Writer, Reporter, Producer.
Sam Anderson grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Hampshire College in 2013 where he studied US history and started a satirical newspaper called The Ink Valve. After moving to New York City in 2013, he interned at WNYC and was a producer on the Brian Lehrer Show, Indivisible, The Takeaway, Midday, and America on the Line. In 2019, Sam moved to California and began working at Marketplace producing the podcast Make Me Smart hosted by Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood. In 2022, Sam created and hosted his first major narrative series, Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle, a 10-part investigation of a murder on a cannabis farm in Mendocino County. Produced by Truth Media in partnership with Novel and Sony Music Entertainment, The Emerald Triangle debuted at #14 on Apple Charts and currently enjoys a global audience with more than 1.7 million total downloads.
In 2024, Sam published Whose Point Reyes, a 3-part mini series about cattle ranching, land use, and colonialism at Point Reyes National Seashore. This indie podcast was originally broadcast on KPFA in Berkeley, CA. Following the publication of Whose Point Reyes, Sam launched Earthstory Studio, a bespoke documentary production company focused on stories about land use and the environment.
Sam’s news and feature stories have been published by WNYC, KQED, NPR’s Latino USA, Out There, KMUD, and KPFA. He has been interviewed by The California Report Magazine, WNYC, and the BBC World Service for his reporting. His writing has been published by North Jersey Media Group, The Brooklyn Eagle, PRI.org, Brokelyn, and other outlets. Freelance writing clients have included John Jay College, the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, City Green Inc., and others.
Sam is also the author of Jersey Boy Eats, a humorous newsletter reviewing East Coast comfort food on the West Coast. Suffice it to say, the bagels and pizza out here in California are hella mid. Subscribe on Substack.
Contact: slamgranderson at gmail dot com
“We must come down from our heights, and leave our straight paths, for the byways and low places of life, if we were to learn truths by strong contrasts; and in hovels, in forecastles, and among our own outcasts in foreign lands, see what has been wrought upon our fellow-creatures by accident, hardship, or vice.”