About Us
The Montclair Pod is an award-winning podcast that offers a weekly deep dive into the stories, issues, and buzz shaping our NJ town. In 2025, The Montclair Pod was awarded a SIGNAL trophy as one of the BEST LOCAL NEWS podcasts in the country.
Hosted by two local friends and journalists, Farnoosh Torabi and Michael Schreiber, The Montclair Pod explores the heart of our vibrant community with curiosity, humor, and a little bit of neighborly gossip.
From the latest drama in Montclair schools to the tangled web of local politics and the hot housing market, we cover the topics you’re already chatting about at the bus stop, the farmer’s market, or over a beer at Tierney’s. Each episode features conversations with community leaders and movers and shakers making waves in town.
But it’s not just about us—it’s your show, too! Share your questions, opinions, (and even compliments), and you might hear them on an upcoming episode.
Editorial & AI Policy
Michael Schreiber
Co-founder and co-host Michael Schreiber is the president and co-founder of MediaFeed, and an Emmy and duPont winning journalist and media executive. He’s worked with the New York Times, Frontline, HBO, ABC News and NBC News. He plays keys in Bard and he and his family have called Montclair home for 15 years.
- Favorite dinner spot: Turtle and the Wolf
- Favorite coffee: My espresso maker using beans from Local
- Favorite workouts: Cambio Boxing with Ruben Chavez
Farnoosh Torabi
Co-founder and co-host Farnoosh is a seasoned financial journalist, TV host, bestselling author, and the host of the Webby-winning podcast So Money. She and her family have been living in Montclair for 5 years. A Brooklyn transplant, she appreciates Montclair’s diverse cultural events, the Farmer’s Market, and many, glorious parks.
- Favorite dinner spot: Goia Mia on Bloomfield Ave
- Favorite coffee: Java Love on Church St.
- Favorite workouts: Walking around town, The Bar Method and Fit Loft
Megan O'Donnell
Megan O’Donnell is the Associate Producer of The Montclair Pod and the host of I Know You Didn’t Ask, a twice-weekly lifestyle and pop culture podcast. Before podcasting full-time, Megan was a Senior Producer producing editorial and advertising campaigns for Condé Nast, Vox Media, McCann Agency & many more independent clients. Originally from Long Island, she moved to Montclair two and a half years ago and loves exploring the town, dining at local restaurants with her husband, and walking her dog at Brookdale Park.
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Bob Raynor
Bob is a seasoned creative leader with deep experience in brand, design, and strategic storytelling. He is the founder and CEO of Sequence Design, LLC, an agency focused on building impactful brand experiences, and previously served as a Creative Director working with major clients, including Pfizer, where he led cross-disciplinary teams in developing thoughtful, regulated creative work.
Our Board of Advisors
Dan Arnall
Dan Arnall is a journalist and media executive dedicated to strengthening trust in an age of disruption. Over a career spanning network, cable, and digital newsrooms, he’s helped teams navigate technological change while holding fast to the core values of accuracy, fairness, and public service.
As Vice President for Standards at NBC News Group, Arnall leads efforts to evolve editorial practices and build responsible AI tools that empower journalists to reveal truth in new ways. He’s part of a generation of newsroom leaders working to ensure innovation serves the foundations of journalism and the audiences that rely on them.
Susie Banikarim
Susie Banikarim is an Emmy award-winning journalist, filmmaker and media executive. She is a frequent speaker & panelist, focused on media issues & criticism, politics and pop culture.
She is the co-host and Executive Producer of In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett from iHeart Podcasts and The Meteor. She directed and produced the 2020 documentary "Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press" about media coverage of the 2016 presidential election as the first filmmaker-in-residence at Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center. The film was nominated for two Emmy Awards.
Julia Kaplan
Julia Kaplan is a proud Montclair resident, New Jersey native, and independent media consultant who advises top-tier creators and podcasters on their growth and distribution strategies. She has extensive experience in the podcasting industry, having led strategy, operations, and programming teams at Spotify. Kaplan also launched the business development and partnerships function for industry-leading podcast network Gimlet Media. She previously worked in the Media practice at the Boston Consulting Group, advising news publishers and audio networks on a variety of strategic topics.
Neal Carruth
Neal Carruth is a general manager at The Initial Group, where he helps clients build, monetize, and grow their digital media businesses. Neal was previously the executive vice president and general manager of the Freakonomics Radio Network, where he focused on growth strategy and network operations. Neal came to Freakonomics after more than two decades at NPR, where he served in a variety of roles, including line producer of All Things Considered and Chief Business Editor. For more than a decade, beginning with his work with the Planet Money team, Neal was a pioneering leader of NPR’s podcasting business. In 2017, he launched NPR’s daily news podcasting strategy, built around major podcasts like Up First (a 2026 Golden Globe nominee), Consider This, and Short Wave. He also helped establish NPR’s strong reputation in narrative longform podcasting, with shows like Embedded and the Pulitzer-winning No Compromise.
His journalism at NPR received a Peabody, two duPont Awards, and a Loeb, among other honors. In 2019, Neal was a fellow in the Media Transformation Challenge program at the Harvard Kennedy School. Neal studied psychology at the University of Michigan. A Montclair resident since 2013, Neal enjoys running, reading, and spending time with his wife, two sons, and their two dogs.
Jennifer Lazarus
Jennifer Lazarus is a veteran communications executive with two decades of experience leading high-impact marketing, brand strategy, and audience-growth initiatives for major nonprofits and Fortune-ranked companies. She specializes in digital transformation, building strong media partnerships, and developing data-driven content strategies.
As Chief Communications Officer and in leadership roles at Digimentors, Jennifer has overseen major brand overhauls, global events, and strategic pivots that secured the firm’s largest nonprofit and foundation partnerships. She is also an adjunct lecturer at Montclair State University, helping prepare the next generation of media professionals.
A Montclair resident, Jennifer holds an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University and a B.A. from McGill University. She brings deep expertise in storytelling, strategic communications, and community-centered impact to The Montclair Pod’s advisory board.
Ben Monnie
Ben Monnie is a seasoned executive specializing in media, technology, and strategy. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Operations at CNN, leading initiatives to grow and transform the organization’s digital consumer business.
Prior to joining CNN, Monnie was a Director at Google, where he co-founded the Google News Initiative and oversaw numerous strategic and partnership efforts with the news industry. Before his tenure at Google, he spent a decade at The New York Times in senior roles in strategy and business development, contributing to the launch of its digital subscriptions business and guiding product expansions, including gaming and NYT Cooking.
Ali Privitera
Ali Privitera is a seasoned content strategist, brand builder, and executive producer with over 15 years of experience developing and executing innovative programs across video, digital, social, and live events. She has led high-impact partnerships and sponsorships, consistently focused on editorial integrity and audience engagement.
Passionate about democratizing finance and empowering financial independence—especially for women—Privitera brings a strong editorial lens to brand collaborations, ensuring content that both informs and inspires. Her expertise lies in packaging multi-platform content, aligning it with advertisers’ goals, and driving growth and innovation for all stakeholders.
Mohan Renganathan
An early champion of podcasting, Mo forged some of the first brand partnerships in the space back in 2004 – helping establish podcasting as a cornerstone of modern storytelling.
He has led growth initiatives as fractional CMO at TuneIn and spent nearly nine years at Google, where he built innovative marketing programs within the Google Media Lab, including the award-winning Think With Google podcast.
A proud Montclair resident, Mo believes deeply in the power of community. You’ll find him channeling that spirit as Chair of the Montclair Co-operative School Board of Trustees, cheering from the sidelines for Montclair United soccer, or trading volleys on the town’s pickleball & tennis courts.
