Carter Sherman has been covering sex, gender, and the complex personal and national politics that accompany them for years. She was a senior reporter for Vice and has written for Elle, Ms. magazine, and Los Angeles magazine as well. Along the way, she’s garnered a Scripps Howard Award, a National Press Club Journalism Award, and four Emmy nominations.
Sherman was kind enough to tell us about her reliance on coffee and the collection of quotes she keeps for when she needs inspiration.
What is your most indispensable tool?
My French press. I’m from Seattle, so I like to think that I come by my coffee snobbery honestly.
How many tabs do you have open right now?
The limit does not exist.
What game do you have the fondest memories of?
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As a kid, I was terrified of the music that soundtracked the Deku Tree dungeon(s).
What is one thing you wish you had created?
The “Happy Birthday” song. Think of the royalties.
What creation are you most proud of?
I’m incredibly proud of my book, The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation’s Fight Over Its Future. To report it out, I interviewed more than 100 people under 30 about their experiences of and thoughts on sex following #MeToo, the pandemic, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. I was honored that so many people felt comfortable with me and were willing to open up about such an intimate topic. I spent a decade covering reproductive health, gender, and sexuality as a print and video reporter, and The Second Coming really felt like the culmination of that reporting.
What is your current obsession?
Rick and Morty. I devoured the first eight seasons of that show in, like, two weeks.
What do you do when you’re feeling stuck?
Whenever I come across a particularly evocative piece of writing, I add it to a list that I keep in my Notes app. Then, when I feel stuck, I scroll through that list. Sometimes, the phrases will spark an idea; always, it reminds me that good writing — the process of trying to figure out what, exactly, you are trying to say — is worth the work. (Some recent additions to my list: “little runs of laughter,” courtesy of Shirley Jackson; “with a glance like a lasso,” courtesy of Carson McCullers; “her voice was warmed through with nostalgia,” courtesy of Katie Kitamura.)
What do you think is worth splurging on?
What would the tagline for your biopic be?
What’s the last GIF or meme you used?