Diversity Hire

Hello and welcome to episode 9 of Diversity Hire.

Today we talked to Bijan Stephen, a staff writer at the Verge. We discussed Bijan's circuitous and wide-ranging career in the media, which included stops at Vanity Fair, The New Republic, Vice News, a Yale gossip rag, and much more. We also talked about his early reporting on social media and BLM, what's changed with the recent protests, streaming, gaming criticism, natural wine, secret executive toilets, and how the internet changed media consumption.

Also, Arjun and Kevin talk about Arjun's two-week quarantine, and Arjun drops a BOMB at the end of the podcast.

Follow Bijan on Twitter and watch him stream on Twitch.

Please get in our inboxes with your questions and stories. We wanna hear from you and read your messages on an upcoming episode!

* Bijan explains why and how he got into the media (4:25)

* Bijan talks about being a college media member and if that helped him get his start (7:20)

* Bijan’s weird first job with an old media venture guy (9:27)

* Bijan’s pulls up his resume to go through his career timeline (11:22)

* Today in Tabs and New York Media as an institution (19:58)

* TFW you realize you’re the only person of color in the workplace (re: “I Will Only Bleed Here," n+1 2014) (21:51)

* When Bijan decided to not write about race anymore (26:43)

* How the Black Lives Matter movement has and has not changed (re: “How Black Lives Matter Uses Social Media to Fight the Power,” WIRED 2015)

* Is the corporate adoption of the movement a form of progress? (33:53)

* Bijan cracks a White Rascal! (37:54)

* Bijan talks about bringing gaming into his work life (39:38)

* Is gaming criticism good? (44:29)

* Bijan wants to write about games, not race (51:45)

* Why traditional media doesn’t work right now, (re: “How MSCHF managed to dominate the internet — with fun!,” “THE MAN BEHIND THE MUSTACHE,” The Verge 2020 (55:56)

* Failing editors in digital media (59:26)

* Arjun’s Feelings Don’t Care About Facts Corner (Imposter Syndrome, Diaspora, and Racism) (1:02:31)

* The Diversity Tribunal (1:09:35)

* Arjun drops a BOMB (1:15:25)

Thanks for listening!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com

Hello and welcome to Episode 8 of Diversity Hire.

Our guest this week was E. Tammy Kim, a freelance reporter, and essayist. We invited Tammy to talk to us about a recent New Yorker article she wrote about “The Perils of POC,” the history of the term, and how understanding its limitations might help unlock a more internationalist kind of politics and solidarity. We also discussed how we feel about our work belonging to a diaspora, “Transnationally Asian” millennial magazine makers, why music criticism is both so often bad and hard to write, and our favorite breakup songs.

Arjun and Kevin also talk about the latest happening at Bon Appetit, and Arjun gives us a breakdown of his time on the road. Thanks for listening!

* Arjun calls Kevin from a garden in Kentucky (0:00)

* Tammy, Kevin, and Arjun talk about what they’ve been up to (15:06)

* Tammy talks about why she transitioned from practicing law to being a journalist (17:22)

* What inspired Tammy to write “The Perils of People of Color,” New Yorker, 2020 (21:28)

* Being politicized under the banner of People of Color in college (24:25)

* Asian American proclivity to representational politics and fixing anti-Blackness during times of social change (26:16)

* Arjun, Tammy, and Kevin talk about talking to their parents about Black Lives Matter (28:18)

* Tammy’s experience in the classed environment of the media industry (32:22)

* Can ethical forms of media exist under capitalism? (re: “Transnationally Asian,” Columbia Journalism Review, 2020) (34:43)

* How we can build solidarity amongst people of color on the left by shedding our dependency on categorical labels like BIPOC or diversity (38:23)

* What’s Missoula like? (42:48)

* To what extent are Asians going to claim Kamala? (43:54)

* Tammy’s experience in organizing campaigns at Al Jazeera and The New Yorker 45:10)

* Can we translate workplace politics into global politics (re: “Structure Tests,” The Nation, 2020) (48:18)

