Audible and Fresh Produce Media Announce ‘In The Room with Peter Bergen'

Bergen Opens Up His Unparalleled Rolodex, Giving Listeners Direct Access to the Information and People Really In the Know - First Guests Include General David Petraeus, Fiona Hill, John Bolton, and more

Trailer and First Three Episodes Live HERE

Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, and Fresh Produce Media, the audio-first entertainment company, are launching In the Room with Peter Bergen, a weekly podcast exploring the news from a nonpartisan and uniquely security-focused lens, today, May 16th, 2023 on Audible and across all audio services. 

For his first ever podcast, Bergen — the renowned national security journalist and best-selling author who initially rose to prominence when he produced the first-ever television interview with Osama bin Laden several years before 9/11 — taps into his exceptional contact network to bring listeners “In the Room'' with experts across the fields of policy, international affairs, government, science, and more, to help unpack the most important and captivating stories of our moment. Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning journalist and editorial leader Alison Craiglow, formerly of Freakonomics Radio, is Executive Producer of the show for Fresh Produce Media. 

Peter Bergen said “When the world is constantly screaming ‘Breaking News!’ it can be hard to cut through the noise to figure out what is actually a threat, what’s actually worth paying attention to. With In the Room, I’m only bringing listeners information from those really in the know, whether I’m talking to a former Secretary of Defense, or someone like Breshna Musazai, an incredibly resilient female law student who was attacked by the Taliban while studying in Afghanistan and after a long ordeal is finally in the US. Audible and Fresh Produce have been stellar collaborators in bringing this vision to fruition, and I’m very excited that everyone will be able to hear these conversations beginning very soon.”

Framing each episode with a question, like “Will Vladimir Putin Get Away with War Crimes?,” Bergen and guests such as General David Petraeus, key 2019 impeachment witness and Russia foreign affairs specialist Fiona Hill, and former national security advisor John Bolton will drill into and provide a better understanding of how each topic shapes our world, affects our national security, and most importantly, impacts our lives. 

From Russian nukes and mass shootings, and UFOs to AI, the topics explored on In the Room are presented in deeply reported episodes every Tuesday. With a rich narrative storytelling style, episodes feature multiple guest interviews interwoven together to showcase the full range of their perspectives, though occasional one-on-one interviews may be released on timely stories to offer In The Room’s unique point of view on news that matters now. Listeners will be quite familiar with many of the guests, like General Petraeus, but In the Room is just as interested in voices that we don’t often hear from, like the last American to leave Afghanistan as it fell again to the Taliban, and an agent at the FBI’s famed Behavioral Analysis Unit who is trying to identify the next possible mass shooter. What unites each guest will be that they all have been “in the room,” on the ground, and in the know. 

Executive Producer Alison Craiglow of Fresh Produce Media added: “Amid the war in Ukraine, Chinese spy balloons, and ongoing concerns over online privacy, I don’t know if the concept of ‘security’ has ever been so top-of-mind, or so broadly defined. To make sense of these issues and how they affect us, there’s nobody who can bring us closer to that goal than Peter. Whether we’re trying to get answers from a Pentagon official, someone hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan, or an analyst in the deep recesses of the FBI, Peter has these people on speed dial. And his calls get returned. Working on this series together is a true honor, as well as an adventure.”

“Audible is committed at its core to providing listeners with innovative original content from experts at the top of their fields,” said Pat Shah, Head of Acquisitions and Partnerships at Audible. “In the Room with Peter Bergenoffers deep insight into hot button issues. It delivers an exciting yet intimate listening experience that makes you feel as if you are in the room with those who were involved in incredibly high profile and high risk, national security affairs. It is unlike any other program you will find today.” 

In the Room launches today, May 16th, with new episodes dropping each Tuesday on Audible and wherever you get your podcasts. Find and “Follow” the first three episodes, “Can You Trust the Pentagon About UFOs?,” “Will Vladimir Putin Get Away with War Crimes?,” and “What Keeps General David Petraeus Up at Night?” HERE.

For more information and to stay updated on In the Room, contact: Hannah Schwartz at Shore Fire Media (hschwartz@shorefire.com) or Jess Shoffel at Audible (shoffel@audible.com).

About Audible, Inc.

Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, offering customers a powerful way to enhance and enrich their lives through extraordinary content. Audible’s catalog includes more than 800,000 audio titles, including Audible Originals as well as audiobooks and podcasts from leading studios, print, audio and magazine publishers, and world-renowned entertainers.

About Peter Bergen

Peter Bergen is a journalist, documentary producer, vice president at New America, CNN national security analyst, professor of practice at Arizona State University, and the author or editor of ten books, three of which were New York Times bestsellers and four of which were named among the best non-fiction books of the year by The Washington Post. The books have been translated into twenty-four languages, and documentaries based on them have been nominated for two Emmys and won the Emmy for best documentary. He is a member of the Homeland Security Experts Group and a fellow at Fordham University’s Center on National Security. Bergen is on the editorial board of Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, a leading scholarly journal. He has held teaching positions at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He has testified before U.S. Congressional committees eighteen times about national security issues. Bergen has hosted, produced, or executive produced multiple documentaries for HBO, CNN, National Geographic, Showtime, and Discovery.

About Fresh Produce Media

Fresh Produce Media is a talent-driven audio entertainment company founded to meet the moment, as new and diverse opportunities for innovation and audiences shape what narrative audio content can be. From historical fiction and documentaries to sports- and music-focused stories, Fresh Produce’s roster of series brings a range of genres - and a consistency of quality - that sets it apart.

Founder Jason Ross built his career in different mediums of audio (from recording and touring, to music live streaming, and starting and successfully exiting a music-focused creative agency) before coming full-circle with Fresh Produce and narrative audio.

Combining his penchant for identifying the next big thing and diving head-first into emerging industries with his audio know-how and passion for storytelling, Ross recruited a team of founding partners to propel narrative audio into the mainstream.

Colin Moore built a career developing great stories and finding the best means of telling them; Maureen Traynor brings cutting-edge understanding of the intersection of audio content and emerging commercial models honed over a career at Spotify; and Joe Killian has spent his Emmy-winning career at the highest levels of music and entertainment finding new ways to identify and shape cultural trends and moments.