The Messy Parts Podcast: Content & Production Intern
Part-Time Academic-Credit Internship | Unpaid | NYC-Based | [Fall 2026 / Spring 2027]
About The Messy Parts
The Messy Parts is an inspiring podcast about the real, nonlinear, and often uncertain paths behind successful careers.
Hosted by Maryam Banikarim, the show goes beyond polished résumés and headline accomplishments to explore the doubts, detours, setbacks, reinventions, and unexpected moments that shape a meaningful professional life. Through candid conversations with accomplished people, The Messy Parts helps listeners see that success is rarely a straight line—and that the difficult, imperfect chapters are often where growth begins.
At its core, the podcast is also about rebuilding connection: making people feel less alone in their own career questions by sharing the stories that are too often left out.
Learn more: Website | Instagram | YouTube
Learn more about host Maryam Banikarim: Hamilton Baccalaureate Talk | TED Talk | Columbia Business School Commencement
The Opportunity
The Messy Parts is seeking a thoughtful, organized, and creatively ambitious Content & Production Intern to help bring powerful career stories to life.
You will work with a small, high-energy team at the intersection of media, storytelling, career development, and community-building. You will gain hands-on exposure to podcast development and production—from guest research and editorial preparation to filming, short-form video, social content, newsletters, and audience growth.
This is an ideal role for someone who is fascinated by people’s stories, curious about careers and leadership, and excited to help turn meaningful conversations into content that reaches and helps others.
What You’ll Do
- Research prospective guests, their professional journeys, accomplishments, career pivots, setbacks, and the “messy parts” that could make for an honest and useful conversation.
- Prepare concise guest briefs, background research, episode themes, potential questions, and story angles.
- Help coordinate podcast pre-production, including guest communication, scheduling support, production checklists, run-of-show documents, and episode timelines.
- Assist with podcast recording days, filming, and behind-the-scenes production support in New York City.
- Help review interviews and identify memorable clips, quotes, themes, and narrative moments for social and promotional use.
- Help create short-form video, graphics, captions, social posts, YouTube assets, newsletter copy, and web content.
- Organize podcast assets, including recordings, transcripts, clips, guest materials, production calendars, and content trackers.
- Support promotion across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, newsletters, and other relevant channels.
- Monitor audience and content performance, identify patterns, and help recommend ways to strengthen reach, engagement, and community.
- Contribute ideas for making The Messy Parts a trusted, generous, and engaging platform for people navigating their own careers.
What We’re Looking For
- You are genuinely interested in people, career journeys, leadership, reinvention, creativity, and the stories behind outward success.
- You believe that more honest storytelling can help people feel connected, encouraged, and less alone.
- You are self-motivated, dependable, and comfortable taking initiative in a fast-paced environment.
- You are an excellent researcher with strong judgment, curiosity, and attention to detail.
- You are a strong writer and communicator who can adapt your voice for guest communications, captions, newsletters, social posts, and editorial materials.
- You have an instinct for compelling social content and understand how to find a strong hook, moment, quote, or story.
- You are comfortable with—or eager to learn—tools such as Google Workspace, Canva, Descript, CapCut, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcast platforms, project-management tools, and AI tools.
- You are organized and can keep track of multiple moving parts, deadlines, files, and content deliverables.
- You are a generous, collaborative teammate who enjoys contributing behind the scenes to help others shine.
- Experience with podcasting, journalism, video editing, social media, writing, interviewing, student media, or content production is helpful but not required.
Details
- Compensation: This is an unpaid, part-time internship for academic credit. Applicants must be eligible to receive academic credit through their college or university.
- Location: New York City. The role includes in-person collaboration and occasional podcast-production days, with flexibility around academic schedules.
- Commitment: Part-time. Hours will be determined based on the intern’s academic-credit requirements, class schedule, and team needs.
- Timing: [Fall 2026 / Spring 2027], with the possibility of extension into a subsequent term.
- Reporting: The intern will work closely with host Maryam Banikarim and producer Andrew Lerner, as well as a small, nimble team supporting guest research, podcast production, storytelling, content creation, and audience growth for The Messy Parts.
To apply: Please send a résumé, a brief note about why this podcast and its mission resonate with you, and links to any relevant writing, social-media, video, podcast, or creative work to hello@themessypartspodcast.com