Penelope Poulou
Penelope Poulou was born in Greece and came to the U.S. in 1986 to pursue a Ph.D. in History at Kent State University. While completing her studies there, Poulou discovered the significance of popular culture in history and focused her research on the subject matter. In 1989, while teaching at the University of Akron, she incorporated the study of movies into her classes to help her students understand more viscerally the cultures and political environments they were studying. In 1993, Poulou was offered a full time position as a reporter and radio broadcaster at the Greek Service of the Voice of America in Washington D.C. There, she covered politics, science and culture. In 2000, she accepted a position as a radio broadcaster and reporter at the English Features unit of the Voice of America. In 2003, she worked with a select group on the daily radio show “Main Street” covering topics about American life, culture, society and politics. At that time, she developed a segment on film and entertainment interviewing filmmakers and actors on a number of topics about the film industry. In 2005 she trained extensively in video editing and TV Production and started her own TV coverage on film and popular culture. Since then, she has interviewed countless of celebrities, award winning actors, movie producers and filmmakers. Her work features regularly on VOA’s international broadcasts, on VOA’s website and other online sites. Poulou holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the American College of Greece and a Master of Arts in History of the Balkans from the University of London.
