Joseph Darius Jaafari

Photo by Ken Grand-Pierre

One of my favourite things about podcasts is how they can paint a portrait of a person in a way that’s truly unique. Think about it, most of the time you read an interview, you still feel as though the writer is providing an interpretation as opposed to a full reflection, whereas with a podcast you can get the story right from the subject’s mouth. That element is very much alive within today’s episode with journalist Joseph Darius Jaafari, one of the funniest motherfuckers I’ve ever met.

Joseph is an investigative reporter who’s worked with Rolling Stone, Vice, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Spotlight PA, and many more. His main beat is covering the nuanced ways that the American prison system falls short and a unique talent he has is highlighting the mundanity of the cruelty we allow to be inflicted upon prisoners. I mentioned Joseph’s humor before, but another prominent trait is his tenacity, not just in telling a story but also in clearly defining what’s wrong with the authority figures in this country.

On today’s episode, we naturally do a deep dive into his career but more importantly, we explore how Joseph found himself pursuing a career in journalism and how those experiences have informed who he is today. Before we jump into it, I want to dedicate this episode to one of my podcast heroes, Blindboy. He’s an Irish author/podcaster/tv personality who has one of the most unique podcasts out there in the form of The Blindboy Podcast. After you hear today’s episode, be sure to check out his podcast as well, his approach to editing greatly informed how I approached the edit for today’s episode.

Also, be sure to follow Joseph Darius Jaafari on Twitter and Instagram.