Podcast appearances and mentions of hannah ray

Mini Series: All-America City  From #1 in the nation for food insecurity to now operating a multi-functional food alliance to meet food insecurity needs, High Point has shown the world that we solve problems in our community collectively. The Greater High Point Food Alliance, a backbone organization that ensures that everyone is on the same page in High Point when it comes to alleviating hunger, is the epitome of democratic process. They brought in people from all over the city to innovate how we could transform our city when it comes to food and hunger. We sat down with former GHPFA Executive Director Carl Vierling, as well as Founder of Growing High Point, Councilman Patrick Harman, to learn how community voices came together to transform our city.  While this is our last episode of High Point's Voices Discovered Season 1, we are excited to announce that new things are coming for this podcast, so stay tuned, stay subscribed, and we'll see you soon!   LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE: View the full All-America City presentationLearn more or give to the Greater High Point Food AllianceLearn more or give to Growing High Point Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube:   ABOUT THE ALL-AMERICA CITY AWARD:  In 2024, the City of High Point received the designation of an All-America City by the National Civic League – an honor bestowed on only 10 cities nationally each year! This honor came because High Point proved that our city demonstrates transformative, community-driven efforts to strengthen democracy through local action and innovation. Through initiatives like the City of High Point rebrand, Thrive (the minority entrepreneur initiative of Business High Point) and the Greater High Point Food Alliance, our team demonstrated to the nation that High Point is a place where community voices matter.  DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:  Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/ Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d  YouTube | @highpointdiscovered  Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!  ABOUT THIS SHOW:  Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all! Technical Production by Captivate Media - https://captivatemedianc.com/  WHO WE ARE:  High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/ The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/   SUPPORT THE SHOW:  This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

Mini Series: All-America City  When it comes to entrepreneurship, Business High Point Chamber of Commerce knows that it takes more than just passion and a good idea to launch a successful business! That's where Thrive High Point, the minority-entrepreneur initiative, comes into place! Thrive brings expertise, guidance, and support to small businesses in our city to ensure that their voice in the community is heard and that their ideas thrive!  Today we sat down with Executive Director Dr. Telisha Roberts and Thrive member and business owner, Caleb Collins to learn more about what Thrive offers our community. Thrive was a large part of how High Point gained national recognition as an All-America City in 2024, demonstrating that in High Point, all voices in our community matter.  LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE: View the full All-America City presentationLearn more about Thrive High PointExplore I Am New Culture: Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube ABOUT THE ALL-AMERICA CITY AWARD:  In 2024, the City of High Point received the designation of an All-America City by the National Civic League – an honor bestowed on only 10 cities nationally each year! This honor came because High Point proved that our city demonstrates transformative, community-driven efforts to strengthen democracy through local action and innovation. Through initiatives like the City of High Point rebrand, Thrive (the minority entrepreneur initiative of Business High Point) and the Greater High Point Food Alliance, our team demonstrated to the nation that High Point is a place where community voices matter.  Stay tuned for more episodes delving into the initiatives that gained High Point national recognition!  DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:  Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/ Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d  YouTube | @highpointdiscovered Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!  ABOUT THIS SHOW:  Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all! Technical Production by Captivate Media - https://captivatemedianc.com/  WHO WE ARE:  High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/ The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/   SUPPORT THE SHOW:  This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

Mini Series: All-America City  In 2024, the City of High Point received the designation of an All-America City by the National Civic League – an honor bestowed on only 10 cities nationally each year! This honor came because High Point proved that our city demonstrates transformative, community-driven efforts to strengthen democracy through local action and innovation. Through initiatives like the City of High Point rebrand, Thrive (the minority entrepreneur initiative of Business High Point) and the Greater High Point Food Alliance, our team demonstrated to the nation that High Point is a place where community voices matter.  What better place to hear what the experience was like than High Point's Voices Discovered? That's why we sat down with City Manager Tasha Logan Ford and Mayor Pro Tem, Michael Holmes to hear about the team behind the All-America City project and what it means for our city!  Stay tuned for more episodes delving into the initiatives that gained High Point national recognition!   LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE: View the full All-America City presentationTo learn more about the City of High Point rebrandWatch this episode of the podcast on YouTube DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:  Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/ Instagram | @highpointdiscoveredFacebook | @highpointdiscovered Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d  YouTube | @highpointdiscoveredSubscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening! ABOUT THIS SHOW:  Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all! Technical Production by Captivate Media - https://captivatemedianc.com/  WHO WE ARE:  High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/ The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/   SUPPORT THE SHOW:  This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

In this episode of High Point's Voices Discovered, we delve into the transformative impact of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, they continued to support our community, providing technology and educational resources to club members. With certified teachers, the clubs help children reach their reading levels and offer life-enhancing programs in a safe, nurturing environment. They recently opened the 25,000 square foot Congdon Hub for Great Futures, which increased their capacity by 300% and offers diverse activities from esports to a recording studio.   Emphasizing a culture of care and accountability, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater High Point strives to create a sense of home and belonging for more than 1,300 members, 87% of whom are on free or reduced lunch, all at no cost to families. Join us as we explore how this nonprofit builds community, hope, and opportunity, ensuring that great futures start here in High Point, NC.     LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:   Discover more about the Boys & Girls Club of Greater High Point    Give to support the Boys & Girls Club of Greater High Point Volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater High Point   Watch this episode on YouTube! DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.instagram.com/highpointdiscovered/  Facebook | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.facebook.com/highpointdiscovered/   Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d   YouTube | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.youtube.com/@highpointdiscovered   Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!   ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  Technical Production by Captivate Media - https://captivatemedianc.com/    WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/  The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/     SUPPORT THE SHOW:   This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

The bubbly British-born, Cape Town-raised singer-songwriter is a force to be reckoned with. Majestically orchestral vocals, savant-level songwriting and instinctive natural performance ability that rivals the best of the best, Hannah Ray is destined for greatness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 8: Community Clinic of High Point  We all know how complex the medical world and healthcare can be. For many folks in our communities, the work full-time but don't necessarily get medical coverage. That's where the Community Clinic of High Point steps in! Volunteer providers, pharmacists, translators, and more work together to serve medical needs for patients at no cost. As a private entity, and a full non-profit, they rely on the generosity of our community to serve thousands of patients with a variety of specialties. Listen in to our conversation with executive director, Molly Jordan, and volunteer and board member, Dr. Frosty Culp to bust some myths around free healthcare in our city!   LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:   Discover more about the Community Clinic Give to support the Community Clinic Volunteer with the Community Clinic Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube   If you or someone you know is interested seeing if you qualify for the services at the Community Clinic, call 336-841-7154.    DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d   YouTube | @highpointdiscovered Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening! - https://highpointdiscovered.co/email-subscribe     ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  Technical Production by Captivate Media - https://captivatemedianc.com/    WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/  The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/   SUPPORT THE SHOW:   This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

Episode 7: Carolina Core FC Academy   In the upcoming episode of High Point's Voices Discovered podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Leah Hazelwood, Chair of the Board of Directors of Carolina Core FC Academy, alongside Eddie Pope, the Carolina Core FC Academy Executive Director and former MLS legend. This episode delves into the inspiring journey of the CCFC Academy, a revolutionary no-pay-to-play youth academy dedicated to nurturing young talents and guiding them into the MLS Player Pathway. Join us as we explore how this remarkable initiative is breaking down barriers and fostering equity in youth sports development in High Point, ensuring every child has the opportunity to shine regardless of their financial background.    LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:   Discover more about CCFC Academy Give to support the CCFC Academy   Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube   DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.instagram.com/highpointdiscovered/  Facebook | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.facebook.com/highpointdiscovered/   Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d   YouTube | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.youtube.com/@highpointdiscovered   Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening! - https://highpointdiscovered.co/email-subscribe     ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  Technical Production by Captivate Media - https://captivatemedianc.com/    WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/  The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/     SUPPORT THE SHOW:   This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

Episode 6: Family Services of the Piedmont   It's no question that our mental health is important. In fact, more than ever, folks are realizing how important a healthy mind is for healthy individuals that make up a healthy community! And thanks to Family Services of the Piedmont, getting the mental health services we need has never been more accessible. They serve over 19,000 local children and adults each year, addressing issues of domestic violence, child abuse, mental health and financial stability – all with the goal to remove barriers to mental health services list cost.   We sat down to talk with Dr. Jason Jones, Medical Director for Family Services to discuss their newest addition, the Child Wellness Center. We also spoke with mental health counselor, Tracy Reeder, to better understand what goes into supporting the psychological health of children and teens in our city.   Episodes airing every third Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts!   LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:   Discover More about Family Services of the Piedmont Give to Support the Work of Open Door Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube   If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health, substance abuse, or a domestic violence situation, visit https://www.fspcares.org/contact/ or call their 24-hour crisis line 336-273-7273 to get support.    DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d   YouTube | @highpointdiscovered Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!   ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  Technical Production by Captivate Media - https://captivatemedianc.com/    WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/  The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/     SUPPORT THE SHOW:   This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

Episode 5: Open Door Ministries   When it comes to meeting needs of food and housing security in High Point, Open Door Ministries is transforming lives, from immediate crisis management to long-term strategies for individuals experiencing homelessness. Thanks to their team, lead by Executive Director, Ryan Ross, and supported by additional staff like Director of Operations, Orel Henry, Open Door Ministries meets needs across a variety of services – from food pantry to soup kitchen, to transitional housing, to job assistance, and more. Their newest undertaking is to expand to a Day Center, an operational facility that would provide them with exponential growth for their services to improve the entire High Point community for all! Listen to our conversation with Ryan and Orel to discover their work, our societal misconceptions around homelessness, and how we can get involved as a community to support our neighbors!  Episodes airing every third Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts!   LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:   Discover More about Open Door Give to Support the Work of Open Door Volunteer with Open Door Ministries Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube  - https://youtu.be/bXSS_vxNqyQ   DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d   YouTube | @highpointdiscovered Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!   ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  Technical Production by Captivate Media - https://captivatemedianc.com/    WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/  The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/     SUPPORT THE SHOW:   This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

Episode 4: D-UP   Since 2007, D-UP has been bringing basketball fundamentals and skills to children to teach life skills, nutrition, fitness, self-confidence, and good character – all with the goal of helping them to excel in life. Today, the organization, led by founders Jakki and Corvin Davis, serves wealth of families and kids in the heart of the Washington Street neighborhood in High Point, NC. Their multi-site campus, dedicated team, and extensive partner network bring everything from physical activity, to arts and STEM classes, to mental wellness to the kids and families they serve, providing wraparound support to help families thrive.  Episodes airing every third Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts!   LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:   Discover more about D-UP Give to support D-UP Watch this episode on YouTube! DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d   YouTube | @highpointdiscovered Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!   ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Welcome to High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  Technical Production by Captivate Media   WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more.   SUPPORT THE SHOW:   This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

Strong cities are built in communities with a strong arts presence – that's why The Art Gallery at Congdon Yards (TAG) makes it its mission to bring art exhibits and education to the High Point community. Today on High Point's Voices Discovered, we sat down with Executive Director of TAG, Jeff Horney to discover how TAG is bringing arts to life in the heart of downtown through rotating exhibits that are free to the public, art classes and camps, and community events.   Episodes airing every third Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts!   LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:   Discover more about TAG Sign up for classes at TAG Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube.   DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/6gT7BXUEjah7Mk14QEMZps?si=12f684ff10484b7d   YouTube | @highpointdiscovered Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!   ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Introducing, High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  Technical Production by Captivate Media   WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more.   SUPPORT THE SHOW:   This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/  

Episode 2: Business High Point  It's no secret that business is booming in High Point, N.C.! And at the heart of that boom is Business High Point – Chamber of Commerce. Today, we're discovering the voices of two of the women leading the charge of supporting and growing our business community in High Point, Rachel Collins, President & CEO of Business High Point and Julie Hill, Executive Director of The Interchange. Through the development and opening of the Congdon Yards campus and the programming happening every day for entrepreneurs through BHP, small business growth and job opportunities have skyrocketed in our city.   Episodes airing every third Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts!   LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:   Get to know Business High Point – Chamber of Commerce Explore the Congdon Yards campus Sign up for a class at The Interchange   DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered YouTube | @highpointdiscovered Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube. - https://youtu.be/UDWMYHHmCWk Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!   WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/  The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. https://www.congdonfoundation.org/     SUPPORT THE SHOW:   This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories. https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/give/ ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Introducing, High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  Technical Production by Captivate Media

We're discovering the original "discoverers" who set out to make the name of High Point famous! On today's episode, we sat down to talk to the ladies behind the two organizations that make this podcast possible, Christi Barbour (founder of High Point Discovered), Megan Oglesby (Executive Director of the Congdon Family Foundation), and Amber Williamson (Executive Director of High Point Discovered). From anonymous Instagram accounts to forged friendships, to non-profit launches, today these two organizations are joining forces yet again to tell even more stories about this city in High Point's Voices Discovered.   Episodes airing every third Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts!   DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered Facebook | @highpointdiscovered  YouTube | @highpointdiscovered Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening! ABOUT THIS SHOW:   Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Introducing, High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!  WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more.  The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more. GIVE: This episode and other work by High Point Discovered is made possible by generous supporters like you. Click to give to the non-profit work of High Point Discovered to tell our community's stories.

