Media in the Mix
American University School of Communication
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Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture.
Available episodes
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Sep 21, 2023
David Ruck & Grace Eggleston; "The Erie Situation"
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communications at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture.
David Ruck has told the stories of conservationists, aspiring astronauts, front-porch philosophers, underprivileged families in Baltimore, native Americans on the Olympic Peninsula, and shipwreck hunters of the Great Lakes. He's also made it a mission to help small businesses reach new customers, universities educate budding filmmakers, middle school teachers connect their students with mentors, and political candidates get more votes. All of this done with a camera, a computer, and the ability we all now have to reach an audience in the age of information.
Grace Eggleston is a documentary filmmaker based in Washington, D.C. Originally from Michigan, she is particularly passionate about water conservation issues in the Great Lakes Basin and beyond. She loves telling stories that explore the ties between people and their environment. Grace works as a freelance cinematographer and editor for a wide range of production companies and nonprofits, focusing mostly on documentary projects. She earned her MFA from American University’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking and is a University of Pittsburgh alumna. She loves to collaborate with scientists, artists, and other filmmakers who are passionate about conserving our planet and exploring the intersection of art and the natural world.
"The Erie Situation", was David Ruck's idea for a documentary about a Great Lake gone bad after Ruck, president of Great Lakes Outreach Media, partnered with the Ocean Conservancy to chronicle NOAA’s use of buoys to monitor conditions on the eastern end of the lake, where the blooms migrate after they die, compromising the drinking water in places like Cleveland. One of the engineers who oversees the network of buoys encouraged Ruck to head to Toledo to learn what was causing the yellow tap water in Forest City. Eight months and 110 hours of footage later, Ruck needed an editor. Maggie Burnette Stogner, executive director of SOC’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking, connected him with Grace Eggleston, SOC/MA ’21, who was looking for a thesis project after COVID yelled “cut” on her film about the threats posed to the Great Lakes by Asian carp. Listen as they work together to navigate a documentary project during COVID!
To donate to American University's School of Communication, visit this link:
https://giving.american.edu/
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Sep 6, 2023
R.A. Sinn; A Powerful Sibling Duo
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communications at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture.
R A Sinn is the pseudonym for siblings Rachel Hope Cleves and Aram Sinnreich — a historian and a futurist collaborating on a time-travel narrative rooted in family dynamics. A historian and professor at the University of Victoria, Rachel Hope Cleves is the author of three books, Unspeakable: A Life Beyond Sexual Morality (2020), Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America (2014), and The Reign of Terror in America (2009). Her research has been featured in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, salon.com and brainpickings.org. Her current nonfiction project is titled “A Sinner’s Guide to Food and Sex in Time.” A Professor and chair of Communication Studies at American University Aram Sinnreich’s work focuses on the intersection of culture, law and technology, with an emphasis on subjects such as emerging media and music. He is the author of three books: The Essential Guide to Intellectual Property (2019), The Piracy Crusade (2013), and Mashed Up (2010). His current nonfiction project, under contract at MIT Press, is titled The Secret Life of Data. He has also written for publications including The New York Times, Billboard, Wired, The Daily Beast, and Salon.com.
To donate to American University's School of Communication, visit this link:
https://giving.american.edu/
!! SWAG BAG GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT !!
The winners of our social media swag bag giveaway are:
- Maddy Canada (Ticket #237229)
- Sensi MB (Ticket #237199)
- Ines Daguillas (Ticket #237212)
- Amanda Vinacco (Ticket #237241)
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Aug 16, 2023
*Flashback Episode* The Art of Directing with Claudia Myers
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communications at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture.
