Episode description

We continue our Producer Appreciation Weeks with Host Melissa Harris-Perry, who peels back the curtain and speaks with the talented folks that make The Takeaway every day. Today we're highlighting some of Morgan Givens' favorite segments produced during his time with The Takeaway:

What Makes a Black ManElectric Literature Editor-in-Chief Denne Michele Norris Makes History and Makes SpaceAward Winning Poet Danez Smith Rises to the TopWhy Titus Kaphar Won't "Shut Up and Paint"Level Up: Accessibility in Gaming

Morgan joined The Takeaway team in late 2022, and initially made his way into radio in a roundabout way. He spent years as a police officer in Washington, D.C., where he helped rewrite the training curriculum for the D.C. Police Academy before leaving the department for the non-profit sector, where he did work to eliminate sexual violence in the nation's prisons. Eventually, he interned with WAMU and NPRs 1A before becoming a producer for the program. 

Morgan is a graduate of the Transom Storytelling Workshop, Neon Hum and Sony's Editor Bootcamp, and is an AIR New Voices Scholar and Mentor. He’s been named one of Variety’s Storytellers to Watch, has been featured in The Washington Post, NPR, Buzzfeed, NPRs Invisibilia, Crooked Media’s Work Appropriate and is frequently called upon to host The Moth storytelling events and perform for The Moth Mainstage in venues around the country. A frequent audio conference panelist, he's also spoken at the AFI Documentary Film Festival about the art of creating great audio.

Morgan is also the creator of the award winning and critically acclaimed hopepunk fiction podcast Flyest Fables. Currently repped by CAA, he's hard at work on his debut memoir.

Find him occasionally on Twitter at @Optimus_Mo and at MorganGivens.com