Ready to hear from the voices of the people transforming the city of High Point, North Carolina? Then you've come to the right place! Introducing, High Point's Voices Discovered, a podcast presented by High Point Discovered and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. Join co-hosts, Hannah Ray and Joe Blosser, as they meet and share stories with the leaders, movers, shakers, and changemakers making the city of High Point better and brighter for all!   Episodes airing every third Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts!   Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube.   DISCOVER MORE HIGH POINT STORIES:   Our Stories | https://www.highpointdiscovered.org/stories/  Instagram | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.instagram.com/highpointdiscovered/  Facebook | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.facebook.com/highpointdiscovered/   YouTube | @highpointdiscovered - https://www.youtube.com/@highpointdiscovered   Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, to never miss a High Point happening!   WHO WE ARE:   High Point Discovered is a 501(c)3, a grass-roots non-profit dedicated to communicating the stories of High Point, NC, to connect citizens and catalyze economic growth. Learn more.   The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation invests in organizations within the greater High Point area and beyond that promote improved quality of life by reducing barriers to opportunity. Learn more.  

Today's episode is guest-hosted by Sarah Fay, creative writing professor at Northwestern University, former interviewer at The Paris Review, devoted serializer, and lover of all things Substack. Her Substack Writers at Work helps creative writers use Substack to bolster their careers, including how to serialize their writing. She's currently serializing her new memoir Cured on Substack through 2023.—Sophia Efthimiatou, Head of Writer Relations**You may recognize the names of today's guests: Mary Trump, E. Jean Carroll, and Jennifer Taub. Their new venture is a groundbreaking Substack: Backstory Serial. The content may surprise you—though it shouldn't, and I'll explain why during the podcast. Backstory Serial features their romance novel The Italian Lesson, which is bringing serial novels and Substack fiction into the mainstream.The Italian Lesson is a serialization, meaning it appears in your inbox, chapter by chapter, installment by installment. The plot of The Italian Lesson is simple: An American woman moves to a small town in Tuscany and opens a café. Then, as Mary put it in an interview, “some stud walks in and turns out he's a prince.”Serialization has a long tradition on Substack—I guide writers on how to do it on my Substack, Writers at Work—but no one has had the success that these three have and there are very good reasons why, which we'll go into. The three women play different roles in the writing of the novel: Mary is the author, E. Jean fields comments from their vibrant community and plays the role of romance-novel fact-checker, and Jen acts as editor.In case you don't know Mary, E. Jean, and Jen, a bit of background: Mary Trump describes herself as a mom, writer, liberal progressive, and pro-democracy American. She's the author of Too Much is Never Enough about her uncle (yes, that Donald Trump) and The Reckoning. Her Substack The Good in Us features her commentary on culture, politics, and music (from Tina Turner to Aimee Mann)—plus pet pictures and a community of subscribers who share her vision to use kindness and empathy to ensure that America remains a democracy. E. Jean Carroll's esteemed Substack, Ask E. Jean, is the longest-running advice column in American publishing. It ran in Elle Magazine until E. Jean accused Donald Trump of assault and sued him for defamation, after which Elle fired her. She's since made Substack her home. Her wit, smarts, sass, and empathy are unrivaled. She's also the author of the book What Do We Need Men For?—part satirical treatise in the tradition of Jonathan Swift and part rollicking narrative.Jennifer Traub is a one-woman force against corruption in the United States. In her book, Big Dirty Money, she takes on white-collar criminals. She's also the author of Other People's Houses. Jen is a law professor, an activist, and the host of the Booked Up podcast. In her firey—and also fun—Substack Money & Gossip, she clarifies what the rest of us miss or don't make sense of in the financial and legal world.In our conversation, we talk about everything from why the media has underestimated them as novelists, how they came up with The Italian Lesson's unique form, why they chose to serialize on Substack, knitting patterns, cocktail recipes, the email novel, and what love really is.—Sarah Fay https://www.backstoryserial.com/ Show notes* Subscribe to Backstory Serial on Substack* Find Mary Trump, Jen Taub, and E. Jean Carroll on Twitter, and Mary, Jen and E. Jean on Instagram, and listen to Jen's podcast Booked Up with Jen Taub* Big Dirty Money by Jennifer Taub and books by Mary L Trump* [03:31] Writing a romance novel[05:19] Meeting on Zoom[07:58] Choosing to serialize[13:20] Mary's introduction to writing[16:32] Building a community[22:00] Bringing the book to life[27:27] Collaborating together[32:30] Subverting traditional publishing[38:49] Ideas for the next novel**The Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hamish McKenzie, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, and content production by Hannah Ray. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Taylor Lorenz, a tech culture reporter for the Washington Post, has been both observer and participant in an internet culture that has been emerging since the early 2010s, a period of history that has seen the rise of massive social media platforms, the decay of traditional media, and the increasing power of online influencers. That culture can be delightful and enriching, and it can be savage and soul-destroying. Of course, anyone who spends much time on Twitter knows that Taylor herself has had ample experience with both sides of that. She is a lightning rod in the online culture wars, loved and supported as much as she is reviled and targeted. She is a frequent subject of critiques from her ideological opponents, a cast that includes such figures as Tucker Carlson, Jake Paul, and Glenn Greenwald, to name a few. And how does she take that? Well, it's just how life is online, she says. “What people do on the internet is they build up other people into characters online, and it's like this crazy soap opera every day.” Her enemies turn her into a character, she says, because it gives them opposition. “It's just classic influencer tactics, right? You are going to make this other YouTuber into a villain and you're going to have this feud and then that galvanizes your audience.”And yet she remains a believer in technology as a force for good. “It's cool to see people use the internet for progress and to bring more freedom to all of us,” she says. “I think that's what the goal of the internet should be. It should be a liberating force.”In this conversation, we discuss the recent history of the internet, social media, and the rise of influencers—of which Taylor is one. Aside from high-profile reporting jobs at The Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Post, she has also amassed huge followings on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram. In October, her first book will be published. Its title couldn't be more appropriate: Extremely Online.https://taylorlorenz.substack.com/Taylor's recommended reads:Show notes* Subscribe to Taylor Lorenz's newsletter on Substack* Find Taylor on Twitter* Her upcoming book, Extremely Online[04:54] Becoming a journalist[08:20] Tumblr and blogging[13:05] The “f**k yeah” era of Tumblr[18:14] Tabloid news[22:19] Developing a new beat[26:56] Gaining prominence[32:13] Dealing with online harassment[38:57] The state of the media[42:05] Ephemerality and the internet[53:14] Being a techno-optimist[1:01:19] Extremely Online book[1:05:50] Taylor on her recommended readsThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hamish McKenzie, with audio engineering by Seven Morris and content production by Hannah Ray. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Even among politics and media junkies, few people had heard the name Richard Hanania before 2020. But then, as the pandemic intensified online tribalism, the political scientist emerged with a provocative analysis that carried the headline “Why Is Everything Liberal?” The piece, which explores why almost every major institution in the U.S. leans left, did the rounds on Twitter, announcing Richard's arrival as a distinctive new voice in American politics discourse. Soon enough, he followed it up with a series of other pithily headlined posts that demonstrated a streak of contrarianism that variously managed to win fans and challenge readers from across the political spectrum: “Liberals Read, Conservatives Watch TV,” “Why Do I Hate Pronouns More Than Genocide?”, and “Conservatives Win All the Time,” to name a few.Richard, who has a law degree from Columbia and a political science degree from UCLA, doesn't hesitate to describe himself as anti-woke. He traces wokeness's legal underpinnings to civil rights law, which he believes has undermined the integrity of public institutions. He expands on this thesis in his upcoming book, The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Trump of Identity Politics. Coming during a time of intense social justice activism, these views have won Richard strong support among conservative readers, but he's not afraid of pissing off those same people. In recent times, for instance, he has published essays that argue in favor of diversity and praise the quality and honesty of mainstream media. In this conversation, we examine contrarianism, conservatism, “enlightened centrism” (in praise of intellectuals whose views don't always easily line up with “left” or “right”), and the future of the culture wars—the perfect fodder for a man who is staking out a reputation as one of the boldest voices in our pugilistic political discourse. https://www.richardhanania.com/Richard's recommended reads:https://astralcodexten.substack.com/ https://www.slowboring.com/ https://trevorklee.substack.com/ https://www.emilkirkegaard.com/ https://cremieux.substack.com/Show notesSubscribe to Richard Hanania's Newsletter on SubstackFind Richard on TwitterRichard's post mentioned: “Why the Media Is Honest and Good,” “Why Is Everything Liberal?”[03:29] Getting started on Substack[05:40] Growing up[11:07] Working in academia[12:01] Writing about wokeness[16:26] Richard's audience[21:33] The main goal of work[25:40] On Trump and today's politics[29:37] Mainstream media[36:35] Being a “bit of a troll”[39:53] Politics and trans issuesThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hamish McKenzie, with audio engineering by Seven Morris and content production by Hannah Ray. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

