L.A. Times Podcast Series ‘Foretold’ Wins New America Award from SPJ

The Los Angeles Times has won a 2024 New America Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for the podcast series “Foretold.” The award, which recognizes public service journalism that explores and exposes issues of importance to immigrant and ethnic communities in the U.S., was announced on Sept. 11.

“Foretold,” which won the award in the audio division, is a nine-episode podcast hosted by Times Staff Writer Faith E. Pinho. The series tells the story of Paulina Stevens, who was raised in a traditional Romani family but broke out of her predetermined life as a young mother and fortuneteller to chart her own path. In telling Stevens’ story, Pinho deconstructs the myths and stereotypes that surround the Romani people.

“I am so thrilled that our podcast, ‘Foretold,’ won SPJ’s New America award,” said Pinho. “As a team, we spent hours agonizing over how to accurately and fairly portray Paulina’s story with empathy, trust and truth — even while reporting on difficult issues such as fortunetelling, child marriage and abuse. I am so grateful for this recognition from the judges at SPJ, who apparently thought we struck the right balance.

“Reporting on ‘Foretold’ was one of the most difficult and meaningful projects of my career,” Pinho continued. “I am grateful to my sources, especially those in the Romani community, for trusting us to share their stories.”

In addition to Pinho, the team behind the podcast included: Asal Ehsanipour, Alex Higgins, Lauren Raab, Avery Trufelman, Sue Horton, Jazmin Aguilera, Heba Elorbany, Ethel Brooks, Mike Heflin, Vadim Kolpakov and Alex PGSV.

To learn more about the SPJ New America Award and see the full list of recipients, visit spj.org.