Karen Given

Karen Given is an award-winning chief podcast writer/producer, story editor, and coach. A veteran of public radio, Karen is the former executive producer and host of NPR’s Only a Game. In 2016, Karen spearheaded efforts to transition this legacy NPR show from a newsmagazine format to an award-winning, narrative-driven sports storytelling show.

Since leaving public radio, Karen has brought her talent to an impressive array of award-winning podcasts, including as co-writer and sound designer for Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story, named one of The Atlantic’s top 25 podcasts of 2023, and as executive producer for The Afghan Impasse, a special season of The Negotiators from Foreign Policy and Doha Debates. We are thrilled that Karen has brought her immense talent to the Next Chapters podcast.