The Takeaway Creators & Guests

Tanzina Vega is the host of The Takeaway. She reports and speaks on issues of race, media, and inequality in the United States. She is also an Eisner Fellow at the Nation Institute, author of the forthcoming book "Uppity," and a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University.

Levi Sharpe is a podcast producer and sound designer based in Astoria, NY. He most recently was a senior producer at AT WILL MEDIA, leading the production of Wondery’s The Big Flop, a pop-culture history comedy podcast, hosted by TikTok star, Misha Brown.He is also the audio editor and engineer for the international affairs podcast, Global Dispatches.Prior, he was the senior podcast producer at DEV, where he launched the company’s podcast unit and produced, edited, and mixed their CodeNewbie, DevNews, and DevDiscuss podcasts.Previous to working at DEV, he was lead podcast producer at Gizmodo Media Group, where he helped launch their podcast unit, producing and editing Lifehacker’s Webby-nominated podcast, The Upgrade, as well as Jezebel's pop culture podcast DirtCast, and their politics show Big Time Dicks.He also sound designs and mixes narrative fiction podcasts, such as the comedy fantasy, Roommate From Hell, and the the Webby award-winning musical comedy, Propaganda.He received his master's from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, and his work has also been featured on Marketplace Tech, Marketplace Weekend, Codebreaker, Actuality, The Takeaway, Word of Mouth, and Popular Science.

Alok Vaid-Menon is a performance artist, poet, and LGBTQ rights- activist.

Joshua Geltzer is a lawyer, legal scholar, and teacher. He is the founding Executive Director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, and Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He is also an International Security Program Fellow at New America and an Executive Editor at Just Security.Previously, Geltzer was Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council staff. Before that, he was Deputy Legal Advisor to the National Security Council and Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice. He also served as a law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court and, before that, as a law clerk to Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.Geltzer's book, "US Counter-Terrorism Strategy and al-Qaeda: Signalling and the Terrorist World-View," was published in 2009. His worh has appeared in The Atlantic, the Berkeley Journal of International Law, Defense One, Foreign Policy, the Journal of Constitutional Law, the New York Times, Parameters, Politico, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, and the Washington Post. He has appeared on BBC, Bloomberg TV, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, MSNBC, and National Public Radio.Geltzer received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal, and his PhD in War Studies from King’s College London. He received his B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Adam Serwer is a political journalist, currently writing for The Atlantic. His work focuses on white supremacy, race in America, and the Trump administration.Serwer was raised in Washington, D.C. He received his B.A. from Vassar College and his M.A. from Columbia University's School of Journalism.After graduating, Serwer became a writing fellow at The American Prospect. He went on to work at Mother Jones, the Atlantic, MSNBC, The Washington Post, Jack and Jill Politics, Salon, and BuzzFeed News. Serwer has appeared on other media such as All Things Considered, The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, In the Thick, and On My Mind with Diane Rehm to discuss his writing.

Credits: Co-host and producer of The Refresh from Insider. Host, reporter, and producer for WNYC. There, she launched and hosted WNYC’s Consider This; guest hosted for shows like The Takeaway and The Brian Lehrer Show; and co-wrote and produced the critically acclaimed podcast Scattered. Before becoming a journalist, Rebeca acted in experimental New York theater. She hails from beautiful Mexico City.

Nina Khrushcheva is a Professor of International Affairs at The New School.

Stephanie Foo is a writer, a radio producer and an editor. She was a producer at This American Life for five years, and helped create Snap Judgment. Her book about healing from Complex PTSD, "WHAT MY BONES KNOW," will be coming out in February 2022. Foo taught high school journalism after college but wanted to make radio. She started the music podcast "Stagedive."Foo was an intern and then a producer at "Snap Judgment," then moved to "This American Life." She has also contributed to Reply All and 99% Invisible.Foo launched her own podcast, "Pilot." She was also the project lead on the "This American Life" app called Shortcut. Her culture criticism focuses on diversity in media.

John Fecile is an audio producer, filmmaker, storyteller, and producer of Snap Judgment Podcast.

Eli B. Hager is a reporter who covers juvenile justice, family court, fines and fees and other issues. Currently, he is a staff reporter for Pro Publica.Previously, Hager was a staff writer at The Marshall Project, where he wrote its "Life Inside" feature.Hager's work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and This American Life. Hager is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia University.

Debra Kamin is a journalist. Currently, she is a reporter at The New York Times.

Jennifer Berry Hawes is a reporter. Currently, she is an investigative reporter covering the Southern United States for Pro Publica and a special projects writer at The Post and Courier.Hawes worked on a team that won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for "Till Death Do Us Part," a series about South Carolina's epidemic of domestic violence.Hawes covered the 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church and wrote her first book about it, called "Grace Will Lead Us Home," which was published in 2019.Hawes received her B.A. in Journalism and Political Science from Roosevelt University, where she was also Editor of The Torch, the university's student newspaper.

Robert Gottlieb is an American writer and editor. He has been editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf, and The New Yorker.

Earlonne Woods is co-host and co-creator of the Ear Hustle podcast.

Guy Branum is a talented comedian, writer, and actor known for his sharp wit and insightful humor. Branum was born in Yuba City, California, and has made significant contributions to comedy, including his work as a writer for "Chelsea Lately" and his appearances on "The Mindy Project" and "Last Comic Standing." He is the host of the popular podcast "Pop Rocket" and the author of the memoir "My Life as a Goddess" (2018). Branum's comedy often explores themes of identity, culture, and politics, delivered with a unique and engaging perspective. He continues to entertain and enlighten audiences with his distinct comedic voice.

Ali Latifi is a journalist.Latifi has reported from Washington, Greece, Turkey, Qatar, and Afghanistan. He has covered Afghan refugees in Greece and Turkey, and the Taliban in Doha.Latifi's work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, AJE, DW, VICE, Think Progress, The New Arab, and DAWN News. He has also appeared on CNN, the BBC, the CBC, Democracy Now, and DW.

Hannah Wesolowski is the chief advocacy officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.