Brooke Minters Joins The Verge as Editorial Director for Audio; Alex Cranz Becomes Official Co-host of The Vergecast

Brooke Minters has joined The Verge as editorial director for audio, overseeing its podcast operation, Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel today announced. In her new role, Minters will develop The Verge’s audio slate, launching new shows and working to grow existing shows, which include The Vergecast and Decoder with Nilay Patel. Minters began her role on June 21st. The Verge’s managing editor Alex Cranz will officially join The Verge’s decade-old flagship podcast The Vergecast as co-host; the show will also expand to two episodes a week, with the new Wednesday episode hosted by Verge editor-at-large David Pierce.

“We started The Vergecast before launching The Verge itself, and our dedicated fans have always been a key part of The Verge’s success. I’m excited to take the flagship podcast into the next generation of how tech news looks, sounds, and feels,” says Patel. “Vergecast listeners have been asking for Alex to become a permanent co-host since her first appearance on the show, and Brooke’s background in video will be key to how we plan to expand our existing shows and new shows to come.”

Minters joins The Verge from Politico, where she served as executive producer of video. Prior to Politico, Minters led the video teams at Gizmodo Media Group, Fusion and AJ+. She is a Los Angeles native and an alumni of the Online News Association Women’s Leadership Accelerator, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Sarah Lawrence College.

As Minters begins her role, The Verge will also expand The Vergecast, increasing its frequency to two episodes a week. The Vergecast is co-hosted by Patel, Cranz, and Verge editor-at-large David Pierce, who joined the company earlier this spring. The existing Friday episode will continue as a wide-ranging discussion between the three on tech news, policy, and culture, while the new Wednesday episode will be hosted by Pierce and feature new segments and formats that highlight reporters from around the Verge newsroom.

Minters’ hire is the latest in a slew of audio hires by The Verge, with recently added Liam James as lead producer for The Vergecast, and Callie Wright as editor for both The Vergecast and Decoder. The Vergecast and Decoder are part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.