Arielle Duhaime-Ross

Arielle Duhaime-Ross is the host of Vox’s Reset. Follow her on Twitter here.

You are such a new host! Congratulations. Do you feel like you are at the point already where you have been able to define yourself as a host, or do you think that’s something that takes time?
Thanks! And good question! 

What’s so exciting about Reset is that although we’ll explore big topics, like artificial intelligence, the ethics of biohacking, and racial bias in facial recognition, the podcast format lets me have a bit more fun and really infuse my personality into the discussion.

I think people saw one side of me in my work at my old gig, at VICE News Tonight on HBO. I was able to lead difficult conversations there, and ask tough questions of people like President Trump’s science advisor. But with Reset — and within the podcast format — I can introduce and explore my own experiences and opinions, which hasn’t always been possible for me in other formats. 

How do you respond to men who are hostile to you when they find out you are a badass woman in science?
I don’t really consider myself a woman “in science” anymore. I stopped being a scientist years ago, when I completed my bachelor’s degree in zoology. But as a woman who covers science for a living, I’ve definitely gotten some pretty condescending and/or violent comments sent my way. I’ve grown a pretty thick skin over the years, and these days I rarely engage; I block Twitter accounts pretty liberally. But that doesn’t solve the problem, which is a lot bigger than one science journalist getting harassed by men who think they know better. 

That’s part of the reason why I am trying to make sure that the folks we interview for Reset are as diverse as possible. I want to elevate voices that don’t always get heard — despite belonging to people who are highly competent and compelling!  

What shows do you listen to for research?  What shows do you listen to for pleasure?
I don’t really differentiate the shows I listen to for research from the shows I listen to for pleasure. Except for Keep It and Here to Make Friends (yes, I watch the Bachelor), most of the podcasts I listen to are directly related to the subjects I cover. Those include Flash Forward, Gender Reveal, Ologies, The Fifth Column, The Vergecast, Science vs., Underunderstood, and Today, Explained. 

Do you listen to The Daily Zeitgeist? No offense to Today, Explained (I LOVE IT) but The Daily Zeitgeist is truly my favorite daily.
I don’t! But now I want to check it out! I just need to find a way to fit in *four* daily pods into my life…(The Daily, Short Wave, Today, Explained, AND The Daily Zeitgeist).

I think women are trained to hate their voices, along with so many other things about themselves. What is your relationship to your voice?
I know a lot of women who don’t like hearing themselves. And it’s true: I don’t see that as much with men. My guess is that has a lot to do with how women are socialized and the general policing of women’s voices. 

I don’t seem to have that problem though. I like my voice. Part of me thinks it’s because I’m queer. I have a really deep appreciation for women’s voices — they’re attractive! But I don’t think that explains it all so I thought about it and here’s the reason I came up with: 

I attended a feminist all-girls high school in Montreal. It wasn’t perfect, but being there taught me to speak up in class. The teachers regularly encouraged us take on leadership roles, and —  this will sound corny — they would often tell us we could change the world. One principal, in particular, would regularly remind us that we “are people.” It’s a weird thing to hear when you’re 13. At the time, all I could think was “No duh.” I thought he was nuts. But once I graduated, I realized that a lot of people consider women to be sub-human. I benefited from hearing otherwise. And I imagine that that experience may also play a role in the relationship I have with my voice. 

Doing a 3-times-a-week news show is hard and stressful, I’m sure ESPECIALLY if you are handling tough tech and science news. How will you take care of yourself? Do you have any self-care rituals?
I journal! I’ve been journaling for years; I did it all throughout my time at VICE News Tonight. I am no longer in therapy, but if things got more stressful than they currently are, I would absolutely go back. Therapy has been very good to me in the past. I also work out, though that’s been hard recently. I am dealing with a shoulder injury that’s preventing me from powerlifting — my sport of choice — so most of the exercise I get comes from walking my tiny Chihuahua mix, Reggie. She doesn’t walk particularly fast and she definitely doesn’t go long distances, so I’m sort of living the sedentary life at the moment, and that’s ok! I’ll get back in the saddle soon.

How will you keep up with the news every day? Podcasts, physical newspapers, social media? You can’t possibly use all of it. What are your favorites?
I get a physical copy of the New York Times on the weekend. Otherwise, it’s all on my phone and computer. I’ll check the WSJ and the NYT in the morning, and during the day I rely on two apps that I’ve been using for years. One of them is called Nuzzel, which lets me know when at least 15 people I follow on Twitter have all tweeted about the same link. The other is Newsblur, which is basically an RSS reader, except that you can filter by story subjects and author so you only see the links you want. It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done! I’m a fan. 

Twitter is good too, but I don’t monitor it constantly — I just don’t care all that much about Twitter anymore. 

Thanks, Arielle!