Wired's Makena Kelly on Elon Musk, DOGE, and breaking news narratives

Storyboard editor Mark Armstrong sits down with Makena Kelly, senior writer for Wired covering the intersection of politics, power, and technology, about the magazine’s coverage of Trump's second term and how it has aggressively covered Elon Musk and DOGE's takeovers of federal agencies. Amid its breaking news coverage, Wired published “Inside Elon Musk’s Digital Coup” on March 13, a longform narrative that aimed to step back and tell the larger story of what was happening inside these agencies. Kelly's was one of nine bylines on the 5,400-word piece, and on the Storyboard podcast she talks about how Wired's editorial team — led by global editorial director Katie Drummond and including senior editor Leah Feiger — helped organize the reporting and make sense of a rapidly developing story. Subscribe to the Nieman Storyboard newsletter: https://niemanstoryboard.org/about/subscribe-to-nieman-storyboard/Reading List:“Inside Elon Musk’s Digital Coup” (Wired, March 13, 2025)Makena Kelly at Wired Politics Lab NewsletterMakena Kelly at The Verge"How to leak to a journalist." (Laura Hazard Owen, Nieman Lab) Show CreditsHosted and produced by Mark ArmstrongAssociate producer: Marina LeighEpisode editor: Kelly ArajaAudience editor: Adriana LacyPromotional support: Ellen TuttleOperational support: Paul Plutnicki, Peter CanovaNieman Foundation curator: Ann Marie LipinskiDeputy curator: Henry ChuMusic: “Golden Grass,” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)Cover design by Adriana LacyNieman Storyboard is presented by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.