Podcast series explores awkwardness, anxiety, heartbreak, and self-discovery experienced during adolescence

Initial slate of special guests includes Amy Schumer, Andy Grammer, Ayo Edebiri, Drew Barrymore, Jenna Ortega, Leighton Meester, Rainn Wilson, Shay Mitchell, Tati Gabrielle, Victoria Pedretti

NEW YORK, May 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stitcher, the Triton-ranked #1 podcast company and SiriusXM subsidiary, announced today a new podcast series created and hosted by Penn Badgley (You, Gossip Girl), Nava Kavelin, and Sophie Ansari. Beginning May 18, Podcrushed will explore the awkwardness, anxiety, heartbreak, and self-discovery that defines adolescence.

An audio trailer and an animated teaser video clip for Podcrushed are available now.

Each week, Podcrushed begins with a listener-submitted story, narrated by Penn and enriched with sound design and score. Penn, Nava and Sophie then welcome a special guest to share their own previously unheard and thoroughly embarrassing middle school stories – from childhood crushes, to battles with body hair, to schoolyard scuffles. The result is sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartwarming, and always relatable.

The background each host brings to Podcrushed enhances the experience for guest and listener – Penn, a former child actor who spent his middle school years in Hollywood; Sophie, a former fifth grade teacher who grew up in seven countries around the world; and Nava, a former director of a middle school who spent her adolescence in Puerto Rico.

An initial slate of guests includes Amy Schumer, Andy Grammer, Ayo Edebiri, Drew Barrymore, Jenna Ortega, Leighton Meester, Rainn Wilson, Shay Mitchell, Evan Rachel Wood, Tati Gabrielle, Victoria Pedretti, and more. Each guest's willingness to share some of their most formative moments with humor and poignancy has reaffirmed the universality of Podcrushed's premise.

In a joint statement, the hosts said: "Podcrushed began as a way to dig into people's most awkward and funny moments in middle school, in order to highlight the universality of getting crushed in some way. But as stories started rolling in from all over the world, the humanity of it all floored us -- there weren't only stories of heartbreak, humiliation and delicious comeuppance, but also stories exploring confusion, identity, and loss. What the show makes clear is that these experiences unite us all, and we can't wait for you to hear it."

"Penn, Nava and Sophie are shining a light on the time in our lives that defines who we are," says Peter Clowney, Vice President of Content at Stitcher. "They've created a show that is both funny and serious, and we're excited for people to hear that."

David Ansari (Vallis Alps) co-created Podcrushed and serves as the show's producer and sound designer. The series is executive produced by Stitcher's Nora Ritchie (Unladylike, By the Book, The Katie Couric Podcast).

SXM Media, the combined advertising revenue organization of Sirius XM Holdings Inc., has exclusive global ad sales rights for Podcrushed. SXM Media is the gateway for marketers to the #1 U.S. podcast advertising network in reaching weekly podcast listeners, per Edison Research.

Podcrushed will be available on Stitcher, the SXM App, Pandora, and all major podcast listening platforms.

Penn Badgley | Producer, Actor | Penn never finished middle school, but at twelve years old, began playing characters in movies and TV who did. Having spent the last two decades being rewarded for acting like someone he's not, he still feels pretty ill-equipped for the perils of high school.

Nava Kavelin | Producer, Writer | Nava is the co-founder and CEO of Ninth Mode, a production company dedicated to developing content that shines a light on the brighter side of human nature. In middle school you could find her in Puerto Rico reading Sweet Valley High, listening to Maná, while pining over a pretty boy.

Sophie Ansari | Producer, Artist | Sophie is an illustrator and video-ator based in LA. Having lived her gawkiest years in countries like The Philippines and China, Sophie can confirm that the experience of early-tween dweebiness is truly universal, and that the cathartic effect of a shared cringe transcends barriers of language and culture.

Stitcher, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the best place to listen to, produce and monetize podcasts. The Stitcher app is one of the world's most popular podcast listening platforms, with a growing network of original content and a premium subscription service. Stitcher is home to Stitcher Originals, Black lifestyle and culture network More Sauce, top-ranked comedy podcast network Earwolf, and award-winning documentary network Witness Docs.

SXM Media is the combined sales organization of Sirius XM Holdings Inc., spanning its SiriusXM, Pandora, and Stitcher audio entertainment platforms and services, including that of Midroll, the leading podcast advertising network representing over 300 of the world's largest podcasts. With a reach of more than 150 million listeners, SXM Media gives brands, creators, and publishers access to the largest digital audio advertising platform in North America. SXM Media also serves as the exclusive advertising and sales representative for other platforms and podcasters, including major entities such as SoundCloud (exclusive U.S. advertising representative) and the NBCUniversal News Group (exclusive advertising representative for NBC News and MSNBC podcasts, with additional sales rights to CNBC podcasts).

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the leading audio entertainment company in North America, and the premier programmer and platform for subscription and digital advertising-supported audio products. SiriusXM's platforms collectively reach approximately 150 million listeners, the largest digital audio audience across paid and free tiers in North America, and deliver music, sports, talk, news, comedy, entertainment and podcasts. Pandora, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. SiriusXM's subsidiaries Stitcher, Simplecast and AdsWizz make it a leader in podcast hosting, production, distribution, analytics and monetization. The Company's advertising sales arm, SXM Media, leverages its scale, cross-platform sales organization, and ad tech capabilities to deliver results for audio creators and advertisers. SiriusXM, through Sirius XM Canada Holdings, Inc., also offers satellite radio and audio entertainment in Canada. In addition to its audio entertainment businesses, SiriusXM offers connected vehicle services to automakers. For more about SiriusXM, please go to: www.siriusxm.com.

Source: SiriusXM

Media contacts

Ron Gaskill
Stitcher
ron.gaskill@siriusxm.com 

Patrick Reilly
SiriusXM
Patrick.Reilly@siriusxm.com 

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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.