For over 40 years, PULTIZER PRIZE winning photojournalist David Swanson has covered war zones (from Bosnia to Afghanistan to Iraq), natural disasters (the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the LA Fires) and even red carpet events like the Oscars. But, while David's photos can tell you what it looked like standing where he stood in order to take those news photos, they can't tell you what it felt like. Those are the stories this podcast will tell! Journalism doesn't get any more personal than this. Or more compelling.

David Swanson

Over the course of his 40+ year PULITZER PRIZE winning career, David Swanson has pointed his cameras at everything from wars (Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq) to natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina, the Earthquake in Haiti) to Red Carpet Events like the Oscars. Of course, in order to point his camera at those events, David had to be in all those places confronting wars, natural disasters and red carpet events. David cut his photojournalism teeth covering local news around York, PA where he grew up. He began his career interning at newspapers like The Los Angeles Times before settling in for the long haul at The Philadelphia Inquirer for whom David covered Bosnia, Katrina, Iraq and Afghanistan (among other news events).

Find Us On Social Media -

INSTAGRAM: @costardandtouchstone

FACEBOOK:

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BLURB: Meet David Swanson, Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist. In this thumbnail introduction to the real world of photojournalism, David tells the stories of how he became a photojournalist and how being one has impacted every facet of his life. It's impossible to see and photograph wars, natural disasters and life's strange twists and turns without getting impacted in return. But, as crazy and chaotic as war zones can be, they can be surprisingly life-affirming, too.

SHOW NOTES

Over the course of his 40+ year Pulitzer Prize winning career, David Swanson has pointed his cameras at everything from wars (Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq) to natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina, the Earthquake in Haiti) to Red Carpet Events like the Oscars. Of course, in order to point his camera at those events, David had to be in all those places confronting wars, natural disasters and red carpet events. David cut his photojournalism teeth covering local news around York, PA where he grew up. He began his career interning at newspapers like The Los Angeles Times before settling in for the long haul at The Philadelphia Inquirer for whom David covered Bosnia, Katrina, Iraq and Afghanistan (among other news events).

SOCIAL MEDIA

INSTAGRAM: @costardandtouchstone

FACEBOOK:

COSTARD & TOUCHSTONE

OUR WEBSITE - If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing lineup of story podcasts at https://costardandtouchstone.com!

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, David takes you "In Country" with him - right to the middle of war, chaos and danger. He shares the surprising joys and camaraderie that spring from war zones and the strangely disconnected experience of being shot in battle. In war zones, all normal rules of civility vanish. Normalcy itself vanishes. That's what makes being in country such an unpredictable, terrifying yet exhilarating experience.

Show Notes

Being “in country” means literally being there. In the middle of whatever you were assigned to cover.

Since we’re talking about war zones (in this episode), we’re talking about how being in places where death happens all around you changes you.

Here's a link to the book referenced regarding chickens, Delcorso's Gallery -

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/philip-caputo/del-corso-s-gallery.htm

You can find this episode’s photos ON INSTAGRAM –

@just_the_photographer_podcast

https://www.instagram.com/just_the_photographer_podcast

If you are enjoying “Just The Photographer with David Swanson”, please like us, rate us and leave a comment! That really does help a bigger audience find us! Even better, please recommend us to your friends! And check out the other podcasts in the COSTARD & TOUCHSTONE family at https://costardandtouchstonecom.

https://costardandtouchstone.com/

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BLURB: In his new book "UNREMITTING", former USA Today journalist and editorial page writer GREGG ZOROYA tells the story of The Battle of Ramadi - the battle where David got shot in the arm. In fact, David is one of the characters in Gregg's amazing book. What's especially ironic - because David and a German photographer were the only journalists covering the story in real time, David didn't know many of the details of the battle until he read Gregg's compelling, moment-to-moment account of it.

SHOW NOTES

Gregg Zoroya worked as a journalist with USA Today from 1998-2022, moving from human interest features and general assignment reporting to war coverage and finally to a beat assignment specially created for his talents that focused on the impact of combat on troops and their families. He completed his career with the paper as a member of the editorial board and an editorial writer.

You can find Gregg Zoroya's's "UNREMITTING" at Amazon, Goodreads or Barnes & Noble. You can also find it at most independent book stores. Please support them!

You can find this episode’s photos - and lots more at our INSTAGRAM –

@just_the_photographer_podcast

https://www.instagram.com/just_the_photographer_podcast

If you are enjoying “Just The Photographer with David Swanson”, please like us, rate us and leave a comment! That really does help a bigger audience find us! Even better, please recommend us to your friends! And check out the other podcasts in the COSTARD & TOUCHSTONE family at https://costardandtouchstone.com/

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BLURB: In June 2025, a war zone came to Los Angeles, the place David now calls home. Marines, ICE agents, LAPD and other law enforcement started grabbing people off LA's streets and the people of LA resisted and spoke up about it. What happens when your home town becomes a war zone and your job is covering it?

