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Rico Gagliano

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Rico Gagliano is an American journalist, podcaster and radio host.[1] He is best known as the co-host, with Brendan Francis Newnam, of American Public Media’s arts-and-culture radio show and podcast "The Dinner Party Download," and as a reporter for the public radio business show "Marketplace".[2][3] He has also written for television and for print media, including the New York Times.[4][5][6] He is currently Head of Audio at the arthouse film studio, distributor and streaming service MUBI.[7]

Biography

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Rico is the son of Frank Gagliano, a playwright and theater educator,[8][9][10] and Sandra Gagliano, an opera singer and voice instructor.[11]

He received his B.A. in Film Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a DJ at college station WPTS-FM.[12][13] He earned an MFA in Screenwriting from The American Film Institute in Los Angeles.[14]

Career

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Early career

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Gagliano contributed arts features and criticism to In Pittsburgh newsweekly (now Pittsburgh City Paper).[15] He briefly served as the paper's music editor. His arts profiles, reviews and previews also appeared regularly in the daily Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.[16]

Upon moving to Los Angeles in 1995, Gagliano freelanced for LA Weekly[17] before turning to public radio and filing features for Marketplace, All Things Considered, Weekend America, and the Savvy Traveler.[18][19][20]

Gagliano was a full-time reporter for Marketplace from 2006 to 2010. In addition to domestic and foreign business & economy reporting, he wrote and produced the show's “Marketplace Players” satirical sketches.[21][22]

Dinner Party Download

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In 2008, Gagliano co-created the podcast “The Dinner Party Download” with Brendan Francis Newnam.[23] The two also co-hosted and co-produced, with Gagliano as primary editor. Begun as an independent bi-weekly, 15-minute show, it was eventually produced and distributed by American Public Media, and expanded to an hour-long weekly radio show in 2011.[24] It ran for 400 episodes and aired on 183 public radio stations.[25]

The show was nominated for multiple podcasting honors, including “Best Arts And Culture Show” at the 2018 Webby Awards.[26] It was named “Best Food and Drink Podcast” by the Academy of Podcasters at the 2016 Podcast Movement conference and was a finalist the following year.[27][28][29] Gagliano's interviews garnered two National Arts & Entertainment Journalism awards and a Southern California Journalism Award from the Los Angeles Press Club.[30][31][32]

A companion book written by Gagliano and Newnam, “Brunch Is Hell: How to Save the World by Throwing a Dinner Party” was published by Little Brown Inc. in December 2017.[33] The show aired its final all-new episode the same week.

Post Dinner Party Download

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In 2019 and 2020, Gagliano was a recurring guest host for Southern California NPR affiliate KCRW's daily news and culture shows "Press Play" and "Greater L.A.".[34][35] He earned another Southern California Journalism Award [36] for his "Press Play" profile of Tommy Peltier,[37] an early collaborator of musician Judee Sill.

Gagliano co-hosted two shows for the podcasting network Wondery: "Safe for Work" and "One Plus One."[38][39] Both ended production in 2020.

Later that year he served as Senior Story Editor for the Crooked Media podcast "Missing America",[40] and as co-writer and co-producer of Wondery's "Jacked: Rise of the New Jack Sound", hosted by Taraji P. Henson.[41] Both were nominated for Webby awards, with "Missing America" winning a "People's Voice" award for "Best Individual Episode - Documentary".[42][43]

MUBI Podcast

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In 2021, MUBI announced Gagliano would host, write and executive produce its first flagship podcast — a documentary-style show exploring movies and cinema culture.[44] It completed its first season in July 2021. In March 2022, MUBI announced Gagliano had been named Head of Audio for the company, and would continue to host the MUBI Podcast.[45] The fifth and latest season began airing in January 2024.[46]

Since its launch, the show has been nominated for two Webby Awards (including "Best Arts/Culture Podcast"), three Ambie awards (including twice for "Best Entertainment Podcast"),[47][48] and two British Podcast Awards ("Best New Show" and "Best Arts & Culture Show").[49][50]

Television

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Gagliano was a writer's assistant on the sixth season of the TV sitcom Mad About You.[4] He spent several years thereafter writing for comedy, animation and reality TV, including Disney’s Teamo Supremo and Cartoon Network’s Hero 108.[4] He was on the writing staff of MTV's Undressed along with Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof and director Steven S. DeKnight.[51]

Print

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Gagliano contributes music, food, and travel features to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.[52][53][54]

