Futurology Podcast Internship

Los Angeles

What We Do

The mission of the Berggruen Institute is to ask questions and develop foundational ideas about how to reshape political and social institutions in a transforming society. We work across cultures, disciplines, and political
boundaries to engage great thinkers in developing and promoting long-term answers to the biggest challenges of the 21st Century.

Our Values

  • Respect the human dignity of all
  • Cultivate future-oriented solutions
  • Inquire with an open mind
  • Build a collaborative environment
  • Invest in people and relationships

About the Role

The Berggruen Institute (BI) has an exciting opportunity for an Intern in 2026 to work with our Podcast Team. The Intern will support the research, production, and publishing of its flagship video podcast, Futurology, and other Institute podcast projects. Produced by Studio B, BI's production arm, Futurology is a weekly interview show that brings together scientists, philosophers, technologists, artists, and heads of state to work out what our inherited categories no longer explain. Guests are drawn largely from the Institute's global network of thinkers, and episodes run long, film cinematically, and publish across YouTube, the audio platforms, and social.

This Internship will last for up to 12 weeks starting in October 2026, and will be between 20 and 25 hours per week or as agreed upon by the Institute, hiring manager, and availability of the intern. The role is remote, and proximity
to Los Angeles is highly preferred.

Ideal candidates will be proactive, highly organized, have great attention to detail, and be able to manage multiple projects at once. This hands-on internship is a wonderful opportunity for students or recent graduates looking to build a professional portfolio and gain real-world experience in digital audio production and media storytelling. At BI, our interns work collaboratively with one another and participate in program-long learning that will build skills that they can take with them into their education and work experiences going forward.

Key Responsibilities

  • Research prospective guests and partners, their published work, and their public conversations, and help assess who would make a compelling interview.
  • Verify facts, credentials, affiliations, and contact information against primary sources, and flag anything that does not hold up.
  • Support the preparation of background and prep materials for upcoming interviews.
  • Prepare and clean episode transcripts to publication standard, holding strict verbatim fidelity, as the transcript is the source of truth for every quoted word downstream.
  • Maintain research files, contact records, production calendars, and file management systems.
  • Attend production, editorial, and cross-functional meetings
  • Track deliverables across the production chain and surface delays or dependencies.

Skills

Ideal candidates will be proactive, highly organized, have rigorous attention to detail, and be able to manage multiple projects at once. In addition, we are looking for:

  • Experience editing and creating transcripts
  • Strong editorial judgment
  • Working knowledge of video post-production or the willingness to learn
  • Comfort working alongside AI tools, and the judgment to check their outputs rather than trust them. Familiarity with Claude, particularly Cowork, is a plus.
  • Curiosity about the questions the show asks

Salary Range: $23.00 - $25.00 per hour depending on skills and experience.

Please email a cover letter and resume to careers@berggruen.org. No phone calls please.

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Berggruen Institute is a proud equal opportunities workplace. We firmly believe employing a diverse workforce is important regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Berggruen Institute is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.