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Malia Politzer is the executive editor of piqd.com, and an award-winning long-form journalist based out of Spain. She specializes in reporting on migration, international development, human rights issues and investigative reporting.
Originally from California, she's lived in China, Spain, Mexico and India, and reported from various countries in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Her primary beats relate to immigration, economics and international development. She has published articles in Huffington Post Highline, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue India, Mint, Far Eastern Economic Review, Foreign Policy, Reason Magazine, and the Phoenix New Times. She is also a regular contributor to Devex.
Her Huffington Post Highline series, "The 21st Century Gold Rush" won awards from the National Association of Magazine Editors, Overseas Press Club, and American Society of Newspaper Editors. She's also won multiple awards for feature writing in India and the United States.
Her reporting has been supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, The Institute For Current World Affairs, and the Global Migration Grant.
Degrees include a BA from Hampshire College and MS from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where was a Stabile Fellow at the Center for Investigative Journalism.
Believed: A 6-Episode Investigation Into How Larry Nassar Got Away With Abusing Hundreds Of Women
This NPR investigative podcast delves into how Larry Nassar, the famous and once well-respected doctor who treated the American Olympic women's team, got away with sexually abusing hundreds of women and young girls for years.
The first episode of this deeply reported series begins by introducing the character Larry Nassar, and providing context into who he was believed to have been: A great guy, exceptional doctor, and all around good human being. It then begins to dismantle that image, one episode at a time.
However, what makes this podcast series truly stand out is the attention it gives to the voice of his victims: Most of the episodes are dominated by the narratives, stories and experiences of the girls and young women he abused. We learn their names, and hear first-person accounts of how Nassar manipulated and abused these women (and their parents) by leveraging his power, reputation, and his position of authority as a doctor.
Later episodes detail how the women who experienced abuse by Nassar repeatedly reported him to authorities—their parents, the police, Child Protective Services, and the University that hired him—and were not believed: Despite their reports Nassar was permitted unfettered access to new victims for years.
Although Nassar was eventually brought to trial and convicted—and the women who he abused were able to confront him directly in court, tell their stories and receive a modicum of justice—the series left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, listeners are happy that Nassar was put away for life. However, there's a larger question that lingers: Why does it take so much in our society for a woman's story of abuse to be believed? And what can we do to change that for future generations?
