StartUp Podcast Creators & Guests

Alex Blumberg is the CEO of Gimlet Media.

Lisa Chow is the co-hosts of the podcast StartUp. Before that, she was a senior editor at FiveThirtyEight and a reporter at NPR's Planet Money and WNYC.Lisa has a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Brown University and a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Eric Mennel is an award winning journalist and podcast producer. He was one of Gimlet Media’s first employees, and spent several years developing and launching the network’s early programming. His reporting has appeared on This American Life, NPR, Marketplace, 99% Invisible, and other programs. In 2013 he co-created the podcast, Criminal.

Lauren is a senior producer at StartUp. Before that, she covered health and technology for NPR, Marketplace and KERA in Dallas. You can also hear her stories on shows like Here & Now, Latino USA, Science Friday and The Pulse. Lauren’s favorite birthday game is the treasure hunt and her preferred party favor is silly putty.

Amy is a SF Bay Area-based reporter for StartUp. Before that, she hosted The Leap podcast and also the science video series Deep Look, both for KQED.

Sara Sarasohn is an editor at Gimlet. In 25 years in public radio, she was an intern, booker, producer, director, editor, mentor and managing director. She’s a fourth generation Californian.

Molly Messick is an audio producer. Currently, she is a senior editor at NPR, where she edits "Planet Money."Previously, Messick was a senior producer at Gimlet, where she produced "StartUp." She has been a producer and editor with NPR’s "Morning Edition," covered government and the economy for NPR’s "StateImpact Idaho," and worked as a reporter and host for Wyoming Public Radio.Messick received her B.A. in Public Policy from Brown University and her M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University.

PJ Vogt is the co-host of Reply All, along with Alex Goldman. Reply All is an award-winning podcast about some of the internet’s most fascinating stories with unexpected twists.Early on, PJ Vogt interned at This American Life, working alongside future Gimlet-founder Alex Blumberg. He so wanted the position, he actually lied on his application that he had already graduated college. In a lucky twist of fate, he landed the position and then dropped out of his senior year. After his internship, Vogt obtained a position as a contributor for WNYC’s On the Media, where he worked for five years. He and Alex Goldman piloted WNYC Studio’s TLDR (Too Long, Didn’t Read), a short podcast that featured stories about the unpredictable and even darker sides of the internet.In 2014, PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman left their stable positions at WNYC to join Blumberg’s newly founded Gimlet Media. Vogt and Goldman began co-hosting Gimlet Media’s second podcast, Reply All, through which they continued their journey through internet’s maze of “fun house” mirrors and longterm consequences. Vogt continues to work with Blumberg, who guest stars on recurring “Yes, Yes, No” internet trivia episodes. In addition, two episodes of Reply All have been featured on This American Life.Reply All is acclaimed by critics and received multiple awards. It was nominated twice (2015, 2016) for Shorty Awards for its dedicated social media presence such as a 48 hour marathon in which fans could call in ask ask the hosts anything they wanted. In 2016, Reply All was nominated for the Webby Award for Best Podcast and the Mixcloud Online Radio Awards for Best Online Talk Show in education. By 2017, The Independent featured Reply All in their “Twenty Podcasts that Will Make You Smarter.”In 2017, PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman shared the behind the scenes process of creating Reply All on Talks at Google. More recently, they delved into their co-hosting relationship on Live at Code 2019. In an interview with Brooklyn Magazine, Vogt shared the story of his career and what lead him to take a chance at Gimlet Media and Reply All. He has also been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. Vogt has appeared many podcast episodes, including Gimlet Media’s first podcast, StartUp, and The Moment with Brian Koppelman. In order to avoid spamming unsuspecting social media users, Vogt hosts a separate instagram account dedicated to his poodle, Ralphie.

Impacting economic development through business education and growth. Robert Blacklidge - Domi Station's Executive Director. He is an educator, mentor, speaker, and ecosystem builder. His work building the Florida Ecosystem has had and continues to have a significant impact locally and beyond. Robert has worked to bring several international programs to Florida communities. (1 Million Cups, Startup Grind, and Techstars Startup Weekend.)

Shane McAnally is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer.

Edouardo Jordan is an American chef and restaurateur.

Alex Goldman is co-host of Reply All. His work has appeared on On the Media, 99% Invisible, Slate, and elsewhere.

Nazanin Rafsanjani is creative director at Gimlet Media. Previously she was a producer for The Rachel Maddow Show. She’s also reported and produced stories for This American Life, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, On the Media, and others.

Aline Brosh McKenna is an American screenwriter, producer, and director known for writing The Devil Wears Prada (2006), 27 Dresses (2008), Morning Glory (2010), and We Bought a Zoo (2011). She is also known for co-creating The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Ira Glass is an American public radio personality and the host and producer of the radio show, and podcast This American Life. A staple on NPR's schedule, he participated in several programs including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation. He has appeared on several other podcasts and continues to work on This American Life.

Bobby is a composer and audio mixer at Gimlet Media. He's mixed and scored the Gimlet shows Uncivil, Heavyweight, Science VS, Undone, and others.

Haley Shaw is a composer and sound designer for Gimlet Media.

Rick Kwan is a freelance audio engineer in music, radio, and podcasting. He has engineered audio for Vox Media, First Look Media, Somethin' Else, and Gimlet.

Emma is an audio engineer and composer at Gimlet Media.