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Podcasts The Frame
Mindy Kaling and Nisha Ganatra's collaboration on 'Late Night'
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The Frame Tile
Episode 19401
Listen • 28:25
Mindy Kaling and Nisha Ganatra's collaboration on 'Late Night'

Ganatra talks about the film she directed, which was written by Kaling and was a big hit at Sundance; the latest study from USC's Inclusion Initiative has some distressing news about women in the music industry; the search to replace a legendary drummer and professor at a prominent music program.
Mindy Kaling, left, wrote and co-stars in "Late Night," which was directed by Nisha Ganatra. The film was purchased at the Sundance Film Festival by Amazon.
Mindy Kaling, left, wrote and co-stars in "Late Night," which was directed by Nisha Ganatra. The film was purchased at the Sundance Film Festival by Amazon.
(
Sundance Institute
)

On today's show:

Women are in charge, for a change

Mindy Kaling was a "diversity hire" on "The Office," an experience that was familiar to director Nisha Ganatra, so they collaborated for the feature film, "Late Night," which stars Emma Thompson as a talk show host. Ganatra spoke with John Horn at the Sundance Film Festival, where the movie was bought by Amazon for $13 million.

It's the Same Old Song, Unfortunately

The latest study from USC's Inclusion Initiative examines the gender and race/ethnicity of artists, songwriters, and producers across the 700 top songs from 2012-2018, as well as demographics of Grammy nominees across the same timeframe. The report also includes results of 75 in-depth interviews with female songwriters and producers about their experiences in the recording studio. The reality for women working in these environments is grim.

Big beats that were hard to replace

A year ago, this week, the world renown drummer Leon Ndugu Chancler died tragically from prostate cancer at the age of 65. Chancler was a Grammy Award winner whose work with a long list of major music figures earned him huge respect in the industry. Chancler was also a professor at USC’s Thornton School of Music. The Frame contributor Betto Arcos reports on how Chancler’s replacement was selected.