The Montclair Pod
by Montclair Pod LLC
The Montclair Pod is an award-winning podcast that offers a deep dive into the stories, issues, and buzz shaping Montclair, NJ. Hosted by local friends—journalist and financial expert Farnoosh Torabi and MediaFeed founder and CEO Michael Schreiber—we’re here to explore the heart of our vibrant community with curiosity and a dose of neighborly chatter. From the latest drama in Montclair schools to the tangled web of local politics and even the mysteries of our rollercoaster real estate market, we cover the topics you’re already chatting about at the bus stop, the farmer’s market, or over a drink at Tierney’s. Each episode features thought-provoking conversations and special guests, from community leaders to movers and shakers making waves in town. This is your show, too! Share your questions, opinions, critiques, and compliments at MontclairPod.com; you might hear them on an upcoming episode. Su
Episodes
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Could Montclair’s Town Hall Become a Power Substation?
Montclair needs a new electrical substation, and PSE&G is eyeing the site of the municipal building at 205 Claremont Avenue. We talk with Town Manager Stephen Marks and resident Glenn Pascrell and share the Montclair Center BID’s account of why an earlier Bloomfield Avenue site fell through. We...
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NJ-11 Election 2026: Mejia vs. Hathaway on Taxes, Schools, ICE and Campaign Cash
This week on The Montclair Pod, Farnoosh Torabi and Mike Schreiber sit down with the three candidates on the ballot for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th District: Rep. Analilia Mejia (D), Joe Hathaway (R) and Alan Bond, who is running under the label “Hope for Tomorrow.” With days to go before the...
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Who Pays for Youth Sports in Montclair? Plus New School Kerfuffle & Film Festival Finale
This week on The Montclair Pod, Farnoosh Torabi and Mike Schreiber ask what it takes to keep youth sports affordable in Montclair. Their reported package features Peter Daddabbo, who has spent 18 years helping run Montclair United Soccer Club; Michael-John Van Rhyn, who started Montclair Ultimate...
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BOE Candidates Talk Referendum, a Cornell Alum Speaks Out & the YMCA Steps Saga
This week on The Montclair Pod, Farnoosh Torabi and Mike Schreiber revisit the Pod's first candidate forum, co-hosted with MPACT, featuring the six candidates running for three open seats on the Montclair Board of Education in the Nov. 3, 2026, election. They play two exchanges: how each…
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Meet the Candidates for Montclair’s Board of Ed
Six candidates. Three open seats on Montclair’s Board of Education. Who’s asking for your vote—and what do they hope to accomplish? In this bonus episode, The Montclair Pod partners with MPACT, Montclair Partnership for Accountability, Clarity and Trust, to host a forum featuring all six...
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Uptown Sound Recap: Montclair's Newest Music Festival, Plus the New Documentary About Our Schools
A nor’easter pushed Uptown Sound back a week, and it still drew a huge crowd. Mike and Farnoosh recap the festival and talk with organizers Dan Campeas and Dayana Ordonez. Plus, filmmaker Craig Schattner on his school-funding documentary Referendum, a What the Hell on the parking ticket cameras...
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NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Bloomfield Preschool-Church Controversy & 2026 Montclair Film Fest Preview
This week on The Montclair Pod, a chance encounter with Gov, Mikie Sherril, Montclair Film's Tom Hall previews the 2026 festival, and public tickets go on sale today. Plus: religious signs at a Bloomfield preschool, the lieutenant governor's resignation, a shuttle bus report, and the end(?) of…
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Real Talk with the Superintendent: Dress Code, IEPs, Cell Phones and, Of Course, Money
This week, Supper with the Super is basically doing double duty as What the Hell Is Going On With That? — Montclair Schools Edition. We sit down with Montclair Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ruth B. Turner for a candid conversation about the first weeks of the new school year — and some of the...
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An 8th Grader Takes on the Dress Code, Who Pays for Freshman Sports, and Stephen Colbert's Next Act
This week on The Montclair Pod, we dig into how the school district quietly updated the middle school dress code — and the very loud debate it's kicked off among parents, students, and now the Board of Ed. We hear from the 8th grader at Glenfield Middle School who started a petition over it. We...
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“Trump” Roasts Montclair. Plus: A Local Lead Problem and a Church Street Tax Break
This week, we sit down with comedian and Trump impersonator J-L. Cauvin — who also happens to be a full-time eviction prevention attorney and once ran for Congress in this district — to talk about his viral impression, why he never left the law, and what it was like campaigning against Anna Lilia...
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How the School Cell Phone Ban Will (or Won’t) Work, Bullets at the Movies and a New Town Called Beltley
It's the first day of school, and we're digging into Montclair's new cell phone and Chromebook rules with Screen Aware Montclair co-founder Jordan Goldberg, breaking down the massive Meta settlement, and introducing you to Beltley — the brand-new "town" that popped up overnight in a field between...
