Thorne Hall, Occidental College
This event is free but tickets are required.
Join us for an evening of conversation between journalist and podcast host V Spehar (@underthedesknews) with acclaimed interviewer and cultural interlocutor Paul Holdengräber.
Oxy Live is a series of conversations with a diverse lineup of cultural luminaries at the forefront of their fields for thought-provoking discussions hosted by acclaimed cultural interlocutor, Paul Holdengräber. All conversations are open to the public at no cost, creating a space for diverse communities to join in the conversation and explore ideas together.
This event is co-presented by OxyLive! and Student Leadership, Involvement, & Community Engagement (SLICE)
The series is funded through the generous support of Occidental trustee and alumna, Lisa Coscino ’85 and the Occidental Class of '74.
V Spehar is a New York-based LGBTQIA+ podcaster, online personality, and citizen journalist. They launched their TikTok account, Under the Desk News, in April 2020 and rapidly amassed 2.9 million followers. Spehar has mastered short-form content, offering brief daily recaps of notable headlines and emphasizing the emotional safety of viewers. Collaborations with figures like former President Obama, President Biden, and members of Congress highlight V's citizen journalism. V's humanity-first style extends to hosting Lemonada Media's podcast V Interesting, consistently ranked among the Top 25 News podcasts since June 2022. They have reported from the press room of the 2023 State of the Union, hosted NBC’s livestream of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and spoken at UNESCO summits. In 2023, Spehar received a Webby Special Achievement Award for their concise and compassionate reporting. Find V Spehar @underthedesknews on TikTok and Instagram, and and @VSpehar on their upcoming new show on YouTube.
Paul Holdengräber is an interviewer and curator. He was the founding executive director of Onassis Los Angeles (OLA). Previously, and for 14 years, he was founder and director of The New York Public Library’s LIVE from the NYPL cultural series where he interviewed and hosted over 600 events, holding conversations with everyone from Patti Smith to Zadie Smith, Ricky Jay to Jay-Z, Errol Morris to Jan Morris, Wes Anderson to Helen Mirren, Werner Herzog to Mike Tyson. Before his tenure at the Library, Holdengräber was the founder and director of “The Institute for Art & Cultures” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a Fellow at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. He has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University and has taught at Princeton University, Williams College, Claremont Graduate University among others. In 2003, the French Government named Holdengräber Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, and then promoted him in 2012 to the rank of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. In 2010, The President of Austria awarded him the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art.
