How many podcasts do you actually listen to?
According to many Feed Me readers, fewer than last year.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Last night I attended a dinner party in a stranger’s apartment. Sammy, a former Eleven Madison Park chef who now runs a supper club out of his space in Williamsburg, messaged me a few weeks ago and asked if I’d like to come to one of his Burrow dinners. I asked my friend Emma to come with me and we had a beautiful evening of vertical pasta and spring rhubarb and savory martinis. It was really fun and warm to be at a big table of strangers who were all curious about one another, with no insight into where we were from or what we did for a living.
In Feed Me’s Substack Chat this morning, we’re discussing the state of podcasts. Takeaways so far:
Many people are listening to fewer podcasts than they were a year ago. However, How Long Gone, Nymphet Alumni, and Odd Lots remain on many download lists.
I’m not convinced a good podcast needs a video component – a lot of people aren’t watching.
Notable response: “I listen to three podcasts religiously and almost never add something new into my rotation unless something hyper specific sparks my interest. Always audio, mostly when I’m commuting/running errands. Never video, can’t be convinced to switch.”
Today’s letter includes: The New York restaurant that inspired the Champions Dinner menu at The Masters, Vogue’s attempt to revitalize their app, and William Gass’s The Tunnel could be one of the It Books of the summer.
Browsing and posting on the Feed Me Job Board is free. This week’s listings include: Alright Studio (clients range from Justin Bieber’s SKYLRK to Baldor), Howard Schultz-backed Cumulus Coffee, and Substack.
The Wall Street Journal’s video team now has 65 people. That is larger than some full-blown movie production companies (like NEON). WSJ’s head of video, Maral Usefi, spoke to The Press Gazette about how the paper has pivoted from optimizing for YouTube to doubling down on its own platforms. Some of the team’s newest hires have been largely focused on “who can report, who can break stories… that’s really how we’ve rebuilt the team in a lot of ways, because that’s really the money, right? We need to nail that to be able to deliver that value.” Usefi also outlined the six pillars that make up the team’s video strategy (which has inspired me to put some framework into place for my own strategy). They are:
Original/investigative journalism
Breaking news
Topical explainers and analysis of the news
Strategic live video around a major news event
Habit-building franchises (interesting)
IP-based scripted and unscripted projects via WSJ Studios
Rory McIlroy’s favorite restaurant is Le Bernardin. The chefs at Augusta National Golf Club visited the New York City restaurant to learn how to recreate Le Bernardin’s yellowfin tuna carpaccio ($52 on the Lounge menu) ahead of Tuesday’s Champions Dinner at The Masters. (As the defending champion, McIlroy got to set the menu, which also included bacon-wrapped dates (inspired by McIlroy’s mom), wagyu filet mignon, sticky toffee pudding, and some bottles of 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild.)