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Is Our Board of Ed Working? Plus: The New School Cell Phone Ban and What Your Next Tax Bill Means
This week on The Montclair Pod, the new school year is almost here — and there’s a lot changing inside Montclair’s schools. Farnoosh and Mike sit down with MPACT founding member Dan Hafetz to unpack the group’s new report on Board of Education governance, what stronger oversight could look like,...
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Is Montclair in a Housing Bubble? Plus: Front Row at Jazz Fest & If a Tree Falls, Who Pays?
Montclair's 07042 ZIP code just landed at #2 on Realtor.com's list of the hottest housing markets in the country — so naturally, we wanted to know: is this a bubble waiting to burst? We put the question to Professor Joshua Harris, a real estate economist at Fordham, and break down what's actually...
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The Future of Uptown, Montclair’s Bunny Boom & Our Favorite Restaurant
What does Upper Montclair need — and what should it look like in the years ahead? This week, we’re digging into the conversation about Uptown’s future, following a community meeting where residents and business owners weighed in on what’s working, what’s missing and what they want to see next....
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Christian McBride talks Montclair Jazz, A.I. & the Live Experience - Plus Madonna’s Montclair Connection
This week: Christian McBride stops by ahead of the Montclair Jazz Festival, Madonna's new single traces back to a Montclair DJ, and we get real about how (and when) we use AI on this show. In This Episode Christian McBride & the Montclair Jazz Festival Eleven-time Grammy winner and Montclair Jazz...
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Car-Free Church Street, an Urban Outfitters Mystery, and Uptown's New Fried Chicken
This week on The Montclair Pod:Church Street goes car-free (for now), Urban Outfitters quietly leaves downtown after 20 years, and our youngest correspondents ask Montclair what they’d change about their town — plus fried chicken, a music festival, and an ab robot. Urban Outfitters quietly closed...
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The Pod Makes the News, $1M Liquor Licenses and Two Throwbacks
This week, Columbia Journalism Review takes a close look at how The Montclair Pod became a go-to source for the school budget story, and where Mike and Farnoosh want to take the “Montclair-ish” format next. We also break down why Montclair only has about 13 liquor licenses for a town of around...
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How the World Cup Took Over Montclair (And Our Podcast)
Welcome to our World Cup Rehash. (Watch for special clips on YouTube) Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium — and Montclair had a front-row seat. In this special reflection episode, Farnoosh and Mike step back from their nonstop World Cup coverage to look at what the last few...
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Getting Weird in Montclair, The Bloomfield Ave Banners and the MC Hotel's Wild World Cup
Weird NJ founder Mark Sceurman stops by to talk all things weird in the garden state, not to mention the story of a Montclair poet obsessed with writing letters to the police, and three decades of chasing New Jersey's strangest stories — plus a visit from local zine Eighty-Six'd. We track down…
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Montclair's World Cup Fumble, The Quiet $8 Million Sale & The British Guy Living in New Jersey Co-Hosts
With the World Cup playing eight matches down the road at MetLife Stadium and national teams bunking at the MC Hotel, Montclair business owners expected a boom — instead they got a shrug. We dig into who was supposed to own that moment (the BID? The township? Nobody?), welcome British Guy Living…
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Farnoosh's Commencement Speech, a Brookdale Park Surprise & Montclair's $4 Million Market
With 36 hours' notice, Farnoosh was asked to deliver the commencement address at Montclair High School — and we play you the full speech. We also debrief all the "this is so Montclair" moments from graduation day, debut our new Saturdays in the Park series with a remarkable chance encounter at...
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The Endless BOE Meeting, Toni's Kitchen Under Pressure & Is Montclair an “Interracial Wakanda?”
This week on The Montclair Pod, we go inside a Board of Ed meeting that ran past 1 a.m. — and somehow still ended with a discussion about how to make meetings more efficient. We also hear from outgoing student rep Wyatt Foster, who's heading to Brown in the fall and has plenty to say. Then we sit...
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Supper with the Super: Tax Hike, Juneteenth Mishap & the Stalled Forensic Audit. Plus: Jackie's Reopens & Java Love Celebrates 15
This week on The Montclair Pod, we're serving up a packed episode featuring school budget questions, local food news, community concerns, and a few major updates from around town. For the latest installment of Supper with the Super, we sat down with Montclair Schools Superintendent Ruth B. Turner...
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Clementina Opens Uptown & We're Obsessed. Plus: Sushi at Ani + Ultimate Frisbee in Montclair
We have a very food-forward episode this week. We dive into our unforgettable dinner at Clementina, the new Adriatic-inspired Italian restaurant on Valley Road, and explain why we think it's one of the most exciting openings Montclair has seen in years. We share the remarkable origin story of…
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Montclair’s Best Bacon Egg and Cheese, World Cup Preview and What’s Up with the Forensic Audit?