At a dinner party Substack hosted in San Francisco last week, I found myself sitting next to Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine and former publisher of the Whole Earth Review. We were talking about the capital of the world. It no longer felt that New York was it, I was telling him, though it had not been replaced by another physical city either. Rather, the world now had only one, digital, capital. If you made it there, you'd make it anywhere.He agreed, with one amendment. “Silicon Valley is the place least resistant to new ideas today,” he said, which was the original point of the world capital as a destination. I had recently interviewed Nadia Bolz-Weber for this podcast, and her words were still fresh in my mind. I imagined her response to this would be, “The problem is, it is also the place most resistant to old ideas.” Nadia embodies the old and the new. She is a striking figure: tall and lean, with a thick mane of salt-and-pepper hair and a penetrating blue gaze. She is covered in colorful tattoos of Christian mythology and exudes the warmth of wisdom. She practices one of the oldest traditions, that of the preacher. The texts she “wrestles with,” as she puts it, are centuries-old. Her task is to bring them to the here and now, to the self. They become personal to her because, in order to interpret them, she must first study herself anew. Nadia has been an alcoholic, a standup comic, and a sinner. She has been a pastor, a prison preacher, and a saint. She talked about what these qualifiers mean to her, how she understands the concept of faith, the relationship between poetry and prayer, and the danger of innovating without consideration for tradition. One of her observations echoed what Suleika Jaouad and Diego Perez emphasized during their own exchange a couple of weeks ago, when they spoke about the significance of honesty in writing. Nadia reinforced that message when she said:“Some people make a living off of being sort of influencers, who say things that might kind of be true, but they never feel honest. They feel like they're ignoring a darker side of our hearts. I always want somebody to really acknowledge the sort of more shadowy contours of my human heart, and then talk about where some grace or hope or forgiveness is. Because I feel like when those things are ignored, it just fills me a little bit with despair, even though they're telling me something really chipper. I like it when writers or preachers are willing to be honest about their own struggles in a real way.” This also brought to mind the conversation that Mike Solana and Ted Gioia had here on the Active Voice. As Ted put it, “There's been an enormous crisis of trust, and certain voices are emerging and succeeding because they've been able to parlay that trust.”What connects all of them is their allegiance to honesty, and the obligation they feel to deliver it to their audience. https://thecorners.substack.com/ Show notesSubscribe to The Corners by Nadia Bolz-Weber on SubstackFind Nadia on Twitter and InstagramNadia's booksFrancis Spufford's book Unapologetic“Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins[02:00] The House for All Sinners and Saints[06:18] The church after the pandemic[10:18] The process of preaching to oneself[12:54] Finding the Good News[15:29] Nadia's regrets[21:00] On resurrection[25:00] When we call out to God[29:40] Being clear-eyed about being humanThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hamish McKenzie, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, and content production by Hannah Ray. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Both Suleika Jaouad and Diego Perez, who writes as Yung Pueblo, arrived at writing through adversity. Writing became a way of life when each was faced with death, a healing mechanism that became a craft.When they met for the first time in person at our headquarters in San Francisco, they greeted each other with the enthusiasm of old friends reuniting. They fell into conversation with natural intimacy and comfort before we had a chance to press the “record” button and continued talking for another hour past the taping's end. They were familiar with each other's writing and eager to share their personal stories with each other, as in an attempt to forge a new friendship. As they spoke, they discovered just how parallel their paths had been, as well as new points of intersection in their philosophies.Alchemizing pain into creativity is a recurring theme among writers. In his Letters to a Young Poet, Rilke famously wrote, “So don't be frightened, dear friend, if a sadness confronts you larger than any you have ever known, casting its shadow over all you do. You must think that something is happening within you, and remember that life has not forgotten you; it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall. Why would you want to exclude from your life any uneasiness, any pain, any depression, since you don't know what work they are accomplishing within you?”Suleika and Diego have made this alchemy their mission. They have created spaces—her The Isolation Journals and his Elevate with Yung Pueblo—where people can meet and turn their experiences into art. They foster and grow with their writing communities, and have invited them into their writing practice.In this conversation, Suleika and Diego discuss each of their journeys to the “art-making stage,” how they turn confession into craft and protect their creative spaces while living in community, and their own advice to writers and poets of all backgrounds and ages. https://theisolationjournals.substack.com/ https://yungpueblo.substack.com/ Show notes* Subscribe to The Isolation Journals by Suleika Jaouad and Yung Pueblo by Diego Perez on Substack* Find Suleika on Twitter, and Instagram, and Diego on Twitter, and Instagram * Suleika's book Between Two Kingdoms* Diego's poetry and prose books, Inward, Clarity & Connection, and The Way Forward, and Lighter* [04:31] Suleika on starting journaling* [06:09] Diego's background* [08:29] Creativity as healing* [10:50] Suleika on starting The Isolation Journals* [13:51] Diego on writing with readers* [16:16] The universe will take care of you* [18:29] Suleika on finding painting* [21:15] Suleika on responding to hard moments* [25:43] Confronting mortality* [29:13] The writing process* [32:08] Art v social media* [37:00] Writing on Substack and what's nextThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hamish McKenzie, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, and content production by Hannah Ray. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

At first glance, Mike Solana and Ted Gioia might not seem to have much in common. Mike, the publisher of the newsletter Pirate Wires, is very much a child of the internet, a strong proponent of the tech industry and scientific progress, with a career in venture capital (working in marketing) after a brief stint in book publishing. Ted, who writes The Honest Broker and has been a guest on The Active Voice before, is one of America's greatest music critics, founder of the Jazz Studies program at Stanford University, and the author of 12 books. What they share is a deep love for words and their significance in shaping culture. And even though they will both deliver us the bad news about the latter's collapse, there is an underlying optimism in their insistence on protecting it, from their own little corner. This week we brought them together at Substack's headquarters in San Francisco for a conversation on The Active Voice about maintaining our optimism at a time of neck-breaking technological change. What followed was a wonderful and wide-ranging jam session on everything from the disappearance of counterculture to the significance of trustworthy voices in the age of AI to the ongoing collapse of the media industry and the rise of something new from its ashes. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!We have another of these writer dialogues planned for a later episode and may do more of them depending on your feedback—so please let us know what you think in the comments. https://tedgioia.substack.com/ https://www.piratewires.com/Show notesSubscribe to Pirate Wires by Mike Solana, and The Honest Broker by Ted Gioia, on SubstackFind Mike on Twitter, and Pirate Wires on Twitter and InstagramFind Ted on Twitter, Instagram, and his website Read Mike's pinned tweet[5:55] The changing media landscape[12:10] Spotify's algorithm[16:32] Grimes and AI[22:10] AI and writing[25:10] What is “content”[35:30] The counterculture[45:00] Traditional publishingThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. This episode was produced by Sophia Efthimiatou and Hamish McKenzie, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, and content production by Hannah Ray. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

I met Robert Reich in his overstuffed corner office on U.C. Berkeley's campus, housed in what looked to me like a midcentury villa that could double as a restaurant that sells speciality bratwurst. I was shown into Reich's office by Heather Lofthouse, his collaborator and media partner, who pointed out a mahogany armchair by the window, just past some boxes overflowing with books. It was the chair he sat in while serving in Bill Clinton's cabinet as Secretary of Labor in the 1990s. Naturally, I asked him to sit on it to pose for a photo (see it below!).As well as being a leading academic and former government official—he also advised President Obama—Reich has published 18 books, produced and fronted a Netflix documentary, mastered Facebook and Twitter, and has a hugely successful Substack. He is, in short, a master communicator. But when I asked Reich, with our mics perched on a long table adjacent to his desk, how he thinks of himself—is he a writer?—he chose “educator.” He has been teaching at universities (Harvard, Brandeis, Berkeley) for 40 years and today delivers his lectures to a room of 800 people. He sees his prolific media work (oh, by the way, he's also a talented illustrator) as being in service of his mission to advance a progressive view of economics, to reduce inequality and, in his framing, stand up to bullies. He is, he says, responding in particular to the way power distorts America. “I saw how power was being abused and how people were being bullied in all sorts of ways,” he says. “If I didn't do what I could to stop the bullying, then I failed.”https://robertreich.substack.com/Show notes* Subscribe to Robert Reich on Substack* Find Robert on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and his personal website* Inequality Media* It's a Wonderful Life* Robert Reich's writer advice column on combining illustration and writing, for On Substack[03:26] teaching at U.C. Berkeley[05:54] Teaching over 40 years[07:31 ] Young people today[10:15] The need for humor in teaching[15:36] Socialism for the rich[18:45] The void of a working class party[27:03] The reset[31:16] Pressing the reveal code key[32:32] A childhood protector murdered[34:43] Democracy against the bullies[37:26] Taking sustenance from family[43:43] Talking to people who disagree with you[46:30] Reaching beyond the bubble[49:04] Being an “educator” and writing well[50:12] Using multiple modes of thinking[50:55] Getting older[57:16] Worry is a waste of energyThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hamish McKenzie, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, and content production by Hannah Ray. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

When he's about to hit publish on a take that he knows will catch some heat, Ethan Strauss feels like he is about to step off a high diving board. He's scared, but he knows he will do it anyway. “That, to me, feels good,” he says. “The entirety of the process and that particular catharsis feels good.” Ethan writes about the intersection of sport and culture—especially when it comes to the NBA—on House of Strauss, where he also hosts a cult-favorite podcast. He made his name in sports media through covering the Golden State Warriors for ESPN and The Athletic (they're also the subject of his book, The Victory Machine), but more recently he has become known for defying a silent consensus in his industry. Hence the wobbly knees on the diving board.In August 2020, he wrote a piece analyzing the NBA's ratings decline and wondered if it could, in part, be explained by the league's social justice politics. That piece, coming at that time, won him some enemies. But he hasn't backed off.Ethan continues to explore positions that might otherwise get a sports writer cast out from polite society, whether it be an examination of Nike turning away from masculinity in its marketing, or talent agencies' secret power over the NBA, or Kyrie Irving's punishment for refusing to take a Covid vaccine.The result? A body of work that can feel bracingly different, that often provokes, and that always creates room for thought—demonstrating that sports are so much bigger than the game on the field.https://houseofstrauss.substack.com/ Ethan's recommended reads:https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/ https://www.blockedandreported.org/https://wethefifth.substack.com/ https://nancyrommelmann.substack.com/ https://smokeempodcast.substack.com/Show notesSubscribe to Ethan's Substack, House of StraussFind Ethan on TwitterThe clip Ethan discusses from Comedian with Jerry SeinfeldEthan's book, The Victory Machine[02:10] The horseshoe effect[04:14] The sports and culture intersection[12:15] Speaking out on the NBA's declining viewership[23:19] Having moral Tourette's[24:44] Ethan's childhood[28:09] Jumping off the diving board[36:34] Twitter and conformity[48:02] Ethan's early career[51:21] The Ricky Rubio story[58:16] Covering the Golden State Warriors[01:05:11] Being laid off[01:09:27] Writing a book in lockdown[01:14:49] Running an independent business[01:21:05] Ethan's recommended Substack writersThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Alison Roman is enjoying being an “elder millennial” and not feeling the pressure of being on TikTok or even doing all that much on Instagram, the platform that helped make her reputation (although she did meet her boyfriend when he slid into her DMs). “I do furniture shopping on Instagram,” she says, describing what she calls her fraught relationship with the app. “That's what I use it for.”The queen of viral recipes is no longer as known for #TheCookies or #TheStew as she is for simply being a food and media personality. She has just published her third book, Sweet Enough (already a bestseller), she has a thriving YouTube channel, her A Newsletter boasts more than 220,000 subscribers, and she very almost had a CNN show that ultimately hasn't seen the light of day because of the network's fickle business strategy. But there's also that other thing: the cancellation. In a May 2020 interview with a small newsletter, Alison criticized Marie Kondo and Chrissy Teigen's business empires, which led to critics—and then a Twitter mob—accusing her of anti-Asian racism. Alison apologized and self-criticized, profusely, but she lost her New York Times column and some friends along the way. Three years on, she's feeling a lot better about her career and position, but it still smarts. “To have the entire world, what feels like the entire world, wanting you dead and telling you what a bad person you are and how horrible you are, and just wild stuff—I wouldn't wish that upon anybody.”This conversation is packed with Alison's insight and wit, and a steady dose of self-reflection. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/  Show notes * Subscribe to A Newsletter on Substack* Find Alison on Instagram, YouTube, and her personal website* Alison's books: Dining In, Nothing Fancy, and, published this week, Sweet Enough* Alison's New York Times column* The milk girl meme mentioned* [02:39] Using Instagram as a tool* [06:32] A writer rather than a creator* [09:23] Trying journalism * [11:08] Starting the newsletter * [17:14] Alison's fraught relationship with social media * [20:54] Reaching “visual success” * [28:00] Becoming a pastry chef * [31:03] Writing tips from Bon Appétit * [37:01] Striving for longevity * [40:16] Sweet Enough * [43:25] The exorcism of writing * [46:48] On speaking out * [49:49] Being canceled in 2020* [54:49] On resilience* [1:03:31] Future AlisonThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