On this episode, welcome School of Communications’ decorated professor; Claudia Myers. Claudia teaches classes such as Advanced Directing, Advanced Screenwriting, and Directing Actors for Camera. Leading a double life outside the SOC building, Claudia was named one of "10 Filmmakers to Watch" by Independent Magazine in 2015. Most recently Claudia wrote and directed ABOVE THE SHADOWS, a supernatural drama starring Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson, Jim Gaffigan, and Megan Fox. The film opened the 2019 Brooklyn Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and was released theatrically last summer by Gravitas Ventures, and is now streaming on Hulu. Other projects include FORT BLISS; starring Michelle Monaghan, Ron Livingston & Pablo Schreiber, KETTLE OF FISH with Matthew Modine and Gina Gershon, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won a Nickelodeon Screenwriting Award, & THE LONG ROAD BACK, a documentary about the military community. As a filmmaker Claudia has won numerous awards, was twice a finalist for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, and is an alum of the Hamptons Screenwriters Lab.
Claudia takes us through the status of directors, filmmakers, the pandemic (or endemic?) and where all responsibilities stand, have changed, or will change in the future. In addition, she breaks down the different classes she teaches at American University, their importance and how they can be used to shape your directing career earlier than you think!
To donate to American University's School of Communication, visit this link:
https://giving.american.edu/
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Aug 2, 2023
*Flashback Episode* Our Time to Give Back with Derek McGinty
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is Derek McGinty!
Derek McGinty is an SOC Alumni, journalist, an award-winning interviewer and a commentator. He got his first job on the air back in 1984 at WHUR radio in Washington DC. From there he went to WAMU-FM where he launched a nationally syndicated daytime talk show on NPR. By the end of the century, he’d been a correspondent on the CBS broadcast Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel and HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
After two years in New York as anchor of ABC’s World News Now and World News This Morning, it was back to his hometown of Washington DC to anchor WUSA’s fledgling 7pm local newscast!
Check out Derek's website here:
http://derekmcginty.com/
To donate to American University's School of Communication, visit this link:
https://giving.american.edu/
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Jul 19, 2023
*Flashback Episode* Matchmakers in the Music Business with Jen Tanner
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is SOC Alumna, Jen Tanner, VP of Brand Partnerships at RCA Records!
Jen Tanner graduated from American University in 2012 where she studied Public Relations with a double minor in Music and Spanish. She received her Master’s Degree in Music Business after graduating from AU at New York University in New York City. She fiercely began her career with internships at MGS Communications, Sirius/XM Radio, the 9:30 Club, DBC PR + New Media and RCA Records, where she went from a Strategic Marketing Intern to current Vice President of Brand Partnerships in the last 10 years. In 2022 alone, she was named on Billboard’s “40 Under 40” as well as Variety’s “Hollywood New Leader” lists. As a bilingual professional, Jen continues to focus on bringing together her love and skills for music, artists, and global brands to create meaningful stories for her audience, and we are proud to call her an AU Eagle!
To donate to American University's School of Communication and to continue supporting this podcast, visit:
https://giving.american.edu/
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Jul 5, 2023
*Flashback Episode* Art Imitating Life with H Spencer Young
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is SOC Alumn, H Spencer Young!
To give you a little background on our guest today: H Spencer Young is a contemporary artist, screenwriter and film director based on New York’s Lower East Side. At his time at American, he was sponsored by Czech author and screenwriter Arnost Lustig to attend the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
During undergraduate studies, Spencer was one of 13 students from across the United States selected by presidential historian and author Dr. Douglas Brinkley for The Majic Bus, a twice-run collegiate experiential learning program. The Majic Bus traveled to 44 states to study Geography of the American Civil Rights Struggle, American Intellectual History, American Road Literature, and American Social history, where it precisely happened.
Spencer’s artwork is featured in 3 shows in the next month at Art Basel Miami, and galleries in New York City and Cleveland. Amazingly, Spencer’s artwork raised thousands of dollars to help emerging artist grants, not-for-profit galleries, and organizations supplying resources to the art world. He has also written and directed many commissioned films, commercials, political documentaries such as “Swing State” in 2008, and music videos, which have been featured in W Magazine, The Atlantic, Brooklyn Vegan, Fact Magazine, New York Times, Zoe Report, Bloomberg, and film festivals nationwide.
