Past Due with Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle

Comedian and actor Will Hines joins Ana and Mike to talk about trading a salary for freedom, and why time might be the only currency that really matters. From leaving a corporate job at 33 to building an improv school from the ground up, we get into the real economics of creative work: how to manage taxes, protect your energy, and figure out what’s worth outsourcing (and what’s not). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor and comedian Jacquis Neal joins us to talk about the strange space between doing good work and still feeling like you haven’t arrived. From voiceover gigs to the long-haul hustle, we explore what it means to trust the process when the results don’t always look like what you imagined. Want more? On the bonus episode, Jacquis opens up about the thing he keeps doing—whether or not anyone’s watching. Subscribe at patreon.com/pastdue for that, plus early access, ad-free episodes, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices