The Study Hall Podcast

Willy Blackmore is the editor in chief of Midcoast Villager, a weekly newspaper based in Maine. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Blackmore discusses his team's effort to build a community around local news. He also talks about finding local angles to national news stories.

Read Midcoast Villager: https://www.midcoastvillager.com/

More about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 

Music by KT The Terrible

Betsy Morais is the editor in chief of Columbia Journalism Review. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Morais discusses CJR's reporting on press freedom. She highlights the case studies of Mario Guevara and Perez Hilton. In addition, she delves into how the uncertainty over finding a sustainable business model has factored into the fight for press protection.

Keep up with CJR: https://members.cjr.org/member/

More about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 

Music by KT The Terrible 

Jeff Maysh's investigative reporting has appeared in The New Yorker, Financial Times, The Daily Beast, and numerous other outlets. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Maysh discusses what's behind our collective fascination with scammer content and how he finds stories with IP potential. In addition, he offers advice on how writers should navigate the contract negotiation process to ensure that their IP is protected. 

More info about Maysh's IP class: https://courses.outvoice.com/products/live_events/IPCourse

More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 

Music by KT The Terrible

Fortesa Latifi is a senior writer for Yahoo News. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Latifi discusses her new book "Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online."  The book chronicles the rise of mom influencer content. Latifi shares insight her reporting process. She also offers a nuanced assessment on the risks of family influencers. 

More info about "Like, Follow, Subscribe" : https://bookshop.org/p/books/like-follow-subscribe-influencer-kids-and-the-cost-of-a-childhood-online-fortesa-latifi/0015d12afb1a78c2

More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 

Music by KT The Terrible 

Kate Wagner is the architecture critic at The Nation. She also runs the blog "McMansion Hell." In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Kate chats about the significance of McMansions, President Trump's tacky design choices, 1880s/1980s, gilded palaces, Saudi Arabia's failed future city, Iranian architecture, and gentrification. 

Subscribe to "McMansion Hell":  https://mcmansionhell.com/

More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 

Music by KT The Terrible

Miles Klee, senior writer at Wired, chats about his reporting on Meta, social media addiction, AI, and  internet culture. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Klee discusses how he translates niche internet stories for a broader audience.

Works Cited:

-https://www.wired.com/story/the-tesla-influencers-leaving-the-cult/

-https://www.wired.com/story/everyone-speaks-incel-now/

-https://www.wired.com/story/mark-zuckerberg-testifies-social-media-addiction-trial-meta/

Check out "Double Black Diamond" by Miles Klee and Mads Gobbo: https://asterismbooks.com/product/double-black-diamond-mads-gobbo-miles-klee

More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 

Music by KT The Terrible

Jamie Hood's writing has appeared in The Drift, Bookforum, The Nation, and numerous publications. She is the author of How To Be A Good Girl: A Miscellany and Trauma Plot: A Life. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Hood discusses the process of writing her memoir, the survivor narrative, personal essays in the post- #MeToo era, and the confessional form.

More info about Trauma Plot: https://bookshop.org/p/books/trauma-plot-a-life-jamie-hood/50837adfe931ba99?ean=9780593686089&next=t

More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz.

Music by KT The Terrible

Cale Weissman is one of the worker-owners of Gourmet, a food magazine that has been recently revitalized. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Weissman chats about the return of Gourmet. He also discusses food content, restaurant coverage, worker-owned outlets, and aesthetically unappealing, albeit delicious, recipes. 

More info about Gourmet: https://gourmetmagazine.net/

More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 

Music by KT The Terrible

Daisy Alioto is the co-founder and CEO of Dirt. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Alioto discussed the origins of her media company, the "post-subscription" model for media revenue, the taste economy, "Call Her Daddy," book coverage, and more. 

More info about Dirt: dirt.fyi 

More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz

Music by KT The Terrible

Daniel Kolitz's reporting has appeared in Harper's, The Nation, The Atavist, and numerous other publications. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Kolitz shares the inside story about his viral Harper's article and discusses what it's like to "go gonzo." Kolitz also shares insight into earning a source's trust and offers a nuanced take on narratives about Gen Z/millennials.

Works Cited:

-https://harpers.org/archive/2025/11/the-goon-squad-daniel-kolitz-porn-masturbation-loneliness/

-https://magazine.atavist.com/2021/the-love-bomb-enthusiastic-sobriety-bob-meehan-abuse-cult-drugs-rehab

-https://thebaffler.com/latest/millennial-cringe-kolitz

More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz.

Music by KT The Terrible