AitN: April 22, 2019

Harriet Ryan ’96

Via Los Angeles Times

Harriet Ryan ’96 (along with Matt Hamilton and Paul Pringle, all from the Los Angeles Times) received the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for “ … consequential reporting on a University of Southern California gynecologist accused of violating hundreds of young women for more than a quarter-century.” According to the Los Angeles Times, “The reporters worked three months to track down people who had information about [Dr. George] Tyndall, uncovering troubling allegations of abuse of young patients. The series roiled the prestigious private university … and led to dramatic changes, including the resignation of the university President C.L. Max Nikias.”

Ellen Reid ’05 was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Music for p r i s m, “a bold new operatic work that uses sophisticated vocal writing and striking instrumental timbres to confront difficult subject matter: the effects of sexual and emotional abuse.”

Michael Rothfeld '93, JRN'98 was part of The Wall Street Journal team that received the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting “for uncovering President Trump’s secret payoffs to two women during his campaign who claimed to have had affairs with him, and the web of supporters who facilitated the transactions, triggering criminal inquiries and calls for impeachment.” Multiple journalists contributed to WSJ articles over an 11-month period covering the issue.

D.D. Guttenplan ’78 was named editor of The Nation, America’s oldest continually published weekly magazine, on April 8. Guttenplan will begin the role on June 15; he was previously the magazine’s London correspondent.

On April 11, the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University announced that We Live in Cairo, written by brothers Patrick Lazour and Daniel Lazour ’16, will begin previews May 14 and open May 22. The musical follows six revolutionary students during Egypt’s 2011’s Arab Spring movement.

Terrence McNally '60

Michael Nagle

The New York Times Style Magazine published “A Conversation With Terrence McNally [’60], the Bard of American Theater” on April 10, in which “at 80, the legendary playwright reflects on his forward-looking art.” The interview is part of America 2024, in which The New York Times Style Magazine asked 15 playwrights to imagine America five years into the future; McNally contributed the work Muses of Fire and, to accompany the interview, filmmaker Cheryl Dunn shot a short documentary about McNally.

Shreyas Vissapragada ’17 received the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, a $90,000 award designated to provide opportunities for immigrants and children of immigrants to become leaders in their chosen fields. The award, distributed over two years, will support Vissapragada as he pursues his Ph.D. in planetary science at the California Technical Institute of Science.