Introduction
Adam Ragusea (/rəˈɡuːsiə/ rə-GOO-see-ə; born March 22, 1982) is an American YouTuber who creates videos about food recipes, food science, and culinary culture. Until 2020, Ragusea was a professor of journalism at Mercer University.
Early life and education
Ragusea grew up in State College, Pennsylvania. Ragusea attended the Eastman School of Music but left before the end of his first year. He finished his bachelor's degree in music theory and composition at Penn State University in 2004. He completed all coursework towards a Master of Music at Indiana University Bloomington, but did not graduate.
Career
Journalism
Ragusea began as a reporter in public media for the Indiana University-owned WFIU, before moving to WBUR-FM in Boston, and then Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). While at GPB, he served as the organization's Macon Bureau Chief and host of the local Morning Edition.
Adam Ragusea was a journalist in residence at Mercer University from 2014 until February 2020, teaching introductory and advanced journalism, and media production classes, while coordinating with regional news outlets partnered with the university's journalism program. During his time at Mercer, Ragusea was the longtime host of and contributor to Current's The Pub, a trade podcast covering the public media industry.
YouTube
Ragusea created his YouTube channel on February 12, 2010, and his first videos were food recipes, made with the intention of sharing with his friends. His videos began to garner attention for his "straight-to-the-point" style that is influenced by his background in journalism. He also cites SpongeBob SquarePants as an influence on his style of comedy, describing it as "edgy but fundamentally [...] just a beam of bright sunshine". He launched "The Adam Ragusea Podcast" with the first episode "Dorian Yates Drumsticks" releasing on February 25, 2022. Ragusea announced that he would drop from his usual 2 videos a week along with the podcast to only 1 video a week plus the podcast on December 19, 2022 in a video titled "The next phase of our relationship".
Personal life
Since mid-2021, Ragusea has lived in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife, novelist Lauren Morrill, and their two children. He previously lived in Macon, Georgia.