Janet Hook: Always Asking Questions, From Politicians on Capitol Hill to Strangers on the Streets

One in a Billion

How do I want to engage in the world?Do I want to be an academic teaching philosophy as a professor?Wouldn’t that be a very inward-looking, insular kind of life?Is that what I want?

Those were some of the questions Janet Hook, (Harvard Class ’77) asked herself before deciding not to pursue a Phd in philosophy.

For Janet, a Harvard graduate with a degree in philosophy and government, her career choice is also a lifestyle choice. She chose to become a journalist right after college.

In “Where Are They Now?” Episode #3, Gemma Schneider (Harvard student journalist/Class of 2023) interviews Los Angeles Time national correspondent Janet Hook. Janet reflects on her student days at Harvard, and some of the ways in which she has been influenced to choose the path of a journalist. She also talks candidly about her career trajectory and the life of a reporter.

I am happy to be co-hosting this podcast as a contributing commentator. You’ll hear my thoughts about how Harvard fit into my former career as a TV journalist as well.

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“Where Are They Now?” is a special co-production between One in a Billion and WHRB (Harvard Radio Broadcasting).

It is a 6-part series featuring one-on-one interviews with Harvard graduates who draw lessons from their campus experience and personal insight from their current career to give you a taste of their trailblazing journey.

“Where Are They Now” is sponsored exclusively by One in a Billion Productions Inc. (501c3) – an educational media company designed to foster Asian voices and to build bridges between different communities of color. We believe in the power of personal storytelling to reach a wider and diverse community of audiences for better intercultural understanding.