Juna Gjata

My career started when I pitched my local NPR station a podcast idea. I'd spent all of college following influencers' health and fitness advice — and it had completely backfired on me. I weighed every ounce of food, spent hours on the treadmill, and instead of having my dream body, I spent most of the day battling an all-consuming eating disorder.

Once I started actually researching nutrition and exercise, I discovered that there was solid, uncontested science proven to help people live healthier, happier lives. I just couldn't figure out why nobody was sharing it in a way regular people could access. That's how Food, We Need to Talk was born.

I co-host the show with Dr. Eddie Phillips, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. He is, still to this day, one of my greatest mentors. I affectionately call him my “American dad” (my family is very, very Albanian). Together we've reached over 5 million downloads, published a book with St. Martin's Press, held a live event in partnership with Lululemon — all while doing High School Musical impressions in the studio to warm up for every episode.

In 2024, I became Senior Producer at The Mel Robbins Podcast — one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world. I worked on several incredible projects, including The Let Them Theory, and produced episodes that went on to win a Signal Award. In 2025, I began my MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, focusing on Arts, Media, and Entertainment.