Simmerdeep Kaur

My portfolio.

Wrote a long-form narrative story about the journey of two exiled women journalists as they fly across the world in an attempt to escape the Taliban’s extremist rule and save their lives, but at the cost of never being able to go back home.
Collected and analyzed data from the Committee to Protect Journalists to find out the total number of journalists executed in Afghanistan, and compared this number to journalist killings in other countries.
Created a map showcasing Khwaga Ghani’s entire journey - from Kabul to California.

Investigated police data as a part of the data team at the California Reporting Project, also known as CRP. The project is a multi-newsroom coalition formed to research and report on law enforcement documents that became public after lawmakers passed the landmark "Right to Know Act" in 2018.
Examined the paperwork in DocumentCloud and annotated instances that stood out in CRP’s database, along with answering questions like "names of officers involved," "was lethal force used by an officer," "did the incident result in the death of the subject."
Conducted completeness checks using Python in a Jupyter Lab notebook to make sure each agency has sent over all the required documents.
Filed FOIA requests using MuckRock in case of a missing document.
The research was used to publish this piece about police brutality in The Guardian. A version of the story also aired on KQED.

Co-hosted a live radio show for KALX, an FM radio station that broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area. The show focuses on the protests taking place at Berkeley, following the start of the Israel-Palestine war in October 2023.
Reported a story about the Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine group that led the protests for UC Berkeley to divest from the war. The story shines a light on how the group was inspired to start the protest and the series of creative protests they held at the University's South entrance. It further leans into the group's demands and how the University has responded to them.
Interviewed the spokesperson of the group and UC Berkeley's Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof.

Covered this story when the Oakland City Council decided to end its eviction moratorium. I talked to city council members, tenants and landlords, and attended council meetings.
The Oakland City Council voted 7-1 to sunset the COVID-19 eviction moratorium on July 15, introducing a comprehensive ordinance that combined the expiration with permanent tenant protections. Authored by Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and Council President Pro Tempore Dan Kalb, the ordinance addressed housing instability, drawing both support and opposition.
Tenant concerns about potential evictions clashed with landlords seeking resolution for outstanding debts.

Covered a story about the impacts of last year’s heat wave on international students at Berkeley. The extreme weather took a toll on the academic front for many due to escalated anxiety levels induced by insufficient sleep, reduced concentration and physical distress.
The story captures the struggles of international students at UC Berkeley and, at the same time, shines a light on the bigger picture of climate change.
During the reporting process, I interviewed students from different parts of the world, making sure to include the international student experience from different angles.
Also interviewed doctors and academic experts on the subject.

Wrote a profile story about Marlena Robbins, a doctoral student at UC Berkeley, who's working on making psychedelics assisted therapy more accessible to indigenous communities.
Also made an augmented reality component as a fun interactive multimedia element to induce more engagement.
Created the AR experience using Blippar software. At the end of the story, there is a QR code for readers to scan. It takes you to a forest setting and provides information on the various types of psychedelic mushrooms growing in different parts of the U.S.

Took on multiple roles for the production of a live radio show on KALX. The show focused on stories about technology, innovation and art.
As the Executive Producer, I picked the stories to be featured on the show. Worked with the reporters on editing the stories and ensured the highest possible standard of content production. I also guaranteed the audio files were organized and everything went according to plan when we went live.
Reported a story about Berkeley’s Citizen Clinic that is providing free cybersecurity services to nonprofits facing the threat of being politically targeted, thereby saving them up to $150,000 on IT services. The clinic was recently backed by Google and received $500,000 in funding and additional volunteer support from experts at Google. The time stamp for my story is ‘3:40 - 8:09.’
As the newscaster, I presented the latest news from the Bay Area live. The first story focuses on the encampment at Berkeley that Palestinian protestors set up to demand the university’s divestment from the war. The second story is about the California State Senate’s plan to provide unemployment benefits to striking workers. The time stamp for the newscast is ‘1:05 - 2:50.’

As a part of my job as the news editor at the Visiting Scholars and Postdoc Affairs Office at UC Berkeley, I wrote a spotlight story on Dr. Koning Shen.
Shen is researching how the aging of mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, leads to diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, among others.
This is one of the many spotlights I regularly write and edit for the VSPA at UC Berkeley.