It’s our big year-end wrap-up and we’ve got a lot for you, so let’s get to it! Starting with reviewing some milestones from this year…
2022 Year-in-Review!
- New shows:
- New faces at MaxFunHQ:
- Tabatha Myers – Production/Communications Fellow
- Kylee Shimomura – Bookkeeper
- Bryanna Paz – Our brand new Production Fellow just joined us this month to learn the ropes and help us make Bullseye with Jesse Thorn! Follow that link and get to know Bryanna, who enjoys poetry, hiking, and TikTok (and radio/podcasting, of course).
- Plus, the two Production Fellows included in last year’s list, Valerie Moffat and Richard Robey, have come on board as full-time Producers.
- Support for non-profits:
- In November, we donated $53,436 from the members-only patch sale to Trans Lifeline! That donation could:
- fund 693 hours of the hotline,
- connect 2,137 trans folks to the hotline, or
- pay for the legal fees to update the IDs of 117 people
- We’ve continued working with National CASA/GAL, including holding a recent fundraiser event. We’ve also chatted with MaxFunsters who are CASA/GAL volunteers themselves, so folks can get a better idea of what that entails. Learn more about the great work they do or get involved here.
- In November, we donated $53,436 from the members-only patch sale to Trans Lifeline! That donation could:
- MaxFunCon:
- We finally got together for the last MaxFunCon (originally scheduled for 2020) and it was fantastic!
- New merch:
- 74 new products and counting in our new store
- Episodes:
- 1,723 episodes of MaxFun shows were produced in 2022!
- Episodes that won LA Press Awards
- FANTI: The Blogger-Journalist Divide (ft. Jasmine Simpkins)
- Soft News Feature, 1st Place!
- Depresh Mode: Joel Kim Booster Is In A Pit
- One-on-One Interview, Film Personalities, 1st Place!
- Bullseye:The Bullseye Halloween Spectacular!
- Best Arts or Entertainment Podcast, 3rd Place!
- FANTI: The Blogger-Journalist Divide (ft. Jasmine Simpkins)
(Oh, sorry one last stat. Number of times Elon Musk accidentally tweeted the name of our network during the 2022 MaxFunDrive right after he told everyone he was buying Twitter and we all said oh no oh no oh no: one. Still can’t believe that was a real thing that happened. Anyway…)
Hang out online with HQ staff tonight!
Are you familiar with Jackbox? If not, it’s a party game company that makes it easy to play a variety of games both in-person and remotely. Join some of the staff from MaxFun HQ on YouTube TONIGHT (Friday, Dec 16 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET) as we play our faves. And no, this isn’t sponcon, we just genuinely love playing these games in and out of the office.
Here’s who’s playing tonight:
- Daniel Baruela, Technology and Data Specialist
- Valerie Moffat, editor of Judge John Hodgman, livestreams for Jordan, Jesse, Go
- Marissa Flaxbart, producer of Feeling Seen and Maximum Film!
- Gabe Mara, producer of Depresh Mode and One Bad Mother
- Kira Gowan, Ad Operations Specialist
Come hang out in the chat starting at 4pm PT!
Eps from holiday seasons past and present!
ICYMI: A roundup of current and past holiday episodes to boost your mood, make you laugh, or make you thankful you don’t have to arrange an Elf on the Shelf (well, hopefully).
Reading Glasses
Episode 28: What to Give the Book Person Who Has Everything and Ask a Librarian with Brazos Price!
Dec 14, 2017
Tips on what to get a book-ish person who has everything.
We Got This with Mark and Hal
Episode 351: Best Holiday Movie Trope with Alonso Duralde
Dec 1, 2021
The Christmas Zaddy Alonso Duralde joins Mark and Hal to determine the best holiday movie trope.
Wonderful
Episode 63: Goin’ Potty Backwards
Dec 12, 2018
A celebration of some wonderful things, including Rachel’s favorite new Hanukkah song (of 2018, at least).
Depresh Mode with John Moe
Episode 40: Our Wildly Speculative and Totally Unqualified Psychological Analysis of Major Christmas Characters
Dec 20, 2021
An inexpert panel of funny people try to figure out exactly what the deal is with Santa, Rudolph, and more.
Tiny Victories
Episode 60: A 23 & Me Christmas (Tree) Victory
Dec 13, 2021
Sharing some of life’s tiny victories for the holiday season, and a shoutout to Annabelle’s grandma’s matzo ball soup.
FANTI
Episode 99: What Mary Didn’t Know…A Sexy FANTI Christmas (ft. Mykal Kilgore and Mychael Chinn)
Dec 23, 2021
Jarrett, Tre’vell, and special guests Mykal Kilgore and Mychael Chinn talk about holiday songs they love and hate.
Shmanners
Episode 335: Christmas Lights
Dec 2, 2022
The history and etiquette around Christmas lights.
Last-minute gift ideas!
If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for a MaxFunster (or someone is still asking you for gift ideas), you can’t go wrong with a MaxFun membership. The gift giver pays for one year of a membership, and we contact the recipient to see what shows they’d like that membership to support. Then they get to listen to a whole bunch of bonus content!
Last month, we shared our holiday gift guide and brand new merch. A lot of that stuff won’t get there in time for the holidays now, but you can always do the old trick of printing out a photo of the item that’s on its way.
Get your tickets to these live shows!
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap* Court is now in session, and this time it’s live! Join Judge John Hodgman and Bailiff Jesse Thorn in court on their West Coast Tour, and sit in the galley while the justice unfolds. There will be comedy. There will be contention. Most of all, there will be fake legal advice. Get your tickets to see live justice in Port Townsend, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco!
Speaking of San Francisco, The Greatest Generation and Jordan, Jesse, Go! will be doing SF Sketchfest shows, too! Check out the rest of the schedule to catch MaxFun hosts like Janet Varney or friends of the network!
If you’re going to be in Los Angeles on January 12, go see Dead Pilots Society Presents Brooks Wheelan’s Dead Pilots! It’s the podcast’s first live show in three years and the cast is incredible.
And no matter where you live, you can still get a ticket to celebrate Candlenights with the McElroy family tomorrow night (December 17) at 3pm PT/ 6pm ET.
Get inspired for holiday cooking!
A few MaxFun hosts have videos that may help with your own hosting:
In The Flop House Holiday Special this week, Dan McCoy made bucatini all’amatriciana for dinner and Stuart mixed up a Vegan Grasshopper cocktail. Plus, Elliott sang a song! Go check it out and get inspired to cook!
If you need a quick dessert idea, look no further than this TikTok Justin McElroy posted that shows you how to make a cornflake wreath. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for your support of our shows and our network this year!
We hope you can spend this holiday season with people you care about, doing things that make you happy. We’ll be back with a fresh batch of exciting news in the new year. Happy holidays from all of us at HQ!