I met Patti Smith at Electric Lady Studios, the studio in New York's Greenwich Village opened by Jimi Hendrix a few weeks before he died, and she immediately walked me down to the basement level to show me the original murals—psychedelic, space-themed—that Hendrix had commissioned for the walls. She had first seen them in 1970, at the studio's opening, when, before she was a well-known artist and the “godmother of punk rock,” she bumped into Hendrix on the staircase. “He stopped and talked to me and told me that he was also shy,” she says. “We talked about his vision for the studio.” Five years later, she recorded the groundbreaking album Horses in Studio A. “It was beautiful but heartbreaking when we started recording to realize that he had such visions for the studio and never got to realize them.”Our initial plan was to do our interview in Studio A, but a miscommunication meant that it was already occupied by a film crew, so we instead went upstairs to a much smaller room, where Patti sat on a brown leather couch and I planted myself on an office chair opposite her. We sat there in conversation for two hours, and most of the time I was just thinking, “I'm sitting with Patti Smith, I'm sitting with Patti Smith,” breaking every so often in an attempt to produce a smart-enough question. Confined to her home during the pandemic, Patti started publishing on Substack to serialize a story, “The Melting,” and then began sharing poetry, songs, audio notes, and videos where she read to her subscribers and shared memories. “It kept me engaged with the people in the world.” Once she was free to tour again, she shot video on her iPhone to take her subscribers backstage with her band. She also performed a concert from Studio A that was livestreamed for her subscribers. Her Substack is her only online presence other than Instagram, where, at her daughter's urging, she opened an account and now has more than 1 million followers. She's 76 years old but still rocking hard, as demonstrated by her energetic birthday performance at Brooklyn Steel. In this conversation, I ask her about how being an artist in 2023 compares to 1973, and how she views this current moment in culture. We talked about building things up versus tearing things down, about friends loved and lost, and about living with gratitude. The opening line from Hendrix's epic song “1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)” has become something like a mantra for Patti: “Hooray, I wake from yesterday.”Hooray indeed.https://pattismith.substack.com/ Show notesSubscribe to Patti Smith on SubstackYou can also find Patti on Instagram[03:37] Meeting Jimi Hendrix[10:28] Learning to write[12:18] Transcribing with Lenny Kaye [14:40] Lost loved ones[15:53] Friendship at its best[25:09] Writing The Melting[20:01] Trying Twitter, then Instagram[36:31] Taking subscribers behind the scenes[38:56] Being an artist in 1973[41:46] Patti's “not so secret” goal[44:09] On Picasso and social media[57:00] On being misrepresented in the media[59:06] Still mourning John Lennon[1:02:23] Contributing something of qualityThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

When Emily Oster wrote an article for The Atlantic to suggest an amnesty in the pandemic wars, she received a shockingly sharp rebuke from those who weren't ready to forgive. On the left, there were people who felt that the unvaccinated jeopardized untold lives; on the right, there were people still furious about the way they were treated for not going along with the lockdowns. But by that time, social media cancellations were a familiar ritual for Emily, who had already upset some souls with articles about school closures (she was against them) and the Covid risks faced by children (minor) relative to older people (less minor). Even though she was developing a thicker skin, the force of the response to the amnesty piece threw her a little. The worst part? She couldn't tell from the angry emails who was who. “The thing that was in some ways incredibly sad about that reaction was I would get then so many emails, and they were all very mean, most of them. And sometimes I would start reading and I would just think, ‘I don't even know which side you're on.' ”When the pandemic struck, Emily was already well known as the author of the data-informed pregnancy and parenting books Expecting Better and Cribsheet, both of which have become wild bestsellers. But Covid only accelerated her ascent, as anxious parents turned to her for wisdom in navigating uncertain times. She started a Substack newsletter, ParentData, which has become a phenomenon in its own right, with more than 160,000 subscribers. The newsletter was a lifeline for many of its readers, who treated Emily like a trusted advisor or a friend. Those relationships reminded her that, even as the worst of the attacks rolled in via email and social media, she was making a positive difference in people's lives. It gave her the confidence to say important and true things, even when there was a social cost to doing so. “There was a connection that was forged there that I think helped people in a time that was really hard, and I'm really proud that I got to do that,” Emily says. “I think that that is totally worth it from that standpoint. So I'm not sorry.”https://www.parentdata.org/Emily's recommended reads:https://whattocook.substack.com/https://www.thenewfatherhood.org/https://substack.com/profile/12430253-nellie-bowlesShow notesSubscribe to ParentData on SubstackFind Emily on Twitter, Instagram, and her websiteEmily's writing in The Atlantic: on school closures and a pandemic amnesty[02:41] Wanting to be a writer[04:41] Writing Expecting Better[07:15] The Amy Schumer moment[09:22] Writing Cribsheet[12:16] The tension of social media [14:41] Writing about Covid-19 and school closures[18:33] The cost of being yelled at on Twitter[21:32] Developing a thickened skin[25:49] Writing The Atlantic piece [26:55] Dealing with abusive comments[28:03] Humanizing both sides[29:49] Learnings from the blowbacks[32:09] Weighing up taking the heat[35:25] The value of writing on Substack[39:18] On going paid[42:00] Academia and writing[45:50] Teaching students[49:00] Emily's recommended readsThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Etgar Keret's parents, both of whom survived the Holocaust, gave him the gift of imagination, a garden he has been watering with stories since he was a child. His father crouched in a hole in the ground for more than 600 days to escape the Nazis in Belarus, getting through the time by telling himself stories of a parallel universe in which everything was the same except for one detail (like that there were still Nazis who chased Jews, but when they caught them they would give them sweets). Etgar's mother crafted bedtime stories with as much care as if she were doing needlepoint, passing on a tradition cultivated by her parents in the Warsaw Ghetto. “I grew up with the fact that making up a story for somebody is the ultimate act of generosity,” Etgar says. Now in his 50s and living in Tel Aviv, Etgar has published prolifically, most prominently short stories, many of which can be found on his Substack, Alphabet Soup, but also essays, poems, and films, including 2007's Jellyfish, which he co-directed with his wife, Shira Geffen (see his latest short film below). He's also a favorite guest of Ira Glass's on This American Life. In this conversation, we go deep on the importance of storytelling, how to find contentment in an age of social media, and the thorny issue of sensitivity readers in publishing. I am sure you will enjoy it.Etgar's recommended reads:https://joycecaroloates.substack.com/https://georgesaunders.substack.com/https://salmanrushdie.substack.com/Show notes* Subscribe to Alphabet Soup on Substack* Find Etgar on Instagram and his personal website* [05:39] Etgar's father's hiding * [19:23] Memories of his mother* [20:14] Having a rich inner life* [22:19] Balcony living* [24:00] A metaphor for life* [27:33] Create a small village* [30:23] On sensitivity readers* [41:07] Etgar's new short film* [42:04] On artistic identities* [43:25] The hustler's reality* [45:55] The world's biggest problem today* [52:00] Recommended writersThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Heather Havrilesky's writing career has spanned the life of the internet, starting with the satirical site Suck.com, moving through Salon, The Awl, and New York Magazine, and ending up on Substack, where she publishes two much-loved newsletters: Ask Polly and Ask Molly. Heather has mastered the art of reinvention, bending with the winds of the web, as news sites have variously chased SEO, blogging, Facebook traffic, and the rest. She settled on an approach that has worked for her: doubling down on what she likes. That attitude ultimately took her into advice giving, where she has carved out an immense reputation as one of America's preeminent practitioners of the form, primarily through Ask Polly, for years a mainstay of New York Magazine's The Cut. Polly got her start, though, at The Awl, the fan-favorite blog co-founded by Choire Sicha that was home to many of the best and most obsessive online writers of the 2010s, before social media had completely corrupted the landscape for essayists and delightful internet weirdos. While writing Polly for The Cut, Heather saw social media grow in reach and then start to infect the minds of fellow writers who toiled under its constricting influence. “It's almost like an issue of when the auditorium becomes too big and filled with voices,” she says, “you start to feel self-conscious about making sounds when everyone is in the room.” Those pressures came to bear on Heather with exaggerated force after the New York Times published an excerpt of her latest book, Foreverland, an irreverent marriage memoir that comes out in paperback this Valentine's Day. The excerpt carried the subheading “Do I hate my husband? Oh for sure, yes, definitely.” It was enough to create a meme, and Heather spent the next few days being knocked around Twitter for being a husband-hating harlot (or worse, depending on the tweets). What was that experience like for someone who has been writing online for 27 years? Well, it turns out, not easy at all—even for an advice columnist who always manages to find the right words for those who are brushed by misfortune. However, in the pain, she has managed to find a balm for herself in a book idea that emerged from her essay writing on Substack. “One thing that kept me feeling good,” Heather says, “was this idea that life could be deeply romantic even when everything felt terrible.” Her new obsession with finding the romantic in the mundane is proving to be more than just a coping mechanism—it's a way of looking at life. “Discovering new ways of being happy in spite of a lot of things that are aggravating you is—it's the most romantic thing of all.” https://www.ask-polly.com/ Heather's recommended reads:https://www.todayintabs.com/https://therealsarahmiller.substack.com/https://hunterharris.substack.com/https://laurenhough.substack.com/https://www.blackbirdspyplane.com/https://cintra.substack.com/https://griefbacon.substack.com/https://indignity.substack.com/Show notesSubscribe to Ask Polly and Ask Molly on SubstackFind Heather on Twitter and InstagramSuck.com, Salon, The AwlHeather's books: Disaster Preparedness (2011), How to Be a Person in the World (2017), What If This Were Enough? (2019), Foreverland (out in paperback on Feb. 14)Excerpt of Foreverland in the New York Times, and the New York Post responseWriting about voice lessons on Ask Molly[02:17]: Working at Suck.com[08:31] Changing San Francisco[09:13] The “jackassery” of boomer optimism [10:58] Smart, weird, fun people everywhere [12:57] The shape-shifting nature of being an online writer [16:12] Becoming an advice writer [18:43] The awe of the Awl [24:58] The freedom, and danger, of social media [30:00] Ask Molly, Polly's evil twin[31:57] Publishing books [36:59] Being misinterpreted in mainstream media  [40:55] Reacting to being attacked online[46:44] Workshopping her next book [50:31] Writing an advice column for 10 years [52:53] Recommended writers on SubstackThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

