9 episodes
Classy with Jonathan Menjivar Pineapple Street Studios
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- Society & Culture
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4.9 • 44 Ratings
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“The show came about because I grew up working-class,” says Jonathan Menjivar, creator and host of Classy with Jonathan Menjivar, Apple Podcasts' Spotlight show for September 2023. "I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about that, and I wanted to talk to people about it.”
Menjivar was a blue-collar Latino kid who started working in media and became someone who likes oysters, wears cashmere socks, and is very conflicted about all of it. A reporter and senior podcast producer for Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios, Menjivar came to podcasts through public radio where he worked at shows like This American Life and Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
The collection of stories is an honest, inquisitive, and nuanced look into how class shapes our perspectives of the world and how we belong in it. The show leaves listeners deeply moved to reflect on their own experiences or reconsider how they interact with others in their day-to-day lives. “It’s super nice to know that our vulnerable, sometimes very silly approach, is meaningful to people,” says Menjivar. “I hope people are walking away with three-dimensional portrayals of people of different classes. No matter where you are class-wise, people have complicated relationships with their class status that they’re dealing with internally.”
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Are Rich People Bad?
Jonathan has some hangups about class. In the first episode of this series, he takes us from a nightclub outside LA to the halls of a fancy Manhattan prep school, and asks sociologist Rachel Sherman 'are rich people bad?'
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A Classy (and Uncomfortable) Laugh with Terry Gross
How do we change ourselves to fit in at work? Jonathan unpacks class divisions in the workplace with his former boss and public radio legend, Terry Gross.
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Hemmed In
We can’t talk about class without talking about race. Through eye-opening conversations with two people of color in the fashion industry, Jonathan realizes some hard truths about the ways he’s adapted in order to blend in. And he reveals how one small, but bold act is helping him to reclaim his cultural identity.
You can find more on Brenda Equihua’s clothing brand on her website https://equihua.us/
You can stay up to date with Amechi Ugwu on Instagram @_amechi_
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Am I a Classhole?
No matter your class background, you’re bound to cross some lines and make mistakes. In this episode, Comedian Wyatt Cenac talks about where he went wrong and encourages us to be open about our financial fumbles. And advice columnist JP Brammer aka Hola Papi answers listener questions to find out who might be a Classhole. If you have a juicy question or story about class, leave us a message.
The classy hotline is open: 844-992-5277.
Read more of J.P. Brammer’s advice on his Hola Papi Substack. You can find more information about what Wyatt’s up to on his website.
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Common Person
What happens when your wildest dreams become a reality? This week Jonathan talks with one of his teenage heroes, Jarvis Cocker of the band Pulp, about how fantasy drove his journey from working-class kid to famous pop star. And how he funneled all of his class frustration into the anthem “Common People.”
Jarvis is currently on tour with Pulp, you can find more information at https://linktr.ee/welovepulp. His book is Good Pop, Bad Pop.
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Class and Combat
On this episode, we’re looking into one of the biggest chasms between us in this country – who serves in the military and who doesn’t. Every year, the United States military has to convince thousands of young people to enlist. They want a group of recruits that looks like the country, across race, class, and geography. Jonathan heads to New Jersey with reporter and Army veteran Adam Linehan to see how that’s working out.
You can read more of Adam’s work at https://www.adamlinehan.com/.
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Customer Reviews
Amazing
Best podcast I have listened to in a long time (if not ever). It put into words so many feelings I had, but did not know how to express, and awakened many others that were simmering deep inside me.
We NEED to talk about class
And from people’s personal experiences with it. I have to admit that I grew up a sheltered suburban kid of immigrant parents. I didn’t realize how “good” I had it until I was in university when I heard people criticize private school kids ask me what it was like to go to one. Now, I wasn’t sure if they meant going to one in general or whether they meant what it was like for an Asian kid to go to one, assuming that they thought the schools were “very white.” That simply wasn’t the case in 1990s Toronto, especially schools with boarding programs. I’m in my 40s and I sometimes STILL get asked. It makes me feel comfortable telling people where I went unless I sense that it’s okay. I also didn’t know until I went away to university that there were Chinese Canadians my age whose families struggled growing up and didn’t have “typical suburban kid” experiences. I thought those were only in period novels I read about earlier immigrants. Keep in mind that I was 18-19 at the time.
Shredded cheese
It’s complicated. I grew up middle class and we didn’t buy shredded cheese because it was more expensive. I’m probably upper middle class now and buy expensive cheese but consider shredded cheddar extravagant. But I never thought of not having a cheese grater.