Q&A with Pop-Up Magazine’s Marin Cogan
Senior producer and co-host for Pop-Up Magazine Marin Cogan tells us about the latest edition of Pop-Up, what’s kept her in D.C., and even what she’d change about the city.
On Monday night, we had the chance to check out the latest edition of Pop-Up Magazine for the D.C. stop of the Escape tour.
If you haven’t heard of Pop-Up, it’s defined as a “a live magazine, created for a stage, a screen, and a live audience.” Kind of like a comedy show, live podcast, concert, art show, and spoken word event all in one? It sounds like it could be full of millennial BS created for Instagram fodder more than anything else. But it goes way beyond that — it’s substantive, funny, and engrossing enough that you actually forget about your phone for a while.
Senior producer and co-host for Pop-Up Magazine Marin Cogan has lived in D.C. for over a decade, contributing to various outlets like The New Republic, Politico, GQ, New York Magazine, and others. But since July 2018 she’s been contributing to a different world of journalism.
We emailed with Cogan to learn more about the show, what’s kept her in D.C., and even what she’d change about the city.
If you missed out on the sold-out show this time around, we highly recommend signing up for updates on their website so you can be the first to know about the next tour.
Ariana Mushnick: The theme of this Pop-Up Magazine tour is “Escape”. What does this theme mean to you, and why do you think it resonates? What do you think people want to escape from?
Marin Cogan: What I love about this theme is that it is broad enough to include so much that is relevant to the moment we’re living in. We are living in a time of real turmoil. People are looking to escape so many things — violence, the rising tides of bigotry, climate change — as well as smaller things like a never-ending news cycle and the oppressiveness of the Internet. We try to reflect that in our show.
AM: I can definitely relate. Should we not also, though, confront that turmoil rather than escape?
MC: Oh, absolutely! And this is not an endorsement of escapism as a means of disengagement so much as an exploration of ideas around a theme. Also, I think in some cases, choosing to escape (from a hostile government or regime, for example) can be a daring, political act. That’s why we have stories about immigration, the criminal justice system, and internment in our show. See what I mean? It’s broad!
AM: What do you hope people get out of attending a Pop-Up Magazine show?
MC: I hope people leave the theater with that sense of magic and wonder that you get when you’ve just watched a really good movie, listened to a great album or finished a great book. I hope they learn something new. I hope they feel moved and I hope they laugh.
AM: What’s your favorite story from this tour?
MC: It’s too hard to choose! I’ve heard each of these stories countless times now, and I’m not sick of any of them yet. I still find myself laughing out loud backstage at Chris Duffy’s “Who Wants to Be a Meme?” and getting choked up at Sarah Kay’s “The View From South Dakota.” And the energy and talent Left at London brings to “Voice Lessons” continues to blow me away every single time I hear it.
AM: You’ve lived in D.C. for over a decade. What’s surprised you about the city? What’s kept you here?
The city has changed so much, even since I moved here — I can’t imagine what that’s like for people who have lived here longer. The thing that has kept me here has been my friends. I have such a strong community of people here that it’s hard to imagine ever leaving them.
AM: What’s a local issue you care about that you wish got more attention?
MC: This is an obvious answer, but the fact that we don’t have voting representation in Congress is an injustice that makes me angry every time I think about it. It’s unfair to us and bad for the country as a whole.
AM: What advice would you give to people new to D.C.?
MC: Try to enjoy DC for what it has to offer — amazing museums, great food, lots of pretty outdoor park spaces, and wonderful people. Expecting it to be another city is a recipe for disappointment.
Quick hits:
Favorite thing about D.C.?
People
Least favorite thing about D.C.?
Humidity — and the fact that all of the worst political grifters also end up here.
D.C. spot that’s worth the hype?
Ellē.
Favorite newsletter?
This sounds like pandering, I know, but 730DC is honestly the local newsletter I read every day!