In the 1990s, the English writer Paul Kingsnorth was a radical environmental activist, taking part in road blockades and protesting at WTO summits. Today he calls himself a “recovering environmentalist” and doesn't believe people can do all that much to halt the march of the markets and technology. For instance, he thinks of climate change as a predicament to be endured, not a problem to be solved. His focus instead is on making sense of this revolutionary time we are living through and finding wisdom in old stories, especially religious ones, to help us live well through civilizational collapse. Paul is not like many other writers on Substack. He is uneasy with technology, worrying about how humans use it to become gods, driving ourselves ever further from a state of nature, losing touch with the wild. That might sound depressing, but if you read his essays on his Substack, The Abbey of Misrule, you are likely to find the opposite. Paul writes in search of beauty and, in my opinion, strikes on it quite often. Amid the assessment of cultural breakdown, he offers some comfort and release, giving the reader permission to turn away from technological distraction and focus on the simple things in life: family, nature, love, and intellectual nourishment. https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/Paul's recommended reads:https://carolineross.substack.com/https://martinshaw.substack.com/https://theupheaval.substack.com/https://angelanagle.substack.com/Show notesSubscribe to The Abbey of Misrule on SubstackFind more books and information on Paul on his personal websiteThe Dark Mountain ProjectPaul's mentioned books: Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist, Real England[02:20] Words as supreme communication [04:34] Being an activist writer[06:45] Environmentalism[15:39] Turning to religion[24:25] Having a famous compost toilet[32:41] Being attacked as a “fascist”[40:17] On the tension of censorship and integrity[44:37] Debating the Covid-19 vaccine[50:30] Substack as old-fashioned, in a good way[53:01] Liberation after losing a father[56:00] Advice to other writers[57:42] Recommended writers on SubstackThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Jessica DeFino's face literally had to peel off before she gave up on beauty products and turned a critical eye on the beauty industry. As a journalist covering the industry, she had been inundated with free beauty products, which she enthusiastically accepted. Then she developed dermatitis and had a bad reaction to the steroids she was prescribed to treat it.“My skin started peeling off of my face in chunks,” she says. “For months, my skin was just oozing red. I couldn't put makeup on. I couldn't use products. I could barely splash water on my face without being in immense pain.”She fell into a deep depression and had a crisis of self. “It really made me examine who I was when I didn't have this armor of beauty products,” she says, “because when I felt like I was ugly, I felt absolutely worthless.” Today, Jessica writes The Unpublishable, a cult-favorite newsletter with the tagline “What the beauty industry won't tell you, from a reporter on a mission to reform it.” In it, she critiques obsessions with Botox-like injectables, the sleight of hand behind “no-makeup faces,” and the social implications of nose jobs, among other exceptionally hot topics. This unapologetic coverage, unusual in the beauty space, has helped The Unpublishable grow from 2,000 subscribers to more than 50,000 last year, with boosts from a viral Twitter thread in which she exposed what it was like to work for the Kardashians and a shout-out from Dua Lipa. In this episode of The Active Voice, I talk with Jessica about the effect social media is having on how we think about beauty, her struggles with writing a book, and why her death-and-redemption experience with beauty culture is definitely just like Jesus dying on the cross for his followers. If you, too, want to see the light, I encourage you to listen to her testimony. https://jessicadefino.substack.com/Jessica's recommended reads:Back Row by Amy OdellHow To Cure A Ghost by Fariha RóisínHEATED by Emily AtkinShow notesSubscribe to The Unpublishable on SubstackFind Jessica on Twitter and Instagram[04:15] Anti product, pro people [06:12] Participating in beauty pageants [07:30] Working on the Kardashian-Jenner apps [09:34] Developing dermatitis [13:17] Beauty as religion [14:45] Going viral on Twitter [17:52] Working harder than ever before [20:15] The reality of attention [21:18] Getting death threats from nail artists [25:19] Writing a book[29:19] The mind of an online writer [32:08] Instagram face [40:16] Beyond beauty[51:40] The Unpublishable audienceThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Ted Gioia, the great music and cultural critic, has never lived in New York and it has cost him. He knows he is completely out of touch. “I didn't make the relationships, I didn't have editors opening doors for me,” he says. “Things were harder for me at every step along the way because I wasn't at those cocktail parties.” But not being in New York has its upsides. Perhaps most importantly: it has helped Ted retain the mindset of an independent outsider, less vulnerable to the groupthink that can overtake the modern media. From his perch in Austin, Texas, and previously in Silicon Valley, the author of 12 books on music and co-founder of Stanford University's jazz studies program sees things that his peers tend to miss. On his Substack, The Honest Broker, Ted has taken the music industry to task for its failure to discover and nurture new music; he has argued that despite a time of democratized access to publishing, society is missing a counterculture; and he has pointed to indicators of Facebook's impending collapse. Occasionally, he'll write a deeply researched series about a figure from rock history that would never find its way into a mainstream outlet.In this conversation for The Active Voice, we discuss how internet platforms are changing our cultural industries for better and worse, how the rise of the likes of YouTube and Substack are helping creators subvert the gatekeepers to outshine traditional channels, and how social media has become a sameness machine—a perpetrator and victim of crowd psychology based on people's intense need to be just like everyone else. “Platforms like Twitter, which should be independent voices saying fresh things, start to feel like everybody's shouting the same thing all at once.”The way out? Find the person who can rise above the fray. Find the honest broker…Ted's recommended reads:https://lewisporter.substack.com/https://greilmarcus.substack.com/https://iverson.substack.com/https://jeffreysultanof.substack.com/Show notesSubscribe to The Honest Broker on SubstackFind Ted on Twitter, Instagram, and his websiteElias Canetti, Crowds and Power[02:39] The story behind the name, The Honest Broker[08:41] Journalism and the media[11:17] Avoiding politics[12:10] Perks of being a music writer[15:27] On being the outsider[17:02] Ted's background[21:12] How the internet destroyed music culture[26:56] The role of TikTok in the music industry[33:09] Mimetic desire, René Girard, and social media[36:21] The exception of Kenny G[40:02] Choosing the writing life[44:05] Advice to young writersThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

I can't imagine what it must be like to grow up on social media, especially as someone who says things in public—to try to figure out who you are as an adult while living under the panoptic gaze of TikTok and Instagram, or to have one's intellectual identity shaped by the performative shoutysphere of Twitter. I'm old enough to have missed all that, but Rayne Fisher-Quann, a 21-year-old Canadian writer who has built a large presence on social media and a cult-favorite Substack called Internet Princess, has forged her life and career in the attention economy. How has she dealt with it? With a soul-saving dose of self-awareness. “I think almost everybody who posts to some degree on the internet is addicted to attention,” she says. “I mean, most of these apps literally try to make you addicted to the attention, actively.” And she's acutely attuned to the dark sides, noting that the things that win the most attention on social media are those she considers ethically wrong. If she has her way, she'll be living on a farm by the age of 35, largely disconnected from the internet. For now, however, she remains very online and very interesting. Rayne communicates on social media and Substack with intelligence and wit to a devoted audience mostly made up of teenagers and young women. Her followers devour her takes on the shaming of public-facing women, the real motivations behind the takedowns of “West Elm Caleb,” and the attacks on Amber Heard. They laugh at her jokes on TikTok, thrill to her (sometimes private) tweets, and go deep with her in Substack Chats.In this conversation, which we recorded live in front of an audience at Substack HQ, we talk about the hostility of TikTok, where people are constantly seeking to misunderstand each other; how she cultivates an online persona that's close to, but not quite, her real self; and treading the fine line between an open discussion of mental illness and the commodifying of it through social media. “It's tough,” she says, “because the fan base that I have, and the way that I can present myself, almost anything that I do can become an object of envy or an object of romanticization, which is really strange.”https://internetprincess.substack.com/Publishing note: The Active Voice will be on break for a few weeks over the holidays. See you in January, 2023!Rayne's recommended reads:https://franmagazine.substack.com/https://kieranmclean.substack.com/https://evilfemale.substack.com/Show notes* Subscribe to Internet Princess on Substack* Find Rayne on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok* Rookie Mag by Tavi Gevinson * [4:53] Becoming famous on TikTok* [6:31] Being misunderstood online* [10:54] Insulating against the backlash* [13:00] The performance of women writers* [14:40] Creating an internet persona* [16:34] Growing up with blogs* [17:56] Writing in lowercase* [20:40] Mental health communities * [23:25] Being made into a Spotify playlist* [27:01] Pitching to Vice* [27: 53] Rayne's writing process* [30:17] Roots in activism* [33:37] Being chemically addicted to attention* [40:07] Big tech * [40:59] Dreams for Rayne's future* [42:14] Role models* [46:17] Making a living as a young writer* [49:27] Dropping out of university* [51:21] Getting a job* [54:17] Recommended writersThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

