Life After News
What happens when the newsroom lights go out—and life begins again?
Life After News explores the raw, funny, and deeply human stories of journalists who’ve walked away from the adrenaline of breaking news to reinvent themselves in surprising ways. Hosted by former TV news director Jason Ball, the podcast goes behind the headlines to talk with anchors, reporters, producers, and executives about identity, resilience, and what it takes to start over.
From career pivots to personal awakenings, these conversations reveal how the skills learned under deadline pressure translate into entirely new chapters of life. It’s not just about leaving the news—it’s about discovering what comes after.
Whether you’re in media, on the edge of a career change, or just fascinated by reinvention, Life After News is your invitation to listen in, learn, and maybe imagine your own next chapter.
Life After News
Breaking Barriers, Finding Radical Joy & Redefining Storytelling with May Lee
In this episode of Life After News, Jason Ball sits down with international journalist May Lee. May is a former CNN and ABC News correspondent, anchor, talk show host, professor, and now co-host of the hit podcast Shoes Off Inside.
✨ May shares her remarkable journey:
- From small-market local news to becoming CNN’s “disaster queen” covering global crises 🌍
- Breaking into Japanese media as one of the first Asian American journalists on NHK 🇯🇵
- Reporting through earthquakes, attacks, and cultural upheavals while living abroad
- Pivoting into activism during the pandemic and raising her voice against anti-Asian hate ✊
- Creating Shoes Off Inside with fellow trailblazers Kelly Hu and Tamlyn Tomita 💬
- Embracing radical joy and the Korean concept of Han as powerful forces in life and storytelling 💜
This intimate, powerful conversation explores identity, resilience, cultural pride, and how journalism shapes—and is shaped by—the people who live it.
📌 Connect & Listen
🔗 Listen to May’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shoes-off-inside-with-mkt/id1497399536
🔗 Learn more at lotusmediahouse.com
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📲 Join the Conversation
#LifeAfterNews #MayLee #ShoesOffInside #RadicalJoy #AsianAmericanVoices #JournalismMatters #PodcastLife #Storytelling
👉 CTA: Hit play, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who needs a dose of inspiration, resilience, and joy.
Let Life After News inspire your next chapter. Because leaving the news doesn’t mean the story’s over—it means a new one’s just beginning.