but also humanity, struggle, victory, joy, grief, and possibly, a flicker of transcendence.

I hope you will enjoy these as much as I do creating them.
Join me here every Saturday as I pull a new sticky note off my desk.