We Disrupt This Broadcast

In our season 3 finale, Peabody Executive Director Jeffrey Jones goes deep with the legendary, 5x Peabody Award-winning showrunner, creator, and writer Vince Gilligan to discuss his enigmatic Apple TV+ series Pluribus. In the series, curmudgeonly author Carol Sturka is one of the lone humans unaffected by a mysterious virus which has turned the rest of humanity into a strangely-upbeat collective hive mind referred to as the “Others.” In an unusual twist to the post-apocalyptic genre, the series allows the audience to consider a world that might (or might not) be better off than before, asking whether happiness is meaningful without suffering. Then Caty Borum, the pod’s Executive Producer and Executive Director for the Center for Media & Social Impact, talks with Rhea Seehorn, who plays lead Carol Sturka, to discuss her perspective on acting in this very particular role, and the way society literally cannot handle female rage.

In this episode, we’ve got major Beef. Host Gabe González chats with Lee Sung Jin, creator and writer of Netflix’s wildly popular, critically acclaimed Beef. They discuss why this season’s key theme is the Buddhist and Hindu term “samsara,” how challenging it is to find inter-class solidarity within the confines of capitalism, and the ways Korean billionaires are similar and different to American billionaires. Then, executive director of the Peabodys, Jeffrey Jones, speaks with Vulture Capitalism author Grace Blakeley. The author and journalist unpacks the ways capitalism and neoliberalism have decimated freedom, and how collective solidarity might just be our way forward. 

Join us on this episode as we highlight Crave and HBO Max’s Peabody Award-winning Canadian sensation Heated Rivalry, the steamy queer love story that blew up a million group chats. In a wide-ranging conversation, host Gabe González speaks with Heated Rivalry’s creator, director, and writer Jacob Tierney about trusting the source material, why some of the most original shows come from Canada, the importance of showing consent and a little humor in sex scenes, and the radical impact of happy endings for queer love stories. Jacob and Gabe also get into the enduring phenomenon of the Heated Rivalry fan base, and the real-life impact of the show on hockey and sports culture.

Today, we’re falling in love with the empathetic, bittersweet Peabody Award-winning Netflix series Forever, a refreshing update to the Judy Blume classic, now set in Los Angeles with two Black leads. In our conversation, host Gabe González and showrunner and creator Mara Brock Akil dig into the legacy and revived fandom of her first series Girlfriends, the importance of apprenticeship and craft in TV, and why she wanted to update Forever for today’s Black families, especially young Black men and the parents who want to keep them safe while also letting them flourish. Then Caty Borum, the pod’s Executive Producer and Executive Director for The Center for Media & Social Impact, chats with Dr. Yalda T. Uhls, a research scientist, educator, author, and expert on the science of media and adolescent development, about teens’ hunger for stories where parents and adolescents love and care for each other and work out their issues in a healthy way. Turns out the kids really are alright!

Today, we’re delving into the complex realities and cultural commentary about the state of motherhood in America as we examine the twisty crime thriller, All Her Fault. Caty Borum, the pod’s Executive Producer and Executive Director for The Center for Media & Social Impact, speaks with series creator Megan Gallagher about giving voice to the nuanced cultural shame often imposed on working mothers in the United States – through the lens of a soapy drama and crime whodunnit. Later, Caty chats with Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, the CEO of MomsRising, an organization that seeks to support moms on a policy level by bringing about change through education and grassroots initiatives.

Join us as we get hot and bothered for women’s autonomy through the Peabody Award-winning series Dying for Sex. In this episode, We Disrupt This Broadcast’s own resident expert, media scholar, professor, and Executive Director of Center for Media & Social Impact Caty Borum speaks with the creators, producers, and showrunners of the 9x Emmy Award-nominated series, Kim Rosenstock and Liz Meriwether. Together, they unpack the ways Dying for Sex breaks every taboo around sex, death, cancer, caregiving, intimacy and women’s pleasure. After their conversation, Caty breaks down the radical depictions of women’s pleasure in this pathbreaking series with Emily Nagoski, sex researcher, educator, and bestselling author of the groundbreaking book Come as You Are.

Content information: The second half of this episode contains discussion of sexual abuse and trauma. 

For survivor resources please visit RAINN.

In this episode, we’re playing with reality as we explore what’s going on behind the scenes of the Peabody Award-winning reality TV comedy, Jury Duty. In our interview with creator Lee Eisenberg and executive producer Nicholas Hatton, we discuss this highly staged reality series where only one person, the “hero,” is their authentic self. Everyone else is an actor, and all of the interactions are scripted and planned in service of telling a unique and uplifting story of one person determined to do the right thing. In the first season, the creators and writers took us into a courtroom to explore citizens in the jury system. The second season takes place at a company retreat, and again, a new hero shows us that authentic goodness in humans does actually exist, perhaps more than we think. Later, we examine the world of reality TV with Hunter Hargraves, author of Uncomfortable Television, and get his thoughts on how Jury Duty is shaking up reality TV.

In this episode, the first of our Legendary Disruptors series, we celebrate ‘90s comedy icon Keenen Ivory Wayans and the legacy of In Living Color, the revolutionary sketch series on FOX, how it centered the Black American experience, and its impact on comedy and culture. We dig into how Wayans hired the writers and performers who would become legends, the way he used satire to upend stereotypes, and his refusal to water down the show for white audiences and skittish network executives. Wayans reflects on what it’s like working with his family and how they made their way into comedy, as well as how comedy has and hasn’t changed in the 21st century. We are then joined by writer and director Felicia Pride to discuss the legacy of In Living Color, the 90s golden era of Black sitcoms, and her own upcoming reboot of A Different World for Netflix.

In this episode, we examine the four-part Peabody Award-winning HBO documentary series Stax: Soulsville USA through a conversation with the film’s director, Jamila Wignot. The series chronicles the incredible rise and fall, and rise and fall again, of Stax Records, the Memphis soul record label that brought us incredible artists such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, and Booker T. & the MGs. Wignot explores how the history of Stax Records is interwoven with the history of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, gave rise to the birth of soul music, and was built on a racially integrated musical community. We also discuss the business acumen of Stax leader Al Bell, and the ultimate threat of Black economic success. Following that conversation, host Gabe González speaks with radio and media personality Dyana Williams about the still-unfolding legacy of Stax Records. 

This episode, we’re getting to the heart of what drives producer, writer, and showrunner John Wells. Wells is the legend behind such Peabody and Emmy Award-winning series as The West Wing, ER, and now the breakout hit The Pitt. Exploring the challenges facing ER doctors and the American healthcare system, each season of The Pitt takes place over the course of a single 24-hour shift. Wells’ dedication to accuracy and our shared humanity allows viewers to connect to healthcare professionals and patients in a revolutionary, visceral way. After, host Gabe Gonzalez sits down with We Disrupt This Broadcast’s own resident expert, media scholar, professor, and Executive Director of Center for Media & Social Impact Caty Borum, to discuss the real-world, life-changing impact of shows like The Pitt that use entertainment to portray medical challenges and the social determinants of health.