Focal Point Podcast

In the niche sports of water polo and wrestling, seniors Jack Palmer, Leo Ohannessian and Cooper Ribman have separated themselves as elite talents in the sport, with Palmer and Ohannessian committing to Santa Clara and UC Santa Barbara respectively for water polo and Ribman signing with Harvard for wrestling. To get to the bottom of how they dedicated themselves to their sports, Luke Piazza sat down with the water polo duo (1:37) and Alam Alidina had the chance to talk wrestling with Ribman (16:35).

Hosts: Luke Piazza, Alam Alidina, Siddhartha Sinha

Guests: Jack Palmer, Leo Ohannessian, Cooper Ribman

Producer: Siddhartha Sinha

While colleges secured the commitments of seniors around the nation this past school year, juniors Ian Mize and Miller Trubey got ahead of the game, securing offers from Princeton lacrosse and Loyola Chicago volleyball respectively. Ian sat down with Sai Thirunagari (1:30) and Miller spoke with SeMaj Musco (8:52) to discuss their journeys to early commitment and what drove them to make this all-important decision so early.

Hosts: Sai Thirunagari, SeMaj Musco, Siddhartha Sinha

Guests: Ian Mize, Miller Trubey

Producer: Siddhartha Sinha

5-star recruit and Stanford commit Harrison Ingram sits down with Siddhartha Sinha to discuss the basketball recruitment process, SPC vs. AAU competition and what he expects from his first college basketball season.

Host: Siddhartha Sinha

Guest: Harrison Ingram

Producer: Siddhartha Sinha

In a special Senior Section episode of the Behind the Column Podcast, new Focal Point leaders and Managing Editors Toby Barrett and Peter Orsak interview Siddhartha Sinha (1:05) and Jack Davis (19:40), respectively, on their columns in their final edition of The ReMarker, lessons they’ve learned at St. Mark’s and what lies ahead.

Hosted by Managing Editors Toby Barrett and Peter Orsak

In the Senior Class’s final cycle of the newspaper, Managing Editor Siddhartha Sinha opens the podcast with newly named Issues Editor Myles Lowenberg to reflect on a column he wrote in March about Fight Club and its relevance to today’s world (2:00). Then, it’s on to Brand Manager Cooper Ribman, who spends his first and only appearance on the podcast to address Stanford University’s recent decision to discontinue their wrestling program (12:15). In a turn of events, Opinions Editor Alam Alidina returns to interview Managing Editor Siddhartha Sinha about his column on his identity, language and codeswitching (24:05), but Sid takes his hosting chair back just in time for Managing Editor Jamie Mahowald’s piece on one of the most decorated water bottles in the world (44:00). And to bring it home, Senior Editor Cristian Pereira talks about the people who have made his St. Mark’s experience special...and provides an unexpected UNC update (58:30).

Hosted by Managing Editor Siddhartha Sinha

In the Senior Class’s final cycle of the newspaper, Managing Editor Siddhartha Sinha opens the podcast with newly named Issues Editor Myles Lowenberg to reflect on a column he wrote in March about Fight Club and its relevance to today’s world (2:00). Then, it’s on to Brand Manager Cooper Ribman, who spends his first and only appearance on the podcast to address Stanford University’s recent decision to discontinue their wrestling program (12:15). In a turn of events, Opinions Editor Alam Alidina returns to interview Managing Editor Siddhartha Sinha about his column on his identity, language and codeswitching (24:05), but Sid takes his hosting chair back just in time for Managing Editor Jamie Mahowald’s piece on one of the most decorated water bottles in the world (44:00). And to bring it home, Senior Editor Cristian Pereira talks about the people who have made his St. Mark’s experience special...and provides an unexpected UNC update (58:30).

Hosted by Managing Editor Siddhartha Sinha

At long last, the man behind all of the columns — Opinions Editor Alam Alidina — joins the podcast to explain both his connection to an under-the-radar Leonard Cohen song and why there are so many music columns in this month's paper (1:45) before Assignments Editor Sai Thirunagari demonstrates his encyclopedic knowledge of One Direction, Eagles, Nirvana and more (14:40). To wrap up the music columns, Editor-In-Chief Robert Pou talks about artists and Marksmen alike dealing with the spotlight (33:20). As part of the cover story about mental health on campus, Perspectives Editor Luke Piazza draws upon his own experiences with procrastination and the Counseling Office (45:50), and in the home stretch, Senior Editor and podcast staple Cristian Pereira discusses his newfound passion of rock climbing and trying new things (57:45).

Hosted by Managing Editor Siddhartha Sinha

Managing Editor Jamie Mahowald kicks off the new year of columns with a personal story about prison reform (0:35) before Endzone Editor William Aniol talks about his storied relationship with fantasy football and the upcoming Super Bowl (18:55). And Senior Editor Cristian Pereira returns to discuss the Capitol Riots and his work on Page 2 this year (32:38). 

Hosted by Managing Editor Siddhartha Sinha

Jamie Mahowald, Cristian Pereira and SeMaj Musco join Siddhartha Sinha to react to the events that took place on January 6, 2021, a day that will go down in history as the day Americans breached The Capitol.

2019 Focal Point Hosts CJ Crawford '19 and Kamal Mamdani '19 sat down with former Suzanne and Patrick McGee Family Master Teaching Chair J.T. Sutcliffe to kickoff their podcast mini-series, What My Students Taught Me, during their senior year. The first of four podcasts in the series, we're running them again on all our platforms as Focal Point Throwbacks.