References

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  1. ^ "About The Dinner Party Download". The Dinner Party Download. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  2. ^ "Rico Gagliano". www.marketplace.org. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  3. ^ Faughnder, Ryan (28 December 2013). "Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam's 'Dinner Party' breaks ice". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  4. ^ a b c "Rico Gagliano". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  5. ^ "Articles by Rico Gagliano | Freelance Journalist | Muck Rack". muckrack.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  6. ^ "An L.A. Diner That's Been Obsessing Over Its Burgers and Pies Since 1947". New York Times. 3 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Mubi Ramps Up Podcast Focus, Taps Rico Gagliano As Head of Of Audio". Deadline. 9 March 2022.
  8. ^ Gagliano, Frank (1967). Night of the Dunce: A Play. Dramatists Play Service Inc. ISBN 9780822208228.
  9. ^ "Dramatists Play Service, Inc". www.dramatists.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  10. ^ "WVUToday Archive". wvutoday-archive.wvu.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  11. ^ A gala evening of the Berkshire Music Center. Wednesday, August 21, 1963.
  12. ^ McClain, Heather. "The Host with the Most Comes to Pittsburgh". www.wesa.fm. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  13. ^ "Film & Media Studies Undergraduate Alumni".
  14. ^ "Rico Gagliano, bylines for the Dinner Party Download".
  15. ^ ""We Rocked, and Now We're Dead" | Industry News | AltWeeklies.com". archive.altweeklies.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  16. ^ "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  17. ^ "Rico Gagliano | Los Angeles News and Events | LA Weekly". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  18. ^ "Burning Man". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  19. ^ "Weekend America for Saturday, January 15, 2005". weekendamerica.publicradio.org. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  20. ^ "The Savvy Traveler Rundown - Week of December 12, 2003". savvytraveler.publicradio.org. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  21. ^ "India's Dalits seek economic equality". www.marketplace.org. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  22. ^ "What else can airlines charge us for?". www.marketplace.org. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  23. ^ "Episode 1: The Watson Twins, Dillinger, Hot Sauce". The Dinner Party Download. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  24. ^ "Episode 119: Antonio Banderas, Old-School Candy, and Music from a Non-belieber". The Dinner Party Download. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  25. ^ "'Dinner Party Download' to end production". The Dinner Party Download. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 2019-02-24.>
  26. ^ "Dinner Party Download -- The Webby Awards". Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  27. ^ "APM Wins Academy of Podcasters Awards". American Public Media. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  28. ^ "Academy of Podcasters: Past Winners". Academy of Podcasters. Podcast Movement. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017.
  29. ^ "2017 Finalist". Academy of Podcasters. Podcast Movement. August 23, 2017. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019.
  30. ^ "National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards – Los Angeles Press Club" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  31. ^ "National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards – Los Angeles Press Club" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  32. ^ "National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards – Los Angeles Press Club" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  33. ^ "New & Noteworthy". The New York Times. 2017-12-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  34. ^ Gagliano, Rico (2019-09-02). "Press Play: More House Democrats Push for Impeachment". KCRW. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  35. ^ Gagliano, Rico (2019-12-09). "Greater L.A.: Housing development uproots 'botanical museum' in West Hollywood". KCRW. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  36. ^ "Winners of the 61st SoCal Journalism Awards 2019" (PDF). LA Press Club. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  37. ^ Gagliano, Rico (2018-11-29). "83-year-old almond seller at Hollywood Farmers' Market has a rich musical history". KCRW. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  38. ^ "7 Podcasts You Should Be Listening to in 2019". Cosmopolitan. 25 November 2019.
  39. ^ "One Plus One". ART19. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  40. ^ "Missing America Episode 1 - Trumpism". Crooked Media.
  41. ^ "Taraji P. Henson to Host, Produce Podcast Series on Rise and Fall of New Jack Swing". Variety. 15 October 2020.
  42. ^ "Top Documentary Podcasts-The Webby Awards". The Webby Awards.
  43. ^ "Top Entertainment Podcasts-The Webby Awards". The Webby Awards.
  44. ^ "MUBI Podcast Sets Host, Premiere Date for Six-Episode First Season". Indiewire. 26 May 2021.
  45. ^ "Mubi Ramps Up Podcast Focus, Taps Rico Gagliano As Head Of Audio". Deadline. 9 March 2022.
  46. ^ "Sofia Coppola Joins the MUBI Podcast for a Season About Fashion and Film". Indiewire. 16 January 2024.
  47. ^ "2023 Winners and Nominees". ambies.com. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  48. ^ "2024 Nominees". ambies.com. Retrieved 18 Feb 2024.
  49. ^ "Nominees Announced For the 2022 British Podcast Awards". radiotoday.co.uk. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  50. ^ "British Podcast Awards nominees revealed". britishpodcastawards.com. 2024-07-25.
  51. ^ "Damon Lindelof Finds Freedom in Limitations and Ponders the Paradoxes of Fandom". The Dinner Party Download. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
  52. ^ Gagliano, Rico (2023-08-03). "An L.A. Diner That's Been Obsessing Over Its Burgers and Pies Since 1947". New York Times.
  53. ^ Gagliano, Rico (2020-12-09). "Why Travel Writer and Trans Pioneer Jan Morris is My Itinerant Literary Hero". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  54. ^ Gagliano, Rico (2020-03-26). "Seven Kid-Friendly Songs That Won't Drive Parents Insane". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-04-16.