I’m a reporter and podcast producer.
Photo by Kyna Marie
I’m a Senior Producer at Pineapple Street Studios and the creator and host of Classy with Jonathan Menjivar, named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by The New Yorker, Time, The Atlantic, Vogue, the CBC, Apple, Lifehacker, Podcast Review, and Vulture’s survey of people in the podcast industry.
I also made the hit shows Project Unabom and The Clearing. Prior to Pineapple, I was a longtime Producer at the public radio show This American Life and served as the show’s Music Supervisor. I was also a Producer at Fresh Air with Terry Gross where I used to cut tape with a razor blade.
These are some of the
shows I’ve worked on.
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A podcast about the ways that class infiltrates our day-to-day lives. Host and Senior Producer.
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An in-depth look at the Unabomber saga. With new original reporting. Senior Producer.
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A woman suspects that her father might be a murderer. Then she calls a detective. Senior Producer.
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A collaboration with BuzzFeed News on their blockbuster reporting, The Fincen Files. Senior Producer.
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Producer and Music Supervisor where I reported and produced many stories, including one about my daughter.
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Producer for WHYY’s popular and award winning interview show with Terry Gross.
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Freelance reporter for the business and economic show.
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Freelance reporter for the pop culture and arts show.
Public Speaking
I’ve spoken at international media festivals, at production companies and radio stations, and in classrooms. Here are some of the topics I speak about.
How to tackle thorny subjects
From class to true crime, I’ve made shows about things that are hard to talk about. I’ll show you how to make engaging and even fun shows about difficult subjects.
Scoring for radio and podcasts
I’ll give you all the tools for using music to help tell your story. An expansion of this scoring guide I wrote.
Working with people from other mediums
I’ve worked with many print reporters, adapting their work and style to audio. We’ll talk about how to make stories so they work best for the ear.
Here is some press about me.
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Classy with Jonathan Menjivar – Apple Podcast Spotlight September 2023
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An interview about Classy with Alex Jhamb Burns.
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Anne Helen Petersen asks lots of good questions about the making of Classy.
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An interview with Fidel Martinez for The Latinx Files.
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A wild, fun conversation about class guilt and watch tans on the podcast The Mash-Up Americans.
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Alice Wilder talks to me for her column Starting Out.
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How I found my hulk energy and hosted for the first time. On the podcast Sound Judgment.