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MaxFun Hosts Share Thoughts on the Co-Op

At Maximum Fun, our shows are the heart of everything we do: they bring joy to thousands of people all around the world and forge connections in our community. We couldn’t do any of that without the wonderful hosts who create the shows that you all love. I’ve been working at MaxFun for four years now, and while my job doesn’t have me interacting with the hosts that often, it’s always such a delight when I do—they really are all just as lovely as they seem on their shows.

Six of our hosts recently shared their thoughts on the co-op transition with us. See what they had to say below!

Posted by C.N. Josephs on 8th October 2023

 

Janet Varney (The JV Club)

Janet Varney
“Being a part of this very special organization fills my heart with joy! It has given me so much hope in a time when we’re watching huge conglomerates gobble up indie creators and indie spirit.”


Tom Lum (Let’s Learn Everything!)

Tom Lum smiling at the camera wearing a hat over his long hair and sitting in front of a bookshelf
“It’s just so so nice to know that when we pour our heart into our creative work, it isn’t going into an algorithmic machine owned by a fickle CEO who can decide one day they want to “pivot to AI”. It’s going to a team of people who listen to the shows, care about the creators, and do amazing work, and who own the network themselves.”


Andrew Reich (Dead Pilots Society)

Andrew Reich

“I just spent 148 days striking and picketing big greedy corporations who employ me in my main job as a television writer. That makes me especially happy to be a part of Maximum Fun, making a show as part of a worker-owned co-operative. It just feels good!”


Ross Blocher (Oh No, Ross and Carrie!)

Ross Blocher wearing MaxFunDrive sunglasses
“I feel great knowing that the support for our podcast and the Maximum Fun network goes to the people who care so much about our listeners and work so hard to create a culture of independent voices.”


Dan McCoy (The Flop House)

Dan McCoy sitting in front of his bookcase

“It feels good to know that everyone in the company benefits from the company’s success, and that the workers have an active, positive reason to be personally engaged in the work they do.”


Alex Adan (Dr. Gameshow Producer)

Jo Firestone, Alex Adan, and Manolo Moreno

“After being on a network that kept getting bought, sold, merged, pivoted, and downsized, it’s such a relief to be part of a worker-owned co-op where artists own their shows and are in charge of their own futures. At MaxFun we are safe to keep the podcast chugging along without the anxiety of getting cancelled for taste or money, as our previous iterations were.”


Jackie Kashian (The Jackie and Laurie Show)

Jackie Kashian and Laurie Kilmartin in front of a yellow background

“It’s a step in the right direction. Worker owned means everyone cares about the outcome.”


Alex Schmidt (Secretly Incredibly Fascinating)

Alex Schmidt

“I’ll be thrilled if we can reach even one person with the news about this co-op thing, because while no listener needs to know about it, everybody has an opportunity to be excited about it. A ton of modern media companies are up to something weird or rapacious or unsustainable. MaxFun is different. They invested their resources back into their people, so those people can thrive, so you can keep hearing podcasts that happen the right way. Do you need to know that to hit a play button? No. However, great news: you’ve got the opportunity to know that, and support that, and appreciate your role in something awesome.”