Columbia Assistant Professor Of Journalism Daniel Alarcón Named Macarthur Fellow

Upper West Side NY

14 October, 2021

4:05 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY FERNANDA AGUERO OCTOBER 12, 2021 On Sept. 28, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the 2021 MacArthur Fellows. Among the 25 selected was Columbia assistant professor of journalism Daniel Alarcón, CC '99. The MacArthur "Genius" Grant recognizes the work of outstanding people across various disciplines and supplies them with $625,000 to continue their research. Alarcón, a journalist, spent his career covering Spanish-speaking communities. He received news of the decision after missing a call from an unknown number. A later email told him to return the missed call and what he expected to be a one-person conversation ended up being a group conference call telling him the news. "[I] descended into very unprofessional laughter. It just seemed so absurd," Alarcón said. Alarcón began his career as an author and contributing writer for several publications. "Radio Ambulante," the leading project that landed Alarcón his fellowship, came at a time of creative doubt. The Spanish narrative journalism podcast, which he founded with his wife, explores stories of immigration, love, and politics across Latin America. After finishing a draft of a novel he was not content with and his wife landing a job she disliked, the pair decided to pursue an audio project—an idea which they had thrown around for years. "It seemed like a distraction from some more, kind of, disappointments in my life … we didn't know where it would lead," Alarcón said. Shifting into a new medium after writing in print for more than a decade was a leap for Alarcón. However, the transition into audio production was not completely new, as Alarcón's father worked as a soccer announcer and several other family members worked in radio. "I highly recommend being in [your] thirties and jumping into something completely different where you don't know the rules and don't know what's right and whether you're doing it right," Alarcón said. "Really great things can come from that learning process at an older age." "Radio Ambulante," now at over 200 episodes, is listened to across Spanish-speaking communities domestically and internationally. When pitching the show, Alarcón received feedback from radio networks telling him that Latin Americans only cared about the stories pertaining to their home countries. "The reality that we live in doesn't correspond to what [networks were] describing," Alarcón said. "I've been at parties where the conversation is in different dialects of Spanish from Latin America and … ostensibly different cultures and yet there's a lot that we share." Alarcón describes Latin American storytelling culture as a large influence on his work. He wants to celebrate the diversity of the continent to make sure that the stories he reports do not confine Latin Americans to one identity. "We are trying to celebrate the fact that there are stories that can be told that are really specific to a place but can be enjoyed universally," Alarcón said. After "Radio Ambulante," Alarcón continued developing Spanish programming for listeners. He launched a second audio project, "El Hilo," a Spanish weekly news podcast where he now works as an editorial director. Alarcón noticed how his podcasts were being used by nonnative speakers as a way to practice their Spanish, and he founded the language learning app Lupa in response. Lupa guides English speakers through interactive activities that integrate Alarcón's "Radio Ambulante" episodes. "There's a big conversation about representation in the media … of Latinos, and more broadly of people of color, and that's really important," Alarcón said. Despite his work leading radio shows, Alarcón wants to be someone who listens more than he speaks. He knows that growing representation means that there is not going to be monolithic discourse surrounding Latin American communities. "My goal is just to continue telling stories that I care about. And whether that's in print or in audio in English or in Spanish, or nonfiction," Alarcón said. "That's what I want to do." Staff Writer Fernanda Aguero can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.