S4, Episode 19: Makena Naegele, oyster, The Kind Social Media Company

S4, Episode 19: Makena Naegele, oyster, The Kind Social Media Company

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student, Kyli Fox Soug, interviews Makena Naegele, the founder and CEO of oyster. Kyli speaks to Makena about helping job seekers find genuine career communities and engage in mentorship conversations in the changing career landscape. Makenna Naegele is an NYU Stern alum with a background in UX design, data science, and entrepreneurship, and has worked at firms like frog, Capgemini, and Women in Innovation. She has worked on projects spanning from media and entertainment to tech and innovation.  Today, she is the founder and CEO of oyster, a career-discovery and micro-community app designed to help job seekers find genuine community, engage in mentorship, and build their careers with intention. oyster is founded on the belief that your ideal career exists and that someone out there is likely doing it right now, you just need to be connected to them. oyster helps you not only survive in your jobs, but thrive in your career.  For a full transcript of this episode, please email career.communications@nyu.edu [career.communications@nyu.edu].

S4, Episode 18: Joshua Lewis, NYU Stern School of Business

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Avani Advani, interviews Joshua Lewis, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business. Avani speaks to Joshua about the human side of decision-making, how “loss aversion” influences what we value, and why some people chase risk while others avoid it entirely. Professor Lewis researches consumer behavior, managerial decision-making, and global risk management. His research addresses wide-ranging themes such as when people will invest to improve outcomes they care about, how to optimally set targets, whether people neglect low probability risks, and much more. His work has been published in leading journals such as Journal of Consumer Research, Management Science, Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. In 2019, Professor Lewis received the Society for Judgment and Decision Making’s Hillel Einhorn Award for the best paper by a new investigator, and in 2020, he received ACR’s Best Paper award. He received his BS in Economics from the University of Warwick. He holds a PhD in Decision Processes from the University of Pennsylvania. For a full transcript of this episode, please email career.communications@nyu.edu [career.communications@nyu.edu].

S4, Episode 17: Daniel Ketchum, Principal Narrative Designer, Wizards of the Coast

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Mia Xiao interviews Daniel Ketchum, a Principal Narrative Designer at Wizards of the Coast. Mia speaks to Daniel about how Gallatin’s interdisciplinary education helped him get a foot in the door at Marvel and continues to shape his approach to learning. Daniel Ketchum is a narrative and creative leader with more than two decades of experience shaping some of the most iconic stories in pop culture. A BA '06 graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School, pursuing a concentration titled "Storytelling in the Graphic Novel." Daniel has built a career at the intersection of creativity, worldbuilding, and strategic IP development. He spent over a decade at Marvel Entertainment as an Editor, contributing to landmark titles including Uncanny X-Men, The Amazing Spider-Man, Punisher, and many more. In 2018, Daniel joined Wizards of the Coast, where he has held roles including Senior Franchise Art Director, Principal Designer for IP Development, and Principal Narrative Designer for Dungeons & Dragons. Across these positions, he has led cross-disciplinary creative teams, guiding the development of new worlds, for some of the most influential fantasy franchises in the world. For a full transcript of this episode, please email career.communications@nyu.edu [career.communications@nyu.edu].

S4, Episode 16: Niobe Way, Professor of Developmental Psychology

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Hodan Barreh interviews Niobe Way, a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Their conversation delves into Dr. Way’s research across cultures to better understand skills around emotional development and connection. They discuss how identity influences emotional health and the importance of softness and vulnerability in healing and building meaningful relationships. Dr. Niobe Way is a developmental psychologist and author whose work centers emotional development, friendship, and the ways culture shapes identity. A professor at NYU, she is widely recognized for her research on boys’ friendships and the social forces that discourage vulnerability and connection. Her scholarship challenges narrow definitions of strength and belonging, opening space for relational and embodied forms of healing. Her work has inspired interdisciplinary conversations across education, mental health, and community-based wellness initiatives. For a full transcript of this episode, please email career.communications@nyu.edu [career.communications@nyu.edu].

S4, Episode 15: Michelle Cortese, XR Designer

In this special episode, created by one of our student podcast fellows, NYU student Kylie Rah interviews Michelle Cortese, an XR designer and professor at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Society is in a transitional period where fields like Art and Digital Technology constantly overlap, creating new roles without clear job descriptions.  Kylie and Michelle explore the practical method of Positioning the Overlap—a necessary process for defining and sustaining a career in an environment that lacks a clear professional vocabulary.  Michelle Cortese is an XR designer, educator, and author. She splits her professional time between Metaverse design leadership at Meta Reality Labs and teaching VR design at NYU. Her work explores immersive interaction systems; the ethical implications of embodied technology on end users; and the transmutation of human expression across new technologies and formats. Michelle has authored AR and VR design research published via Bloomsbury, Meta, IEEE, OneZero, MIT's Immerse Journal, and more; she has also exhibited work at CES, Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, and Sundance. For a full transcript of this episode, please email career.communications@nyu.edu [career.communications@nyu.edu].