Michael Lewis Interviews His Producer

What It Covers

Michael Lewis interviews producer Lydia Jean Cott about her new podcast The Chinatown Sting, which investigates a 1988 federal heroin case involving Chinese-American women caught receiving drug shipments while playing mahjong in Manhattan's Chinatown.

Key Questions Answered

• •Cold case reporting methodology: Contact subjects directly at their homes using public records like white pages, bring cookies as goodwill gesture, and leverage personal connections to prosecutors to establish trust and gain access to reluctant witnesses decades after conviction.
• •Prosecutor relationship dynamics: Federal prosecutors rarely track defendants after conviction despite profound impact on their lives. Reconnecting prosecutors with former defendants through journalism reveals untold human stories and provides closure for both parties involved in the justice system.
• •Story structure clarity: Define your narrative in one sentence before writing begins. For complex multi-character stories, identify the central conflict—in this case, three women opposed by the system where only one can win—to maintain focus throughout reporting and production.
• •Investigative persistence pays off: Tracking down subjects from 1988 case required searching three different Chinatowns across NYC boroughs, leaving notes that went unanswered, until direct doorstep conversations yielded breakthrough interviews with formerly incarcerated women willing to share their stories.