Each of the collaboratively authored chapters of Applied Media Studies was produced through a series of interview-style questions that I, as editor, developed and circulated to the contributors. Through a dialogic process that took place in a deliberately conversational tone, I asked each contributor to answer questions related to a set of themes in the book as a whole, ranging from logistical concerns to methodological and theoretical problems. In this foundational chapter, I asked, “What does applied media studies mean to you? How and why did you start doing applied media studies? In your view, what is the theoretical, historical, and/or political rationale for reimagining humanistic media studies as an applied practice?” In addition to their written responses, contributors created short videos for a web-based companion to the book, hosted on the open-access Scalar platform (http://scalar.usc.edu/works/applied-media-studies/index).