Journalist | Leyla Doss

Leyla Doss

Audio Producer

About

I'm a New York-based audio journalist, story editor, and researcher. I tell stories that explain the "why" of politics and foreign policy in easy-to-understand and entertaining formats. I also worked for over 10 years as a print political reporter covering Egypt, the rest of North Africa, and parts of the Middle East.

My audio work has appeared in various outlets including Transmitter Media (for Ted Audio Collective), Kerning Cultures Network, the first ventured-funded podcasting company in the Middle East, Columbia News Service, Telling True Stories in Sound, and others. Described as the "This American Life" of the Middle East and North Africa, Kerning Cultures Network has been featured in Radiolab, 99 Percent Invisible, This American Life, and others world-renowned podcasts. I also produced audio documentaries for clients such as the official podcasts of Expo 2020 Dubai (The World's Fair).

I also have an M.S. in journalism, with an audio focus, from Columbia University's School of Journalism. My experience there included producing for various formats such as daily news reporting, all the way to long-form narrative audio producing. During my time there I was also the President of Columbia University's local chapter of the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA).

I have 10 years of experience in journalism, strategic communications, and foreign policy political analysis and research. I also co-founded the global prizewinning news site Mada Masr, described by The Guardian as "the news site keeping press freedom alive in Egypt."

My experience abroad included reporting for the Financial Times, The Guardian, and other international outlets on Egyptian politics, the criminal justice system, police violence, social movements, and resource conflicts in Nile basin countries. I also covered key events such as the trial of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and the post-Arab Spring 2012 and 2014 Egyptian presidential elections.

I graduated with a B.A. from the University of Toronto with a double major in Political Science and Media Studies, as well as an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from SOAS - the world's top institution for the study of the MENA region.