Uses This

A collection of nerdy interviews asking people from all walks of life what they use to get the job done.

A picture of Joshua Davis

Joshua Davis

Writer, filmmaker, co-founder (Epic Magazine)

Posted in editor, film, mac, writer

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm Joshua Davis and, in 2001, I was the 17th ranked arm wrestler in the world. I'm also the Co-Founder of Epic Magazine, a publication committed to telling extraordinary true stories. For the past decade, I've been a Wired Contributing Editor. I am also a filmmaker.

What hardware do you use?

I do all of my writing on my MacBook Air. The Air is the perfect lightweight travel companion for reporting trips with a battery that lasts me most flights. I have an iPhone 5 that I also use as a wifi hotspot on the go.

In the office I hook my Air up to an Apple monitor for my second screen, very important for video watching and editing. My printer is an Epson WF-3620. I chose both of these on the recommendation of The Wirecutter, a website started by my friend Brian Lam. They comprehensively research and test devices, gear, computers, etc. and recommend based on the gadgets they'd choose for themselves. This is perfect for the casual tech consumer like me who values an educated opinion but doesn't want to invest the time educating myself if I don't have to.

I go into every interview with a Reporter's Notebook #651 from Stationers Inc. They are surprisingly hard to find, so we keep a box of reserve 651s in the office and it's the first item we give to new employees when they join the Epic team.

Other than that, my most important reporting tool is a box of granola bars for emergency sustenance on the road.

And what software?

Epic designs our stories in house so we've been using a good amount of Photoshop and InDesign recently. I do most of my personal writing in Word and like to use Google Drive when collaborating.

I usually don't write with music, but occasionally I'll listen to a Pandora station of whichever top 40 song my daughter is listening to at the moment. She recently went through a big "Rude"" by Magic! phase.

What would be your dream setup?

Some sort of tree house-office hybrid. Maybe something like this, but with high speed wifi.