Kill Fee

This week Jason talks to Elon Green, a freelancer in Long Island who has dug up remarkable stories at the New York Public Library and elsewhere: a scoop on the Zodiac Killer, a tale of Edgar Allan Poe's hair, and an unsolved string of murders from the '70s. Elon got his start in journalism as an advertorial writer at the New York Observer in its heyday -- a weekly paper run by a legendary editor, Peter Kaplan -- and he reminisces about Kaplan and his influence. Elon is also known for interviewing famous writers, including Tom Wolfe, Lillian Ross, and Gay Talese, and shares the best advice he ever received from these folks. At the beginning of the episode, Jason also gives some brief advice on how to pitch a freelance story to a magazine or site.