Podcast series explores awkwardness, anxiety,
heartbreak, and self-discovery experienced during
adolescence
Initial slate of special guests includes
Amy Schumer, Andy Grammer, Ayo
Edebiri, Drew Barrymore, Jenna
Ortega, Leighton Meester,
Rainn Wilson, Shay Mitchell, Tati Gabrielle, Victoria Pedretti
NEW
YORK, May 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/
-- Stitcher, the Triton-ranked #1 podcast company and
SiriusXM subsidiary, announced today a new podcast series
created and hosted by Penn Badgley (You, Gossip
Girl), Nava Kavelin, and
Sophie Ansari. Beginning
May 18, Podcrushed will explore
the awkwardness, anxiety, heartbreak, and self-discovery that
defines adolescence.
An audio trailer and an animated teaser video clip for
Podcrushed are available now.
Each week, Podcrushed begins with a listener-submitted
story, narrated by Penn and enriched with sound design and score.
Penn, Nava and Sophie then welcome a special guest to share their
own previously unheard and thoroughly embarrassing middle school
stories – from childhood crushes, to battles with body hair, to
schoolyard scuffles. The result is sometimes hilarious, sometimes
heartwarming, and always relatable.
The background each host brings to Podcrushed enhances
the experience for guest and listener – Penn, a former child actor
who spent his middle school years in Hollywood; Sophie, a former fifth grade
teacher who grew up in seven countries around the world; and Nava,
a former director of a middle school who spent her adolescence in
Puerto Rico.
An initial slate of guests includes Amy Schumer, Andy
Grammer, Ayo
Edebiri, Drew Barrymore, Jenna Ortega, Leighton Meester, Rainn Wilson, Shay Mitchell, Evan Rachel Wood, Tati Gabrielle,
Victoria Pedretti, and more.
Each guest's willingness to share some of their most formative
moments with humor and poignancy has reaffirmed the universality of
Podcrushed's premise.
In a joint statement, the hosts said:
"Podcrushed began as a way to dig into people's most
awkward and funny moments in middle school, in order to highlight
the universality of getting crushed in some way. But as stories
started rolling in from all over the world, the humanity of it all
floored us -- there weren't only stories of heartbreak, humiliation
and delicious comeuppance, but also stories exploring confusion,
identity, and loss. What the show makes clear is that these
experiences unite us all, and we can't wait for you to hear
it."
"Penn, Nava and Sophie are shining a light on the time in our
lives that defines who we are," says Peter Clowney, Vice President of Content at
Stitcher. "They've created a show that is both funny and
serious, and we're excited for people to hear that."
David Ansari (Vallis
Alps) co-created Podcrushed and serves as the show's
producer and sound designer. The series is executive produced by
Stitcher's Nora Ritchie
(Unladylike, By the Book, The Katie Couric Podcast).
SXM Media, the combined advertising revenue organization of
Sirius XM Holdings Inc., has exclusive global ad sales rights
for Podcrushed. SXM Media is the gateway for marketers to
the #1 U.S. podcast advertising network in reaching weekly podcast
listeners, per Edison Research.
Podcrushed will be available on Stitcher, the SXM App,
Pandora, and all major podcast listening platforms.
About Penn Badgley
Penn Badgley | Producer, Actor | Penn never finished middle
school, but at twelve years old, began playing characters in movies
and TV who did. Having spent the last two decades being rewarded
for acting like someone he's not, he still feels pretty
ill-equipped for the perils of high school.
About Nava
Kavelin
Nava Kavelin | Producer, Writer |
Nava is the co-founder and CEO of Ninth Mode, a production company
dedicated to developing content that shines a light on the brighter
side of human nature. In middle school you could find her in
Puerto Rico reading Sweet Valley
High, listening to Maná, while pining over a pretty boy.
About Sophie Ansari
Sophie Ansari | Producer, Artist
| Sophie is an illustrator and video-ator based in LA. Having lived
her gawkiest years in countries like The
Philippines and China,
Sophie can confirm that the experience of early-tween dweebiness is
truly universal, and that the cathartic effect of a shared cringe
transcends barriers of language and culture.
About Stitcher
Stitcher, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the best place to listen
to, produce and monetize podcasts. The Stitcher app is one of the
world's most popular podcast listening platforms, with a growing
network of original content and a premium subscription service.
Stitcher is home to Stitcher Originals, Black lifestyle and culture
network More Sauce, top-ranked comedy podcast network Earwolf, and
award-winning documentary network Witness Docs.
About SXM Media
SXM Media is the combined sales organization of Sirius XM
Holdings Inc., spanning its SiriusXM, Pandora, and Stitcher audio
entertainment platforms and services, including that of Midroll,
the leading podcast advertising network representing over 300 of
the world's largest podcasts. With a reach of more than 150 million
listeners, SXM Media gives brands, creators, and publishers access
to the largest digital audio advertising platform in North America. SXM Media also serves as the
exclusive advertising and sales representative for other platforms
and podcasters, including major entities such as SoundCloud
(exclusive U.S. advertising representative) and the NBCUniversal
News Group (exclusive advertising representative for NBC News and
MSNBC podcasts, with additional sales rights to CNBC podcasts).
About SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the leading audio
entertainment company in North
America, and the premier programmer and platform for
subscription and digital advertising-supported audio products.
SiriusXM's platforms collectively reach approximately 150 million
listeners, the largest digital audio audience across paid and free
tiers in North America, and
deliver music, sports, talk, news, comedy, entertainment and
podcasts. Pandora, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the largest
ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S.
SiriusXM's subsidiaries Stitcher, Simplecast and AdsWizz make it a
leader in podcast hosting, production, distribution, analytics and
monetization. The Company's advertising sales arm, SXM Media,
leverages its scale, cross-platform sales organization, and ad tech
capabilities to deliver results for audio creators and advertisers.
SiriusXM, through Sirius XM Canada Holdings, Inc., also offers
satellite radio and audio entertainment in Canada. In addition to its audio entertainment
businesses, SiriusXM offers connected vehicle services to
automakers. For more about SiriusXM, please go
to: www.siriusxm.com.
Source: SiriusXM
Media contacts
Ron Gaskill
Stitcher
ron.gaskill@siriusxm.com
Patrick Reilly
SiriusXM
Patrick.Reilly@siriusxm.com
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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.