About

Reporting for National Geographic in Chile’s Atacama Desert (ph. Tamara Merino)

I am a journalist and storyteller based in Santiago, Chile, covering the country for The New York Times, The Guardian and NPR. I also write features and produce documentaries for many other outlets. 

In Chile, I have reported from Easter Island to Antarctica; the streets of Santiago to the Atacama Desert. Since 2023, I have been travelling the world with my colleague, photographer Tamara Merino, documenting how, why and where people live underground around the world in caves, pits and bunkers as part of the Underland project.

We have reported from as far afield as Lesotho’s high plateaus, the red stone canyons of Petra, the Tunisian desert, and central Turkey. The Underland Project is supported by Level II funding from the National Geographic Society, and has been published online and in print by National Geographic magazine.

I write scripts for NOISER’s popular factual podcast series Real Dictators, and have reported and produced audio documentaries and podcasts for The Guardian, BBC, Foreign Policy, and many others. I have also produced and presented documentaries and films for a number of production houses and television channels.

I have hosted events for the United Nations, moderating their Policy Dialogue series both online and in person. I also provide production and translation services in Chile, and have represented Chile’s national cricket team.

For commissions or inquiries, you can reach me at jwbartlett92 @ gmail . com, find me on Twitter and Instagram @jwbartlett92, or fill out this form, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Here are my latest posts on Instagram, where you can keep up with my reporting:

big Petra, small John #caves
In November, I went out fishing for sea bass with Reinaldo Caro, one of the very last Kawésqar fishermen navigating Patagonia’s fjords. Caro and his daughter Leticia, who sails with him, decry the environmental and cultural consequences
Bolivian sojourn 🇧🇴
Celina Varas has lived on the fringes of the Atacama salt flat in northern Chile her whole life. She is one of the last people in the desert to speak Ckunsa, the language of the Lickanantay people. Every year in October, the communities perform a r
My parents’ first visit to Chile (finally)🕺🏻🇨🇱🥑 San Pedro, Natales y Recoleta; el nuevo Talca, París y Londres