PHILADELPHIA, PA – June 21, 2023 – Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios today announced the launch of “Classy with Jonathan Menjivar,” an original eight-part series about the class chasms between us that are difficult to talk about but too big to ignore. The podcast is hosted by veteran Pineapple Street Studios Senior Producer Menjivar, who made the hit shows “Project Unabom” and “The Clearing.”

“Classy with Jonathan Menjivar” will launch with the first two episodes today June 21, 2023, on the Audacy app and everywhere podcasts are available, followed by one episode per week through August 2. Listen and follow the show here: Classy. The visual trailer is here.

“Classy” is a collection of surprising stories, revealing and uncomfortable interviews, and engaging segments that explore how class infiltrates our day-to-day lives. Weaving these pieces together is Menjivar, who grew up a working-class Latino kid, joined the media elite, and became someone who likes oysters, wears cashmere socks and is very conflicted about all of it.

Over eight episodes, Menjivar and guests from all walks of life will explore how class shows up in the workplace, the food we eat, music, family dynamics, army recruitment, fashion, and more. Menjivar talks to his first boss in radio, Terry Gross, about his struggle to fit into the culture at “Fresh Air”; to Jarvis Cocker, lead singer of the band Pulp, and to comedian Wyatt Cenac.

Other guests include comedian Chris Gethard; Rachel Sherman, Chair of Sociology at The New School and author of Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence; Brenda Equihua, Creative Director, owner, and designer of the Latinx luxury brand Equihua; Amechi Ugwu, founder of HBCU-focused brand Torch Sportswear; Adam Linehan, reporter and army veteran; and Dita, an Albanian immigrant who went through New York City’s TEAK program and eventually attended the prestigious Trinity School.

Menjivar’s own working-class upbringing serves as a throughline for the series, featuring interviews with members of his family, as well as original reporting about one of America’s first reality TV shows that played a surprising role in his family’s history.

“‘Classy’ is a deeply personal exploration of a topic I’ve long been privately wrestling with my whole life, and I’ve been fascinated to see the ways that it impacts other people all up and down the class spectrum,” said Menjivar. “Some of it is deeply profound, some of it is profoundly silly – and I think it’s going to really resonate with folks.”

“After so many years behind the scenes making some of podcasting’s best and biggest shows, Jonathan jumping on the mic is so exciting,” said Max Linsky, co-founder of Pineapple Street Studios. “And I’m so proud of him and the team for creating this show in particular. There’s a reason this is a topic so many people avoid—it’s uncomfortable. And yet they’ve found a way to work through that discomfort and get to a place where we can all think, laugh, and look square at a topic we so rarely do.”

Host Menjivar also serves as Senior Producer on “Classy.” Additional credits: Asha Saluja, Senior Managing Producer; Kristen Torres, Producer; Marina Henke, Associate Producer; Joel Lovell and Hayley Howle, Editors; Linsky and Jenna Weiss-Berman, Executive Producers.

Menjivar, a Senior Producer at Pineapple Street Studios, made the hit shows “Project Unabom” and “The Clearing.” Prior to Pineapple, Jonathan was a longtime Producer at the public radio show “This American Life”and served as the show’s Music Supervisor. He was also a Producer at “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” where he used to cut tape with a razor blade.

Please find the cover art for “Classy” and Jonathan Menjivar’s photo here.

For more information, visit www.audacy.com and www.pineapple.fm.