The Profile: The Saudi prince who shook the world & the $3-billion beauty titan
Good morning, friends!
I spoke with New York City-based photographer Jeremy Cohen last week after I saw his captivating Quarantine Rooftop Culture series. He snapped photos of some of his Brooklyn neighbors out on their rooftops — exercising, making TikTok videos, and, you know, playing the double-bass cello.
“I noticed that the quarantined people in my neighborhood were using their roofs for all sorts of various activities, so I started documenting it,” he said. “I guess being in a box inspires creativity.”
I was interested in his work primarily because of his “Today I Photographed” project. He challenged himself to take a portrait of a stranger every day for two years. Not only are the portraits themselves striking, but so are the accompanying stories.
I spoke with Cohen about capturing people's true expressions, telling a meaningful personal story through photography, and finding the extraordinary in ordinary moments. Below is an excerpt of our conversation. (Read the full Q&A here.)
(Photo credit: Jeremy Cohen)
What are some of the most intimate things people have told you when you ask to take their portrait?
I’ve heard about all sorts of personal situations. Near-death experiences. Losing loved ones. Drug-related stuff.
This guy recently told me a story about how a radiator saved his life. He overdosed on heroin and fell asleep on a radiator, but because the radiator burned him, it woke him up and he survived. Then he told me he met a partner shortly after that experience who helped him turn his whole life around. And remember, this is a complete stranger who just opened up to me when I photographed him.
Photography is just such a therapeutic tool that allows me to connect with people in a way that I wouldn’t be able to without a camera.
What are some of the most interesting quirks you've observed in people that we tend to miss in real life but often show up in photos?
It’s the in-between moments. My strategy is to photograph someone and then keep my camera ready, because I love the in-between moments. That’s always when you can capture a person’s truest expression. It could just be a twinkle in the eye. It’s all very subtle. I can’t tell someone to pose this way or that way, you know? I just have to wait for it. I’ve learned to have my camera ready at all times because I never know when that little moment comes — when they squint or make that face or crinkle their nose. It’s those micro-expressions that I feel like bring out someone’s truest self.
Given that many of us are stuck at home, what are tangible ways that each of us can observe and appreciate the mundane moments of our everyday lives like a photographer would?
Now’s a really good time to do that because we got a lot of things taken away. We can now realize how good we had it before. Once this is all over, we’ll understand how great life is again. You need to really break it down to the simple things — like appreciating the people closest to you. It’s about just the really small, mundane moments. Like the morning light coming in through your window. Or a simple cup of tea. When’s the last time you were able to sit at home and appreciate that you get to enjoy a cup of tea by yourself lost in thought? You can always find a small moment in your life to be thankful for.
THE PROFILE DOSSIER: On Wednesday, you received The Profile Dossier, a comprehensive deep-dive on a prominent individual. It featured Neil deGrasse Tyson, a famed astrophysicist known for his ability to distill complex scientific concepts into simple terms the average person can understand. Check it out here.
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✨ THE PROFILE VIRTUAL LIVE EVENT ✨: This Tuesday afternoon, I’ll be interviewing Dr. Robert Mittendorff, a venture investor and emergency physician, as part of The Profile’s first virtual event. We’ll discuss what’s going on in emergency rooms, what startups are doing to help in the fight of COVID-19, and how he envisions the future of telemedicine. And we’ll be taking your questions too! Sign up to join, and you’ll get an alert with more info about this event.
PROFILES.
— The Saudi prince who shook the world[**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The doctor racing to defeat COVID-19
— The teenager who ignited a global revolution
— The mom-turned-harm reduction activist
— The woman who lives 200,000 years in the past
— The millennial prime minister leading through crisis
— The $3-billion beauty titan
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PEOPLE TO KNOW.
The Saudi prince who shook the world: Saudi Arabia had long been known for two things: oil and Islam. That all changed when the mysterious, workaholic son of the king named Mohammed bin Salman took charge. Inside the Saudi kingdom, MBS put in place a technological authoritarianism that would put his spies in people’s phones, manipulate social media, and lead to a gruesome murder that would shock the world. This is an absolute must-read. (NYT; reply to this email if you can’t access it)
“He has spite. He wants to break people. He doesn’t want anyone to have an honorable name but him.”
The doctor racing to defeat COVID-19: As you read this, more than 40 teams around the world are working on a vaccine for COVID-19. This story follows Jonathan Heeney, a pathologist who is currently in the most urgent quest of his life. Last year, Heeney won a Gates Foundation grant of $2 million to fund research into a universal flu vaccine. When Chinese scientists published the coronavirus’s genetic sequence, Heeney and his team decided: “Let’s do with this what we’re doing with the flu.” Here’s what they’re doing. (The Guardian)
“It’s a razor’s edge we’re walking here.”
