Lea Thau is a Peabody Award-winning producer and director. She is the producer and host of the podcast Strangers, created in partnership with KCRW. Strangers is also part of the groundbreaking podcast network Radiotopia from PRX. With more than 10 million downloads, the show is popular with fans and critics alike. Slate named an episode of Strangers one of "The 25 Best Podcast Episodes Ever” and Strangers won the 2015 Public Radio March Madness Bracket Contest, beating out shows like This American Life, Serial and Radiolab for the top honor.
Lea is also a storytelling teacher and coach. She has worked one-on-one with the likes of Ethan Hawke, Marc Maron, Gabriel Byrne, Darryll "DMC" McDaniels, Gay Talese, and Suzanne Vega, among many, many others, as well as with Nieman fellows at Harvard and inner city kids in New York and Los Angeles. She has taught storytelling for business at Google, Nike, Proctor & Gamble, Tiffany & Co, The Home Depot, Saatchi & Saatchi and many other companies. She previously served as Executive & Creative Director of the live storytelling organization The Moth, where she created The Moth Podcast and The Moth Radio Hour. Originally from Denmark, she first came to the U.S. as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in New York City. She lives in Los Angeles with her son.
More from KCRW
‘Queer Lens’ exhibit spotlights 200 years of LGBTQ+ photos
ArtsThe Getty Center’s latest exhibit explores how photos of the U.S. and international queer community have evolved and shifted the public's perception.
Weekend film reviews: ‘Smurfs,’ ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’
EntertainmentThe latest film releases include Smurfs, Eddington, and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Weighing in are Tim Grierson, senior U.S.
chlothegod: KCRW Live from HQ
Artsclothegod flexes the big mood + bigger musical range of her new EP “I Feel Different Everyday” for KCRW’s Annenberg Performance Studio.
‘Pee-wee As Himself’ director Matt Wolf on really getting to know Paul Reubens; The Media’s appeasement to the President abounds
EntertainmentCBS News president Wendy McMahon has stepped down from her post as tensions escalate over ongoing Paramount Global-Trump settlement talks.
Chris + Paul Weitz explain ‘Murderbot’
ArtsChris and Paul Weitz stop by to chat about “Murderbot,” Laurent Bouzereau discusses “Jaws @ 50,” and producer Will Packer has The Treat.
Forest Whitaker, Adam Cameron and Lucia Micarelli on The Treat
ArtsForrest Whitaker talks “Godfather of Harlem,” The Workers Club co-founder Adam Cameron talks denim, and Lucia Micarelli talks music for The Treat.
Hollywood legend Barry Diller opens up via ‘Who Knew?’
EntertainmentKim Masters talks to Barry Diller about his memoir, Who Knew?
CAAM exhibit spans generations of Black Altadena artists
ArtsThe Black, artistic legacy of Altadena is on display at the California African American Museum. It includes established and up-and-coming artists.
Food > fights: Phil Rosenthal on ‘Somebody Feed Phil’
EntertainmentEric Deggans chats with veteran sitcom showrunner Phil Rosenthal about the current state of the industry.