‘Podcrushed’ Is the Podcast Where Penn Badgley Reads Your Middle School Story
Badgley, Nava Kavelin, and Sophie Ansari bring you stories and conversations about middle school.
It’s time to explore the awkwardness, anxiety, heartbreak, and self-discovery that define adolescence with the recently launched “Podcrushed,” a new podcast series created and hosted by Penn Badgley (“You,” “Gossip Girl”), Nava Kavelin, and Sophie Ansari.
Each week, “Podcrushed” begins with a listener-submitted story, narrated by Penn and enriched with sound design and score. Penn, Nava, and Sophie then welcome a special guest to share their own previously unheard and thoroughly embarrassing middle school stories — from childhood crushes, to battles with body hair, to schoolyard scuffles.
The result is sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartwarming, and always relatable. Check out a teaser from Episode 1:
The background each host brings to “Podcrushed” enhances the experience for guests and listeners:
Penn, a former child actor who spent his middle school years in Hollywood.
Sophie, a former fifth-grade teacher who grew up in seven countries around the world.
Nava, a former director of a middle school who spent her adolescence in Puerto Rico.
An initial slate of guests includes Amy Schumer, Andy Grammer, Ayo Edebiri, Drew Barrymore, Jenna Ortega, Leighton Meester, Rainn Wilson, Shay Mitchell, Evan Rachel Wood, Tati Gabrielle, Victoria Pedretti, and more. Each guest’s willingness to share some of their most formative moments with humor and poignancy has reaffirmed the universality of the “Podcrushed” premise.
In a joint statement, the hosts said, “‘Podcrushed’ began as a way to dig into people’s most awkward and funny moments in middle school, in order to highlight the universality of getting crushed in some way. But as stories started rolling in from all over the world, the humanity of it all floored us — there weren’t only stories of heartbreak, humiliation, and delicious comeuppance, but also stories exploring confusion, identity, and loss. What the show makes clear is that these experiences unite us all, and we can’t wait for you to hear it.”
