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Smartest Person in the Room

Laura Tremaine is not the smartest person in the room, but she knows who is.
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Now displaying: February, 2017
Ep 17 Viral Series: Buzzfeed editor and award-winning blogger Morgan Shanahan 0
Feb 21, 2017

This is the VIRAL series, and we’re looking closely at something that permeates most of our internet culture: viral content. Videos, memes, tweets, graphics, these can take over our online experience and change our minds, culture, elections, or just make us collectively laugh. Things that go viral on the internet can have real power. 

Growing up in around the entertainment industry in Southern California and attending NYU Film School still didn't prepare Morgan Shanahan for the success she would find as a content creator. She wrote screenplays and commercials for years before turning to a more personal outlet. Her blog The 818 was a vulnerable look at marriage, motherhood, and mental health and drew her a large following. 

Morgan's platform and talent opened an opportunity at the media behemoth Buzzfeed, where she's been the parenting editor and now parenting video producer for several years. The creative content she's making at Buzzfeed get tens of millions of views.

In our conversation around the topic of VIRAL, Morgan and I discuss what it takes for something to get shared over and over, the types of content that work best, and what it means for the creator and for society. 

Whether you're totally internet savvy or completely non-techy, this episode will be more relevant to your life than you may think.

Read the full show notes here.

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Smartest Person in the Room Series 3 trailer 0
Feb 17, 2017

A sneak-peek of Series 3 of Smartest Person in the Room!

Religion Series: a wrap-up 0
Feb 14, 2017
Host Laura Tremaine and producer/editor Megan Tietz break down the six episodes of the RELIGION series. They talk download statistics, listener reaction, and the surprising things that came out of making this series. 
 
The six episodes of the RELIGION series are:
 
Ep. 10: The Mormon/Evangelical Divide
 
Ep. 11: Judaism as a cultural identity
 
Ep. 12: The Political Conversion to Islam
 
Ep. 13: Religion Reporting in the Time of Trump
 
Ep. 14: The Mystery of Hinduism
 
Ep. 15: When God Goes Silent
 
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Ep 15 Religion Series: When God goes silent 0
Feb 7, 2017

We're closing out the religion series by talking about LOSING your faith. 

In the last five episodes, we’ve talked about growing up in a faith tradition and converting to a religion out of deep conviction. But what about when it all falls apart? What happens when you no longer believe the very thing you’ve built your life around?
 
My guest is Mike McHargue, who you might better know as “Science Mike,” the host of the Ask Science Mike podcast and the co-host of The Liturgists. He’s written a book about the two years he spent secretly an atheist, and Finding God in the Waves is the kind of faith story you don’t hear (truthfully) much about.
 
I finished his book in one day and couldn’t wait to get him on the show to talk about his experience. Don't let the title of this show fool you, Mike creates space and hope for others with doubts along their spiritual journey. (And isn’t that all thinking adults at some point?)
 
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