* Arjun’s Feeling Don’t Care About Facts Corner, now with new questions! (54:48)

* How Tammy’s news consumption has changed over the years (55:45)

* Does Tammy believe her work belongs to a diaspora? (58:30)

* Kevin, Arjun, and Tammy discuss experiencing a disconnect from their heritage (1:00:44)

* Has Tammy experienced an instance of racism while working in the media (1:04:53)

* Why music criticism is both so often bad and hard to write (1:07:00)

* The Diversity Tribunal (1:12:20)

This is your brain *picture of your brain*. This is your brain on Diversity Hire *it’s the same picture of your brain, but this time it’s wearing fake Triple S’s that say “Fashion Shoe”*. Any questions? If so, email us at [email protected]. We’ll read your questions in an upcoming Q&A episode. Also, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can use your review to share anonymous experiences of working in corporate media, and we will read those on the pod as well.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com

Hello and welcome to episode 7 of Diversity Hire.

Today's guest is Marie Solis, a freelance reporter who writes about reproductive rights, politics, and literature. We talked to Marie about her life in the trenches of mercurial digital media startups like Mic., how precarity has come to define all media jobs, the tricky politics of allyship and who gets to identify as a POC in a workplace, why reproductive rights reporting doesn't get clicks, and much more. Also, Arjun and Kevin also talk about what music they’re listening to during the quarantine. 

* Marie discusses why she got into media (7:16)

* Marie talks about editing her college newspaper and the lessons she learned (9:16)

* Career timeline (13:20)

* We discuss the tropes of the digital media landscape, and the precarity of the media industry (23:00)

* Can Marie trust media again? (27:00)

* The hypocrisy of Lean-In feminism and how it mirrors the hypocrisy in media diversity initiatives (re: A Peek Inside Miki Agrawal's Feminist Void, Vice, 2019)(30:25)

* How media leaders will follow Agrawal’s move to flip her cancellation into a book deal (34:06)

* Marie speaks about her “identity as a White Latina and the space it takes up” (re: The Perils of “People of Color”, E. Tammy Kim, 2020) (40:50)

* Arjun talks about his identity and asks Marie if she feels any obligation, either internal or external, to talk about the experience of being Latinx (45:05)

* “I remember growing up and there wasn’t a White Hispanic option for a long time” (52:11)

* Marie talks about her current reporting, which includes a media criticism piece about why people don’t click on articles about reproductive rights (54:10)

* The Diversity Tribunal (1:03:49)

This is your brain *picture of your brain*. This is your brain on Diversity Hire *it’s the same picture of your brain, but this time it’s wearing a Boot Boyz Biz Walter Benjamin shirt*. Any questions? If so, email us at [email protected]. We’ll read your questions in an upcoming Q&A episode. Also, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can use your review to share anonymous experiences of working in corporate media, and we will read those on the pod as well.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com

Hello and welcome to episode 6 of Diversity Hire.

Our guest this week is Kameron Austin Collins, the film critic for Vanity Fair and a cruciverbalist (crossword constructor!) for venues like The New Yorker, The New York Times, and American Values Crossword Club.

We talked about the present state of film criticism, prejudice in the crossword community, and also his time as a staff writer at the Ringer. In particular, we discussed a recent article on the website, in which its founder Bill Simmons, among many choice remarks, said the company’s podcast business was not an “Open Mic Night,” in response to the lack of diversity in the Ringer’s podcasting roster.

Arjun and Kevin also talk about why Bill Simmons’ influence on media is so dumb and why Gawker was not a good website. Enjoy the episode!