This week on The Montclair Pod, we tackle some of the biggest conversations happening in town—from breakfast sandwiches to PrideFest, the World Cup, school finances, and a local immigration case that has touched many residents. The Great Montclair Bacon, Egg & Cheese Taste Test After asking...
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Montclair Football Hits Refresh with New Coach. Plus: A New Uptown Music Fest + Pricier Parking
This week on The Montclair Pod, we dive into a surprisingly emotional episode about football, parking and civic spirit. First: Montclair parking is officially getting more expensive. Meter rates are rising for the first time in eight years, evening enforcement hours are expanding until 10 p.m.…
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Yard Sales, Transit Woes, and Farewell, Colbert
It's 90 degrees in May, NJ Transit has heard from Montclair, and this Sunday there's a townwide yard sale (not to be confused with a garage sale). We've got the story behind the two tag-sales, a packed NJ Transit survey, and a Montclair coffee truck that could keep you up at night for two…
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Local History, Home Discoveries, and Last-Minute Summer Camps
Is history just a boatload of fun, or a series of anxiety-inducing tests? This week, we argue it’s the former as we take a field trip to the Montclair History Center. We explore 250 years of township secrets—from the "Montclair Situation" at the segregated YWCA to the names of the people who…
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Inside School of Rock, Fashion World Fiction and Another Big School Budget Meeting
This week, we are celebrating Montclair as a “Creative Island.” We sit down with legendary drummer Kevin March (Guided by Voices, The Dambuilders) to discuss his journey from Brooklyn to the heart of the Montclair music scene and his mission to help the next generation find their “Honest Noise.”…
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Parents Race to Save Montclair Sports. Plus: What’s Happening at The Corner Restaurant?
This week, we’re looking at what happens when the budget crisis hits the playing field. With freshman sports on the chopping block at Montclair High, we sit down with the parents leading the charge to save the program. We also hear from a graduating senior about his journey through the MHS…
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The Making of The Montclair Girl, Book Buzz & a Church Street Mystery
This week, we’re clearing the air on the school budget "heist" rumors and diving into the incredible backstories of two women with ties to Montclair. We sit down with Jennifer Tripucka, the founder of The Local Girl Media Group (and our own The Montclair Girl), to talk about building a local…
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Supper with the Super: Cuts, Confusion and the Fight for Trust
In this second installment of Supper with the Super, Montclair Public Schools Superintendent Ruth B. Turner joins us for a candid, wide-ranging conversation—this time over Ethiopian comfort food at Mesob, a beloved local institution on Bloomfield Avenue. We dig into the realities behind the...
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Spring Break Stories, Thrift Shopping in Montclair and Mikie Sherrill’s Exit
Spring break is over and we have stories. In this episode of The Montclair Pod, Farnoosh and Mike recap their very different getaways. From delayed flights and unforgettable meals in Los Angeles to a low-key beach escape in Miami, it is a tale of two trips and a reminder that sometimes the best...
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Our Magnet Schools and Cannabis: Why We’re Revisiting These Stories Now
Happy Spring Break, Montclair. While Mike and Farnoosh are away, we are opening the archives to revisit two significant segments that explore the unique history and the evolving economy of our town. This special compilation includes a deep dive into the Magnet School Explainer and an update on…
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Sen. Andrew Kim on The Sandwich Generation, Aging in Montclair, Plus the Results Are (Finally) In
Are you feeling "squeezed"? This week, we’re tackling the "Sandwich Generation"—that unique, often exhausting stage of life where you’re simultaneously caring for aging parents and raising young children. We’re joined by Senator Andrew Kim, who shares his firsthand experience navigating his...
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Supper with the Super: Ruth Turner on the School Vote. Plus: Cory Booker Part Two
In a candid sit-down interview, Montclair Public Schools Superintendent Ruth B. Turner joins us for the first installment of a new series we’re calling “Supper with the Super.” Over pizza and pasta at Italiana by Zod, we talk about the controversial school referendum, the district’s financial...
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Dangerous Intersections, School Vote Chaos, and a Big Get: Senator Cory Booker
This week on The Montclair Pod, we bring you one of our most important episodes yet. We tackle a deeply emotional and urgent issue: street safety. NPR's David Folkenflik joins us to share the heartbreaking story of losing his mother to a preventable traffic collision right outside his Upper...
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Where Did Our School District Money Go...Exactly?
With the high-stakes school vote looming—or maybe not, thanks to a new lawsuit—we sit down with New York Magazine journalist Andrew Rice to figure out exactly where the school district's money went. We also talk a bit about local news collaboration and why it benefits everyone. Plus, a...
