TN10: Susie Banikarim, TV Producer, Filmmaker and Pop Culture Guru

Banikarim at a town hall in Newtown, Connecticut, which she produced for Katie Couric’s show in March 2013, a few months after the Sandy Hook school shooting. Photo credit: ABC/ IDA MAE ASTUTE

Basic bio: Susie Banikarim is an Emmy award-winning journalist and filmmaker who has run some of the most notable newsrooms in media, such as VICE and Gizmodo Media Group, where she oversaw publications like Gizmodo, Jezebel and The Root. 

Susie is the director and producer of the 2020 documentary, Enemies of the People: Trump and the Political Press with nearly a million views on YouTube.

She began her journalism career at ABC News, where she was a producer for Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, and went on to help launch Katie Couric’s talk show. She is currently an editor-at-large at The Meteor. 

Beyond the bio: I just launched “In Retrospect”, a new podcast for iHeart and The Meteor. I'm co-hosting with Jessica Bennett, a close friend and amazing journalist. Each week we revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped us — and probably you — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and our place in it.  

What makes you a grown-ass lady? Knowing what’s worth taking on and what’s worth leaving behind.

Here’s Susie’s TueNight 10:

1. On the nightstand: I don’t fall asleep easily so I have a little group of things I use to help set a bedtime vibe: Amanda Gorman’s book of poems, Call Us What We Carry. A Muji aroma diffuser. My Casper Glow light. A PhoneSoap sanitizer. I bought this thing during peak pandemic paranoia but now it’s a little jail I put my phone in at the end of the day to stop myself from aimlessly scrolling all night. 

2. Can’t stop/won’t stop: Buying beauty products I don’t need but love anyway.

3. Jam of the minute: Depending on my mood either “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift or “You Wish” by Flyana Boss.

4. Thing I miss: California. Always California. I grew up in California. I love NY and I’m not leaving but a piece of me will always miss the sun and sand of my childhood.

5. ‘80s crush: Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club.

6. Current crush: Ebon Moss-Bachrach or really anyone from The Bear. 

7. Latest fav find: Inner peace. Just kidding! I love this Chanel bronzing cream. I don’t know what kind of sorcery is involved in making it but it gives you a magical glow that looks completely natural. 

8. Last thing you lost: My glasses. I have three pairs and yet I’m always searching for a pair.

9. Best thing that happened recently: Launching my new podcast “In Retrospect”! It’s been a wild ride but it’s been really fun to do something creative and challenging in a completely new way.

10. Looking forward to: The next few months. Fall is my favorite season and I love all the things that come with it: crisp cool days and long walks with my dog and cozy sweaters and afternoons spent baking pie.