Photo: Courtesy of Gimlet
Earlier this month, Reply all started an ambitious miniseries, “The Test Kitchen”, which sought to address one of the biggest stories about media assessment with the toxic dynamics of the workplace that occurred last summer: the implosion of Enjoy your food due to the scandal.
But right after the release of its second episode, Reply all it seems to be undergoing its own reckoning. On Wednesday night, Gimlet managing director Lydia Polgreen sent an internal email announcing that Sruthi Pinnamaneni, the senior reporter for the program that led “The Test Kitchen”, was stepping down from the miniseries immediately, while PJ Vogt, Answer everyone founding co-host, asked to take a license for the program as a whole.
These developments come after a former employee, Eric Eddings, posted a topic to Twitter accusing Pinnamaneni and Vogt specifically of contributing to a “toxic dynamic in Gimlet” that was “almost identical” to the Bon Appetit culture portrayed in the miniseries. “The stories of BA employees deserve to be told, but for me it is harmful to have this account and narrative coming from two people who worked actively and AGGRESSIVELY against various efforts to diversify the team and the content of the Gimlet,” wrote Eddings.
The topic went on to present a series of accusations against Pinnamaneni and Vogt, describing them as having actively worked against efforts to diversify the company’s staff and content that were mainly linked to an initial campaign in the workplace to form a union. This union push came just before Spotify’s acquisition of the company in early 2019.
According to the internal email, “The Test Kitchen” was originally designed to be Pinnamaneni’s last story for Reply all before moving on to other projects in the company. He also noted that the company has plans to discuss what comes next for the miniseries. Reply all, one of Spotify’s biggest podcasts, is set to continue production.
Spotify has yet to comment on the matter; the charges relate to a period prior to the acquisition of Gimlet and the subsequent changes it instituted at the company, including the hiring of Polgreen, former editor-in-chief of HuffPost. However, on Wednesday night, Vogt tweeted an apology with the announcement that he was temporarily away from the show. “I failed deeply as an ally during the era of unionization in Gimlet,” he wrote. “I had no intention of stopping the union effort and I am very happy that it was successful … I haven’t finished the job, but I don’t think anyone needs me to take up space now.” Pinnamaneni too posted an apology of herself.
Here is the full text of Polgreen’s email:
Hi Gimlet,
I want to start by recognizing the complicated and emotional nature of what has unfolded on social media and in conversations over the past 24 hours. I have had direct discussions with those involved and many others of you who are feeling the impact of this, and I intend to continue in the coming days and weeks.
From the moment I arrived at Gimlet, it was clear that our culture needed to be improved and that there were great things that needed to be changed to make this place better and more just. We spent a lot of time working to make these changes in partnership with many of you. These events are a reminder of how much work remains.
PJ asked to resign his role in the program and get a license, and I agreed. This miniseries was always intended to be Sruthi’s last story for Reply All before she moved on to other projects on Gimlet, but instead, she will leave the show immediately. The Reply All team and I will be discussing plans for The Test Kitchen in the coming days.
At Gimlet, we do creative work in collaborative teams. This work is very rewarding and also difficult. It involves honest and sometimes difficult conversations. But these conversations must take place with respect. No person on Gimlet or Spotify is too important or powerful to escape responsibility for their behavior, including me.
These events are also a reminder that we are in the middle of a collective bargaining process that is, by its nature, conflictive. We sit at each other’s table and negotiate. But I know that the people who organized the union are motivated by the desire to make Gimlet better. We may disagree on the details of how to achieve this goal, but we are united in making Gimlet the best place for the most ambitious audio creators to work. I believe that, thanks to the hard work on both sides, we have made a lot of progress.
We have a lot of work ahead of us. Despite our recent challenges, I believe the world needs its exceptional narrative most. We will have time to talk about it together on our All Staff next week, but I’m also happy to chat before that.
Lydia