SHOW NOTES:

The journalist wounded on camera during the Battle Of LA is the US correspondent for Nine News Australia, Lauren Tomasi. The footage heard here is from their live coverage of the event. In the aftermath, Tomasi reported that she was sore but otherwise unharmed. The event was condemned by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called the footage "horrific".

You can find this episode’s photos - and lots more at our INSTAGRAM –

@just_the_photographer_podcast

https://www.instagram.com/just_the_photographer_podcast

If you are enjoying “Just The Photographer with David Swanson”, please like us, rate us and leave a comment! That really does help a bigger audience find us! Better still, please recommend us to your friends! And check out the other podcasts in the COSTARD & TOUCHSTONE family at https://costardandtouchstone.com/

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BLURB: In January 2025, two massive wildfires devastated two different Los Angeles neighborhoods - Pacific Palisades on the west side and Altadena on the east side, just above Pasadena. In this episode David describes the differences and similarities between covering a fire and covering a firefight. How exactly does a journalist go about covering a natural disaster like a wild fire without becoming the wild fire's victim?

SHOW NOTES:

We recommend checking out the WATCH DUTY APP. Especially if you live anywhere near a possible wild fire area - which, these days, is more and more of the country (and, unfortunately the world). https://app.watchduty.org/

You can find this episode’s photos - and lots more at our INSTAGRAM –

@just_the_photographer_podcast

https://www.instagram.com/just_the_photographer_podcast

If you are enjoying “Just The Photographer with David Swanson”, please like us, rate us and leave a comment! That really does help a bigger audience find us! Better still, please recommend us to your friends! And check out the other podcasts in the COSTARD & TOUCHSTONE family at https://costardandtouchstone.com/

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BLURB: Always a dangerous job, photojournalism (journalism period!) has become exponentially more dangerous. In this episode, David discusses the newest danger - law enforcement and its confusion over who exactly IS a journalist these days. Joining David in the discussion are multimedia journalists Chelsea Lauren, Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, Mel Buer and Sergio Olmos.

SHOW NOTES

Our guests: SEAN BECKNER-CARMITCHEL has spent the last several years filming protests, counter-protests, rallies, sweeps, protests about sweeps, and rallies about counter-protests. His video work has been seen on Good Morning America, NBC, ABC, and other national and international outlets.

Though CHELSEA LAUREN wanted to be a plastic surgeon when she was a kid, Chelsea eventually turned her photographic hobby into her life. A seasoned celebrity photographer, who works for wire agency, Chelsea recently began branching out – covering riots, protests and unrest in addition to red carpet events

An independent journalist, MEL BUER's newsletter Words About Work covers labor and social justice movements. Her work’s been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation and other major outlets.

In addition to his terrific investigative reporting for CalMatters, SERGIO OLMOS has freelanced for The New York Times, NPR, Oregon Public Broadcasting and The Guardian among others, reporting from both the US and from the war in Ukraine. Sergio also created the Dying For A Fight podcast series for Oregon Public Broadcasting. That led directly to the arrest and successful prosecution of the killer of a well-kown Portland activist. Don’t mess with Sergio.

You can find this episode’s photos - and lots more at our INSTAGRAM –

@just_the_photographer_podcast

https://www.instagram.com/just_the_photographer_podcast

If you are enjoying “Just The Photographer with David Swanson”, please like us, rate us and leave a comment! That really does help a bigger audience find us! Better still, please recommend us to your friends! And check out the other podcasts in the COSTARD & TOUCHSTONE family at https://costardandtouchstone.com/

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BLURB: Even 25 years after it happened, 911 still haunts us. Photos from that day can still take us back to that day and all the complex emotions we felt. In this episode, David and photojournalists SPENCER PLATT and MARIO TAMA will discuss the photos they took that day that became iconic. While others rushed away from the twin towers as they burned and then collapsed, some people - first responders and journalists - ran toward the catastrophe. 911 changed everyone. It changed some people even more.

SHOW NOTES

You can find this episode’s photos - and lots more at our INSTAGRAM –

@just_the_photographer_podcast

https://www.instagram.com/just_the_photographer_podcast

If you are enjoying “Just The Photographer with David Swanson”, please like us, rate us and leave a comment! That really does help a bigger audience find us! Better still, please recommend us to your friends! And check out the other podcasts in the COSTARD & TOUCHSTONE family at https://costardandtouchstone.com/

If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of Costard & Touchstone's growing stable of podcasts. You can find them here:

Costard & Touchstone Productions – Costard & Touchstone Productions – Great Podcasts, No Foolin'!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.