Paola Mardo is a host, writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles.
Paola Mardo is SVP Head of Audio at Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media and the host, director, and producer of their Webby Award-winning flagship podcast In Proximity.
She has hosted, directed, and produced special series about Proximity projects including Sinners, Ironheart, and Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast, written and hosted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and winner of the 2024 NAACP Image Award and Webby Award.
Paola is the producer of Veterano, a bank heist crime drama written and directed by Patrick Epino. The script advanced to the second round of the 2024 Sundance Development Lab and was recently a finalist for the 2025 Gotham Week Project Market and the PGA Create Program. A proof-of-concept short film was completed this past summer.
Born in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown and raised in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and the San Francisco Bay Area, Paola adapted her personal experiences and insights as a teenage immigrant into Long Distance, a narrative podcast and short documentary series about stories in the Filipino diaspora. The series was selected for the inaugural Google Podcasts Creator Program and told dark, true, and offbeat stories about Little Manila, Filipino food, Rufio, an underground activist, where Tiki bars really come from, and more.
Paola is a 2025 Unlock Her Potential Film and TV Talent mentee. As much as possible, she writes the substack newsletter Subtitles.
Select work below. Say hello@longdistanceradio.com.
In Proximity
Conversations about craft, career, and creativity at the multimedia production company Proximity Media. A 2024 and 2025 Webby Honoree, the show was created and developed by Paola, who produced and executive produced its first two seasons — a seasonal audio series featuring Ryan Coogler, Sev Ohanian, and other Proximity creatives and executives in conversation with collaborators including Michael B. Jordan, Jordan Peele, and Tessa Thompson. In September 2025, the show returned as a weekly video and audio podcast with Paola as host, director, and producer.
Paola directed and executive produced In Proximity: Sinners, a special series about the film Sinners and hosted by the film’s writer, director, and producer Ryan Coogler in conversation with cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw and composer Ludwig Göransson. Paola also directed, hosted, and produced a special episode featuring Ironheart creator, head writer, and executive producer Chinaka Hodge.
Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast
Hosted and written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Produced by Paola Mardo. Winner of the 2024 NAACP Image Award and Webby Award.
Subtitles
A substack newsletter about navigating a creative career… written by someone *trying* to do just that. A raw, real-time look at creativity, business, and learning on the job.
How a bag of drugs and DVDs changed the course of my career
Thoughts on “Hollywood’s Great Malaise”
The problem with moving on up
Am I even good at this?
What matters most
stick to your vision
Long Distance
A narrative podcast about stories in the Filipino diaspora hosted, written, created, and produced by Paola Mardo. The companion documentary series Long Distance TV is directed by Paola Mardo and Patrick Epino. Selected for the inaugural PRX Google Podcasts creator program. Featured in Vanity Fair’s 10 Essential Podcasts from AAPI Creators, IndieWire’s Best Podcasts of 2020, and The New York Times Podcast Club’s 2019 Picks.
“The history of the United States cannot be properly told without including the stories of Filipino and Filipino American people. Paola Mardo’s podcast presents a vital resource in telling that story.”
— The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Project
“Not only has Mardo done the impressive work of excavating these untold or obscured stories, but she’s polished them, through thoughtful storytelling and excellent production, so they can truly shine.”
“Top 5 podcast. Shout out to Ryan, Zinzi, Sev, and Paola. Much needed...”
“The podcast I’ve been waiting for all my life.”
