Episode 24: NONNY DE LA PEÑA: The Real Deal in Virtual Reality

A journalist, documentary filmmaker and the founder & CEO of Emblematic Group widely credited with helping create the genre of immersive journalism.  Nonny combines Unity graphics with real witness audio to recreate powerful events the user can experience using virtual reality headsets. She was selected by Wired Magazine as a “Make Tech Human Agent of Change” and Fast Company listed her as one of the “13 People Who Made the World More Creative.” Nonny is also the program director of ASU’s Center for Emerging Media and Narrative.  She is a 2018 New America Fellow, a member of the BAFTA VR Advisory Group, a Ted Talk speaker and the 2016 recipient of the Knight Innovation Award. De la Peña is a former correspondent of Newsweek, a writer for The New York Times and other major news organizations. On this episode, she shares her views on empathy in storytelling, the importance of connection and how the immersive experience can give a person the feeling of a duality of presence.