To check out H Spencer Young's diverse body of work, visit:
https://hspenceryoung.com/
To donate to American University's School of Communication and to continue supporting this podcast, visit:
https://giving.american.edu/
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Jun 14, 2023
SOC's VFX Expert; Anedra Edwards
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture. Today, we welcome special guest, VFX expert and SOC alumna (SOC/ MA '15), Anedra Edwards!
Behind every superhero film are teams of visual effects professionals and our own American University School of Communication (AU SOC) alumna and visual effects (VFX) editor Anedra Edwards is one of these VFX creators. With a degree from SOC’s Film and Electronic Media MFA (now MFA in Film and Media Arts) program, Edwards has gone on to contribute her talents to high-profile projects with brands like HBO, Discovery, National Geographic, and more. She has worked on the socially conscious CW drama “Black Lightning,” seasons one through three, before migrating to work at the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There she has worked on the sequel to “Avengers: Endgame,” “WandaVision," and her VFX team even got nominated for an Oscar for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever".
In this episode, she talks to us all about her VFX journey thus far, industry tips and tricks and her upcoming projects!
To donate to American University's School of Communication, visit this link:
https://giving.american.edu/
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Jun 1, 2023
Capturing Reality; The Art of Documentary Film
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture. Today, we welcome guest, Laura Waters Hinson! Join us as we talk documentary filmmaking, Laura's amazing projects over the years, and Community Voice Lab!
To give you more background on our guest today, Laura serves as the division’s social impact coordinator and director of the Community Voice Lab. Laura’s films focus on personal journeys, especially among women in Africa, exploring themes of reconciliation, human resilience and entrepreneurship. Her first feature documentary, As We Forgive, about Rwanda’s reconciliation movement, won the 2008 student Academy Award for best documentary, the Cinema for Peace Award in Berlin, and was broadcast nationally on public television.
Since 2009, Laura’s films have been screened at the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art and at dozens of international film festivals such as the Santa Barbara International Film Fest, Austin Film Fest, Seattle Human Rights Film Fest, Heartland Film Fest, Manchester International Film Fest, among many others. Her latest documentary, Mama Rwanda, is about the new generation of women entrepreneurs in Rwanda transforming their nation after genocide and was supported by the National Geographic All Roads Film Project. She partnered with the Akilah Institute for Women, using the film to promote women's education in East Africa and beyond.
Most recently, Laura directed her first narrative short called Moving Violation, which starred Milana Vayntrub and won Best Narrative Short at the DC Independent Film Festival. During the Spring of 2019, Laura served as the director's shadow on the set of Showtime's Homeland. Prior to this, she served as Filmmaker-in-Residence within SOC where she re-launched the Community Voice Project (CVP), which partners American University student filmmakers with DC-based non-profits to produce a short film series capturing voices of marginalized DC community residents.
To donate to American University's School of Communication and to continue supporting this podcast, visit:
https://giving.american.edu/
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May 17, 2023
Meet the Founder of Anacostia Youth Media Festival
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture. Today, we’re joined by founder of the Anacostia Youth Media Festival, Brigid Maher!
Brigid Maher (she/her/hers) is a tenured associate professor in the School of Communication at American University, a Senior Fellow of the Community Voice Lab at American University, and an award-winning filmmaker focusing on women, from women’s issues in the Middle East to women’s health and beyond. Maher’s latest film is Experimental Curator: The Sally Dixon Story, about a little-known pioneer in the male-dominated art world who transformed experimental cinema by helping film artists make it and the public see and understand it. The film has won numerous awards and is currently screening on the festival circuit.
Maher is also the founder and Creative Director of the first-ever Anacostia Youth Media Festival, a groundbreaking initiative producing an arts education event led by youth in historically disadvantaged wards of Washington, DC, while also involving our AUSOC students, faculty and staff!