You'll have to forgive my self-indulgence in this conversation, because I've gone deep with Joshi Herrmann—not a celebrity name or a celebrated author, I hope he won't be offended by me saying—about a bunch of things that scratch my particular interests in media: local news, New York media-startup scandals circa 2016, subscriptions versus ads, venture capital, and canceled Netflix comedians. Joshi is the founder of a fledgling media empire anchored by The Mill, a local news publication covering the city of Manchester, England, that he launched in 2020. The Mill, which is based entirely on Substack and funded by subscribers, just reached profitability—a rare success story in a space (local news) that hasn't exactly been booming in recent years. Encouraged by The Mill's progress, Joshi has since launched similar publications in Sheffield and Liverpool based on doing high-quality, low-volume longform reporting on issues that matter to cities that are poorly served by the existing media structure. Joshi was a reporter for the Evening Standard in London for four years before, in 2015, he moved to New York for a dream job as the editor in chief for a startup that published The Tab, a news site written by university students and young people about the cultural issues of the time. The Tab quickly gave rise to a spinoff publication called Babe.net, which shot to notoriety after publishing a story that detailed a young woman's bad night with Aziz Ansari, which led to the comedian's “cancellation.” The story came at the height of #MeToo, causing a fiery debate between people who felt it was an important reckoning for behavior that happens often but is under-discussed and those who felt it muddied the lines between truly abusive behavior and something closer to a bad date. Joshi watched it all unfold from an uncomfortable position: he was the editor on that story…Joshi's recommended reads:The Bluestocking, PassTheAux, and Vittles.Show notes* Subscribe to The Mill in Manchester on Substack, as well as its sister sites, Sheffield Tribune in Sheffield, and The Post in Liverpool* The Tab and Babe.net* Aziz Ansari story on Babe.net and Ansari's response* NYT commentary on the Babe.net piece* The Cut on Babe.net* [1:46] Breaking even in local news* [1:55] Feeling like a fraud* [4:48] Getting into local journalism* [8:07] On losing a parent* [12:00] Pursuing an unpromising venture* [13:55] Redefining the problem of local news  * [18:56] Joining The Tab in New York* [22:41] Steroidal audience growth vs. community* [25:25] The “bullshit” of new media's gold-rush era* [26:37] How Babe.net started* [28:28] How Babe broke the Aziz Ansari story* [30:17] How the Ansari story relates to Me Too* [38:06] Lessons from being on the other side of the story* [39:51] Reflections on that time* [41:40] Adapting a new approach to longform* [44:48] Shutting down The Tab and Babe.net* [46:06] Life lessons for The Mill* [47:55] Launching two sister sites in the U.K.* [48:38] The public hunger for great local journalismThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Doomberg, the top-earning finance publication on Substack, is led by a cartoon chicken that previously worked in heavy industry. Okay, so it wasn't the chicken that worked in heavy industry—but its anonymous creators, with a background in hard sciences and energy, did. They chose the green chicken as their publication's logo because they want it to be instantly recognizable on Twitter, which they use as their main marketing channel (it is, after all, the bird app). The plucky avian also fits with the cheeky “defensive pessimism” of Doomberg's ethos, as captured in its tagline: “Chicken Little Gets a Terminal.” Doomberg is a small team (“you could count us on one hand and have a few fingers left over”) with one man as the lead writer. I talked to that man for this episode, but he used a voice modifier to protect his identity. He's worried about being discovered by his peers and prefers for people's focus to be on his analysis rather than his personality.And what of that analysis? Well, it's strong-minded, intelligent, and entertaining, featuring bold statements, such as predicting the onset of a “global famine of historic proportions” and classifying “nuclear waste alarmism” as a way to “rob humanity of carbon-free energy.” The aim, they say at Doomberg, is to be “provocative but not polarizing.” I've talked to hundreds of writers over the years at Substack, but none has applied quite so much rigor to growing a media business from scratch as Doomberg. For Doomberg, the content creation is just a small (but important) piece of the process. They spend just as much time obsessing about brand, technology, and operations. For any Substack strategy nerds, this episode is a must-listen.Show notesSubscribe to Doomberg on SubstackFind Doomberg on TwitterThe Brand Gap by Marty NeumeierHead coach of the University of Michigan football, Jim HarbaughWe Are About to Run Out of Some Stuff, June 15, 2021Farmers on the Brink, Mar. 26, 2022 [discussed at 26:21][02:17] The mindset of Doomberg [03:36] The path to Doomberg[05:28] Previous consulting business[06:50] Doomberg's five strategy pillars for success[07:42] The bin of great writing never read[09:43] Brand sketches and objective[11:13] What type of writer are you?[13:38] The people behind Doomberg[15:53] The customer journey[17:43] The media business is dying[20:37] Editorial integrity [23:05] Twitter is a toxic hell[27:00] On being provocative, not polarizing [30:11] The state of leadership today [33:00] Corporate elitism [37:21] The future of consumption[38:22] Enjoying personal sovereignty[41:00] Starting a media business from zeroThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Chris Hedges is surprisingly cheery for someone who has, by his own admission, “a dark view of human nature.” When we met for this conversation at Substack's office in San Francisco, he was full of smiles and good humor—at least during the times we weren't discussing death and destruction. He had just come from the gym, a habit that borders on a fixation for him, since he works out as a way to deal with the trauma from years of covering war in some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones: the former Yugoslavia, El Salvador, and Iraq, to name a few. It has been 20 years since his groundbreaking book War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning came out. Its force was so powerful that it was quoted at the start of Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 film The Hurt Locker: “The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” At the time, Chris was a bureau chief for the New York Times, covering the Middle East and the Balkans, but he quit that position following criticism of a speech he gave denouncing the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He has been publishing in independent media ever since, first at Truthdig and later with an interview show, On Contact, on Russia Today (RT). YouTube wiped out the archives to that show when it removed RT from the platform following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. “They're embracing censorship, let's be clear,” Chris says. In this conversation, we talk about why journalists like him keep getting drawn to war despite its dangers, why he sides with the suffering (including in his side role as a Presbyterian minister), and what he thinks is wrong with today's media.Chris recommends this post from Jonathan Cook's newsletter.Show notes* Subscribe to The Chris Hedges Report on Substack* Find Chris Hedges on Twitter (as explained in the episode, not run by him)* War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning* Other writers on Substack Chris recommends: Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Paul Street, Jonathan Cook* The Catullus poem Chris quotes* Eunice Wong's website* [02:05] Navigating war zones (and avoiding being killed)* [04:43] Being taken prisoner in Basra* [5:55] The mental stability of a war correspondent* [06:51] How Chris got into war reporting* [08:40] “You don't stay lucky forever”* [09:09] Becoming a recluse* [15:19] Writing a memoir * [21:03] The Presbyterian minister* [22:33] The ordination to journalism* [25:47] The state of today's journalism * [31:33] Why social media sound bites are “world without context”* [33:27] The problem with independent media* [34:06] Mainstream media and WikiLeaks * [36:37] What has happened to our institutions* [37:03] Is there hope? * [40:40] Meeting his wife, Eunice WongThe Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Did you know that a votive candle is one of those short, squat candles that people use for prayer or, like, to put on their outside stairs when they're hosting a fancy party? I did not. But “votive” is the word I blurted out when Cheryl Strayed was trying to describe the type of tall candle she lit as a way to psychically summon Reese Witherspoon. A decade ago, Strayed was waiting to hear whether or not the actor was interested in taking the lead role in the movie adaptation of Wild, her best-selling 2012 memoir. So she lit the big candle (maybe it was a pillar or a taper, now that I google it) and every time she walked by it, she whispered “Reese… Reese.” It worked! Witherspoon indeed took the role, the movie was a hit, and the two became great friends. Strayed is super-famous because of Wild, which is the same reason Oprah loves her, but she's also beloved for her advice column, Dear Sugar, which she started writing at The Rumpus around the time that Wild was about to blow up. She wrote it anonymously at first, and for no pay. She just fell in love with the idea of turning an advice column into a forum for literary essays about life. She had ample material to draw on: an impoverished childhood in rural Minnesota; a much-loved mother who passed away when Strayed was 22; a downward spiral that ensued and involved a lot of sex and heroin; and a life-changing, soul-finding, shoe-destroying solo trek along the Pacific Crest Trail. A couple weeks ago, I met Strayed in Portland, Oregon, where it was raining for the first time in several months, and we talked about how she still feels abject terror when faced with a blank page, how if she goes to the Oscars again, she'll wear Dr. Martens, and about some mountain-themed advice George Saunders gave her about finding her own way forward as a writer. “I really believe story is essential to us,” Cheryl told me, lighting a candle for all who believe in the power of writing, “and we need it individually, collectively; we need those stories to tell us who we are, to show us who we can be.”https://cherylstrayed.substack.com/Cheryl's recommended read:Oldster by Sari Botton:[Sari] has this wonderful take on aging. And what I love about her focus is she always says, “Oldster is not for people who are getting older.” The whole idea of aging at whatever age you are—when you're 12, you're aging. We use that word to only mean old people, but really it's about what does this experience of aging teach us? What do we learn from being 22 and 42 and 72 and 102? And people write about that and they answer this questionnaire. And it's always very inspiring and interesting to read. I love that.Show notesCheryl Strayed's Dear SugarFind Cheryl on Twitter and her personal websiteWild by Cheryl Strayed (paperback)[01:46] Her mother being portrayed by Laura Dern in Wild[05:56] Losing someone close to you[10:58] Working with Reese Witherspoon[16:21] Finally finding financial freedom[20:08] Having “How did I get here?” moments[21:20] Falling in love with words[23:00] Murder on my feet[24:00] Dear Sugar in The Rumpus[26:47] Taking over the Dear Sugar column[30:09] Early writing on the internet[31:20] The power of story[35:25] Social media as a gift for writers[40:40] Restarting Dear Sugar as a Substack [45:00] Keep Walking, by Cheryl Strayed, a scene cut from Wild [48:20] Advice from George Saunders [52:25] Going into the cave, as a writer[53:35] Oldster by Sari Botton[54:33] Advice writers Cheryl recommends: Ask E. Jean by E. Jean Carroll, ¡Hola Papi! by John Paul Brammer, and Ask Polly by Heather Havrilesky.[55:04] Other Substacks Cheryl loves: Craft Talk by Jami Attenberg, Story Club by George Saunders, Your Local Epidemiologist by Katelyn Jetelina, Austin Kleon's newsletter, and The Audacity by Roxane Gay.The Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Among many notable things, Glenn Loury has been the first African American economics professor to get tenure at Harvard, an author and essayist, a firebrand on race issues from both the left and the right, and, in one dark chapter of his life, a cocaine addict who led a secret life on the streets.Now in his 70s and a professor at Brown University, Loury leads a semi-retired life, publishing video conversations with fellow academics and intellectuals for an audience of tens of thousands on his Substack, an endeavor that includes a long-running dialogue with the Columbia University linguistics professor and New York Times columnist John McWhorter. In covering some fraught territory—such as “The Unified Field Theory of Non-Whiteness,” “Living by the Race Card,” and “Turning the Tide on Affirmative Action”—Loury sometimes attracts intense criticism. When University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax came on his show and made controversial remarks about Asian immigrants, he copped an earful. When he challenged recent anti-Trump comments made by Sam Harris, he upset a bunch of Harris stans (“I didn't quite get right what he had said,” Loury says in our conversation. “My apologies, Sam, if you hear this, because I do like you”).But Loury has a long history of being an outsider and is unafraid to take principled positions that get him in trouble with his peers. He has an almost constitutional resistance to conformity. One thing he prides himself on, though, is having tough discussions on big topics, even with those who disagree with him. “I'm proud to be able to say that I can have cordial and productive conversations with them,” he says, “and I intend to do more of that.”We have video!Quotes from the conversationOn productive disagreementI've tried to have people on the [Glenn Loury show] who challenge me... Had Cornel West on the show and we had a wonderful conversation. I've had Briahna Joy Gray on the show. I've had Richard Wolff, the Marxist economist, on the show. These are people that come at the issues that I'm concerned about rather differently than I do, but I'm proud to be able to say that I can have cordial and productive conversations with them and I intend to do more of that.On being hard to pin downDuring the 2020 election season, I had a formula, which was I'm going to vote for Biden, but you shouldn't believe me because, if I were going to vote for Trump, I would never tell you. So if you ask me who I'm going to vote for, there's no information in my response. On discussing TrumpOne of my points that I've been making over and over again in conversation with John McWhorter, who very forthrightly as a good New Yorker denounces Trump at every opportunity – he's a moron, he's an idiot, whatever – is that, hey, man, 45% of the population thinks the guy should be President. I mean, maybe we ought to think about why they think that. On watching what he saysI'm managing my brand, I must confess, by carefully selecting how it is that I react to the Trump phenomenon so as to be able to maintain plausible deniability.On independent thinkingI could report to you that I hate to be bullied. Don't tell me what to think and don't tell me what to say. You want to call me a name? Call me a name. But if you want to change my mind, you had better make an argument and it had better be a good one.On Sam HarrisSam Harris made a comment about suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story and then I made a comment about Sam Harris. John McWhorter and I kicked that around. I took exception to what I understood Sam to say, but I didn't quite get right what he had said. My apologies, Sam, if you hear this because I do like you.On how the internet is affecting cultureMaybe I'm going to say pessimistic because we are so polarized. I mean, to the point where large numbers of people question the outcome of elections. And that goes in both directions, by the way. Trump lost the most recent election for President and he's an election denier – and his followers to the extent that they don't acknowledge the legitimacy of Biden's election – but believe me, that's not over. There will be other elections. There will be different outcomes... On the other hand, it is possible to have a conversation with just about anybody instantly and to send it out to millions of people. And that's really pretty cool. I don't blame the medium for the fact that it can abet partisan polarization and division because it can also facilitate a different kind of discourse.On making the best case for the other sideI try to do that a little bit with the so-called steel-manning function in my own podcasts. When I hear an argument, I try to imagine and then articulate what I think the best case for the other side is. Ideally, if I do that well, the listener, if they tune in in the middle of the podcast, won't know what side I actually hold. To the extent that I can succeed at that, I'm hopefully modeling a kind of intellectual openness and a kind of, if you will, epistemic modesty. This may be what I think, but I'm not sure it's right. What's the best case for the other side? That kind of thing.On his partnership John McWhorterI have great respect and admiration for John. I mean, we have this rapport. It's kind of a shtick now. It's kind of an act that we perform every other week, and I look forward to it.On the state of race relations in the USI think the idea that the United States of America is a white supremacist, racist nation founded on slavery and genocide... That idea in the 21st century is wrong.On holding unpopular positionsI'm worried about the victims of crimes, not only about the way we treat people who commit it... Have I lost friends? Yes, I've lost friends. And I've gained new friends.On changing his mindI've, over the course of my life, taken this position and taken that position and so on. And it's not a pendulum swinging back and forth. That's the wrong metaphor. I'm deepening and making more subtle and more nuanced the sensibilities that I bring to these questions... I don't know how this all ends. And it does end. I'm painfully aware of the fact that we are all mortal. But I like to think that I'm on a higher plane today than I was 10 years ago or 20 years ago.On his double life while at HarvardI was a cocaine addict. Did stuff like that. I had a mistress stashed away that had blew up in my face when we got into fight that became public and she accused me of battery, which was not what happened... I was this bad boy with a nightlife and a kind of reckless disregard for the normal constraints. I thought I was Superman. I thought I was the baddest cat on the block.On finding religion and recoveringI went through the valley of the shadow of death and came out on the other side.On writing a memoirFor me, it's very obvious that you must disclose discrediting information about yourself in order to win the confidence of the reader such that, when you get to the part where you want to glorify yourself, you have the reader's credibility. So even if my goal is to toot my own horn, at the end of the day when they turn the last page of the book and I want them to think Glenn is really a wonderful guy, what a human being, what a life, to get there, we have to go through the valley of the shadow of death.On being a contrarian I call myself a contrarian. I say I don't like bandwagons. Am I being a contrarian for contrarian's sake? Am I refusing to acknowledge things that are true simply because most people think them to be true and I have to therefore be on the other side? Do I get a certain amount of self-aggrandizement and satisfaction from sneering at the popular opinion and taking the slings and arrows that come from that? Probably.Show notes* Glenn Loury on Substack and Twitter* Old-school video blog publication, Bloggingheads.tv, where it all started for Glenn * [10.00] Amy Wax saying controversial things on The Glenn Show* [12.00] Criticizing Sam Harris* [15.00] Talking about Trump* [17.50] Disagreeing with his own family* [20.45] Having people on the show who challenge him* [23.20] Not blaming the internet * [25.00] Hate Inc, by Matt Taibbi (paperback)* [27.00] Woke Racism, by John McWhorter* [28.45] Glenn's tribute to John McWhorter* [31.45] State of race conversations in the U.S.* [34.00] “Unspeakable Truths About Racial Inequality in America,” by Glenn Loury, Quillette* [38.00] Glenn's intellectual obituary to James Q. Wilson, from 2012* [41.35] Old Glenn/New Glenn* [50.00] Substack writers mentioned: Robert Wright, Matt Taibbi, Nikita Petrov, John McWhorter, Emily Oster, Alex Berenson* Bari Weiss interview with Glenn Loury, Honestly podcastThe Active Voice is a new podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro.Postscript  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

