Avery Trufelman
{{Short description|American podcaster and radio producer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Avery Trufelman
| image = Avery-Trufelman-by-Oliver-Farshi.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Trufelman at her home in 2022
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1991|03|07|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| citizenship = American
| alma_mater = Wesleyan University (BA)
| occupation = Radio producer
| known_for = 99% Invisible
Articles of Interest
Nice Try!
| website = {{URL|averytrufelman.com}}
}}
Avery Trufelman is a podcaster and radio producer. She is best known for her work on 99% Invisible (2013–2020) and its spin-off, Articles of Interest (2018–present).
Background
Avery was born into a "radio family" of two WNYC producers and was raised in Westchester County, New York. She attended Wesleyan University, graduating in 2013 with degrees in German and Letters. While at Wesleyan, she worked at the campus radio station WESU. After graduating, she interned for the now-defunct NPR Berlin in Germany.{{Cite web|title=The Invisible Woman: Avery Trufelman '13|author=Christian Camerota|work=Wesleyan University Magazine|date=5 December 2018|access-date=10 May 2022|url=https://magazine.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2018/12/05/the-invisible-woman-avery-trufelman-13/}}
Career
Following her stint with NPR, Trufelman interned at 99% Invisible and eventually became the show's third full-time producer following Sam Greenspan and creator Roman Mars. She would hold this position until her departure in 2020,{{Cite web|title=Interview with 99pi's Avery Trufelman|author=|work=inside.com |date=6 August 2020|access-date=10 May 2022|url=https://inside.com/campaigns/inside-podcasting-2020-08-06-23997/sections/202086}}{{Cite web|title=Avery Trufelman's Curiosity Knows No Bounds|last=Malik|first=Imran Ali|work=Medium|date=12 May 2020|access-date=10 May 2022|url=https://bellocollective.com/avery-trufelmans-curiosity-knows-no-bounds-1ddd615f03af}}{{Cite web|title=All the Buildings|work=99% Invisible|date=28 October 2013|access-date=5 November 2021|url=https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/all-the-buildings/}} although she returned for a single episode in 2022, credited as "producer emeritus".{{Cite web|title=The Octagon House|author=|work=99% Invisible |date=5 July 2022|access-date=14 October 2022|url=https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-octagon-house/}}
=''Articles of Interest''=
In 2018, Trufelman spearheaded 99% Invisible's first spinoff series, Articles of Interest, which explores the origins of clothing pieces and fashion subcultures. The New Yorker named the first season the fourth best podcast of 2018{{Cite magazine|title=The Best Podcasts of 2018|magazine=The New Yorker|date=9 December 2020|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2018-in-review/the-best-podcasts-of-2018.html}} and the second season the sixth best podcast of 2020.{{Cite magazine|title=The Best Podcasts of 2020|magazine=The New Yorker|date=9 December 2020|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2020-in-review/the-best-podcasts-of-2020.html}} Vulture named the season one finale, "Punk", the best podcast episode of 2018.{{Cite web|title=The Best Podcast Episodes of 2018|work=Vulture|date=14 December 2018|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-podcast-episodes-2018.html}} At the conclusion of the second season, she announced her departure from 99% Invisible.
In 2021, upon selling 99% Invisible to Sirius XM, Mars transferred ownership of Articles of Interest to Trufelman.{{cite tweet|user=romanmars|first=Roman|last=Mars|date=26 April 2021|number=1386757346064363520|title=BTW, before we sold, I broke off Articles of Interest and gave it to @trufelman. She’s the captain now.|access-date=6 November 2021|url=https://twitter.com/romanmars/status/1386757346064363520}} In 2022, she independently produced a third season, American Ivy, a serialized history of preppy fashion.{{Cite magazine|title=Cat's out of the bag|magazine=Avery Trufelman on Substack |date=12 October 2022|url=https://articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/cats-out-of-the-bag}}
The New Yorker named it the sixth best podcast of 2022{{Cite magazine|title=The Best Podcasts of 2022|magazine=The New Yorker|date=21 December 2022|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2022-in-review/the-best-podcasts-of-2022.html}} while industry creatives surveyed in Vulture named it the third best.{{Cite magazine|title=The Best Podcasts of 2022, According to People Who Make Podcasts|magazine=Vulture|date=21 December 2022|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-podcasts-industry-survey-2022.htmll}} In 2023, she returned to an episodic format.{{Cite magazine|title=“Articles of Interest” from Avery Trufelman Returns with New Episodes on an Ongoing Basis...|magazine=PRX on Medium|date=5 April 2023|url=https://medium.com/prxofficial/articles-of-interest-and-normal-gossip-return-with-new-episodes-39128fd72c27}}
=Other ventures=
In 2019, Trufelman was recruited to host Nice Try! for Vox Media's Curbed. The first season, Utopian, profiles various failed utopian experiments throughout history, including Jamestown, Virginia and Biosphere 2. In 2021, she hosted a second season, Interior, which traces the history of various homemaking tools, including the vacuum cleaner and the crock-pot.
In 2020, following her departure from 99% Invisible, Trufelman began hosting the relaunch of New York's The Cut podcast, moving from Oakland to Brooklyn in the process. Her guests included cartoonist Allison Bechdel, screenwriters Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, and author Michelle Zauner. Trufelman left The Cut in 2021 to resume work on Nice Try! and Articles of Interest. She has also appeared as a guest on several other podcasts including The Business of Fashion Podcast, You're Wrong About, High Brow, and Nymphet Alumni.
Projects
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Provider ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2013–2020; 2022
|Producer |
| 2018–present
|Writer, Performer |PRX |19 episodes |
| 2019–present
|Nice Try! |Writer, Performer |15 episodes |
| 2020–2021
|Host | New York |
| 2020
|Guest |Episode: "Baz Luhrmann's 'Sunscreen Song' –– The '90s' Most Unlikely Hit" |
References
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Category:Wesleyan University alumni
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:American women non-fiction writers
Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:American women podcasters
Category:Writers from New York (state)