Julie Wernau

About Julie Wernau

I live at the intersection of Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, telling stories about the real people and places that make up the fabric of America. My reporting focuses on how health policy plays out on the ground, with a special emphasis on addiction and mental illness.Over my 20+ year career, I’ve covered everything from the Chinese consumer market to distressed debt in Venezuela, orange juice futures, crime, government, and utilities. I reported on COVID-19 in both China and the U.S. and spent much of 2020 and 2021 traversing the country to document the pandemic’s human aftermath.I started my career at age 12 delivering my local newspaper and have since produced award-winning journalism from Chicago, New York, Beijing, and now the American South. I’m a frequent guest for live events, radio, and podcasts, including Radiolab, NPR’s Marketplace, American Scandal, and The Journal.My husband and I run Steel Pioneer Fire Cooking, an outdoor cooking school in Appalachia founded by my award-winning chef husband, David Hussey. We teach people how to cook like chefs over open fire. Come visit us, and ask me about that time I was expelled from China.

Experience

1. Reporter and Producer

   Tradeoffs

   Jan 2026 — Present

Education

• University of Connecticut

  Bachelor of Arts, English, psychology, women's studies minor

  1999 — 2003

Skills

• Journalism