Claim OwnershipPast Due with Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle
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Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle explore what it takes to survive as a creative today. From juggling side gigs to redefining success, we dive into the real stories behind making a living when one job just isn’t enough
310 Episodes
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Comedian River Butcher joins us for a conversation about what happens when the gigs stop coming—and the world doesn’t end. We talk about the fear of slowing down, and how gratitude, perspective, and a working fridge might just be the real signs of success.
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Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle briefly introduce Curiosity Weekly, a podcast from Discovery that helps makes sense of the world we live in. The show breaks down science and tech in a way that connects to everyday life and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Writer and video essayist Michael Burns joins us to talk about what happens when the platform you helped build stops serving the work and starts serving itself. After Wisecrack, he set out to make something smaller, stranger, and more his own. We get into the emotional cost of reinvention, the illusion of creative security, and why doing it yourself might be harder… but also the only honest way left.
Get more at patereon.com/pastdue
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Ana and Mike compare notes from the road: Ana’s on assignment in small-town Maine chasing a political story she believes in, and Mike’s in between tour legs, chasing rent. They get into the economics of chasing meaning when the math doesn’t make sense, the disappearing budgets of real journalism, and why a DIY ethos is both a burden and a blessing.
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Comedian and actor Ron Funches joins us for a deeply funny and unexpectedly honest conversation about the strange economics of creative work. We talk about surviving on joy, staying positive when nothing’s going right, and why failure is sometimes part of the paycheck. Originally recorded in 2022 for Mike’s podcast "Secret Skin."
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Comedian Chris Gethard joins us to talk about walking away from the version of success he spent years chasing, and why that might be the reason he's still standing. We get into the grief of giving up the big dream, the joy of making weird stuff for the people who get it, and the radical act of building a career that actually fits your life.
We’ve got more with Chris Gethard on patreon.com/pastdue - In this week’s bonus episode, Chris shares the hardest, weirdest, and most soul-crushing gig he’s ever taken. Hear that and more, and help support our show at patreon.com/pastdue
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Adult performer and podcaster Siri Dahl joins us to talk about the emotional and economic realities of sex work in an era that calls itself creator-friendly, but still censors, exploits, and erases. We talk about the myth that OnlyFans is easy money, the rising pressure to be everywhere at once, and what it means to be both the product and the platform.
Bonus episode on Patreon: patreon.com/pastdue
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Musician and writer Rhett Miller joins us to talk about staying creative in an industry that keeps changing. From fronting the Old 97’s to writing children’s books, Rhett opens up about the financial rollercoaster of life on the road, the loneliness of independence, and the challenge of keeping faith in your work when the world stops clapping.
There's even more waiting for you on our Patreon. In this week’s bonus segment, Rhett tells us the behind-the-scenes story of filming the music video for “The End.” Including what it was like sitting in a bathtub full of (non-alcoholic) beer bottles after more than a decades of sobriety. Hear it only when you subscribe, plus ad-free episodes and more bonus content, at patreon.com/pastdue.
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Ana and Mike get real about what creative work actually looks like behind the scenes, breaking down the economics of touring, Substack’s Nazi problem, how platforms trap creators, audiences, and the psychology of performing.
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Podcast host and producer Jody Avirgan joins us to talk about walking away from big platforms like ESPN and NPR, and what it takes to build something sustainable on your own terms. We get into the pressure to grow, the trap of prestige, and the trade-offs between stability, scale, and creative freedom. In the end, rethinking success might be the real win.
Hear the full episode and more at https://patreon.com/pastdue
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Video essayist Ian Danskin joins us to talk about the exhausting economics of doing thoughtful work online—and what it means when your most meaningful content can’t pay the bills. From burnout to bad faith backlash, Ian opens up about what it takes to keep going when attention is currency... and you're broke.
Bonus episodes + extras: https://patreon.com/pastdue
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Screenwriter Bob DeRosa joins us to talk about what it really takes to build a long-haul creative career—one that doesn’t go viral, but keeps going. We break down 20+ years in Hollywood by the numbers, and what it reveals about persistence, rejection, reinvention, and the myth of overnight success.
If Bob’s Bluesky post made you feel seen, wait until you hear what didn’t make it into the main episode. In the bonus edition, Bob shares how a beloved project came close but never sold. Also we might have accidentally developed a Ted Cruz bio pic. Subscribe at patreon.com/pastdue to hear it.
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Journalist and podcast host Sam Sanders joins us to talk about what happens when the thing you thought you wanted turns out to be too small. We get into the emotional and financial cost of walking away, what it means to do it yourself in a collapsing industry, and how to balance ambition with reality.
Want to know what the scariest career pivot Sam Sanders had to make? You can find out at patreon.com/pastdue. Each week the episode continues with bonus questions, extended interviews… And if you subscribe, you get access to our discord, special episodes, early access, and more. Subscribe at patreon.com/pastdue and tell a friend!
