Jenna Weiss-Berman

Jenna Weiss-Berman, who put BuzzFeed on the podcasting map with shows like Another Round and Internet Explorer, struck out last year with Longform cofounder Max Linsky to create Pineapple Street Media, a full-service, self-financed—and already profitable—podcast firm that helps companies such as the New York Times and Wieden+Kennedy dive into the medium. When First Look Media was struggling to make a film about fitness guru Richard Simmons’s disappearance from public life in 2014, Weiss-Berman and her team helped producers turn it into a podcast. The Serial-style miniseries Missing Richard Simmons shot to No. 1 on the iTunes chart five days after it debuted in February and remained in the top five throughout its six-episode run. The success followed last August’s buzzy release of With Her, Pineapple Street’s behind-the-scenes look at Hillary Clinton’s hectic election year, and Women of the Hour, a talk show in which Lena Dunham swaps stories with guests including Emma Stone and Janet Mock. Pineapple Street podcasts have been hosted by “young women, people of color, gay people,” says Weiss-Berman. “It’s so important for every group to have content that is specifically made for them.”