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Image credit: Ben Lowy/Getty Images

Last week, I interviewed Ben Lowy, a war photographer who decamped to Iraq at age 23 and makes images that shed light on far-flung corners of the human condition and wind up on the cover of Time in the process. The same week, Fairfax fired 30 photographers and outsourced the bulk of its photography to Getty Images – proof that clinging to the halcyon days that saw journalists rewarded for their storytelling efforts might be incompatible with the wider project of making a living.

However, I believe that no amount of fear-mongering about the decline of print or unwillingness of news organisations to fund assignments that matter can erase the journalistic urge to dismantle invisible regimes of power. Lowy might admit that a family and mortgage have quashed his desire to enter war zones, but his work shows that it’s worth risking everything to shed light on what lies beyond the frame.

Image credit: Transport for Sydney

When you walk down your brand-new street – one heavy with tumbling gardens and light with autumn chill – it’s proof of the ways in which moving house can show you that home isn’t about where you live but how you feel.

Says Dan Perjovschi, an artist who’s capable of tearing down entire ideologies with a couple of hastily scrawled lines. The Romanian agitator and master of visual brevity was also the subject of a cover story for Vault magazine, at newsagents now. The issue also includes a profile of Kenzo and a feature on Australian artist Daniel Boyd as well as never-before-seen drawings by Perjovschi himself. Read the whole thing here. 

Although I’ve always known that there’s something magical about an evening at the cinema, it only recently occurred to me that the shade of this magic can depend on whether you’re in Paris, Mumbai, Bangkok or Rio. I spent last month exploring this idea for Open Skies, the in-flight magazine for Emirates airlines and I’m beyond excited that it’s the cover feature this month. Read it here or pick up a copy if you happen to be flying somewhere on Emirates this month – it also features dreamy illustrations by UK illustrator Kyle Smart. The magazine reaches 3 million people and features some of the world’s most respected photographers and journalists, so I’m extremely humbled.

As a caffeine addict from way back, researching my first ever cover story – on how the shift in Sydney’s cafe culture reflects its evolution as a city as well as the things it values most – was pure bliss. I’m really fascinated by the ways cafes double as second loungerooms and can facilitate the need for solitude or the urge to feel like you’re part of a city’s fabric. Every time I’ve moved cities, I’ve gravitated towards cafes – places that allow you the luxury of being alone without ever feeling alone. Read the whole thing here.

Johnny Cupcakes on how striking entrepreneurial gold stems from making the most of whatever life deals you. I profiled the T-shirt extraordinaire and former Businessweek entrepreneur of the year for the March issue of Renegade Collective, available at newsagents now. It also features a killer interview with Martha Stewart, the patron saint of unconventional business advice. Read the whole thing here.

Image credit: Dumbo Feather

When I first moved to Melbourne seven years ago, I looked for signs that I’d done the right thing and seemed to find them everywhere.  How the swoosh of the tram seemed to add a kind of sonic full stop to every moment, for instance. Or how you could take a wrong turn in the city and end up somewhere entirely unexpected. The fact that coming across Dumbo Feather, a magazine that publishes long-form interviews that tumble over lo-fi pages, was one of those signs meant that I was pretty excited when they commissioned me to interview Paul Allam ,the founder of Sydney’s much-loved Bourke Street Bakery, late last year. Here’s my recipe for striking interview magic.

1. Do your research  
   There’s nothing more disrespectful to your subject than showing up to an interview cold. Spending some time really understanding your interviewee’s back-story is the surest route to asking the right questions.
2. Use more than one recording device 
   Flat batteries, unruly technology, disappearing apps…I’ve learnt about interview heartbreak the hard way. These days, I  record important interviews with my dictaphone and use the Audiomemos app on my Ipad for back-up.
3. Jump on interesting segues
   Sometimes, the off-the-cuff remarks and surprise asides are entry points to sparkling new angles. Don’t be afraid to dig deeper.
4. Channel your best conversation 
   Forget about ego – the best interviews feel like generous exchanges, where the interviewer brings as much to the table as the subject. This doesn’t work in every circumstance but if you aim for this dynamic, you’re halfway there.
5. Learn to love transcribing 
   Unlike most journalists, I really enjoy transcribing interviews. Sure, the process can feel laborious, but I’ve always felt that it’s important to handle the raw material of your story before it can properly take shape.

From a sharp essay on twerking politics to a masterful feature on the life of a homeless girl, here are the stories that won me over this year.

Image credit: The Illustrated Junot Diaz

Like daily caffeine hits and nineties hip-hop, there’s something dangerously addictive about Junot Diaz’s voice. Here the author of This Is How You Lose Her shares his writing process with the Daily Beast.

When Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the beauty and bloodiness of love, it’s like a sucker punch to the heart.

This incisive piece on the politics of twerking was one of the best things to come out of Mileygate.

Throw away your dating manual and read Ann Friedman’s guide to courting friends instead.

For Rachel Hills, coming to terms with being married means accepting the impossibility of being in all places at the same time.

Patti Smith’s tribute to Lou Reed is pure poetry.

I’ve always lived in the print isn’t dead camp and magazines such as Brace – a biannual cultural journal published between Sydney and New York – is a case in point. For the second issue, I wrote a story about one of my literary idols, Anais Nin – a woman who blended artistry, audacity and ambition to stunning effect. Pre-order the issue here!

My friend George just launched an ace online magazine, The Planthunter, which celebrates the relationship between people and plants. For the first issue, I wrote about Wendy Whiteley’s garden – a leafy haven that’s hands down one of my favourite places in Sydney. You should definitely subscribe.