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LA MADE: THE BARBIE TAPES – NEW PODCAST TELLING THE ORIGIN STORY OF THE ICONIC DOLL THROUGH NEVER-BEFORE-HEARD INTERVIEWS WITH CREATORS – LAUNCHES JULY 6
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Co-Hosts Antonia Cereijido and M.G. Lord Chart Barbie’s Six-Decade History, from a New Children’s Doll Inspired by a German Novelty Sex Doll to a Best-Selling Merchandise Empire
In 1959, amid the post-World War II baby boom in the United States, a new doll was born. Her name was Barbie, and she was as tradition-smashing as the generation she was designed to entertain.
In LA Made: The Barbie Tapes, a new podcast mini-series from LAist Studios, Barbie’s creators chart the history of the iconic doll – from finding inspiration in a post-war German novelty sex doll to creating a best-selling children’s toy whose influence would continue to be seen over 60 years later.
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M.G. Lord is a writer and the author of “Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll.” Her work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter and the Los Angeles Times. A graduate of Yale, Lord was for 12 years a syndicated political cartoonist based at Newsday. She is an Associate Professor of the Practice of English at USC.
Antonia Cereijido has served as Executive Producer at LAist Studios and was the host of the LAist podcast Norco '80. She was a producer for six years on NPR’s Latino USA and hosted her own segment, The Breakdown, including an episode about the controversial Frida Kahlo Barbie. She has hosted podcasts for Mic and Slate. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, NPR’s Code Switch, and All Things Considered.
LA Made: The Barbie Tapes premieres today, July 6. New episodes roll out weekly through Thursday, July 27. A one-hour broadcast special of LA Made: The Barbie Tapes will also air on LAist 89.3 FM on Saturday, July 22 at 2:00 PM PT and Sunday, July 23 at 7:00 PM PT.
Listeners can subscribe to LA Made: The Barbie Tapes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR One and all other podcast platforms.
About Southern California Public Radio (SCPR)
Southern California Public Radio (www.scpr.org) is a member-supported multi-platform public media organization that has garnered more than 500 journalistic honors since 1999. Recognized as a national leader in public service journalism and community engagement, SCPR’s flagship radio station, LAist 89.3, is LA’s #1 NPR station. The network’s five stations (LAist 89.3, LAist 89.1 KUOR-FM, LAist 90.3 KVLA-FM, LAist 89.5 KJAI-FM and LAist 89.9 Santa Barbara) deliver award-winning local stories to the communities of the region, including a robust slate of signature programs from NPR, APM, the BBC, and PRI.
LAist is a brand committed to serve audiences in Greater Los Angeles, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. Its award-winning work reaches more than seven million people per month on LAist.com and social media platforms. In 2019, the brand grew to include LAist Studios (www.laiststudios.com), a dedicated podcast development and production studio. Furthering SCPR’s commitment to premium on-demand audio storytelling, podcasts from LAist Studios aim to reflect the ethos of Los Angeles — a forward-looking community built upon unmatched diversity, inclusion, and drive—going beyond geographical borders to connect with listeners around the globe who share the LA state of mind.
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PRESS CONTACTS - The Lippin Group for SCPR
Katie Fuchs - New York
kfuchs@lippingroup.com
646-493-0215
Kevin Broderick - Los Angeles
kevin@lippingroup.com
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