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It’s All Up in the Air. Our School Vote, Lackawanna’s Future…Mike’s Apology
Watch and subscribe on Youtube This week, so much is in flux. First, Mike has to face the music after literally falling asleep at a recent Town Hall meeting. He also issues a formal apology to the MSU Men’s Basketball team for jinxing their perfect season. But it’s not all fun and games—we get…
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The Town and the School District: It's Complicated. (1:1 With Town Manager Stephen Marks)
Watch and subscribe on Youtube! This week, we welcome back Township Manager Stephen Marks to discuss how the town might intervene in the school budget crisis and the latest on Lackawanna Plaza. Then, we take a trip back in time with Lonnie Brandon—historian, former Parks & Rec director, and...
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ICE Anxiety and How to Support Our Immigrant Community. Plus: NJ-11’s Primary Win
Watch and subscribe on Youtube! Montclair is freezing - literally and politically. This week, Mike and Farnoosh break down the surprise NJ-11 primary win by Analila Mejia, and take a deep dive into growing immigration fears across Montclair. Immigration law expert Dr. Jackie Vimo, a professor at...
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Rethinking Public School in Montclair? The Private Pivot, Preschool Lottery & More #Slushiegate
Watch the show on YouTube In this episode, Farnoosh reports from a packed preschool info session at the Montclair Public Library, where parents of young children are weighing rising pre-K costs, the Mini Mounties lottery, and what comes next for kindergarten and beyond. We hear directly from...
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Slushiegate, Hackensack's Bailout & The NJ-11 Political Pileup
Watch the show on YouTube This week on the Montclair Pod, Mike and Farnoosh are back to tackle the snowy aftermath and a whirlwind of local news. From the high stakes of the NJ-11 Special Primary—where a crowded field of 12 candidates is vying for your vote—to the sugar-fueled controversy of...
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Schools, Liquor Licenses & Fraud with Former AG Matt Platkin. Plus: Are We Really Still a Magnet System?
Watch the show on YouTube This episode of The Montclair Pod moves between local crisis and statewide context. School Budget Crises: Montclair and Hackensack We dig into the growing reality that Montclair is not alone in facing financial trouble in its school district. We look closely at what’s...
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Can We Afford Our Magnet School System? A Cost-Benefit Analysis (Plus: Our Trip to the Budget Town Hall)
Watch the show on YouTube Following last week’s episode on the origins of the magnet system, we pick up the conversation at a critical crossroads—one where values, finances, and state oversight collide. We attend the latest school budget town hall, where Superintendent Ruth B. Turner and district...
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Montclair’s Magnet Schools at a Crossroads: The History Lesson We Need
Watch the show on YouTube Montclair has long defined itself by its district-wide magnet system—a model built on choice, diversity, and integration by design. But today, that system is under unprecedented strain. Facing a $20 million budget deficit and rising transportation costs, Mike and…
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HNY Montclair! Our Modern Love and Swingers Episode Once More (You're Welcome)
Happy New Year, Montclair! This week, we replay one of our hottest shows from 2025 that may inspire new connections in 2026 -- our field guide on modern love in Montclair. Featuring insights from: Junie Moon, relationship expert and Montclair’s own love coach Elizabeth and Jason, single parents...
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Unhoused in Montclair: A Look Back at Our Acclaimed Episode
This week on The Montclair Pod, we revisit one of the most consequential and talked-about episodes of the year: a deeply reported look at homelessness in Montclair and the growing tension between compassion, public safety, and limited resources. As rents rise and safety-net funding faces new...
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The Season of Giving in Montclair: How to Make the Most Impact Right Now
It’s the season of giving, and this week on The Montclair Pod we step away from school budgets and deficits to focus on something just as important: how we show up for each other. From financial support to time, attention, and presence, this episode explores what meaningful giving looks like in...
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The School Vote Is Off. Wait, Never Mind. Also: What Happened to the $20 Million?
Why is Montclair nearly 20 million dollars in the red, and how did no one stop it? This week, we peel back the curtain on one of the most consequential crises the town has ever faced, examining how years of rising costs, missed warning signs, and avoided hard decisions brought the school district...
About this show
The Montclair Pod is an award-winning podcast that offers a deep dive into the stories, issues, and buzz shaping Montclair, NJ. Hosted by local friends—journalist and financial expert Farnoosh Torabi and MediaFeed founder and CEO Michael Schreiber—we’re here to explore the heart of our vibrant community with curiosity and a dose of neighborly chatter. From the latest drama in Montclair schools to the tangled web of local politics and even the mysteries of our rollercoaster real estate market, we cover the topics you’re already chatting about at the bus stop, the farmer’s market, or over a drink at Tierney’s. Each episode features thought-provoking conversations and special guests, from community leaders to movers and shakers making waves in town. This is your show, too! Share your questions, opinions, critiques, and compliments at MontclairPod.com; you might hear them on an upcoming episode. Su
Hosted by
Montclair Pod LLC