I was hoping to meet Samantha Irby in person, since podcast interviews are more fun that way and she is a fun person, but she is obstinately committed to Kalamazoo, the small Michigan city plonked equidistant from three Great Lakes. This podcast has not yet reached the point where I can justify the expense of a Courtyard Marriott in Kalamazoo for one interview. So, Zoom it was. Kalamazoo looms so large in Samantha's bio that it has become part of her brand. She doesn't care for the literary cool clubs of New York and Los Angeles. She's an outsider, but loved by insiders. She has a voice all her own—energetic, profane, wacked-out—that is of some place other than where all her peers seem to reside (physically and psychologically). And she is very nice, in that way that obliges everyone to remark on how nice people from the Midwest are. Relatedly, she quit Twitter. Unrelatedly, she has a Substack about Judge Mathis. Actually, on second thought, I am pretty sure that is related. Relatedly, she has a new book of essays called Quietly Hostile, her fifth (“please buy it or I will die,” she implores readers). Relatedly, she writes for TV shows, including Shrill, Tuca & Bertie, and most up-to-datedly, And Just Like That… (the Sex and the City reboot). These are impressive achievements for someone who started her writing career with a MySpace blog in 2008 (“I met this dude who was like, ‘I'm really into writers' and I wanted him to be really into me”). That background, with a love for writing online developed before social media became a Thunderdome, has helped her find freedom in her art, so she can really let loose with foul language and exquisite potty humor. Samantha Irby gets to be who she wants on the internet. If only she could do it without the death threats… Samantha's recommended read*  Now That I Mention It by Meecham Whitson MeriweatherShow notes* Subscribe to bitches gotta eat! by Samantha Irby* Find Samantha's author profile and personal website* Quietly Hostile, published by Penguin Random House, is out in May 2023* Follow Samantha on Instagram* [01:27] On that phone call from Cynthia Nixon* [07:25] Writing for And Just Like That…* [11:38] Receiving feedback online* [13:44] Shutting down comments* [15:48] Being tagged by “some bitch”* [19:17] The challenge for modern writers* [27:27] Advice for emerging writers* [33:11] Becoming a writer, not giving up the day job* [35:32] From Myspace to Substack* [44:39] The newsletter as a job* [46:44] Getting voicemails from Warner Bros* [50:30] Living in Kalamazoo, Michigan* [56:06] Depression memes and hopefulness* Samantha's profile piece on Lizzo for Time Magazine in 2019* miranda??? texting me?????The Active Voice is a new podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

No one covered the Johnny Depp–Amber Heard trial in quite the way that Jessica Reed Kraus did on Instagram and Substack, taking her readers into the courtroom, behind the scenes, and into some of the most salacious details of the actors' personal lives. Near the start of the pandemic, the relatively unknown writer and influencer had pivoted from writing about home renovations and her four children in Orange County to something that she felt could bring people together in more civil conversations: celebrity gossip. Nearly two years on, Jessica has accumulated more than 1 million Instagram followers and more than 100,000 Substack subscribers. Now some of Hollywood's biggest names turn to her to tell their sides of complex stories.. She got there thanks to her bold and gleefully obsessive coverage of trials involving Britney Spears, Ghislaine Maxwell, and—her breakout moment—Depp-Heard. When the Depp-Heard case began in April this year, Jessica recognized its significance and felt compelled to cover it, despite having no prior professional journalism experience. Through daily Instagram Stories and then in-depth Substack posts, Jessica relayed gossip she had gathered through the proceedings, as well as phone calls, texts, DMs, and more, much of it from close-to-celebrity sources who would never talk to the mainstream media. Her scoops—unfiltered, unsanctioned, and unabashed—touched on the tawdry and the truly scandalous, almost daring the powerful subjects to respond. So why has Jessica, who has been unafraid to take sides in the stories she's covering, become one of the most trusted gossip writers among the Hollywood elite? What does her sudden success say about the rise of the influencer-reporter in the new media economy? And can the art of gossip be rediscovered on new platforms? All this, and more, in this week's episode of The Active Voice.https://jessicareedkraus.substack.com/Show notes* Recommended read: The Queen: What She Meant to Me in Vicky Ward Investigates:* House Inhabit by Jessica Reed Kraus* Jessica Reed Kraus on Instagram and Twitter* Depp Vs. Heard / Pt .1—The Phone Call* [01:13] Speaking to Johnny Depp on the phone* [08:00] Growing an audience through the Johnny Depp–Amber Heard trial* [09:18] On respecting the art of gossip* [13:00] The reaction from mainstream media* [18:32] On gaining the trust of sources* [19:35] How it all started* [22:01] On being branded as an “anti-vaxxer”* [27:06] Being banned on Instagram* [29:31] Making turning a passion into a career* [31:39] On speaking to Courtney Love while washing the dishes* [32:50] Preferring being behind-the-scenes* Newsletter Breakdown—A Welcome Guide for NewcomersThe Active Voice is a new podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

A couple of days after I interviewed George Saunders for the first episode of this podcast, I caught up on some of his recent posts on Story Club, his writing-focused Substack. In “A Lost Speech, Found,” he wrote about rediscovering the script for a graduation speech he had given many years ago. The speech would earn him a reputation as “The Kindness Guy.”  “If the question ‘How should I live' can be answered: ‘Live so as to minimize your regrets,'” he had said in that speech, “then I have to tell you: What you actually regret, when you're older, is very simple: You regret the times you could have been kind, and weren't.”Saunders, one of the world's greatest short story writers and winner of the 2017 Booker Prize for his first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, was certainly kind to me. We sat together at a lunch table under a tree in a Santa Monica park for an hour and half. George patiently answered my questions about how to live a good life as a writer when so many social and economic forces make it so complicated. We talked about modes of thinking and how to negotiate with one's ego, and how he writes to tame his “monkey brain.” We talked about the trope of the starving artist, and what it takes to make a living as a modern-day writer. And we talked about the corrosive effects of social media, which in so many cases encourages and rewards the opposite of kindness. I can't think of a better first guest for this podcast than The Kindness Guy. After the interview, George texted me to say, “Feel free to edit out any stupidity.” I couldn't find any.Show notes*Story Club with George Saunders*Liberation Day: Stories, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, Tenth of December: Stories, and Lincoln in the Bardo*Reporting on Trump rallies*[5:15] Reading comments and reviews*[8:07] Artistic pride and ambition*[11:25] The social media self *[16:13] Becoming a short story writer*[21:00] Life at 60*[27:55] Online personas and the act of writing*[37:57] The craft of story*[46:48] Story Club on Substack*[50:10] Juggling writing and life*[55:04] On Liberation Day*[1:00:39] Trying to be happyThe Active Voice is a new podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is edited and produced by Hanne Winarsky, with content production by Hannah Ray and production support by Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com

Everyone has a plan... the podcast where you get to learn life experience from a different variety of people and how they got to where they are. This is Hannah's story... to growing up being the girl trying to figure out what they want to do with their skillset in sports..and going through high school and trying to figure out what that next step is with volleyball.. to going to college for something they thought they wanted to do and potentially getting a job they thought they would enjoy while pursuing their dream of playing college volleyball and meeting the love of their life.. to finding a skill in training people and getting them in the shape they wanted.. and finally going all in on themselves after moving with their husband to Florida and starting their own business and training at one of the best gyms... all while chasing their pro card!.. Their instagram is @hannahray_fit . This podcast is to show you that we all go through many things in life, but we all can get somewhere! Until next time.. don't let anyone outwork you and keep going! Be sure to rate, review, subscribe to help grow the podcast and get the word out! Check me out on social media! Facebook - www.facebook.com/TheERamey44/ and www.facebook.com/dontletanyonept/ Instagram - @Theeramey and @dla_ptnutrition Twitter - @Theeramey Email - Dontletanyone@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everyonehasaplan/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/everyonehasaplan/support

It's my final episode of the podcast for 2020 with Hannah Ray and we discuss the season finale of the Amazing Race. This season started with eleven teams but in the end only one team wins the race. A few new and old concepts were brought into the race. Including the yield and a watermelon challenge. It was the most diverse cast in the history of the race. And players broke into alliances in an attempt to eliminate weaker teams. This was a strategy that effectively doomed two other teams in the end. This is another great episode of the podcast with Hannah. Enjoy!

Hannah Ray and @ericdsmall discuss The Amazing Race episodes five and six.Drama befalls the five-team alliance (or is it only three teams?!?).Meanwhile, manual transmission causes nothing but trouble for Will and James and Kaylynn and Haley.Victoria and Michelle struggle to get from point A to point B in Paris while Aparna and Eswar are stumped at a roadblock.One or more of these teams are eliminated, but which ones?

On today's episode, we step away from politics and discuss the Amazing Race Season 32. Hannah Ray and Eric D Small discuss two cutthroat episodes. Boyfriends Will and James plot to eliminate dating couple Leo and Alana. What did they do? Meanwhile the alliance between the gay guys, the engineers, the football players, the volleyball players and the married couple pays off while other teams struggle. And what to make of Louisiana sisters Michelle and Victoria and father and son James and Frank? Are they not taking the race seriously?

On today's episode, we step away from politics to talk about one of the greatest reality tv shows. I am excited to see the return of the Amazing Race to CBS. Hannah and I discuss the show.Who do we think will win? Who are we rooting for? And who are you rooting for?Send us a message. Then British actress Charlotte Kirk is denied the removal of a gag order placed on her by very powerful men in Hollywood. Is she the victim of Hollywood's infamous casting couch or its prolific blackmailer? Finally social media tries to destroy Chris Pratt! Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton break up!?! Jeffery Toobin exposes himself on zoom.A much needed Trump and Biden free episode of The World As I Like It To Be podcast!

Netflix's The Social Dilemma takes on the tech industry and its new disinformation for profit business model. Think that Facebook and Instagram account are free? Think again. As the documentary points out, the reason you are not paying for the product is because you ARE the product.

Hannah Ray: my college roomie, the one I process with, the one who always points me back to Jesus. God has given her such a GIFT with words. You are in for a treat with this conversation!! Hope over hype. Relationship over rationale. God has and is doing an incredible work in her life. I am SO thankful for the opportunity to walk through this life with her. You are going to LOVE getting to know her heart!

You reader for today is Hannah Ray. She's the host of this show... so if you like her, keep listening to this show. 