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Comedian Josh Gondelman and writer Maris Kreizman join us to talk about surviving the creative economy as individuals and as a couple. We dig into the emotional labor of staying hopeful, the financial logistics of making art with no guarantees, and what happens when even the “success stories” feel precarious.
If you want more from Josh and Maris, there’s bonus conversations waiting for you at patreon.com/pastdue.
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Despite writing bestsellers and landing a Reese’s Book Club pick, Xochitl Gonzalez opens up about the lingering shame of precarity, the invisibility of working-class success, and why we need to drag money talk out into the light.
Love this? Hear more from the conversation with Xochitl Gonzalez at patreon.com/pastdue
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Ana and Mike talk about what it means to sell out... financially, creatively, and emotionally. From brand deals to burnout, they ask whether survival in the creative economy means compromising your values, or just being honest about what pays the bills.
For bonus content and more, visit patreon.com/pastdue
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Writer and podcaster Jamie Loftus joins us to talk about financial anxiety, inherited frugality, and the emotional cost of choosing creative freedom. From 7-Eleven coffee to viral fame, we explore what happens when you build a life around surviving—long after you’ve made it.
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Writer Parker Molloy joins us to talk about the invisible costs of creative independence, from burnout to the search for meaning in an industry built on metrics, and why it’s so hard to believe your work matters, even when it clearly does.
This week on our Patreon exclusive, Parker Malloy names names. She tells us who’s thriving in media right now that absolutely shouldn’t be, and who’s doing such great work it makes her forget to be jealous. Subscribe at patreon.com/pastdue to hear it and more.
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Writer, performer, and YouTuber Maggie Mae Fish joins us to talk about financial survival, burnout, and the hard-earned lessons of giving up hustle culture. We unpack the toll of having five jobs, the shame of rest, the fear of slowing down—and why stability doesn’t magically erase anxiety.
Every episode, we save the most surprising, unfiltered stories for our Patreon. In this week’s bonus segment, Maggie Mae Fish tells us what happened when she dared to criticize Zack Snyder on YouTube. Let’s just say… the fanbase had thoughts. Subscribe at patreon.com/pastdue to hear the full clip, get early access, bonus episodes, and a little solidarity in this chaotic creative economy.
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Journalist Taylor Lorenz joins us to talk about the hidden costs of writing online today, from the terrifying reality of working without health protections, to the pressure of being a one-person brand, and why real survival might mean building community from the ground up.
If you want to hear more from Taylor Lorenz about the emotional whiplash of losing just one subscriber, join us at patreon.com/pastdue. You’ll get exclusive extras, extended interviews, and first dibs on upcoming surprises.
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Listening to this now makes me sad. We were so young and naive once.
that was a poorly timed ad break
That last closing comment about this being the first time a majority of people calling the rape abuse and incest national network being children chilled me to the bone
This conversation is awkward. The woman she is interviewing is hard to listen to.
I've never considered the mental and emotional toll it must take on the people who are maki g sure executions can happen, like the tie down team.
I don't know if it's just because the episodes for this podcast are shorter than podcasts I usually listen to, but I feel like this podcast has more ads than others. I did the math on this episode, it was ~23.4% ads.
Did Steve Schmidt actually call himself part of a Progressive Movement? is the Lincoln Project now considered progressive? I call bullshit #proleftpod
oh I love this man
I was just thinking about this earlier today
such a good episode. I so appreciated the kindness - and such a cerebral expression of kindness - both of you displayed.
I need to ask people "Why do you think that?" more often.
I never heard about the German women who demanded their Jewish husbands be returned to them. I think that their power as a group is something everyone should hear about. How incredibly moving.
This is exactly why Andrew Yang's campaign for President has me feeling so hopeful! His Freedom Dividend will allow people to stop dragging themselves through the slog of capitalism....while still engaging in capitalism, and benefitting from it! It's not changing the system, it's living WITHIN it, and making it work for us, instead of concentrating this country's wealth at the very top. I cannot understand why his campaign hasn't caught on with millennials yet! He really has planned for an excellent future for all Americans.
something about the audio mixing makes all the s sounds peak really hard, even painfully, on cheap speakers
No. They're not fundamentally decent people. They're fundamentally not good. Nobody questioned their morals and they aren't going to do it themselves. Being complicit is not a synonym of good. Question the silence.
I volunteered for Bill Nelson's recount effort, I'm so sad that Gillum lost to Desantis :( liked Gillum as mayor when I lived in Tallahassee, glad to hear updates from him
Our public libraries and parks present a great opportunity to create vibrant community spaces. I wonder what's behind the fact that most of us actually avoid those spaces or don't think to look for community there, when many libraries host classes and events for people with shared interests.
COMPLETE UTTER SHIT
not even going to listen, insufferable I'm sure. everything is racist.
I actually liked conspiracy month.. I just don't like Ana Marie Cox. Her pauses are so awkward and she speaks so slow.