How Andrew Mueller pulled off one of the most interesting careers in journalism

The rock critic-turned-foreign correspondent reflects on a wild career—and shares his tips for those just starting out.

Published
30 Jun 2022
Written by
The Story
Categories
PodcastArt & Science
Reading time
3 min

Photo illustration: Emily Thiang/Monocle

There is no reliable way to know how many writers have toured with both Radiohead and Hezbollah. Nor can we say with much certainty how many reporters could, push comes to shove, call upon former Australian PM Kevin Rudd for comment or pester Bono (yes, Bono) for a book blurb. The answer is probably not many. But after listening to this interview with Andrew Mueller, we can confidently say that the number is not quite zero.

Born in Wagga Wagga and based in London, Mueller is the type of writer we assumed went out of commission after Hunter S. Thompson left Rolling Stone. Curious about subjects big and small, he understands how to get to the heart of the story, knows just how much of himself to insert in it, can turn a phrase you’ll want to re-read several times just to see how he pulled it off, and frequently churns out the most interesting take on a subject you probably didn’t know you wanted to know about.

Mueller recently sat down with Ben Hart for the debut episode of the second season of Storycraft, our sister podcast about the art and science of storytelling. Together, they discuss how the media world has changed since Mueller first started writing (typewriters are out, computers are in), what it takes to make it as a reporter, and why he’s surprisingly optimistic about the future of the industry.

Listen via the player above, or subscribe to StoryCraft on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Andrew Mueller is a contributing editor at Monocle in London and host of Monocle 24’s The Foreign Desk. He is the author of four books and countless articles published everywhere from Melody Maker to The New York Times to Esquire to (ahem) The Story.

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