Ahead of the ninth season of her series, “This Is Life,” CNN’s Lisa Ling says she’s excited to bring viewers on an exploration of communities across the country at a time when people more isolated than ever.
“I am a better journalist and a better human for having been invited into the personal spaces of so many people,” Ling said. “My horizons have expanded exponentially for having had so many rich and complex experiences with my fellow Americans.”
For nine years, Ling and her team have told obscure stories from far-flung corners of the country. By the end of the season, Ling and her team will have produced 68 episodes of the series, making it one of the longest running series ever on CNN. Each season delves into a wide range of topics, with each episode exploring an element of healing, whether it takes place in a prison, a brothel, a church or someone’s home.
Ling shared her thoughts with Inside CNN ahead of the season 9 premiere of “This Is Life with Lisa Ling.” You can watch the new season on CNN weekly, starting this Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
This season covers a lot of ground — from addiction, to racial strife, to the exploitation of tigers. How did you choose each episode topic for this season?
My team and I put together an exhaustive list of stories to send to the network, and they ultimately greenlit the 6-8 shows that we will produce. I knew this season that we had to do something on severe mental illness and the biggest addiction in America — alcohol. I have also always been someone who likes to look into the future and therefore, this season we will explore the future of human relationships and families. And in a time of racial strife in America, we look into a religion that believes that the key to global harmony is though the blending of cultures through marriage.
