Past Due with Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle

To celebrate one year of Past Due, Ana and Mike look back at the conversations that changed them — featuring Paul F. Tompkins, Siri Doll, and Rhett Miller — and wrestle with what it means to make work that matters in an economy that keeps moving the goalposts. (Part 1 of 2) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian Chris Gethard joins us to talk about walking away from the version of success he spent years chasing, and why that might be the reason he's still standing. We get into the grief of giving up the big dream, the joy of making weird stuff for the people who get it, and the radical act of building a career that actually fits your life. Get more at patreon.com/pastdue Learn more about your ad...

Adam Gurri, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal Currents, joins us to talk about eight years of building a publication nobody paid him to make, and what happened when the world finally caught up. We get into how you raise half a million dollars from a community you built on trust, what it actually costs to pay yourself in New York City without betraying your principles, and why the most impo...

Comedian and speechwriter Chandler Dean joins us to talk about building a streaming show without burning down his career to do it. We get into why keeping a day job might be the most radical creative decision you can make, how Abolish Everything went from a monthly live show to the Nebula's most-watched new series, and why deadline-based work is secretly a gift. Get more at patreon.com/pastdue Lea...

Actors and comedians Mary Holland and Matt Newell survived the WGA strike, the SAG strike, and a newborn... more or less simultaneously. They join Ana and Mike to talk about what going all-in on a creative life actually looks like, what improv teaches you about listening, and what happens when there is no plan B.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six-time James Beard Award-winning food critic Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl joins Ana and Mike to make the case that food isn't a soft beat, it's the whole story. From ICE raids gutting Twin Cities restaurants to the real wage gap hiding in daycare costs, Dara connects the dots between what's on your plate and everything that actually matters. She also gets into why there are fewer working restaurant c...

Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, joins Ana and Mike to talk about what happens when you stop trying to fit into a box, and accidentally end up running one of the biggest newspapers in America. From burning out covering extremism at NBC News to buying The Onion for less than you'd expect, Ben gets into what it actually cost him to bottle up his personality on cable news, and why the humans-first appr...

Actress and comedian Lilan Bowden joins us to talk about what it actually feels like to come out the other side, and why financial safety doesn't automatically mean financial peace. From barista shifts and transcription gigs to booking a Disney Channel series, Lilan gets honest about the bills she still can't bring herself to open, the shame that kept her moving forward, and what it means to build...

Ana and Mike try to untangle the pure joy of making art from the exhausting pressure of creating for survival. Mike admits he's pushing all his chips into survival mode and can't afford a break, while Ana discusses the elusive practice of emotional sobriety and letting go of the outcome. Get more at ⁠patreon.com/pastdue⁠ and help support the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie joins Ana and Mike to discuss the dismantling of legacy media by billionaire owners and the myth of the “Democratic Joe Rogan”. Jamelle also opens up about the intersection of luck and frugality that allowed him to build financial stability early in his career and how he now balances his work for "the mothership" with his own independent creative outlets. Lea...

Despite writing bestsellers and landing a Reese’s Book Club pick, Xochitl Gonzalez opens up about the lingering shame of precarity, the invisibility of working-class success, and why we need to drag money talk out into the light. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonah Ray joins us to talk about finding joy in creative work after letting go of the version of success he once chased. From DIY punk to rebooting MST3K, Jonah reflects on what happens when you stop waiting for permission and start making the stuff you actually want to see. We get into the fear of going unnoticed, and why it’s still worth it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Comedian Devin Field has one of the rarest things in Hollywood: a full-time, year-round job. But even that didn’t protect him from the chaos of the past few years. From presidential threats to network pullouts to a brutal WGA strike, Devin opens up about what it’s like when late-night comedy is under siege—and how he’s learning to navigate the myth of hustle culture. Learn more about your ad choic...

Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle kick off the year with a conversation about survival in a collapsing media economy. They get into dry January, capitalism, self-promotion, YouTube pivots, and what it means to keep showing up even when the numbers don’t add up. Plus: the upside of YouTube thumbnails, the reality of reporting on a shoestring, and why, in a world that wants you to give up, persisten...

Journalist Karen K. Ho joins us to talk about what it really means to navigate the creative economy as an immigrant, a freelancer, and a former "success story." We talk about the myth of meritocracy, the emotional and financial toll of precarity after grad school, and the difference between community and networking when your visa—and your future—are on the line. Karen shares how ADHD, burnout, and...

Comedian, actor, and writer Baron Vaughn joins us for a deeply personal conversation about what it means to rewrite your story while you’re still living inside it. We talk about growing up with scarcity, the trauma of survival-mode success, the work behind the work, and why healing is harder when the industry expects your pain to be punchlines. Get more a patreon.com/pastdue Learn more about your...

Comedian and actor Paul F. Tompkins opens up about career insecurity, creative joy, and why the secret to survival in a crumbling industry might just be doing it yourself. If you want to hear more from today’s conversation with Paul F. Tompkins, including his dumbest money decision ever and the surprisingly smart investment he made that paid off big, join us at ⁠patreon.com/pastdue⁠. You’ll get ex...

To wrap up the year, Ana, Mike, and Andrew take a look at what it really costs to make Past Due. From programmatic ads and Patreon, to personal finances and more, this is a full accounting of both the numbers and the “why.” Get bonus content and help support the show at ⁠patreon.com/pastdue⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TV writer and performer Eliot Glazer joins us to talk about what happens when you’ve done everything right—and still find yourself scrambling. We unpack how the writers’ and actors’ strikes cracked open long-buried conversations about financial anxiety, class disparity, the invisible middle class of Hollywood, and the emotional cost of staying relevant in an industry that keeps changing the rules....

Writer, comedian, and director Joey Clift joins us to talk about making the work that matters, especially when the world doesn’t make it easy. From Paw Patrol to Peabody nominations to his new animated short POW, Joey opens up about the long road to representation, what it means to build a career without a “big break,” and why doing it the right way isn’t always the fastest—or easiest—path. Watch...

Award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal joins us to talk about building a creative ecosystem that actually fits your brain. From viral cat videos to Patreon-powered writing sessions, she shares exactly how she budgets, hires, monetizes, and prioritizes joy across multiple income streams, and how being honest about what you don’t want might be the key to building the career you do want. Learn mor...

Healthcare analyst and ACA expert Charles Gaba joins us to explain what freelancers, artists, and anyone with unpredictable income really need to know about this year’s open enrollment. We cover rising premiums, the danger of auto-renewals, and how to avoid surprise tax bills or lost subsidies. Whether you're switching plans or signing up for the first time, this episode breaks down what the ACA d...

Bestselling sci-fi author John Scalzi joins us for a conversation about creative longevity, pragmatic optimism, and why the goal isn’t to stay hot, it’s to keep going. We talk about building a sustainable career with your partner, the myth of the one big break, and how generosity, structure, and a little chaos can power a life in the arts. Plus: what journalism teaches you about rejection and why...

Journalist and 404 Media co-founder Jason Koebler joins us to talk about what it takes to build an independent newsroom. From the cost of defamation insurance to the weight of mailing your own merch, we get into the invisible math of staying scrappy without burning out—and the true cost of reader-supported journalism. Get more at patreon.com/pastdue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Broadcaster and podcast pioneer Jesse Thorn joins us to talk about building something sustainable without selling out. From his early days of mailing CD-Rs to NPR stations to running Maximum Fun as a listener-supported network, Jesse shares the emotional and economic math behind 20 years of independent success. We get into what it means to build trust with an audience, how community gets harder in...