* Kameron discusses what it’s like to program the New York Film Festival during a pandemic (8:50)

* Kameron leads us through his career timeline (12:32)

* Transitioning from working at Princeton to working at The Ringer (21:30)

* Kameron responds to the New York Times article in which he was quoted (24:52)

* Media auteurism and the lack of accountability (36:49)

* How the tone of The Ringer hampered legitimate criticism (47:59)

* What Kameron makes of the calls for diversity in film in 2020 (re: Progress in Moderation: A Night of Conflict and Compromise at the Oscars, The Ringer 2018) (51:34)

* The failings of representational diversity politics (57:38)

* The present state of film criticism (re: Stakes Is High: On Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq”, Los Angeles Review of Books, 2016) (1:06:08)

* Racism experienced as a crossword constructor, and the toxicity of the crossword community (1:14:57)

* We don’t care about Gawker (1:23:11)

* Feeling more allegiance to movies than to media (1:24:36)

* Kameron and Kevin discuss how differences in class backgrounds amongst media members have become apparent in the era of coronavirus (Kameron and Kevin are both from working class backgrounds and have family members who were affected by the virus) (1:26:21)

* How media pollutes your life (1:30:02)

* What Kameron sees as his role in media (1:33:22)

* Why having a voice is so powerful to Kameron (re: Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods Is Gold) (1:38:00)

* The Diversity Tribunal (1:43:28)

This is your brain *picture of your brain*. This is your brain on Diversity Hire *it’s the same picture of your brain, but this time it’s wearing a Fuck You You Fuckin’ Fuck shirt from Canal Street*. Any questions? If so, email us at [email protected]. We’ll read your questions in an upcoming Q&A episode. Also, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can use your review to share anonymous experiences of working in corporate media, and we will read those on the pod as well.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com

Hello and welcome to episode 5.

We’re taking a break from interviewing guests to talk about some of our favorite moments so far. Yes, it’s only episode 5 and we’re already looking back fondly in order to stretch for time. It’s a clip show!

We also discuss the NBA bubble being the alternative ending to Space Jam, and our personal experiences with imposter syndrome. I’m keeping this description short cus I’m in California but I am still on New York time and I have to start working in 3 hours.

This is your brain *picture of your brain*. This is your brain on Diversity Hire *it’s the same picture of your brain, but this time it’s wearing a vintage 90’s Primal Wear bike jersey*. Any questions? If so, email us at [email protected]. We’ll read your questions in an upcoming Q&A episode. Also, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can use your review to share anonymous experiences of working in corporate media, and we will read those on the pod as well.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com

Welcome to the fourth episode of Diversity Hire.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Today we talked to Jazmine Hughes (The New York Times Magazine) about the halcyon days of early 2010s media, the usefulness of a word like diversity, swimming, skateboarding, and workplace politics. She also guides us through what her life was like in the days following the Tom Cotton op-ed. Finally...this is our first episode without a disclaimer…or is it? *BWAAAANG*

* Jazmine wonders what’s gonna happen when she turns 30 (3:55)

* Jazmine guides us through her career timeline (7:23)

* Gawker, the Hairpin, and the halcyon days of early 2010s media (15:38)

* Transitioning from the blogosphere to The New York Times (19:40)

* I Dressed Like Cookie for a Week to Get Over My Imposter Syndrome (Cosmopolitan, 2015) (23:47)

* Why Jazmine writes about workplaces (26:16)

* Jazmine guides us through the fallout of the Tom Cotton Op-ed (31:35)

* Corporate media accountability (44:24)

* Arjun is scared that his corporation will fire him because of this podcast (please don’t fire me), and asks Jazmine if she was scared (49:25)

* Jazmine on white people who mock their own whiteness to seem “cool” (53:15)

* Interlude: Jazmine is learning how to skate, Arjun asks if she’s gonna get her feet wet in Dimes Square (57:34)

* Learning to Swim Taught Me More Than I Bargained for (The New York Times Magazine, 2019) (58:53)

* Writers of Color (1:02:02)

* Does Jazmine like the word diversity? Does she think the word represents her? Does she think she represents it? (1:06:00)

* Arjun asks Jazmine if she’s ever experienced an instance of racism while working in the media (1:13:34)

* Kevin asks Jazmine about having to be a sensitivity reader in the workplace (1:17:42)

* The Diversity Tribunal (1:21:55)

Jazmine would like for you to Venmo the investigative journalist Tammie Teclemariam, to subscribe to your local newspaper, and to donate to your community aid fund.

