EXCLUSIVE: Dan Taberski, the man behind podcasts including Missing Richard Simmons and 9/12, has struck a multi-show deal with Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios.
The move will see Taberski create four new podcasts for the studio, which is behind many of his previous hits.
It comes as the podcasting world begins to evolve with an increasing number of talent deals, ala the television and film world. Campside Media, the company behind the Chameleon franchise, struck a trio of first-look deals with Believe Her creator Justine van der Leun, Sam Mullins, who is behind Wild Boys and Dr. Dante, and Sean Flynn, the man behing The Bering, earlier this year.
Taberski previously created Andrew WK-hosted series Destroy Build Destroy for Cartoon Network and was a producer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart before moving into audio.
He started working with Pineapple in 2017 on six-part series Missing Richard Simmons, which became a breakout hit with its search for the enigmatic fitness instructor before hosting Surviving Y2K, Running from Cops and 9/12, a narrative investigation into post 9/11 culture in America. He also produced The Line for Apple TV+, a podcast that sat alongside the documentary series.
“When we first started working with Dan back in 2016, his talent was immediately clear and wildly exciting. He just had so many new ideas for how to tell a story in this medium, and an uncanny ability to turn those ideas into a reality,” said Jenna Weiss-Berman, co-founder, Pineapple Street Studios. “We’re thrilled to continue our award-winning partnership with Dan and cannot wait for everyone to hear what comes next.”
“The folks at Pineapple have been my partners since my very first doc podcast, when I was just a wee host, and it was love at first sight. They’re innovative and never shy away from a narrative challenge and are just good people,” said Taberski. “Podcasting is still as exciting a place for making documentaries as it was back then—and I’m so happy to continue making ambitious projects with them. Couldn’t be luckier, couldn’t be more excited.”
