Meline Toumani is a freelance writer based in New York City and the author of There Was and There Was Not: A Journey Through Hate and Possibility in Turkey, Armenia and Beyond. She has written about politics, ideas, books, and music for the New York Times Sunday Magazine and culture pages, The Nation, n+1, Salon, The Boston Globe, GlobalPost, The National, and Travel + Leisure. As a foreign reporter, she has worked in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Russia.
In 2002 and 2003, she was the coordinator of the Russian American Journalism Institute in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and in 2007 she and was a journalism fellow in residence at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.
Her work has been anthologized in Istanbul: The Collected Traveler, and included in The New York Times Presents Smarter by Sunday: 52 Weekends of Essential Knowledge for the Curious Mind. She has been an invited speaker in academic and private settings, and a commentator for The Wall Street Journal Online, Deutsche Welle Radio, Russia Today and Pacifica Radio. In addition to her freelance work, she has held staff editorial positions at the New York Times Magazine, KQED Public Media, and GreatSchools.
Toumani graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with high honors in English and public policy, and holds a master's degree in journalism from the Cultural Reporting and Criticism Program at NYU.
Meline Toumani on KCRW
More from KCRW
Chasing the Watermelon Man
Food & DrinkAn audio folk story examining the tradition of Black watermelon long-haulers, who drive to farms in the South for watermelon and sell them in Black neighborhoods around the US.
Another sales tax for homeless services: LA voters to decide
Election 2024Measure A – on LA County ballots this November – asks voters whether or not to approve a sales tax hike to fund homeless services and affordable housing.
Prop 4: Here’s what’s in California’s $10B climate bond measure
Climate changeTen billion dollars doesn’t go far when it comes to adapting to climate change, but the state has a lot of projects planned, should this bond measure pass.
What are the differences between conservatism, Trumpism, and GOP?
PoliticsWhat is a “never Trump” Republican? Both Trump and Harris are trying to win over swing and Centrist voters. Plus, conflict in the Middle East turns to Lebanon.
Dr. Warren Hern: Abortion in the age of unreason
PoliticsThe election came and went, and despite Democrats’ heavy emphasis on abortion rights, the election of Donald Trump makes it clear that the rights of women across the country are in…
SoCal Dems head to swing state Nevada to turn out votes
Election 2024SoCal Democrats anxious to help win the presidential election for Kamala Harris are road-tripping to swing states where they can make a bigger impact.
Donald Trump to lose Orange County for third time
Election 2024While election day is over, votes are still being counted in Orange County. Currently Vice-President Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump in Orange County.
Prop 3 is an insurance policy for same-sex couples, backers say
Election 2024Proposition 3 would enshrine the right for same-sex couples to marry in the California constitution. It would also repeal and replace language from 2008 that says otherwise.
Was civility the winner of the VP debate?
PoliticsCan civility influence voters in the Trump era? Has Biden’s policy in the Middle East backfired? Plus, the United States hits a bleak milestone on executions.