Joan Kanner, M.A.

Before Co-Founding Bottoms Up Bagels in 2015, where she busted the myth that water is what makes a good bagel, Kanner had a 15-year career in academia. This included social science research and the detail-heavy firehose that is grants and contracts administration. She also conceptualized and created the music streaming app, Fugue, that lets you hear what you want and forget what youdon’t.

Kanner was Host and Producer of Proofing Stage, a limited series that began in 2023 as a vivisection of BUB, sharing wins and cautionary tales from bootstrapping a food business. It then evolved to an interview format
showcasing and supporting small business owners and underrepresented founders.

Fully embracing her chosen third career of podcasting, Kanner became even Saltier in Fall 2025 as a graduate student at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at MECA&D.

Her current projects include Permanently Closed, a podcast that focuses on the real reasons why beloved food businesses shut down. It leverages the power of storytelling to prevent their erasure, and inform policy to better direct fiscal and non-monetary support.