Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri

Host Vedant Akhauri sits down with the incredibly unique Wade Simmons – a man who masterfully navigates the seemingly contrasting worlds of independent filmmaking , the funeral business , and professional wrestling . This isn't just an interview ; it's a deep dive into an extraordinary career journey that will challenge your perceptions transferrable skills across industries. Discover the...

This episode of Let's Talk Media delves into the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI in the media industry and beyond. The discussion highlights the dual nature of generative AI , presenting both its potential benefits and emerging concerns: Benefits of Generative AI: Time-saving in various professional fields , particularly for research, cataloging, and organizing. Efficiency and cost-eff...

In the Season 6 premiere of Let's Talk Media, Vedant Akhauri interviews Cheryl Chase, best known as the voice of Angelica Pickles in the Rugrats franchise since 1991. She is also known for voicing Mei in the Streamline Pictures dub of Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro and for her work as a casting coordinator on Ren and Stimpy, along with voicing other characters on Ren and Stimpy. She's also the...

What does it really take to make it in the film industry? In the Season 5 finale of Let's Talk Media, host Vedant Akhauri sits down with the award-winning filmmaker, Kaleigh Fitzgerald, for an unfiltered look into the industry. This isn't just another interview; it's a deep dive into the creative mind of a director, writer, and producer who's navigated the industry with early success and an authen...

From family therapist to Broadway producer to published author and filmmaker, Jennifer Manocherian's career journey is anything but conventional. This episode of Let's Talk Media dives into her remarkable story, exploring her diverse creative pursuits and the life lessons she's learned along the way. Jennifer's early career was dedicated to helping families. As a family therapist and divorce media...

In this episode of Let's Talk Media, host Vedant Akhauri speaks with Dan Samorodnitsky, co-founder of Sequencer Magazine - a new subscriber-funded, digital science magazine. A discussion of Sequencer's origins and the challenges of running an independent media outlet in today's challenging media landscape. Dan shares his insights on the decline of traditional print media - driven by factors like a...

In this episode of Let's Talk Media, host Vedant Akhauri speaks with Olly Dee - a science fiction author and member of the LGBTQ+ community - about the importance of representation in the genre. They discuss how science fiction can provide a sense of hope and belonging for those who feel othered, particularly for LGBTQ+ individuals. Olly shares their early experiences with science fiction, noting...

Chris Clews is a Keynote Speaker and Author on essential work and life lessons that we can learn from 80s Pop culture. He has presented at organization, including but not limited to University of Florida CSJ Online, VISA, Penn State Medicine, Duke Health, and the American Marketing Association. On this episode, he discusses what the following can teach us about life lessons: Prince The Musician Fe...

An impromptu episode I recorded on my phone about the role of media in shaping the 2024 U.S presidential election between Donald Trump (R) and Kamala Harris (D). This was recorded BEFORE the election, including predictions of how the election and onwards could play out for the media landscape. Topics include: • Donald Trump and JD Vance going on The Joe Rogan Experience, and the overall future of...

For Episode NINETY, I'm joined by Melissa Kim Corter. Melissa is a Jungian Depth Psychologist and international bestselling author known for her expertise in the shadow side of the personality, blending human psychology with symbols found in movies and Grimm fairy tales, and forensics. She explains how, contrary to popular belief, watching scarry movies could also be good for your mental health. S...

It's The Godfather meets The Da Vinci Code. Two Italian sons, linked by the real-life disappearance of a masterpiece painting from Caravaggio, are dragged into the dark underbelly of the art world. This puts them to the test of loyalty and honor. How far are they willing to go, no matter the cost? That's a brief synopsis of the fiction novel, House of Honor , published in June 2024. I interview th...

I open up about why the episode releases have slowed down in recent months. Fear not, however! Plenty of episodes are still planned for a Q4 2024 release. As I catch up on editing, I discuss 6 upcoming episodes that listeners can expect to hear in Q4 2024. The episodes are: Life Lessons from 1980s Pop Culture w/ ⁠Chris Clews⁠ Mental Health Benefits of Horror Films w/ ⁠Melissa Kim Corter⁠ ⁠ House o...

