Why podcasts keep defeating the mainstream media 🎧 📰
This is the Rubesletter from Matt Ruby. I’m a comedian, writer, and the creator of Vooza. This is a paywalled newsletter. If you’re on the free plan, you’ll still get to read plenty of good stuff, but if you’re a paid subscriber you’ll get exclusive content sent only to those who support financially. Sign up here. Thanks! Why podcasts keep defeating the mainstream media 🎧 📰Will Smith and Jon Stewart blew up the old way yet they’re pivoting to the approach taken by Joe Rogan, Russell Brand, and Howard Stern. Other creators (and the media) should be taking notes.Something fascinating keeps happening with Jon Stewart lately: The clips of him talking to his writers on their podcast (done on Zoom with almost no budget) keep getting WAY more buzz/views than the actual (big-ish budget) TV show they produce. "These are shifting sands." Jon Stewart makes such an excellent point here on Joe Rogan flap, one of the most important. "Who gets to decide" what's considered "misinformation."
(Full clip: mediaite.com/a/lyvse) via @Mediaite @leia_idliby Why do these living room clips go viral? They’re real and immediate and people love Jon. Big media platforms keep throwing money at heavily produced shows when people under 35 just don’t want ‘em. Once you enter podcastland, old school polished TV feels overly scripted, rehearsed, and rather archaic. Who cares about late night anymore? From a comedian perspective, a late night set – once the gold standard – barely moves the needle in views/ticket sales while an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast can help comics level up overnight. In that way, Rogan is the new Carson. Increasingly, what people now want…
And they seem to care less and less about…
Will Smith and his family get this: Hollywood’s First Family of Putting It Out There.
Matt Taibbi recently pointed out how Russell Brand’s online success comes from his non-judgmental approach compared to the out-group hatred often found in the MSM.
This form of freedom is a big reason why Rogan is so popular too.
There’s definitely an age component to this too. Young people don’t trust institutions and want to listen instead of merely follow. Ethan Strauss examines the difference in this super piece: Stan Van Gundy and the Boomer Doomer Phenomenon as Case of Trust (h/t JF).
Btw all the people who hate on Rogan would be wise to examine why he's so compelling to his audience and consider adopting some of his techniques. Steven Shapin, Harvard historian, explains:
Of course, Howard Stern is the OG of this “keep it real” approach and has been doing it forever. The corporate media would be wise to reconsider its high horse/shame-based approach and start considering why no one cares what they think anymore. Also, they should do actual journalism (the kind that involves phone calls and legwork instead of scrolling and clicking) and hire folks in flyover states instead of running an info operation based entirely in NYC, DC, SF, and LA. Trust, like politics, is local. If people in MAGA country have literally never met a reporter, it’s no wonder they don’t trust ‘em. What’s the lesson here for creators? Go to a big platform for the cash grab, if you 100% need a huge production budget, or require Pro Tools (or whatever) to be “in tune.” Otherwise, go the minimal viable production route, put the real you out there, and live in the future instead of the past. Quickies🌀 Everything on the Internet is a lie and we deserve it because the first thing we ALL do to log on is lie about having read the Terms and Conditions. 🌀 So now we've had Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton, and Larry David in awful Super Bowl ads which just goes to show that, eventually, capitalism will come for every single one of your heroes and turn them into snake oil shills. 🌀 Somehow everyone believes they're an independent thinker yet thinks everyone else is a tribalist. 🌀 Ben Simmons is a Gen Z'er with vague mental health issues who doesn't want to work so I can't think of a more perfect place for him than Brooklyn. Tailgating is such a Canadian way to protest. "Throw another brat on the grill...FOR THE REVOLUTION! Give me CORNHOLE or give me death!" 🌀 Big fan of the French approach to kids/food: There's no such thing as the kid's menu. Children eat what the adults eat or they don't eat. C'est la vie! 🌀 Gal I know did Dry January and now is doing Frugal February (where you can't buy anything you don't absolutely need). No booze and no stuff? I told her it sounds like she's cosplaying being alive during the Great Depression. The amazing thing is how both sides in this country are filled with such moral certitude that they are good and the other side is evil. Doesn't anyone look in the mirror anymore and think, "Is it possible that *I'm* the scumbag?" 🌀 My attachment style is not believing everyone in the world can be placed into just three categories. 🌀 I wonder how much people would be pro-Botox if we had to call it by its real name. "It's time for my regular botulinum toxin session!" 🌀 Nothing is thirstier than using hashtags. 🌀 People are so lonely nowadays they'll believe in *anything* if it gives them a sense of community. "Yes, we believe in a bunch of lies. But they're OUR lies." 🌀 There should be a word for when you see the security guy and instantly feel LESS safe. "Someday we'll live in the Metaverse!"
-Person who spends all day in Zoom meetings, swiping on Tinder, playing video games, and watching Netflix 🌀 "I have writer's block." We all do. Writer's block is the natural state of being. That's why you start writing. To disrupt the inertia of not writing. Upcoming showsNYC: Misguided Meditation on 2/26 Colorado: Steamboat and Boulder shows I’ll be getting in the (Mountain Time) zone in March… COLORADO! I'm telling jokes there in a few weeks...
Mar. 4-5
Schmiggitys
Steamboat, CO
schmiggitys.com
Mar. 6
Rayback Collective
Boulder, CO
BoulderComedyShow.com Standup clipsBelow are some recent clips I’ve posted to social media. Also: As a comedian, the craziest thing you can do is eavesdrop on your partner/roommate's work Zoom calls. They're remarkable! Everyone is so polite, no one ever mocks each other for what they're wearing, and people never mention abortion. Mansplaining “Sex and the City”My pal Kevin McCaffrey is a comedian, writer, and Mike Pence’s cousin (no joke). He also co-hosts a podcast called Sex and the Cidiots which is all about watching SatC for the first time. After enduring the reboot (lord it’s embarrassing), I’ve been rewatching the original SatC and have thoughts. So I decided to text Kevin about it, text exchange below… 🎟 Up ahead for paid subscribers: Our exchange about Sex and the City (I’m a big Charlotte stan), trauma creep, why scapegoating Spotify is wrong, Hollywood's fave dream coach's advice for artists, Robert Anton Wilson on the the problem with belief, and Lauren Oyler on our “pay attention to me” culture. Sign up to read it all (and get future bonus content too)... Subscribe to The Rubesletter • by Matt Ruby (Vooza) to read the rest.Become a paying subscriber of The Rubesletter • by Matt Ruby (Vooza) to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content. A subscription gets you:
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Sunset and the Devil Woman
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
On the beach reading about Guns 'N Roses.
Jocks used to beat up geeks. Now they want to interview them.
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
On Joe Rogan, Neil Young, and why the “boycott Spotify” brigade has no logical end game. Also: Nick Cave, Jeff Daniels, Aimee Mann, "listening through," "relationshopping," and lots
How online dating turned flirting into a video game 🥀
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
On West Elm Caleb and the age of minimal viable romance.
I love therapy. I hate therapy. 🧠
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
I started seeing a therapist 10 years ago. Why? I bet you'd like to know, you greedy vulture. Fine, let's get into it... 🗣 Also: Penn Jillette, Naval Ravikant, Marianne Williamson, Matt Taibbi,
The 62 things you need to know right now 🚩
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
On red flags, a national divorce, Dry January, Mel Brooks, Ram Dass, NFTs, Leo, Betty White, Sidney Poitier, Saul Bass vs. Stanley Kubrick, Fela Kuti, John Madden, and more.
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