See how you can get involved by visiting the AYMF website HERE!
To donate to American University's School of Communication and to continue supporting this podcast, visit: https://giving.american.edu/
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May 3, 2023
*BONUS EPISODE* Democracy with Dean Sam Fulwood III!
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture. Today we welcome guest, Sam Fulwood III, dean of American University's School of Communication, in honor of World Press Freedom Day!
Sam Fulwood III is dean of American University’s School of Communication and also a prominent journalist, public policy analyst and author, whose work addresses key issues of media influences on American life. He has written and lectured extensively across the United States and internationally on U.S. race relations, data-driven journalism, and the intersections of media, technology and democracy. Earlier in his career, Fulwood was a metro columnist at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, the last stop in a nearly three-decade journalism career that featured posts at several metropolitan newspapers. During the 1990s, he was a national correspondent in the Washington, D.C., bureau of the Los Angeles Times, where he contributed to the paper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. He has also worked as a business editor and state political editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; as an assistant city editor, business reporter, editorial writer, and Johannesburg, South Africa, bureau correspondent for the Baltimore Sun; and as a police, business, and sports reporter at The Charlotte Observer. Fulwood earned a Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
To donate to American University's School of Communication and to continue supporting this podcast, visit:
https://giving.american.edu/
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Apr 19, 2023
American University Girl Doll; Plastic to Power
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture. Today, we welcome guest, Lindsey McCormack!
Lindsey McCormack is an SOC junior studying Film and Media Arts with a minor in create writing. She is also an American Girl Doll enthusiast who runs the Instagram account @americanugirldolls which reimagines the classic toys as American University students. Additionally, Lindsey is a longtime fan of AU Student Media, having been a member of both Amlit and WVAU. After graduation, Lindsey hopes to work in a creative industry creating new and fun projects like she has with @americanugirldolls.
To support Lindsey's social media page, visit @americanugirldolls
To donate to American University's School of Communication and to continue supporting this podcast, visit:
https://giving.ameri…
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Apr 5, 2023
What's Your Call to Action?
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture. Today, we welcome guest, Maggie Burnette Stogner! Join us as we talk documentary filmmaking, experiential learning opportunities, and Maggie's newest documentary project!
Maggie Burnette Stogner is the Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking (www.environmentalfilm.org) and a professor of Film and Media Arts. She brings over 30 years of filmmaking experience to the Center and to the classroom. During her nine years at National Geographic, she produced, directed and wrote numerous documentaries, and was senior producer of the award-winning weekly programs Explorer and Ultimate Explorer. Her recent films include the award-winning "Upstream, Downriver" (2022) www.upstreamdownriver.org, "Unbreathable - The Figh…
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Mar 22, 2023
SOC3 In the House
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture. Today, we welcome guests Pallavi Kumar and Isis Amusa! On this episode of Media in the Mix, we discuss everything SOC3! SOC3 Provides opportunities to students for hands-on learning while also giving them course credit and compensation. In other words, it's true real-life work experience in the communications world!
Pallavi Damani Kumar is a full-time professor in American University’s School of Communication and the former Division Director for the Public Communication division. Prior to teaching full time, Kumar gained more than 20 years experience in the public relations industry having worked as a vice president in FleishmanHillard's social marketing practice in Washington, DC, a vice president/account supervisor in…
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Mar 1, 2023
Adventures with Rorschach Theatre!
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture. Let's introduce you to our guests!
Jenny McConnell Frederick is a Washington, DC-based director, producer and strong believer in impossible theatre. She is the founder and co-Artistic Director of Rorschach Theatre as well as a member of Rorschach’s groundbreaking Distance Frequencies project. She has worked in development and director positions for prominent organizations like Wolly Mammoth Theatre Company and CulturalDC. She graduated cum laude from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Theatre and joined Mensa for the free pencils.
