Business journalist to start radio program

Roben Farzad, a business journalist who has written for Bloomberg BusinessWeek for the past decade, will start a regular radio show on Thursday out of Richmond, Va.

The show, called “Full Disclosure,” aims to give listeners a better understanding of business, economics, international affairs and investing through humor, personality and candor. The show will feature major personalities and influencers, from cabinet secretaries to hedge fund managers, economists, rock acts, kingpins and elected officials.

“Full Disclosure” will record at The Martin Agency and initially be offered as a podcast. Virginia Commonwealth University is co-sponsoring and offering programming internships to its journalism students.   The first show will be taped this Thursday and will feature Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben, filmmakers from Rakontur (“Cocaine Cowboys” and ESPN’S “The U”) , as well as Robert “Bobby Black Tuna” Platshorn, America’s longest imprisoned nonviolent marijuana offender.

“We wanted to focus first and foremost on striking the best creative collaboration and embedding ambitious, nationally facing sponsorship,” said Farzad in an email to Talking Biz News. “We’ll talk distribution with anyone when the time’s right. In the meantime, I’m fixing to burn a bunch of CDs and hand them out in Times Square.”

Farzad has also written for the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Wall Street Journal, and appeared on NPR, CNBC, PBS, CNN, and BBC News. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School, Farzad began his career at Goldman Sachs.

“This is what I’ve wanted to do throughout,” said Farzad. “Credit/blame Sara Sarasohn of NPR, who called me out of the blue 12 years ago to urge me to take a crack at commentaries for her show All Things Considered. I quickly fell in love with explanation over radio — demystifying complicated headlines for a John Q. Listener audience. I’ve since done a good deal of public radio and have apparently amassed enough self-delusion to attempt my own show. If I fail — if I succeed — at least I’ll live as I believe.”