DU Alumni Bring History to Life Through Comedy Podcast
Lila Ruppe and Kaitlyn Klepec, 2023 graduates from the University of Denver’s Department of Media, Film, and Journalism Studies (MFJS), part of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS), are making their mark in media and entertainment while keeping their creative partnership alive through their new podcast, “The Town Criers.”
Ruppe graduated with her bachelor’s degree in media studies after starting college at just fourteen years old. Today, she works as an assistant to the co-head of comedy at WME, one of Hollywood's biggest talent agencies, where she collaborates with stand-up comedy clients in their Beverly Hills office.
Klepec earned her bachelor's degree in journalism studies with a minor in English and literary arts. She now serves as the crime and courts reporter for The Pantagraph, a local newspaper in her hometown of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, where she's already won a first-place award from the Illinois Press Association for her reporting on domestic violence.
Both alumni credit DU's tight-knit MFJS community for their successes. Ruppe noted MFJS teaching professor Rachael Liberman's media and culture class as transformative, while Klepec found her passion for audio editing in MFJS associate professor Carlos Jimenez Jr.'s audio documentaries course. During their time at DU, Ruppe and Klepec also gained invaluable newsroom experience while working at The Clarion, DU’s student-led campus newspaper, where they first met. Their friendship and shared love of media eventually led to the creation of “The Town Criers,” a podcast that blends thorough historical research with absurdist comedy.
"We wanted to make history accessible and fun," Ruppe said. The podcast exemplifies how DU prepared them both, giving Ruppe the collaborative skills essential in entertainment and Klepec the versatility to thrive in an ever-changing media landscape.
Give “The Town Criers” a listen and discover how these DU alumni are making history entertaining! Find it on Amazon Music, Spotify, or iHeart Radio.
