Carter Sherman details work habits, inspirations and gaming memories
The Guardian journalist and author discussed her book, coffee routine and childhood fear of Ocarina of Time in a Verge questionnaire.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Carter Sherman, the Guardian journalist and author of The Second Coming, described the habits and cultural touchstones behind her work in a questionnaire published by The Verge. The exchange gives readers a compact look at the reporter behind a book about sex, politics and younger generations.
The Verge’s Terrence O’Brien wrote that Sherman has spent years reporting on sex, gender and the politics surrounding both. According to O’Brien, she previously worked as a senior reporter at Vice and has also written for Elle, Ms. magazine and Los Angeles magazine.
O’Brien reported that Sherman has received a Scripps Howard Award, a National Press Club Journalism Award and four Emmy nominations. She now works at The Guardian, where she cohosts the podcast Stateside with Kai and Carter, according to The Verge.
A book shaped by interviews with young people
Sherman told The Verge she is most proud of The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation’s Fight Over Its Future. She said the reporting for the book included interviews with more than 100 people under 30 about sex after #MeToo, the pandemic and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
O’Brien described the book as an examination of how the internet and a polarized political climate have affected sex and relationships. The Verge said the book covers issues including fights over sex education at school boards and abortion access.
Sherman told The Verge the project felt like the result of a decade of work covering reproductive health, gender and sexuality in print and video. She said she valued the trust of people who discussed intimate parts of their lives with her.
Coffee, notes and Zelda
Sherman identified a French press as her most essential tool, telling The Verge that her Seattle background informs her coffee standards. Asked how many browser tabs she had open, she gave a mathematical joke rather than a count.
Her strongest video game memory, she told The Verge, is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Sherman said that as a child she was frightened by the music in the Deku Tree dungeons.
Sherman also told The Verge she keeps a Notes app file of writing she finds vivid. When she feels stuck, she said, she rereads the list for possible sparks and as a reminder that careful writing is worth the effort. The recent examples she cited included lines from Shirley Jackson, Carson McCullers and Katie Kitamura.
The questionnaire also touched on Sherman’s entertainment tastes and spending habits. She told The Verge she recently watched the first eight seasons of Rick and Morty in about two weeks and said concert tickets are worth paying extra for.
Asked what she wished she had created, Sherman chose the “Happy Birthday” song, citing the royalties. She said the tagline for a film about her life would be “At least she tried.” The Verge said her most recent GIF or meme was an image of Taylor Swift performing “All Too Well” on Saturday Night Live with the lyric “And that made me want to die” overlaid on it.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.