Along with her work at Rorschach, she has directed for Theater J (G-d's Honest Truth) and Catholic University (Sissy and Fifi & Hunter Forever!) as well as serving as Mentor Director…
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Feb 15, 2023
A Look into Student Life!
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture.
Not only is it our first VIDEO podcast, but also our first student guests featured! Let's introduce you!
Jessica Newell is pursuing a Master’s in Strategic Communication at American University. With interests in event planning, graphic design, and writing, she aspires to join an in-house communications team in a social justice and/or education-based organization upon graduating. At AU, she works as a teaching assistant for the course “Communication and Society,” in which she has led multiple mini lectures and co-facilitates classroom activities. Prior to AU, she earned a BA in Communication Studies from Rowan University where she worked for her dean’scommunications and outreach team and as a campus tour guide. Outs…
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Feb 1, 2023
The 3 P's of Public Speaking
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is SOC Alumna and Adjunct Professor in the School of Communication, Gillie Haynes!
To give you a little more background on our guest today, Gillie Haynes is an executive presentation and public speaking coach. She is an accomplished communications expert, professor, author and former journalist with experience in print, broadcast journalism, public relations and social media management. Her professional work includes Speakers Training in a Virtual Environment for Vanguard Communications, Washington, DC, Presentation and Public Speaking Training for the Leadership Initiatives Academy at Georgetown University, Public Relations Manager for a national program within the Department of Homeland Security in Was…
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Jan 18, 2023
Matchmakers in the Music Business
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is SOC Alumna, Jen Tanner, VP of Brand Partnerships at RCA Records!
Jen Tanner graduated from American University in 2012 where she studied Public Relations with a double minor in Music and Spanish. She received her Master’s Degree in Music Business after graduating from AU at New York University in New York City. She fiercely began her career with internships at MGS Communications, Sirius/XM Radio, the 9:30 Club, DBC PR + New Media and RCA Records, where she went from a Strategic Marketing Intern to current Vice President of Brand Partnerships in the last 10 years. In 2022 alone, she was named on Billboard’s “40 Under 40” as well as Variety’s “Hollywood New Leader” lists. As a bili…
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Jan 4, 2023
Photography: Painting with Light
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is SOC Photography Professor, Leena Jayaswal!
Leena Jayaswal is a documentary filmmaker, award-winning photographer and Professor in the School of Communication at American University, where she is the director of the new BA in Photography. Jayaswal was the schools' first Inclusion Officer and Associate Dean from 2019-2022.
Her photography and film work often deals with the intersections of being Indian and American. This work has been nationally recognized in galleries around the country, including solo shows at the Gandhi Memorial Center, and International Visions Gallery. Jayaswal has photographs in group collections with the Society of Photographic Education's Multicultural Caucus at the Center for…
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Dec 15, 2022
Art Imitating Life
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is SOC Alumn, H Spencer Young!
To give you a little background on our guest today: H Spencer Young is a contemporary artist, screenwriter and film director based on New York’s Lower East Side. At his time at American, he was sponsored by Czech author and screenwriter Arnost Lustig to attend the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
During undergraduate studies, Spencer was one of 13 students from across the United States selected by presidential historian and author Dr. Douglas Brinkley for The Majic Bus, a twice-run collegiate experiential learning program. The Majic Bus traveled to 44 states to study Geography of the American Civil Rights Struggle, American Intellectua…
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Dec 1, 2022
The Path to Post-Production
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is SOC Alumna, Emily Hall!
Born in China and raised in DC, Emily has always loved filmmaking and the arts. She graduated from American University in 2019 with a degree in Film and Media Arts and with a minor in Studio Art. While she attended American University, she was a part of Alpha Xi Delta, AU Photo Collective, SOC Ambassadors, Delta Kappa Alpha, and she was the Student Government Senator for SOC! She is also joining us this year as a mentor in our Alumni Mentorship Program! She was a part of SOC’s Experiential Learning programs such as the L.A. Intensive after graduation and shortly after moved to Los Angeles as the Emmys / Television Academy Internship Program's 2019 Scripted TV Editing Intern…
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Nov 16, 2022
Sports Events Are the Memories Business
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is Professor Matt Winkler!
