Classy with Jonathan Menjivar

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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.”

Pineapple Street Studios


    • Apr 9, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 27m AVG DURATION
    • 16 EPISODES
    • 1 SEASONS

    Ivy Insights

    The Classy with Jonathan Menjivar podcast is a captivating and thought-provoking exploration of class and its impact on individuals. With his personal anecdotes and interviews with various guests, Jonathan delves into the often unspoken assumptions and experiences that surround class. The podcast is engaging from start to finish, and it breaks down complex topics in a relatable and accessible manner.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is Jonathan's storytelling ability. He has a knack for weaving together personal anecdotes, historical context, and guest interviews to create a rich tapestry of stories surrounding class. Each episode offers a new perspective or insight that challenges listeners to think critically about their own experiences with class.

    Additionally, the diversity of voices featured on the podcast adds depth and nuance to the discussions. Guests come from different backgrounds and have unique experiences with class, allowing for a more comprehensive examination of the topic. This allows listeners to gain a broader understanding of how class intersects with race, gender, and other social factors.

    Unfortunately, one potential downside of The Classy podcast is that it only has one season at the time of writing this review. As someone who thoroughly enjoyed listening to each episode, it would be great to have more content to delve into. However, this is a minor criticism as the existing episodes are well-produced and cover a wide range of topics within the realm of class.

    In conclusion, The Classy with Jonathan Menjivar podcast is an exceptional exploration of class that sheds light on often overlooked aspects of our society. With its engaging storytelling, diverse guest lineup, and thought-provoking analysis, this podcast is definitely worth listening to for anyone interested in understanding how class shapes our lives.



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    Latest episodes from Classy with Jonathan Menjivar

    Introducing: What We Spend

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2025 11:36


    Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—to tell you everything: what they make, what they want, and—for one week—what they spend. Listen to and follow What We Spend, available now, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Introducing: Pulitzer on the Road S2

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2025 2:12


    The Pulitzer on the Road podcast is back for season two! What does it take to win a Pulitzer Prize? In each episode, we'll hear winners in conversation with one another, sharing stories behind their prize-winning work. This packed season features conversations between historians Vladimir Kara-Murza and Anne Applebaum, novelists Jayne Anne Phillips and Viet Thanh Nguyen, playwrights Sanaz Toossi and Lynn Nottage, critics Justin Chang and Joe Morgenstern, biographer Jonathan Eig and journalist Yohance Lacour, investigative reporter Hannah Dreier and photo-journalists Greg Bull and Ivan Valencia, and critic Salamishah Tillet talking with journalists Sarah Conway and Trina Reynolds-Tyler. The first episode is out now! Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Introducing The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2025 4:01


    The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott is an episode-by-episode, behind-the-scenes breakdown of the AppleTV+ workplace thriller with the series' creators, cast, crew, and celebrity superfans. Executive producer/director Ben Stiller and star/executive producer Adam Scott will rewatch every episode of Season 1 and share in-depth, never-before-heard analysis in daily episodes beginning Tuesday, January 7. The companion podcast will continue into Season 2, beginning January 17 and dropping every Friday with the release of each new episode. From Audacy Podcasts, Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios, Red Hour, and Great Scott. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Listen Now: Hysterical

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 6:43


    Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spreads among a group of high school girls in upstate New York. What is causing their sudden, often violent symptoms? Is there something in the water or inside the school? Or is it “all in their head?” The series examines the outbreak in LeRoy, NY, believed by some to be the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem Witch Trials. In his search for answers, Dan Taberski (9/12, Missing Richard Simmons, Running from Cops) explores other seemingly inexplicable events of the last few years – CIA officers being crippled with nausea and vertigo; cops OD'ing from exposure to fentanyl – and discovers they're far more connected than we realize. From Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios, this 7-part series forces us to grapple with the mysteries of our own minds, and reckon with a contagion that we thought was long dead, but may be the defining disorder of our time. Follow Hysterical on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Hysterical early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+ at Wondery.fm/Hysterical_PSS. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Introducing: The Competition

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2024 7:10


    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.   To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Introducing: This Is Uncomfortable

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2024 37:00


    At what point do you walk away from your dreams? Kashy gave himself a deadline: if he didn't become a pop star by the time he turned 25, he'd give up music. But years after he left his music career behind, the universe gave him a second chance, thousands of miles from home. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Listen Now: New Podcast “Ghost Story”

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2023 9:11


    Tristan Redman is a journalist who doesn't believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom – weirder than normal. When, years later, he discovers subsequent occupants of his family home say they have been visited by the ghost of a faceless woman, he's curious. It just so happens that the house Tristan grew up in is right next door to the house where his wife's great grandmother, Naomi Dancy, was murdered – killed by two gunshots to the face. Could there be a connection? Tristan decides to investigate and soon finds himself where no son-in-law should ever be: delving deep into his wife's family history asking questions no-one wants answered. Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios present Ghost Story — a seven-part podcast series about family secrets, overwhelming coincidence, and the things that come back to haunt us. Follow Ghost Story on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Ghost Story ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Listen now: Wondery.fm/GS_Classy To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Queen for a Day

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2023 46:41


    Why are we so attracted to stories of people suffering on television? And what happens after the cameras turn off? In our final episode, Jonathan explores the origins of reality TV and uncovers his family's shocking connection to a very early reality TV game show.  Angelina is an educator and poet. You can find her books of poetry at https://angelinasaenz.com/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Parmesan Foam and Shredded Cheddar

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2023 48:37


    What we eat can say a lot about who we are and where we're from. This week, Jonathan and comedian Chris Gethard face their fear of fancy restaurants as they try to eat their way through their class anxieties. Plus, an exploration of what it's like when the government decides what you can or can't eat. You can hear more from Chris Gethard on his podcast, Beautiful/Anonymous, new episodes are out every Tuesday. You can find Sunni's WIC recipes and more on her TikTok, @justsunni. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Class and Combat

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2023 48:11


    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/.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Common Person

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2023 42:20


    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. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Am I a Classhole?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2023 44:59


    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.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Hemmed In

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2023 43:17


    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_ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    A Classy (and Uncomfortable) Laugh with Terry Gross

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2023 35:03


    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. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Are Rich People Bad?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2023 47:46


    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?' To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    manhattan rich people rachel sherman
    Introducing: Classy with Jonathan Menjivar

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2023 3:36


    People like to pretend class doesn't exist. But really, most of the time, we're just ignoring it because it's uncomfortable. Hosted by Jonathan Menjivar, Classy is a show about the chasms between us that are really hard to talk about, but too big to ignore. Coming out Wednesday, June 21st. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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