{"id":28248,"date":"2026-06-08T15:53:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/?p=28248"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:53:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:53:57","slug":"5-questions-for-rosanna-xia-metcalf-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/5-questions-for-rosanna-xia-metcalf-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Questions for Rosanna Xia (Metcalf 2018)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About Rosanna Xia <\/h1>\n\n

Rosanna Xia is an author, documentary filmmaker, Pulitzer Prize finalist and environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times<\/em>, where she specializes in stories about the coast and ocean. Her book on climate change adaptation, “California Against the Sea,” received the PEN America\/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, a gold medal from the California Book Awards, and a special citation from the Library of Congress, among other honors. A Metcalf alumna, Rosanna was a fellow in the 2018 Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosanna\u2019s most recent project, the feature documentary “Out of Plain Sight<\/strong><\/a>,” which she directed and produced, is a cinematic expansion of one of her most haunting environmental expos\u00e9s about an environmental disaster lurking just off the coast of Southern California. The documentary has received numerous film festival honors, including the Audience Choice Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Jackson Wild Media Award for Best Investigative Film.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Rosanna spoke with Metcalf\u2019s Mel Thibeault about \u201cOut of Plain Sight,\u201d which she will screen at the University of Rhode Island on Tuesday, June 23, as part of <\/em>Metcalf\u2019s annual Leeson Lecture<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, as well as how her Metcalf training has informed her reporting and what brings her hope.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re so excited for you to screen \u201cOut of Plain Sight\u201d at URI this summer. Can you tell us a bit about the process of creating the film, including what inspired it? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RX:<\/strong> It started with a tip from UC Santa Barbara Professor David Valentine, who had come across these eerie-looking barrels on the seafloor just off the coast of Los Angeles. He had been on a research expedition, studying something completely different, and he and the scientists on board were able to deploy some really advanced deep-sea technology from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. That image of the barrel kickstarted all sorts of questions, and after I published the first article in the L.A. Times<\/em>, my inbox exploded. That first article mobilized a community of scientists up and down the coast of California, and this first underwater discovery turned out to be just the tip of a much, much bigger story on toxic pollution in the ocean.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, I was also overwhelmed by the number of filmmakers who wanted to turn this story into a film. It all finally clicked when I met Daniel Straub, who I directed the film with, and Austin Straub, an incredibly talented cinematographer and editor, as well as James Ellington, our brilliant composer, who have all been core to the spirit and approach of this film. We began by just having these very dedicated filmmakers join me in the field as I continued reporting, and together, we found a cinematic way to tell this still-unfolding story.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a print writer, I was inspired by what it was like to work with a cinematographer who was thinking visually in the field \u2013 and how to tell the story that was unfolding in the present, while connecting it to the archival material we were finding in the past and also thinking about what this all means for the future. It was mind-expanding for me. Having such a great composer join us so early in the process also helped us think sonically about how to tap into the emotional soul of what every scientist was saying. It has been really invigorating getting to think more multi-dimensionally as a storyteller and getting to bring more texture to this haunting story that has resonated with people all over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is this work so important, especially right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RX: <\/strong>We\u2019ve been taking this film through the film festival circuit, and it has been humbling and eye-opening to share this story with so many live audiences. So often people receive journalism at the end of the process, when the article is ready to be published. Same with science; you don\u2019t really get to read a scientific study until it\u2019s peer-reviewed and accepted into a scientific journal. With this documentary, being able to show the audience some of the behind-the-scenes process has been very grounding. At a time when there is so much misunderstanding and disconnect in what it takes to present truth to the public, I\u2019ve found that taking this film on the road has been a meaningful way of rebuilding trust with the audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has your experience with Metcalf impacted you and your career?<\/strong>

RX: <\/strong>I came to Metcalf when I was transitioning from a breaking news\/disasters reporter to a project-focused environmental reporter for the L.A. Times<\/em>, which would allow for deeper, more nuanced dives into a lot of environmental issues. That week at Metcalf gave me time to step back, think, absorb and start connecting the thematic dots across so many different fields of science and policy. Metcalf activated and deepened my curiosity and inspired me to think more expansively about how so many aspects of our society and the natural world are interconnected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also feel like Metcalf provided something that really didn\u2019t exist elsewhere: a deeper dive on science communication and what it means to not only report on and translate science \u2013 but also give it meaning. When readers today say they appreciate my approach to environmental journalism, I think about how it was at Metcalf that I first started to find my voice as a storyteller. Metcalf gave me the ability to learn and explore with amazing people in Rhode Island who helped me think about science \u2013 and the impact and value of science \u2013 from all different dimensions. I am really grateful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you remember most about your time with Metcalf?<\/strong>
<\/strong>
RX:<\/strong> I have so many great memories from my fellowship with Metcalf. I met quite a few researchers and faculty based at URI, especially at the Graduate School of Oceanography, who knew so many of the ocean and marine scientists and researchers that I spoke to regularly back in California \u2013 because they did their post doc together, or overlapped on a project, or were on a research expedition together. In those moments, I realized how interconnected our world can be, even across different coasts and countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a lightheartened note, a memory I will treasure forever is getting to take one of the international reporters in our cohort to Applebee\u2019s for the first time. We talked about Applebee\u2019s all week \u2013 mostly as a joke \u2013 but on our last day of the fellowship, we went as a group, and it was such a delightful experience. It was yet another example of being in a space with incredibly inspiring people and having the opportunity to see things from someone else\u2019s perspective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s giving you hope these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RX: <\/strong>Our society has become so fractured and siloed online, but whenever I am out meeting people in person \u2013 at a film screening, at a book talk, in a college classroom, or even just in a public gathering space \u2013 I\u2019m reminded of how much commonality we still have with one another. A lot of magic and empathy happens when we reconnect with people in person. I have so much hope that the people I\u2019m meeting in person do <\/em>care, and I think that\u2019s something we have lost touch with when we\u2019re constantly online. This has been a year of me trying to go out more in person and to continue building these bridges of empathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Find more of Rosanna\u2019s work on <\/em>her website<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. To register for Metcalf\u2019s Leeson Lecture, which is free and open to the public, <\/em>click here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rosanna spoke with Metcalf\u2019s Mel Thibeault about \u201cOut of Plain Sight,\u201d which she will screen at the University of Rhode Island on Tuesday, June 23, as part of Metcalf\u2019s annual Leeson Lecture, as well as how her Metcalf training has informed her reporting and what brings her hope.\u00a0 We\u2019re so excited for you to screen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5333,"featured_media":28249,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[937,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact-story","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5333"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28248"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28253,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28248\/revisions\/28253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/metcalf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}