Who are the risk takers that help reinvent and reimagine the kinds of stories we see on TV? And how do they disrupt what we’ve come to expect on our screens and in our culture? We Disrupt This Broadcast, the new podcast from The Peabody Awards and Center for Media & Social Impact, wants to answer these very questions. Produced and distributed in partnership with award-winning audio production group PRX, We Disrupt This Broadcast explores how the minds behind critically-acclaimed TV shows are re-imagining the world and tackling the big issues that move us forward. From intimate interviews with award-winning TV creatives to real talk with experts and social movement leaders, join us as we dive into the inner workings and cultural relevance of the shows that are changing all the rules and shaping our future.
We Disrupt This Broadcast is hosted by comedian Gabe González and features on-air contributions from Caty Borum, executive director of the Center for Media & Social Impact, Jeffrey P. Jones, executive director of The Peabody Awards, and comedian and actress Joyelle Nicole Johnson. In its first season, the podcast features conversations with TV showrunners like Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson, Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof, and Ramy creator Ramy Youssef to explore how the most compelling TV shows and the creative powers behind them are upending the status quo — building new culture, community and, ultimately, power, for the very people who have been denied it in the past. Listen to We Disrupt This Broadcast – premiering April 11th and dropping on the second Thursday of every month. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Judy Blume Forever: Don't Put Judy Blume in the "Nice Lady" Box
In this episode, we ask the question, “Why is normalizing the experiences of adolescence, especially for young girls, so disruptive?” Caty Borum, WDTB Executive Producer and Executive Director for the Center for Media & Social Impact, interviews legendary author and disruptor Judy Blume, author of Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, Blubber, Forever, and the center of the recent Peabody Award-winning documentary about her life, Judy Blume Forever. Caty and Judy discuss her inspiration, using writing to find a way to a better life, puberty as a time to celebrate girlhood, and finding community through fighting book bans. After their interview, Caty speaks with Chelsey Goodan, author of Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls, about the untapped power of teenage girls and the importance of feeling seen.
Fellow Travelers: Series Creator Ron Nyswaner Gets Us Hot for Queer History
Host Gabe González speaks with Ron Nyswaner, creator of the Peabody-Award winning historical romance, Fellow Travelers. In a far-reaching, in-depth conversation, Gabe and Ron discuss the evolution of gay identity, how to write complex queer characters, and why foot-licking scenes are an important part of getting young folks interested in queer history. After their interview, Gabe dives deeper into the history of queer representation on TV with documentary filmmaker and professor Katherine Sender.
Somebody Somewhere: Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller on Platonic Love and Why Dreams Don’t Have Deadlines
In this episode, host Gabe González introduces us to the loving, incisive, and decidedly off-beat humor of Somebody Somewhere, a show that is redefining home, friendship, family, and even traditional narrative structure. He interviews the series’ stars Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller and they discuss the importance of making friends after 40, found family, why queerness and faith are not contradictory, and how platonic love can sometimes be the one that helps us become fully ourselves.
Bobby Wilson and Ryan Redcorn (Reservation Dogs) on Joy, Grief, and Native Humor
Gabe González has an intimate and wide-ranging conversation with Bobby Wilson and Ryan Redcorn, writers on the two-time Peabody Award-winning show Reservation Dogs. They talk about the groundbreaking series, which features an all Native cast and crew, and how an all-Native writers’ room contributes to the accurate representation of reservation life on screen. Gabe is then joined by Dr. Philip Deloria, Native historian, to talk about the alternately hilarious and horrifying path for Native representation on TV, why flawed characters are important, and why Native folks might be the funniest people you’ll ever meet.
Pamela Adlon (Better Things) on Breaking the Taboos of Middle-Age Womanhood, Divorce, Menopause and More...
In this episode, we ask the question, “Why are women in midlife somehow still the ultimate taboo in this industry?” Caty Borum, Executive Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact, interviews Pamela Adlon, the creative powerhouse behind the Peabody Award-winning series, Better Things and director of the feature film Babes. Caty and Pamela discuss disrupting the narratives around women in midlife, menopause having an “it girl” moment and the necessity of divorce doulas. They also dive into her commitment to mentoring the next generation of women creators.
Episode 3: Ramy Youssef (Ramy) Keeps the Faith
In this episode, we ask the question, “Can faith help us find our place in an increasingly broken world?” Comedian and host Gabe González connects with Ramy Youssef over how he’s used his career in stand-up comedy to push boundaries around taboo subjects like religion and as a catalyst for his show Ramy. They dig into Ramy’s three-dimensional portrayal of an Egyptian, Muslim-American family in all their flaws and the way faith influences each character’s arc in profound ways. After the interview, Gabe sits down with Arij Mikati, Managing Director of Culture Change at Pillars Fund and consultant on Ramy to dig into the importance of showing an array of flawed, funny, fundamentally human Muslim Americans and how the women of Ramy are moving the conversation forward.
Episode 2: Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) Schools Us on Optimism
In this episode, comedian Joyelle Nicole Johnson interviews writer-actor-creator Quinta Brunson about her breakout ABC series, Abbott Elementary, which explores nuanced topics like charter schools and underfunded public education in the most unexpected way – through a lighthearted workplace comedy. Abbott Elementary has built an enormous audience, earned several historic Emmys, and revitalized and revolutionized the network comedy. In this intimate yet lively conversation, Joyelle and Quinta talk Black 90s sitcoms, tackling tough issues with humor, and the enduring power of optimism. Later, host Gabe Gonzalez talks to TV critic Eric Deggans about the ways Abbott Elementary is continuing the legacy of the great Black sitcoms of the 90s and why this representation is so culturally relevant.
