Principal, MBK Productions
Washington, D.C.
Mary Beth Kirchner has produced some of the most compelling stories in public media, network television, and podcasting. She has spent her career telling deeply intimate stories with an approach known for its enduring emotional resonance.
Her award-winning productions include a ground-breaking profile of two transgender girls for “This American Life,” for “Nightline,” the story of an unforgettable class at Harvard Medical School with a patient whose disease story transforms an entire classroom, and for “All Things Considered,” an obituary honoring an infant who lived for 10 minutes, with his mother and a volunteer photographer who helped memorialize him.
Mary Beth’s documentaries, news features, radio dramas and music series have received over 50 national and international prizes, including the prestigious Peabody award, and the duPont-Columbia Silver Baton for her collaboration with legendary radio pioneer Norman Corwin.
Mary Beth started her own production company after serving as National Programming Director at WETA in Washington, D.C.. Before that, she was Executive Producer at the Smithsonian Institution. Her production partners have included National Public Radio, Carnegie Hall, the Asia Society, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, Condé Nast, Audible, and the BBC, among many others.
Mary Beth has served on two boards of her son’s schools in Hollywood and Potomac, Maryland, and now is a proud Trustee of the National Park Trust. She and her husband, JJ Yore, a lifelong public media veteran, are based in Washington, D.C.. Their son lives in San Francisco. She holds an MA from the University of Michigan.
DCI Partner: JJ Yore