Matt Winkler has blended more than 20 years of experience in the NCAA, NHL, WNBA, MLS, the Olympics, and the World Cup and activation on five continents into innovative industry strategy for the sports, events and higher education industries. He launched the first Online M.S. in Sports Analytics & Management right here at American University. He also worked as Director of Athletic Communications and Sports Information at American University.
Winkler is also the Founder & Executive Director of a premier annual sports career conference known as the Sports Events Marketing Experience (SEME-NOW.com) and previously launched another entrepreneurial consulting project, MW Marketin…
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Nov 2, 2022
Our Time to Give Back
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is Derek McGinty!
Derek McGinty is an SOC Alumni, journalist, an award-winning interviewer and a commentator. He got his first job on the air back in 1984 at WHUR radio in Washington DC. From there he went to WAMU-FM where he launched a nationally syndicated daytime talk show on NPR. By the end of the century, he’d been a correspondent on the CBS broadcast Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel and HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
After two years in New York as anchor of ABC’s World News Now and World News This Morning, it was back to his hometown of Washington DC to anchor WUSA’s fledgling 7pm local newscast!
Check out Derek's website here:
http://derekmcginty.com/
To donate to American Univ…
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Oct 19, 2022
I made the L.A move... Should you?
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is Zachary Gradishar.
Zachary Gradishar is a recent alumni of American University (Class of 2022) where he received his BA in Public Relations & Strategic Communications and a minor in Marketing. Zach was adopted from an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia when he was just under a year old and grew up in Chicago, Illinois before moving to Washington DC for college. Following his graduation this past May he moved to sunny Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. This past summer Zach completed a 16 week post graduate internship - his 9th internship within the last 4 years - with Searchlight Pictures Film Studio at The Walt Disney Company as a PR/Publicity Intern where he supported on…
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Oct 5, 2022
Pandemic or Endemic? The fate of the entertainment industry.
Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communications at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture.
On this episode, welcome School of Communications’ decorated professor; Claudia Myers. Claudia teaches classes such as Advanced Directing, Advanced Screenwriting, and Directing Actors for Camera. Leading a double life outside the SOC building, Claudia was named one of "10 Filmmakers to Watch" by Independent Magazine in 2015. Most recently Claudia wrote and directed ABOVE THE SHADOWS, a supernatural drama starring Olivia Thirlby, Alan Ritchson, Jim Gaffigan, and Megan Fox. The film opened the 2019 Brooklyn Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and was released theatrically last summer by Gravitas Ventures, and is now streaming on Hulu. Other projects include FORT BLISS; starring Michelle M…
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May 2, 2022
The Evolution of the Film Industry & Award Shows
How has Hollywood changed over just the course of one long, storied career? From nickel and dime shows, blockbuster epics and contemporary tentpole IP films, to how industry changes have influenced award shows, and the waxing and waning interest in them—Russell Williams has seen it all. Today’s audiences aren’t subject to “appointment television,” and their choices in how to consume content also influence award season. Find out what industry insider, Professor Williams, thinks about these changes and more, on this episode of Media In the Mix.
This episode is guest hosted by Bria Granville, Video Production Coordinator at SOC’s Office of Communication.
Beginning his career in the 70s, Russell Williams won two Oscars for Sound Design and two Primetime Emmys. He made history as the first African-American to win multiple Oscars in any category. _At American University_, he designed and taught a course called “Executive Suite,” in which students could learn about the busin…
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Mar 14, 2022
The New Workforce Wave
Have you ever felt like the 9-5 life wasn’t for you? Maybe you’ve felt like pursuing entrepreneurship, or a side hustle. Starting one’s own business has long been seen as the solution to the work week rat race. But self-employment requires its own strategies and structure.
