11 episodes
Classy with Jonathan Menjivar Pineapple Street Studios and Audacy
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- Society & Culture
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4.6 • 1.1K Ratings
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*** Named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by The New Yorker, Time, The Atlantic, Apple, Vogue, the CBC, and Lifehacker. ***
Classy is a collection of surprising stories, juicy and uncomfortable interviews, and engaging segments that explore the ways that class infiltrates our day-to-day lives. In the host seat is Jonathan Menjivar – a working-class Latino kid who started working in media and became someone who likes oysters, wears cashmere socks, and is very conflicted about all of it.
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Introducing: The Competition
Every summer for the past seven decades, 50 high school seniors—one from every state—descend on Mobile, Alabama to take part in one of the country’s most lucrative scholarship competitions for teen girls.
The Competition takes you behind the scenes of the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) program, and follows seven girls as they experience the highs and lows of competing for two weeks, away from home and under the most high-stress circumstances. Some girls enter for the money, some for prestige. All of them are used to being the best and the brightest. But only one will walk away with the top prize.
Host Shima Oliaee (Dolly Parton’s America, Pink Card) was Nevada’s contestant in 2001. More than 20 years later, she returns to Alabama as a judge. What can two weeks with 50 of the country’s most ambitious teens tell us about girlhood in America?
Listen to The Competition on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial by visiting Wondery.fm/TheCompetition_Classy now.
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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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Customer Reviews
impossibly deft treatment of a thorny subject
you can hear how hard this show is to navigate in every word jonathan says. he does a spectacular job of telling difficult (and often deeply personal) stories, all of them surprisingly affecting. it's a privilege to take the journey with him.
So relatable
I love this podcast. I grew up the Whittier area and I still live only about 40-50 miles away. I am a Hispanic who doesn't speak Spanish, I have an MBA and while working in Orange County often would hear "oh you are Mexican? You don't look or sound like one " lol I would work with people who grew up in the Newport Beach area and I still have family who live in East LA (where I was born). It's hard to describe to people who don't understand, but I always felt a little different around my co-workers. They were always super nice but just different, this podcast totally gets it. I used to feel not accepted by "real" Mexicans and in the office I just didn't grow up like many of my white peers. It's a real thing. But I know I am not alone in this, and this podcast just confirmed it. THANK YOU!
Beautiful show
Funny, thoughtful, and man does it stick the landing! Binged in two days