ROBEN FARZAD - Host of NPR's Business Podcast "Full Disclosure"

ROBEN FARZAD
Host of NPR's "Full Disclosure" Podcast

"OIL, INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS
WITH A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE"

Roben Farzad, the producer and host of public radio's “Full Disclosure” and a regular on NPR and MSNBC, is not your typical Richmonder, but he is a big fan of the city. At our March meeting, Roben will be answering very current questions abouut the impact of the war in Ukraine on business, and he is also going to tell us about his his long and interesting path to Richmond, why he loves it here so much, and why he thinks the best is yet to come for the city. 

Roben was born in Iran, raised in Miami and graduated from Princeton and the Harvard Business School. From there, he went to Goldman Sachs before shifting into journalism. He has covered Wall Street and international finance for Businessweek, reporting from Africa, the Middle East, Washington, and New York. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, ABC’s “Good Morning America” and has written for The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

In 2012, moving his young family from New York to Richmond, Roben entered the entrepreneurial world of freelance journalism. Richmond wasn’t a public radio town, but he was able to convince Virginia Commonwealth University and the Martin Agency to provide seed money, and he launched Full Disclosure, which today is based on NPR member station Radio IQ Virginia Public Radio -- airing thought-provoking interviews with a "businessy" perspective. His guests include locals you might recognize, as well as big-name journalists, high-powered business executives, chefs and bands.