Friends & Neighbors

As Executive Director of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Alberto Mendoza transformed the organization's mission while driving record-breaking membership. Now the Managing Director for the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University, Alberto shares his path from high school journalist to non-profit entrepreneur in the second in our MTC Journeys series sponsored by the Media Transformation Challenge at the Poynter Institute. Alberto goes deep into how personal and professional experiences informed the launch of Palabra, an innovative media platform designed to represent and advocate for NAHJ journalists and the communities they cover, and how his MTC fellowship helped catalyze its success.

Last August, armed with a dozen new demos, I set out for FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to begin recording my forthcoming LP, Constellations. The album, my tenth, drops October 14th. This week, the journey from iPhone demo to mastered album track for the first single, Wide Awake.

Since 1973, Bo and Sita Lozoff’s Human Kindness Foundation has given talks and distributed countless copies of their spiritual guidance to the incarcerated across America in order to encourage more kindness, simple living and service in the world. Fred Rogers was a fan, purchasing copies of books like "Deep & Simple" (the key message in Mister Rogers & Me) by the box load. As the organization approaches its fiftieth year, newly-appointed Executive Director, Erin Parish, shares her vision for the next fifty.

As Assistant Managing Editor for International at The New York Times, Michael Slackman oversees international reportage across the newsroom and bureaus around the world. This week, the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winner talks about growing up in the Bronx, getting shot at in Bahrain, defying Gaddafi in Libya, and learning life lessons from a gold-toothed Muscovite.

In the first in a series of episodes sponsored by the Media Transformation Challenge at the Poynter Institute, newly-installed Freakonomics Radio Network's Executive Vice President Neal Carruth walks us step-by-step through his exceptional career and provides a deep dive into how his MTC experience helped him drive transformation at NPR, catalyzed personal and career growth, and provided immediate value in the early days of his new role.

Yoga instructor, Kirtan Smith, shares his experience growing up in a Hare Krishna ashram, how painful sports injuries led him to yoga, and how – even as he led others through this deep and sacred practice – he was hurting inside too. 

Journalist Samantha Critchell shares how growing up in the garment business informed her career at Associated Press and beyond, and how that loving but sometimes unpredictable upbringing led to her profound objectivity.

Grammy-winning songwriter, producer and performer, Dennis Scott, takes us on a wild ride from Queens to The Catskills, Broadway to Nashville, where he produced two albums of songs from the Fred Rogers Songbook with Amy Grant, Roberta Flack, Tom Bergeron and more.

Detoxicity podcast host, music exec, and wellness advocate, Mike Joseph, shares his often challenging and ultimately uplifting journey from Brooklyn to the Billboard Pride Power Player list.

Ride shotgun on Grand Canyon frontman Casey Shea's rock n’ roll road trip from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Nashville, Tennessee, New York City, and Los Angeles, California.