Rarefied Air
Writing background helps Seavy-Nesper â12 in role on NPR flagship show.
A year out of college, Molly Seavy-Nesper â12 was living back home and, by her own admission, feeling âvery lost.â
Radioâand in particular Fresh Air and its host Terry Grossâwas a lifeline. âWhen I was miserable in Massachusetts, working in retail and restaurants, I listened to Fresh Air in the car,â she says, âand I remember those interviews.
âI remember Terry talking to Rachel Maddow about depression, and I remember the anniversary of September 11th and her talking to somebody who trained rescue dogs, and I remember the powerful force of radio when you feel so alone and so stuck.â
Back then, she couldnât have imagined that, within the year, sheâd land a Fresh Air internship. Or that the internship would lead to âthe best job I could have in my field.â
A French and Cities double major at Bryn Mawr, Seavy-Nesper today works as associate producer of digital media for Fresh Air. In that role, sheâs the person responsible for managing the programâs digital presenceâbuilding webpages, running social media, and handling the podcast.
Writing is a big part of her jobâin addition to her digital work, she often writes copy for the âtoday on the showâ promos that appear at the top of the hourâand she credits her Bryn Mawr experience with helping her hone that skill. âWithout that Bryn Mawr âwriting boot camp,â I certainly wouldn't be here,â she says. âI'm writing all day, every day. I'm writing for radio, I'm writing for Terryâs voice, I'm writing in my own voiceâand feeling confident to have people critique my writing is so important in what I do.â
A true Mawrter, Seavy-Nesper describes the College as âa gift of four years where I could focus on myself and my friendships and my academic interests. ⊠So by the time that I was out in the âreal world,â I was already fully formed, and I wasn't going to change because of patriarchy.â
âBeing a feminist and really identifying with my Bryn Mawr experience has helped me feel closer to Terry, too,â she says. âShe started at a feminist radio show called Woman Power, and so she was just out there on the frontlines before anybody else was.â
When asked about the highlights of her job, Seavy-Nesper, again a true Mawrter, cites the advance copies of books and movies that flood the office. And, while most guests record remotely and not in Philadelphia, she has met a handful of big names: sheâs met Trevor Noah, Anthony Bourdain, Hillary Clinton, and a host of authors.
And, âoh, Gloria Steinem!â she adds. âWhat do you say to Gloria Steinem? I'm pretty sure I said thank you and started crying and then I was like, I have to go now.â
NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross is a long-form interview show that covers arts and issues. It's heard on about 650 stations across the country, with six million weekly broadcast listeners. Fresh Air was the most downloaded podcast on Apple podcasts in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
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is produced at in Philadelphia and broadcast nationally by NPR.
Published on: 03/08/2019