The teenager who ignited a global revolution: Seventeen-year-old Greta Thunberg is the unlikely and reluctant hero of the climate crisis. Her “Our House Is on Fire” speech catapulted her into public view. In this profile, we learn a lot about Greta’s childhood — from the excessive bullying she faced in school to the period of time when she fell silent for months. Somehow though, she’s been able to turn her weaknesses into the strength that made her the face of climate activism. (Rolling Stone)
”I’m very tiny and I am very emotional, and that is not something people usually associate with strength.”
The mom-turned-harm reduction activist: What a profile. Joy Fishman's son, Jonathan, died of a heroin overdose. Decades later, she found out that her husband, Jack, had invented what he called a "miracle drug” called naloxone that could have saved her own son's life. This story shows how tragedy turned a grieving mother into a relentless harm reduction activist. (The Atavist Magazine)
“It’s important to meet people where they’re at, but not leave them where they’re at.”
The woman who lives 200,000 years in the past: For the majority of her adult life, Lynx Vilden has lived completely off the grid. And I mean, really off the grid. Her goal is to “to live as wild people lived,” while also running a business (🤨) to show others how to do the same. For two decades, Lynx has been running immersive programs that she calls Stone Age projects. You’ll learn fire starting, shelter construction, bow making, and footwear fabrication. She takes self-isolation and social distancing to a new level. (Outside Magazine)
“It’s hard to be a hunter-gatherer these days. Never mind the struggle to meet Maslow’s tenets of survival: being wild verges on illegal.”
The millennial prime minister leading through crisis:In December, 34-year-old Sanna Marin won an unexpected party vote to become Finland’s new prime minister, making her the second-youngest leader in the world. No one expected that in the first few months of her tenure, Marin would be faced with an unprecedented global catastrophe. This profile takes you back in time just weeks before Marin would have to shut the nation’s schools, museums, libraries, and even the border. (Vogue)
The $3-billion beauty titan: With an estimated net worth of $600 million, Rihanna is the wealthiest female musician in the world. She’s fully embraced her identity as a businesswoman through Fenty Beauty, her $3-billion cosmetics empire. In this profile, Rihanna opens up about her business pursuits, her stance on immigration, and how she measures success. (Vogue)
“Since I turned 32, I’m realising life is really short. You don’t have a lot of time to tolerate shit, you know?
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AUDIO TO HEAR.
The Navy SEAL who went to Harvard before space:What a wild ride. Jonny Kim is a former Navy SEAL, who went on to earn a doctorate of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Now, he’s a NASA astronaut. You would think this type of career path belongs to someone naturally fearless, but Kim didn’t fit that bill. For the first time ever, Kim opens up about his difficult childhood growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father and what that’s taught him about cultivating mental strength and emotional intelligence. “When my father died, I feel it was the day I was reborn into someone else,” he says. This conversation is four hours long, and once you start listening, you won’t be able to stop. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
“With the right attitude, with the right hard work, if you get up every time you fail, you can amount to something and you can do positive work.”
Mark Cuban on a post-COVID-19 world: Mark Cuban has been vocal about the government’s role in rehabilitating America in a post-COVID-19 world. The longer that politicians wait, Cuban says, the more that taxpayers will struggle. “Every day we lose, that stress level grows,” he says. “Time is our enemy.” Here’s why Cuban thinks that the actions lawmakers and business owners take in this critical period of time will determine the country’s fate for the foreseeable future. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
“Over-reacting is always the best move because you don’t want to look back and realize you under-reacted.”
Lisa and Tom Bileyu on navigating relationships in quarantine: Lisa and Tom Bileyu are a husband-and-wife team that built Quest Nutrition into a billion-dollar company. Like many couples, they’re spending an unprecedented amount of time together cooped up inside for weeks. In this podcast episode, they discuss keeping each other sane, letting the small annoyances go, and the importance of “selfish time.” (Link available to paying subscribers.)
“Creating a head space of calm and separation is going to be really important. Humans are social creatures, but we also need alone time.”
VIDEOS TO SEE.
Bryan Stevenson’s fight for justice: Told primarily in his own words, this documentary shares Bryan Stevenson’s experience with a criminal justice system that “treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.” Stevenson believes that justice lies in the ugly details because they are “what might allow us to one day claim something really beautiful.” (Link available to paying subscribers.)
“Your capacity to maintain hope in the face of such irrational resistance is challenged.”
Isobel Yeung on highlighting humanity in war: Following the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa, Syrians were fighting to rebuild their shattered lives in a war-torn nation. VICE correspondent Isobel Yeung discusses her reporting from conflict zones in the Middle East, highlighting the human stories of those who have been caught in the crossfire between the most feared terror group in the world and a powerful U.S.-backed coalition whose airstrikes left the city of Raqqa in ruins. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
“I felt like these stories weren’t being covered effectively, and I was trying to get to the bottom of it.”
Priya Parker on creating meaningful connections: Priya Parker is the author of The Art of Gathering, and the art of gathering really takes on a whole new meaning in times of social distancing. “Given this new reality, what type of gathering does my community now need,” she says. “You can’t assume that the online gathering should look exactly like it did offline.” In this interview, Parker offers actionable tips for creating meaningful connections with friends, family and coworkers in this weird new world. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
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