Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communications at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture.

David Ruck has told the stories of conservationists, aspiring astronauts, front-porch philosophers, underprivileged families in Baltimore, native Americans on the Olympic Peninsula, and shipwreck hunters of the Great Lakes. He's also made it a mission to help small businesses reach new customers, universities educate budding filmmakers, middle school teachers connect their students with mentors, and political candidates get more votes. All of this done with a camera, a computer, and the ability we all now have to reach an audience in the age of information.

Grace Eggleston is a documentary filmmaker based in Washington, D.C. Originally from Michigan, she is particularly passionate about water conservation issues in the Great Lakes Basin and beyond. She loves telling stories that explore the ties between people and their environment. Grace works as a freelance cinematographer and editor for a wide range of production companies and nonprofits, focusing mostly on documentary projects. She earned her MFA from American University’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking and is a University of Pittsburgh alumna. She loves to collaborate with scientists, artists, and other filmmakers who are passionate about conserving our planet and exploring the intersection of art and the natural world.

"The Erie Situation", was David Ruck's idea for a documentary about a Great Lake gone bad after Ruck, president of Great Lakes Outreach Media, partnered with the Ocean Conservancy to chronicle NOAA’s use of buoys to monitor conditions on the eastern end of the lake, where the blooms migrate after they die, compromising the drinking water in places like Cleveland. One of the engineers who oversees the network of buoys encouraged Ruck to head to Toledo to learn what was causing the yellow tap water in Forest City. Eight months and 110 hours of footage later, Ruck needed an editor. Maggie Burnette Stogner, executive director of SOC’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking, connected him with Grace Eggleston, SOC/MA ’21, who was looking for a thesis project after COVID yelled “cut” on her film about the threats posed to the Great Lakes by Asian carp. Listen as they work together to navigate a documentary project during COVID!

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