The Study Hall Podcast

The Heyday of Fashion Media ft. Caroline Palmer

Caroline Palmer was the editor of Vogue.com and Director of Editorial, Video, and Social Media at Amazon Fashion. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Palmer discusses her novel Workhorse, which chronicles the heyday of fashion media in the early 2000s. The novel centers around an ambitious editorial assistant who lands a dream job at a prestigious fashion magazine. Workhorse explores the glamor of that era and takes an honest look at the dynamics of privilege, talent, and success. Palmer chats about the lost art of print media, fashion media’s shaky transition to online, and the life of a workhorse. 
 
More info about Workhorse: https://bookshop.org/p/books/workhorse-a-novel-caroline-palmer/0a4e36139fe538db
 
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 
 
Music by KT The Terrible 
 

Colossal Squids, Invasive Frogs, and Biodiversity ft. Sofia Quaglia

Sofia Quaglia is an award-winning science journalist whose work has been published in The National Geographic, The New York Times, The Guardian, New Scientist, and other outlets. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Sofia chats about how she started reporting on biodiversity and the nuances of translating complex scientific concepts for a mass audience. 
More info about the class Sofia is teaching with Study Hall on January 16th 10 AM PT/ 1 PM ET: https://courses.outvoice.com/products/courses/howtobreakintosciencejournalism
(Study Hall subscribers check last newsletter for discount code)
 
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 
 
Music by KT The Terrible

Air Conditioning and Climate Disaster ft. Marianne Dhenin

Marianne Dhenin is an award-winning journalist whose work has been published in Truthout, Yes! Magazine, The New Republic, and Teen Vogue. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Marianne chats about their Noema Mag report on the history of air conditioning in the Gulf States. Marianne discusses how they use their journalism to illuminate the class implications of climate change issues.
 
Read the article here: https://www.noemamag.com/the-gulf-world-that-air-conditioning-wrought/
 
Subscribe to their newsletter: https://newsletter.mariannedhenin.com/
 
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz
 
Music by KT The Terrible

How Media Will Survive in 2026 ft. Max Tani

Max Tani is the media editor at Semafor and co-host of the Mixed Signals podcast. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Max discusses the biggest media stories of 2025 and how legacy media can regain its footing in 2026. Max chats about how legacy media outlets are experimenting with AI tools and leveraging the creator journalism model. In addition, Max shares what it’s like covering some of the biggest media stories like the corporate battle over Warner Bros Discovery. 
 
Listen to Mixed Signals: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mixed-signals-from-semafor-media/id1746776326
 
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 
 
Music by KT The Terrible
 

A Journalist Advocating For Big Tech Reform ft. Brian Reed

 
Brian Reed is the host and producer of KCRW’s “Question Everything,” a podcast and newsletter from KCRW and Placement Theory, that is exploring the media industry. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Reed chats about why he’s advocating to reform Section 230, a law that protects big tech platforms from defamation lawsuits. Reed chats about why he believes this law gives platforms too much impunity and how he came to the conclusion that it needs to be changed to protect users from disinformation. In addition, Reed discusses what it’s like being a journalist advocating for a cause. 
 
More info about Question Everything: https://www.kcrw.com/shows/question-everything/latest
 
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz
 
Music by KT The Terrible

Managing Your Finances As A Freelance Writer ft. Katherine Reynolds Lewis

Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning journalist and founder of founder of the Institute for Independent Journalists.  In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Lewis shares tips on negotiating a fair rate, getting a better contract, and managing your finances as a freelancer. 
 
On December 12th at 11 AM PST/ 2 PM ET, Lewis will be teaching an online course about treating your freelance career as a business: https://courses.outvoice.com/products/courses/thrivingasafreelancer
 
(Study Hall Subscribers check your latest newsletter for 50% discount code). 
 
Music by KT The Terrible
 

A Dystopian Satire About The Media Industry ft. Kevin Nguyen

Kevin Nguyen is the features editor at The Verge. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Nguyen chats about his novel "My Documents." The dystopian satire is set in a near-future United States where following a terrorist attack, Vietnamese Americans are imprisoned in interment camps. The novel explores how journalism can both shed light on trauma and crucial stories, while also being a tool of exploitation. In addition, "My Documents" lampoons the clickbait digital media boom and sensationalist misinformation. 
 
More info about "My Documents": https://bookshop.org/p/books/my-documents-a-novel-kevin-nguyen/3caae9bd30ea2b93
 
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz
 
Music by KT The Terrible 

Investigating a Sex Wellness Cult ft. Ellen Huet

 
Ellen Huet is a reporter at Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek. In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Huet discusses her new book Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult. The book chronicles the story of OneTaste, a wellness company that’s been accused of manipulation and abuse. Huet exposed the true story of the company for Bloomberg.  Empire of Orgasm builds off that reporting.
In this conversation, Huet chats about her reporting process, the evolving definition of a cult, and the ominous parallels between cults and startups. She also shares tips on how to navigate personal boundaries while reporting on an intense topic. 
 
More info about Empire of Orgasm: https://bookshop.org/p/books/empire-of-orgasm-sex-power-and-the-downfall-of-a-wellness-cult-ellen-huet/d314d91af397b2e4?ean=9780374604196
 
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz 
 
Music by KT The Terrible 

Inside The Crisis At Condé Nast ft. Lauren Harris

On this special bonus episode, Daniel Spielberger chats with Lauren Harris, an editor at The New Yorker and a co-chair of The New Yorker Union. The New Yorker Union and Condé United are both part of the NewsGuild of New York. Harris discusses recent events at Condé Nast. On Wednesday, in response to Condé management’s decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue and lay off employees at Teen Vogue, a group of unionized Condé employees confronted Condé’s head of HR, Stan Duncan, to question him about these decisions. Subsequently, Condé management fired four of these employees, one of whom worked at The New Yorker. Though Condé management argues that these four employees were engaging in “extreme misconduct,” the Guild disputes this claim. In this conversation, Harris discusses why the unions are alleging that these terminations were illegal and retaliatory. Additionally, she contextualizes these terminations with a broader hostility towards organized labor during the second Trump era. 
 
Here’s the petition to reinstate The Fired Four: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-conde-bosses-to-reinstate-the-fired-four-reverse-the-suspensions-and-end-the-union-busting
A GoFundMe to support The Fired Four: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-fired-four-alma-ben-jake-jasper
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz
Music by KT The Terrible 

Drugs, Raves, and Community ft. P.E. Moskowitz

P.E. Moskowitz’s writing has been published in New York Magazine, The Nation, and numerous other outlets. They write the newsletter “Mental Hellth.” In this conversation with host Daniel Spielberger, Moskowitz chats about their new book “Breaking Awake: A Reporter's Search for a New Life, and a New World, Through Drugs.” Moskowitz discusses their reporting on the mental health crisis, pharmaceutical drugs, raves, isolation, and social media. 
 
More info about Breaking Awake: https://bookshop.org/p/books/breaking-awake-a-reporter-s-search-for-a-new-life-and-a-new-world-through-drugs-p-e-moskowitz/f376145199400c4a?ean=9781668007778&next=t
 
More info about Study Hall: studyhall.xyz
 
Music by KT The Terrible