PEOPLE Every Day

  • Role: Head Writer & Producer

  • Genre: Interview + Narrative, News & Pop Culture

  • Format: Audio Podcast

  • Episode Length: ~22min

  • Frequency: Daily

  • Project Dates: January 2021 - February 2022

As the head writer and producer for over 250 episodes of PEOPLE Magazine’s daily pop culture news podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, I was responsible for determining the narrative arc of each episode, pitching segment ideas, making editorial decisions, and reviewing episode drafts. I also handled technical aspects, like running recording sessions, coaching on-mic talent, reviewing episode drafts, fact-checking, working with high-profile celebrities, and publishing--all while on a daily time crunch. I thrived on the daily chaos of keeping on up evolving news topics while collaborating with incredibly talented individuals.

I absolutely loved the frenetic energy of making a daily show!

 

SAMPLE EPISODES

These two episodes highlight the extreme varieties of content and formats we produced at at PEOPLE Every Day.

TYPICAL EPISODE

  • Recommended Listening: 17:30-20:28

    This episode is a good representation of the kind of challenges we regularly faced on PEOPLE Every Day--covering a wide range of topics and finding ways to weave them together in an informative and entertaining 20ish minutes. This episode touches on George Floyd, Matthew Perry’s drug addiction, Tom Brady, and the Royal Family.

    For the end of the episode,I wanted to find a fresh and fun way to talk about the Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde Saga and do something a little different than other outlets, and show off the talent of our sound engineers. It was fun!

UNIQUE EPISODE

  • Recommended Listening: 00:00-6:30

    The day we covered the Uvalde, Texas shooting was one of the hardest days at PED. The goal of audio journalism is having informative conversations that keep listeners engaged even on the darkest of topics. Many people on our team have young children. My wife is a teacher who worries about her safety. This topic, this day, was truly challenging. But I also think it was some of our best work.

    We received praise from the then-Editor-In-Chief of PEOPLE, Liz Vaccariello. We did things a little differently that day and kept our focus just on the people of Uvalde.

    We threw out our normal show format and wrote an intro/monologue that was cathartic and honest through the lens of PEOPLE Every Day. I consider this episode to be among my best work.

Find more episodes of PEOPLE Every Day on Apple and Spotify.