A group of people gathered at a party

August 16th Newsletter: Live shows, podcast milestones, and co-op celebrations!

Posted by C.N. Josephs on 18th August 2023

Hi!

We’ve got some exciting milestones, a bunch of great live shows, and a small update about MaxFun’s transition to being a worker-owned cooperative.


Three long-running shows hit big milestones! 

The Flop House

The Flop House released their 400th episode and got a great write-up in Variety! They just hit their sixteenth anniversary, so they’ve got a great backlog for new listeners to dive into. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a YouTube playlist with all of their episodes that feature celebrity guests.

Jordan, Jess, Go! Logo

Jordan, Jesse, Go!

Jordan, Jesse, Go! released their 800th episode! Like The Flop House, they’ve been podcasting since 2007, so they’ve got an extensive and super fun backlog. If you want to hear some familiar voices, check out their episodes with fellow MaxFun hosts Helen HongTre’vell AndersonDrea Clarkthe McElroy Brothers, and Elliott Kalan.

Stop Podcasting Yourself cover art

Stop Podcasting Yourself

Stop Podcasting Yourself also hit 800 episodes! When you get through all of those episodes and still want more, you can become a MaxFun member for as low as $5 a month to access over 80 bonus episodes, including their Mr. Bean recap series, Bean There Done That.


Live shows abound!

We’ve got some exciting live shows coming up both in person and online over the next several weeks!

  • Dead Pilots Society: On August 29, Dead Pilots Society is hosting Soapdish at the Friends of the Fest film festival in Los Angeles!
  • The McElroy Family: The Adventure Zone and My Brother, My Brother and Me have upcoming live shows and con appearances!
  • Go Fact Yourself: Go Fact Yourself has a bunch of live shows with a great guest line-up coming up over the next few months!
  • Judge John Hodgman: JJHo is going on a fall tour across North America and Europe!
  • The Flop House: Check out Flop TV, a new monthly livestream from the creators of The Flop House!
  • The Greatest Generation: Join Ben and Adam on a tour around North America this fall!
  • The London Podcast Festival: Judge John Hodgman, Beef and Dairy Network, The Greatest Generation, and Jordan Jesse Go! are performing at the London Podcast Festival, and some of them are streaming live so you can watch from anywhere!

MaxFun had a party!

Maximum Fun officially became a worker-owned cooperative on June 30 and we thought that was something worth celebrating! So on July 29, we threw a big party for all of the employees, hosts, and producers at Maximum Fun.

A group of people gathered at a party

MaxFun staff and worker-owners came together from all around the city (and country!) so that everyone could talk, laugh, and eat delicious tamales together. We’re still mostly working remotely, so it was so lovely to see each other! It was a great reminder that there’s no better group of folks to be doing this work with.

Dan Wally in front of his turntables

Some good friends of the network were in attendance, too. Like DJ Dan Wally, who does the music for Bullseye and who has DJed some MaxFunCon dance parties. He brought his system and Jesse DJed some 45s for everyone. Want to feel like you were there? Jesse shared the playlist, so enjoy some tunes this week: Jesse’s MaxFun Co-op Celebration Classic Soul Mix!

Worker-owners Kevin Ferguson and K.T. Wiegman presenting a plaque with a hammer on it to network founder Jesse Thorn

Speaking of Jesse, this transition couldn’t have happened without him. His inspiration to turn MaxFun into a co-op came from his father-in-law, who’s been an employee-owner at Jackson’s Hardware in San Rafael, California for the past 30 years. To thank Jesse, we gifted him a plaque with a hammer from Jackson’s Hardware, assembled by the wonderful Max Wilson Woodworks.

A group of people standing outside at night during a party

Our next steps as a co-op include learning more from our friends at Project Equity, creating training materials for worker-owners, and holding our first Board and General Assembly meetings. Thank you for joining us on this journey—we can’t wait to see what the future holds! None of this would be possible without your support.


Stacey here for a second. I want to officially introduce you to C.N. Josephs, who wrote this newsletter (I only edited it—surprise! Well, also I wrote this part. Anyway). They have been at MaxFun for four years but recently moved into the role of Communications Specialist, so you’ll be hearing from them a lot more. I’ll still be around, too, but please give C.N. a warm welcome!

Thanks for reading and thanks for being great!
– Your friends at Maximum Fun