In 2021, I developed and launched the inaugural season of Neon Hum’s original series Spectacle. That first season was Spectacle: Reality TV. We dug into the art form that’s often denigrated as a guilty pleasure, low brow and garbage. But what if we told you, reality TV is as relevant to our culture as The New York Times? It holds a mirror to our culture and provides a snapshot of a moment in time. In this season, we dug into shows and moments that defined us — from racism on The Bachelor/ette to American tribalism playing out on Survivor and tired immigration tropes on display in 90 Day Fiance. Our host was writer Mariah Smith. I was the lead writer and producer.

TIME, Esquire, Vogue and Vulture named it one of the best podcasts of 2021 (so far). It’s also been covered by The Huffpost, The Guardian, Marie Claire, Mashable and NPR’s All Things Considered.

Listen to it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Press around Spectacle:

• The 50 Best Podcasts of 2021: The Atlantic
• The 10 Best Podcasts of 2021: Time
• The Best Podcasts of 2021: Esquire
• Mariah and me on Australia’s Today Extra
• The Best Podcasts of 2021: Vogue
• The 18 Best New Podcasts of 2021 (So Far): Marie Claire
• Best Podcasts of 2021 so far: Time
• Best Podcasts of 2021: Esquire
• The Best Podcasts of 2021 (so far): NY Mag/Vulture
• ‘Spectacle’ Podcast Makes The Case For Reality TV As A Crucial Art Form: HuffPost
• The Podcast ‘Spectacle’ Covers Reality TV, 1 Franchise At A Time: NPR/ATC
• Servant of Pod: The “Spectacle” of Reality Television
• Mashable: Best new podcasts of 2021 (so far)