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
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
Early career
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]
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
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]
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
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
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]