Join us for a SPOILER-FILLED discussion of Deadpool & Wolverine! In this episode, we dive deep into the film's plot, funniest moments, favorite cameos, what Hollywood can learn from Deadpool & Wolverine, and our rankings of all the Deadpool films (as of 2024). Feel feel to review and subscribe to keep up with future episodes. You can also follow the podcast on Instagram ( @letstalkmedi...

Matan Berman is a documentary producer based in New York City, a 2023 grad in Doc Studies and History from Ithaca College. His documentaries include "Not In Our Schools" and "The Last Cobbler" (upcoming). We discuss our favorite documentaries, how do you define a documentary, what caused the documentary boom in the 2010s, how formulaic and overly saturated docs are starting to...

An interview with Keep The Flame Alive, a podcast co-hosted by Jill and Alison for fans of the Olympics and Paralympics. Their content includes exclusive interviews with athletes, coaches, and Olympic historians. For Episode 85, we discuss the following: What drew Jill and Alison to The Olympics and Paralympics What draws people to The Olympics Disparities in the coverage of The Olympics and Paral...

Production Design involves the creating and managing of digital assets for marketing campaigns. Cindy Nghi is a Manager for Production Design in Marketing. Before that, Cindy was laid off as a Production Designer and spent 17 months on the job hunt. We discuss her experiences as a job-seeker during these waves of layoffs in production design for marketing. This episode also covers the following:Wh...

An interview with Laura Lee, Head of Sponsorships & Growth for Asians in Advertising . Asians in Advertising is a non-profit organization focused on growing an inclusive community for Asians in the advertising, marketing, & communications industry. They offer networking events, mentorships, development programs, and leadership initiatives. We discuss the following: Laura's background in ad...

Ryan Bourett is a game producer, most recently for Relic Entertainment until his layoff in June 2023. We discuss his experiences as a job-seeker during these waves of layoffs in the video game industry. We also discuss the following: The reasons for mass layoffs in gaming Competing with 100s of highly qualified candidates for a job The future of the video game industry if these layoffs continue Hi...

A short trailer to get to know my background in working and studying in the media and what drives me in this industry.

Otherweb creates nutrition labels for news articles, using AI. An interview with their founder and CEO, Alex Fink, about the following: The beginnings of Otherweb How Otherweb uses AI to grade news articles for credibility Should misinformation be regulated? How the fake news landscape of the Soviet Union compare to that of the U.S Should Twitter/X have banned Trump? How can netizens spot misinfor...

Daniel John Carey is an actor and screenwriter. He has also written 2 books on writing screenplays: Screenwriting Tribe and Screenplay Repair Manual . His acting credits include Terminator 2: Judgement Day , Teen Wolf , and Milk with Sean Penn. For Episode 80, we discuss the recent challenges in finding work in Hollywood for various reasons: The 2023 Strikes, layoffs, AI, the rise of building fran...

On May 2, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) approved a strike, the first of its kind since the 2007-08 strike. Leah Ettinger is a Post Production PA. In this episode, we explain why the WGA has gone on strike, Leah's experiences at the strike, The WGA's demands from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), scabbing, and the strike's ramifications on scripted co...

Ryan Ng is a YouTuber with 3+ million views. In this episode, we discuss how YouTubers get burned out and pigeon-holed by the algorithm, and how YouTubers can avoid that. His channel is called Ryan Ng Films.

Micah Tremblay is a queer actor, writer, and Cinema alum from Ithaca College. We discuss the best and worst representation of queer people in media, stereotypes, right-wing paranoia about queer people, the lack of racial diversity, the portrayal of queer characters by straight and/or cisgender actors, and how some media companies exploit queer stories for attention and profit. Our discussion inclu...

Matt Price is a Multimedia Journalist with extensive experience in news and sports coverage. We discuss the symbiotic relationship between politics, the news cycle, and sports coverage. Examples include the rush for information, echo chambers, and treating news like a sports match.  Clarification from Matt about Lia Thomas: Lia Thomas is a trailblazer. I did not boo her. When referring to "I"...