HEARTS OF AGAVE: The Makers of Tequila and Mezcal
HEARTS OF AGAVE: The Makers of Tequila and Mezcal
HEARTS OF AGAVE: The Makers of Tequila and Mezcal
HEARTS OF AGAVE: The Makers of Tequila and Mezcal
RECENT AWARDS
ABOUT ME
I am a former President’s Professor in Media Studies at the University of Tulsa and Executive Producer of the Switchyard Podcast. Honors for my work include a James Beard Award, three Heartland Emmy Awards, two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, and three Eric Sevareid Awards.
At Switchyard, I developed an award-winning podcast, a series of live action and animated videos, and led a number of large public events, including two years of Tulsa's annual Mayfest, the Switchyard Food Fest, and Covering Chaos—a gathering of nearly fifty journalists, authors, and thought leaders in Tulsa on January 24 and 25, 2025.
As a senior producer at Nebraska Public Media, I wrote and produced a PBS Digital 360° video series about the Platte Basin Watershed, a short film about the history and current state of conservation of the American bison, and podcasts about skateboarding in the Midwest and about the Farm Bill, co-sponsored by Harvest Public Media and FERN.
My photographs have appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The Guardian, Harper’s, Huffington Post, In These Times, Maclean’s, Mother Jones, The Nation, The New Republic, the New York Times, OnEarth, and the Washington Post.
My book, Nature’s Mirror: How Taxidermists Shaped America's Natural History Museums and Saved Endangered Species, was published by the University of Chicago Press in December 2020.
I have also taught multimedia journalism, audio storytelling, and podcasting with project-based curricula emphasizing field reporting, interviewing, ethics, and narrative storytelling. I have mentored students through all phases of story development, from reporting and field recording to editing and final audio production, guiding projects across audio, photography, video, and long-form multimedia storytelling, and fostering collaborations between students, community members, and local organizations.
Contact me
Andrei.MaryAnne@gmail.com
2026 :: James Beard Award for Audio Reporting,
Finalist, Field Producer, for “Trouble on
the Line,” Reveal and Mother Jones
2024 :: James Beard Award for Food Coverage
in a General Interest Publication for
Switchyard
2024 :: National Magazine Award, Finalist,
Single-Topic Issue for “The Food Issue”
of Switchyard
2022 :: Regional Edward R. Murrow Award,
Podcast, Radio | Small Market, Nebraska
Public Media, for “Center of Gravity”
2022 :: Eric Sevareid Award, Producer, Team
Multimedia Storytelling – News, Large
Media Organizations: Nebraska Public
Media Radio, for “Center of Gravity”
2020 :: Regional Edward R. Murrow Award,
Producer, Multimedia, Small
Market Television for "Watershed"
2020 :: Eric Sevareid First Place Award,
Producer, Team Multimedia Storytelling – News, Large Media Organization
for "Watershed"
2019 :: Heartland Emmy Award, Producer,
Short Format Program – Entertainment
for "Under the Milky Way"
2019 :: Heartland Emmy Award, Producer,
Short Format Program – Informational
for "Return of the American Bison"
2019 :: Heartland Emmy Award, Finalist,
Writer, Short Format Program
for "Return of the American Bison"
2019 :: Heartland Emmy Award, Finalist,
Producer, Interactive Media
for "Modern Farming on the Great Plains"
2019 :: Eric Sevareid First Place Award,
Producer, Team Multimedia Storytelling –
News, Large Media Organizations
for "On the Table"
2019 :: National Association of Broadcasters
Marconi Radio Awards Finalist, Producer,
Best Radio Podcast of the Year
for "On the Table"
2018 :: Heartland Emmy Award, Story Producer,
Environment – Program or Feature
for "Prairie Fire"