Patrick Hinds is the cocreator and host of True Crime Obsessed, one of the most popular true crime podcasts in the world. True Crime Obsessed, a true crime/comedy podcast, recaps true crime documentaries with humor, heart, and just the right amount of sass. TCO has been featured in the New York Times, Vogue, Newsweek, and Vulture. TCOtours live shows internationally and, in April of 2022, became the first podcast to play live on Broadway. With over 200 million downloads and counting, True Crime Obsessed is one of the most recognizable podcasts in any genre.
Building on the success of True Crime Obsessed, in 2020, Patrick launched The Obsessed Network with his husband Steve Tipton. Since the creation of the network, Patrick and Steve have overseen the production of several popular original podcasts including Absolutely Not!, Strange and Unexplained, Murder in Alliance, and Crimes of the Centuries. In 2022, the network launched Obsessed Fest, a terribly fun annual convention of podcast enthusiasts and creators. Follow Patrick on Instagram and TikTok: @Patrickhinds_
Takako Hirata is Head of International Business Development at ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. By working to bridge the information gap between Japan and the U.S., she’s also building an online technology-focused media hub called InTech Media. And as a Board Member of Mentholatum, she works at the frontier of healthcare and technology. Previously she was at Proctor & Gamble, where she oversaw major product lines such as Febreze, before becoming a Marketing Design Manager and leading branding strategy in P&G’s US and China markets. She later took on a role as Director of Brand Strategy at Aeon. Currently, she is an Executive MBA candidate at UCLA-NUS and the only Japanese certificate holder of the MIT-Harvard Medical School Healthcare Innovation Bootcamp. She lives in Tokyo, Japan. She leads everywhere.
Andrea Schicke Hirsch has been a bookseller, freelance editor and copywriter, teacher and paralegal. She studied theatre and English at Fordham University and has a master’s degree in education from the University of Bridgeport. A Connecticut native, she lives in Wilton, Conn., with her family.
Dr. Dave Hodgson is an ecologist, working at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on the Cornwall (U.K.) campus of the University of Exeter. He lives in the middle of Cornwall and enjoys views of the North and South coasts. He and Penny share their house and garden with Merlin, the magic dog, and Patch and Bridget, the depraved bunnies. When not studying the maintenance of biodiversity, he plays drums for warblefly, the kickingest trad-punk band this side of anywhere.
Steven A. Hoffman has lived in 17 states and countries and has been very happy to call Sioux Falls, S.D., home since 1997. When he’s not writing, he oversees a seven-gallery visual arts center, a science center with three floors of hands-on exhibits, a domed large format theater and a performing arts center with 1,900- and 300-seat theaters. Professionally, Steve has curated performing arts series, festivals, events and individual performances for more than 15 years. Steve holds degrees from the University of Illinois and University of Wisconsin and has worked and taught in Chicago, New York, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Madison, Wis. He is actively involved with a variety of local and national boards, associations and panels and has previously been published in several literary and trade publications. Since living in South Dakota his appreciation for country music, fishing and hunting has steadily grown. Steve can be contacted at SH.writings@hotmail.com.
Steve Hoffman, or Captain Hoff as he’s called in Silicon Valley, is the CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading startup incubators. He’s also an angel investor, limited partner at August Capital, serial entrepreneur, and author of several award-winning books, including Make Elephants Fly and Surviving a Startup. Hoffman was also the founder and chairman of the Producers Guild Silicon Valley Chapter, Board of Governors of the New Media Council, and founding member of the Academy of Television’s Interactive Media Group.
Books by Steven S. Hoffman
Jordan Hoffman is an entertainment journalist whose work can be read in Vanity Fair, The Guardian, The New York Times, New York Daily News, Los Angeles Times, and New York Magazine. He penned 100 “One Trek Mind” columns for startrek.com, hosted “Engage: The Official Star Trek Podcast” for two years, and has moderated at Star Trek conventions across the world.
Steven Holcomb is an American bobsled driver who won the Olympic gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the first gold medal in four-man bobsledding for the United States since 1948.
Holcomb is the only Olympic athlete for whom a medical procedure is named: the Holcomb C3-R procedure for keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease that can lead to total blindness. Holcomb was cured of keratoconus from the procedure and went on to become America’s most decorated bobsledder. He will compete to defend his Olympic title at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
Nancy Holder is a four-time Bram Stoker Award–winning author, and was nominated a fifth time for one of her “Buffy” novels. She also received a special award from Amazon.com for The Angel Chronicles, Volume 1. She has written or cowritten over three dozen projects in the “BtVS” and “Angel” universes. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Watcher’s Guide, Volume 1, coauthored with Christopher Golden, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list and was described in Entertainment Weekly and the Wall Street Journal as “superb.” She lives in San Diego with her 8-year-old daughter, Belle, a daunting karate student and key soccer defender, who, as of this writing, is eagerly awaiting her first softball season.