Did the pandemic highlight your additional workplace needs? Today, job seekers mention additional paid time off, mental health support, and remote work options as some of their highest-priority concerns. How do these needs, when unmet, help drive workers to pursue self-employment?
On today’s episode, we speak to #AUSOC alums, _Jack Fitzpatrick_ and _Megan Elizabeth Clark_, about finding their own pathways to entrepreneurship, how corporate and freelancing work differs from each other, and how their time at AU influenced their careers today.
_Jack Fitzpatrick_ is a freelance marketing and communication strategist currently based in New York City. Previously, he lived in Minneapolis where he worked in influe…
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Feb 18, 2022
The State of Far-Right Extremism In America
Today’s news cycles are filled with stories of polarizing information, soundbites, opposing viewpoints, and shocking current events. Where is the surge of right-wing extremism coming from? And how far does it extend into media, culture, and identity?
This episode answers these questions and more. It also features an introduction by SOC _Dean Sam Fulwood_, and a conversation between the following panelists:
_Kurt Braddock_, Ph.D
Asst. Prof. in the School of Communication
Prof. Braddock studies the way that language and words affect radicalization processes, and how language can be used to counteract radicalization processes. He also studies how propaganda and messaging affect people psychologically, and inspire them to engage in violence on behalf of their radical ideologies.
_Cynthia Miller-Idriss_, Ph.D
Sociologist and Prof. in the School of Public Affairs and School of Education
Co-Founder and Director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL)
Pr…
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Dec 21, 2021
The Evolution of Superhero Narratives and the Human Experience
Superhero sagas top box office ticket sales and streaming services. But these aren't the stories or heroes of yesteryear. The characters we see today are more complex, and diverse, than those of the past. The stories tread new ground and speak to a range of issues, some timeless and some distinctly tied to current events. What is so compelling about these imagined figures and the powers they possess? Why do they resonate with us so well? What is the future trajectory of this genre?
This episode tackles why superheroes resonate with us (1:00), the genre maturing (3:18), their origins (in mythological heroes) (3:28), comic books, graphic novels and using superheroes through changing mediums (5:14), Changes to the genre, subgenres, and storytelling (7:13), how Jai transitioned his love for comic books and reading into pursuing a writing career (10:00), diversity in film and tv in front of and behind the camera (14:08), what is inspiring casting leading actors of color, or differently abl…
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Dec 1, 2021
What Is An Influencer?
In this episode of Media in the Mix we explore the idea of being an "influencer" and how a person can make an impact in the real world with their online persona. We chat with SOC alum Andy Lalwani, who is now the host for “Culture Q,” a weekly show on Revry TV about news, pop culture, politics and more for the queer community; and Paige Kaiser, who is currently a junior in SOC studying Public Relations and Strategic Communications, and a YouTuber with over 300K subscribers, about what it means to be an influencer (2:28), creating content (26:18), and the responsibility they have to their followers in the digital space (20:04 and 22:24).
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Oct 7, 2021
What's In An Identity?
On this month’s episode of Media in the Mix, _Camila DeChalus_, senior reporter at Business Insider, spoke with _Brianna Williams_, Online Content Manager for AUSOC, about labels and the importance of speaking to people with their identity in mind. During this Hispanic Heritage Month (also known as Latino Heritage Month or Latinx Heritage Month), it is important to recognize that a group’s identity—and their own role in self-identifying—can help influence how their story is told.
They talk about society and media view the Latino/Latinx community (01:22), Camila’s perspective as an Afro-Latina (02:30), defining and differentiating between the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” (03:10), changing perspectives on identifying as “Hispanic” or “Latino” (05:00), Twitter controversy (07:35), Camila’s experience covering the Latinx community (10:15), cultural assumptions (13:39), and Camila’s parting thoughts in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (17:41).
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