Hannah is a highly motivated personal trainer and bikini competitor. After reaching what she felt was a plateau in her own cross fit training, Hannah decided to take on a new challenge and an entirely new type of training to accompany it: bikini modeling. Pushed to new physical limits, Hannah had to develop an entirely new routine to ensure that she would be ready for competition. During our conversation, Hannah explains what her day-to-day looked like during competition season, and some important ways her routine has changed because of it. Want to connect with Hannah directly? You can find her on her Instagram @hannahray_fit.

 Andy Moor & Ashley Wallbridge feat. Meighan -- Races (Original Mix) Aurosonic, Katty Heath - My Good Place (Progressive Mix)Aurosonic, Kate Louise Smith, Denis Karpinskiy -- They Wait For Us (Progressive Mix)Binary Finary & Le Le Troning Feat. Christina Novelli -- Waiting For The Sun (Ad Brown Remix)Fabio XB -- Back To You (Wach Remix)Headstrong -- I Will Find You - Martin Graff Progressive RemixShogun -- Nadia (feat Hannah Ray - extended mix)Lange -Out Of The Sky feat Sarah Howells Club MixSusana & Snatt & Vix -- Blinded By The Lie (Original Mix)Shogun feat. Emma Lock -- Run To My Rescue (Signum vs. Al-Exander Remix) Yuri Kane feat. Alexandra Badoi -- Let's Fall In Love (Original Mix)You Walk Away (Original Mix)Torrent FileMp3 File

This past August, Shawn Shafner traveled to Brattleboro, VT to join Urine Diversion Summit 2016—a conference brimming with pee-ple making waves over how we “make water.” While The Puru didn’t want to disrupt the flow, he was able to divert a few participants away from micturation and into the microphone for some short interviews. Thus: The Lil’ Tinklers. In Part 1, wee-wee will learn about how eco-toilet systems succeed, and why they sometimes don’t. First, we’ll meet Daniella Saetta and Hannah Ray, two women diving unabashedly into the urinal to understand how the minerals in your pee clog up the pipes. With their help, we can put these nutrients to use and keep waterless pissoirs on the walls. Then we’ll be joined by Cat Bryars, a regional planner recently returned from a year in Oaxaca, Mexico. While there on a Fulbright, she studied how entire cities were hooked up to urine-diverting compost toilets, why they were eventually abandoned, and how these lessons can help us roll out sustainable toilets in sustainable ways. So grab a glass, sit back, and shower your ears with gold! Also mentioned: Rich Earth Institute, Kim Nace, Abe Noe-Hays, Lab, bathroom, volume, fertilizer, Dr. Treavor Boyer, Arizona State University, University of Florida, Potable water, Urea, Urease, Calcium, Magnesium, Urethra, Hydrolize, kidney stones, Ammonia, nutrient recovery, nitrogen, phosphorous, triple bond, struvite crystals, Colombia, male privelege, penis, vagina, pStyle, funnel, StandUps, Cesar Añorve, UD, pit latrine, fecal pathogens, Falmouth, Cape Cod Eco Toilet Center, regional planner, decentralized sanitation, scale up, perceived legitimacy, residuals, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

[PD004 "Myth & Legend"] Каждую субботнюю Полночь, прямой эфир на частоте 99.8 FM г.Твери (Слушай online: http://galaxyradio.ru/) Tracklist: 01. Suspect 44 feat. Soar vs. Delayers, Nari & Milani - I Feel It Phenomena (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 02. Mat Zo vs. Thirteen Senses, Cicada - Into The Fire (Digital Constructive Bootleg) [CD-R] 03. Arty, Sneijder vs. Alex Pich, 4 Strings - Tinctures Away From Here (Digital Constructive ReMashup) [CD-R] 04. Arty, Above & Beyond, Kyau & Albert vs. Soarsweep - Anphonic Beach (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 05. Audien vs. Gareth Emery feat. Asia Whiteacre - Million Years Hindsight (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 06. 3LAU & Bright Lights vs. AMR & Ai Takekawa - How You Love Whispers (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 07. ilan Bluestone & Jerome Isma-Ae vs. Coldplay – My Midnight (Digital Constructive 'LIVE' Mashup) [CD-R] 08. Juventa, Myon & Shane 54 feat. Koko vs. Audien, Tommie & Disco Fries - Lie Without Me (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] [Track of the Moment] 09. Digital Constructive vs. Wezz Devall feat. Alana Aldea - On The Rise Myth & Legend (Digital Constructive Mashup) [Azima] 10. Ed Sheeran vs. Kalev vs. Kygo - I See Fire (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 11. Super8 & Tab, Anton Sonin vs. Banks, Judah - Waiting Is The New Yellow (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 12. Above & Beyond, Genix, Las Salinas vs. Late Night Alumni, Myon & Shane 54 - Anjunabeach (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 13. Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford vs Genix, Las Salinas - Anjunabeach Called Love (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 14. Coldplay vs. Norin & Rad - Clocks Bloom (M&S54 Edit) (Digital Constructive ReMashup) [CD-R] 15. Maor Levi, Usher vs. Serge Devant ft. Polina - When You Numb Along (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 16. Tritonal vs. Daniel Kandi & Jack Rowan - Arigatou Anchor (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 17. Dinka vs. Myon & Shane 54 feat. Labworks - Sunrise On the Beach Ibiza (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 18. Jay FM, Talamanca vs. tyDi feat. Kerli - The Dark Spirit (M&S54 Edit) (Digital Constructive ReMashup) [CD-R] 19. Dinka vs. Funkerman - Speed of England (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 20. Masoud feat. Hannah Ray vs. Banks, Judah - We Waiting Game (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] 21. Arston vs. Dirty South feat. Erik Hecht - Alone Zodiac (Digital Constructive Mashup) [CD-R] [Blast From The Past] 22. Jaytech feat. Nathan Grainger - Labour Of Love (Suspect 44 Remix) [Anjunabeats]

Allen Watts – Lifelines (UDM Remix) – Beyond The Stars Recordings Ad Brown & Hannah Ray – Ready & Waiting (Existone Airlball Remix) – Blackhole Recordiings Mostfa & Mostfa – Last Moment ((Sunset Remix) – Beyond The Stars Recordings Javah Ft. Xan – Hallowed Ground (Fallen Skies Remix) – Redux Digital Darrn Portet & Gareth Weston – Malware – Tytanium Recordings

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." - Anatole France Song listing: MiniCoolBoyz, NHB - Placebo Ad Brown, Hannah Ray - Ready and Waiting Myon & Shane 54, Amy Pearson - Hurricane Solid Stone - Blackout Fehrplay - Nightride Anry - Serene Sky EDU, Kristoffer Ljungberg - Outbreak Michael Ruris - Loose Ron Costa - Bulance VenSun feat. David Vendetta & Sylvia Tosun - Love Is Love Quantum Duxe - Trigger John 00 Fleming - The Fires Of Chameleon Jorn Van Deynhoven - New Horizons (A State of Trance 650 Anthem) Sabb - Illusiones Ft Rafa Barrios Napalm & d-phrag - Two Wrongs Make A Right Bastille - Pompeii Andy Blueman, Driftmoon, Dsharp - Exodus Stoneface & Terminal - Skyfall Schodt - April Quantum Duxe - Trigger Hardwell feat. Matthew Koma - Dare You Joe T Vannelli, Hot Since 82 - The End Hot Since 82 - Planes & Trains Ilan Bluestone - Spheres Above & Beyond - Hello Mr Probz - Waves Happy Listening,

1. Ad Brown & Hannah Ray – Ready and Waiting [Black Hole] [0:00] 2. Ad Brown & Renee Six – Something For The Pain (Album Mix) [Black Hole] [04:48] 3. Nigel Good ft. Sarah Clark – Always Running (Justin Oh … Continue reading →

Royal Selection: 1. Ad Brown ft Hannah Ray – Ready and Waiting (Original Mix) [Black Hole] [0:00] 2. Patrick Perez – Aeros (Original Mix) [Fuzzy Recordings] [4:05] 3. DJ Macro & DJ Semo Pres. Houseventures – Summer Dream (Original Mix) … Continue reading →

1. Airdraw – Juno (Matao Remix) [Silk Digital Records] [0:00] 2. Shawn Mitiska feat. Hannah Ray – Salt (Original Vocal Mix) [Enhanced Progressive] [07:04] 3. Dinka – Lotus (Soundprank Remix) [Silk Royal Records] [13:04] 4. Dinka – Polarity (Original Mix) … Continue reading →

HOUSE OF CARDS Mixed and Recorded "LIVE" by DJ z0d October 27, 2011 If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind...       Save Me (Walsh and McAuley Remix) - Shogun feat. Emma Lock For You (Juventa Club Mix) - Mike Danis For You (Original Mix) - Mike Danis Scared (Original Mix) - Ad Brown and PROFF ft. Hannah Ray Delight (MeHiLove Remix) - Matt Bukovski Far From You (Mango Remix) - MoodFreak Here With Me (Sundriver Vocal Mix) - Schodt and Sundriver feat. Aida Fenhel Welcome To My Head (Progressiver Remix) - Dynamic Emotion Sunset Serenade (JPL Remix) - Paul Tarrant Niagara (Willem De Roo Remix) - Ferrin & Morris and Sequentia You Belong To Me (PROFF Remix) -Bobina feat. Betsie Larkin The Prestige (Temple One Pres. Tu Casa Remix) - Ferry Tayle Unforgivable (feat. Jaren) - Armin van Buuren

Intuition Records

Intuition Records

Official Weekly Podcast from Paul Oakenfold PODCAST INFORMATION: Playlist: Episode PLP-30 Masoud ft. Hannah Ray:  Here We Go (Original Mix) DJ Mog + Erik K:  Miyana (Original Mix) Woody van Eyden + Steve Anderson:  Everything’s Twisted (ReOrder Deep Mix) Skytech:  Sirens (Original Mix) The Hague:  Crank (Orginal Mix) Bobina + Betsie Larkin:  You Belong To Me (PROFF Remix) Trilucid:  Hoxton (Wellenrausch Remix) Orjan Nilsen ft. Neev Kennedy – Anywhere But Here (Bjorn Akesson Remix) Hodel + Anguilla Project:  Emerald (Original Mix) Alex Frolov:  Waiting For Sunlight Evening (Original Mix) Wezz Devall ft. Isa Marie:  Find This Dream (Original Mix) Aly + Fila:  Still (Solarstone Remix) Federation:  Synchronized (Protoculture Remix) Luke Terry ft. Helen Sylk:  Cloudbreak (Instrumental Mix) c2011. All rights reserved.

Vocal trance/progressive house fans rejoice! This is the sound that Club Kerry NYC is all about: somewhere between progressive dance and mainstream. This set is the epitome of that. I've been sitting on this one for a little while waiting for the right occasion to release it. It's my birthday. It's time. I think this is also going to end up being one of my top 10 mixes. Look out for the double shot of amazing vocals by Nadia Ali (tracks 6 & 7) and new comer Hannah Ray (tracks 11 & 12). Enjoy! "I'm in a wide open space, it's freezing. You'll never get to heaven with a smile on your face from me." -Mansun (Track 1) Track List (58:54): (I'm In a) Wide Open Space (Original Mix) - Greg Downey & Mansun (My fave tune on this mix!) Dynasty (Kaskade Arena Remix) - Kaskade feat. Haley Breaking Love (Original Extended Mix) Larrakin Dimond Found Here (DJ Slider Mashizz-Edit) - Dj Tiesto vs. Axwell & Julie McKnight Never Far Away (Radio Edit) - M1 Better Run (Club Mix) - Tocadisco & Nadia Ali Fantasy (Morgan Page Remix) - Nadia Ali Twister (Bellatrax Mix) - Flash Republic Forget Me (Mr Sam Remix) - BT Found (Original Mix) - Sunlounger feat. Zara Taylor Nadia (Extended Mix) - Shogun feat. Hannah Ray Autumn Leaves (Original Mix) - Temple One feat. Hannah Ray