This is your brain *picture of your brain*. This is your brain on Diversity Hire *it’s the same picture of your brain, but this time it’s wearing a shirt inside out so it looks like Eckhaus Latta*. Any questions? If so, email us at [email protected]. We’ll read your questions in an upcoming Q&A episode. Also, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can use your review to share anonymous experiences of working in corporate media, and we will read those on the pod as well.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com

Hello and welcome to episode 3 of Diversity Hire.

This week’s episode was a weeks-long odyssey. We talk with writer and editor Maya Binyam (Triple Canopy, The New Inquiry) about the social media game of calling out racists, the cursed Harper’s letter, ghosting, mutual aid, and why the book publishing world is just as fucked as corporate media. But we also follow Arjun as he moves out of his apartment, and he and Kevin talk about the mood of not just the media but their personal lives too.

* Maya’s career timeline (9:49)

* Watching The Woke Olympics (The Awl, 2016) (19:55)

* Our current media reckoning’s relation to #MeToo (28:49)

* Working at the hostile prestige institutions of FSG & The Paris Review (34:16)

* How media corporations publish pieces by non-white people (38:24)

* Bail Bloc (The New Inquiry, 2017) (46:45)

* Letter of Recommendation: Ghosting (New York Times Magazine, 2017) (52:30)

* Working with non-white editors (58:38)

* Cancel culture’s nonexistence (1:01:49)

* Harper’s letter (1:04:04)

* Arjun’s Feelings Don’t Care About Facts Corner (1:12:55)

* The Diversity Tribunal (1:15:55)

Also, Kevin uses his Michael Barbaro voice to read the Harper’s “Wah Please Don’t Cancel Us Our Brains Are So Big” letter (0:47), and Arjun gives Maya and Kevin a tour of his new place (45:16).

Maya (and Kevin and Arjun) would like for you to donate to her mutual aid network, Community Care NYC. The network receives requests for $40 worth groceries, and people like Arjun take those requests, bike to Key Food, buy the groceries, and drop them off at the requester’s home. It’s a very easy and straightforward way to provide necessities to New Yorkers. Your donation ensures that those without means do not go hungry in this city.

This is your brain *picture of your brain*. This is your brain on Diversity Hire *it’s the same picture of your brain, but this time it’s wearing that Come Tees Bernie shirt*. Any questions? If so, email us at [email protected]. We’ll read your questions in an upcoming Q&A episode. Also, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can use your review to share anonymous experiences of working in corporate media, and we will read those on the pod as well.

Thanks,

Arjun & Kevin

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com

Hello and welcome to EPISODE 2 of Diversity Hire.

Listen here, or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

On today’s episode, Jay Caspian Kang (New York Times Magazine, New Yorker, Grantland) joins us to talk about how he got into the media rat race (8:51), the early days of Grantland (13:35), his frustrations with corporate media while at The New Yorker (16:56), the evolution of the corporate diversity discourse (36:10), the failure of identity politics (48:59), and why you should quit your corporate media job (57:44). Arjun also shares his searing take about Bay Area pizza (It’s better than any other pizza in this country and I’m not changing my opinion, okay?)

Jay co-hosts a fantastic podcast about geopolitics and Asian Americans with Tammy Kim and Andy Liu called Time To Say Goodbye.

In the episode, we quote Jay’s piece from New York Times Magazine and his piece from the New Yorker. (Do these links show up in the podcast description? We’re still learning!)

Here is a document that Arjun made to raise funds for his birthday. Please donate whatever you can.

This is your brain *picture of your brain*. This is your brain on Diversity Hire *it’s the same picture of your brain, but this time it’s wearing sunglasses*. Any questions? If so, email us at [email protected]. We’ll read your questions in an upcoming Q&A episode (I haven’t run this idea by Kevin but I imagine he’d be interested. We’ll see!)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com

Welcome to Diversity Hire, a podcast about being POC in media. On the FIRST episode, Arjun and Kevin talk about how they got into the rat race, how the term POC has evolved, and how corporate media has failed in its attempts to foster diversity in the workplace. We also make fun of Graydon Carter!

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com