#financial independence podcast

[w2capitalist]

How Real Estate Investing Podcasts Can Accelerate Your Learning Curve

In today’s fast-paced world, the pursuit of financial independence has become a priority for many. One effective way to gain valuable insights into real estate investing is through podcasts. A well-curated real estate investing podcast can significantly accelerate your learning curve, making complex concepts more accessible and engaging.

Accessibility and Convenience

Podcasts are an incredibly convenient medium for learning. You can listen to them while commuting, exercising, or doing household chores. This flexibility allows you to consume a wealth of information without interrupting your daily routine. For anyone interested in financial independence, integrating a real estate investing podcast into your schedule can turn otherwise wasted time into valuable learning moments.

Expert Insights and Diverse Perspectives

One of the standout features of real estate investing podcasts is the access they provide to industry experts and seasoned investors. These hosts often interview successful investors, real estate agents, and financial advisors who share their experiences, strategies, and tips. Listening to these discussions can expose you to various investing styles and approaches, allowing you to determine what resonates most with you.

For instance, a financial independence podcast may feature episodes focused on cash flow strategies, investment opportunities, and market trends, offering a comprehensive view of the landscape. This exposure helps you understand not just the "how" but also the "why" behind successful investment decisions.

Practical Knowledge and Actionable Advice

Real estate investing podcasts often emphasize practical knowledge and actionable advice. Many episodes include step-by-step guides or case studies illustrating real-life scenarios. This can be particularly helpful for beginners who may feel overwhelmed by the complexities of real estate investing. By breaking down intricate topics into digestible segments, these podcasts can help you grasp concepts like property valuation, financing options, and market analysis more quickly.

Building a Community

Listening to real estate investing podcasts can also foster a sense of community. Many podcasts have accompanying social media groups or online forums where listeners can engage, ask questions, and share experiences. This interaction can enhance your learning experience and provide support from others who share similar goals.

Conclusion

In summary, leveraging real estate investing podcast can significantly accelerate your learning curve, offering convenience, expert insights, and practical knowledge. By integrating these resources into your daily routine, you can move closer to your financial independence goals while expanding your understanding of the real estate market. So, whether you’re a novice or an experienced investor, consider tuning into a real estate investing podcast today and watch your knowledge—and confidence—grow

[gideonisms]

Does a podcast ever release a take you disagree with so strongly it makes you question everything you heard on it up to that point

[theroguebanshee]

Breaking the Chains of Debt: Our Journey to Financial Freedom

In this episode of The Undependent Podcast, Jason Schaller shares his personal story of breaking free from debt and gaining financial independence. Learn how he and his family tackled over $70,000 of debt using the Avalanche Method, and discover practical tips for distinguishing between wants and needs, making sacrifices, and building long-term financial freedom. Jason also touches on the…

[neil-gaiman]

Hello, Mr. Gaiman:

My friend and I started a podcast recently where we discuss the Marvel Cinematic Universe and fanfiction related to Marvel. At first we didn’t think the strike would relate to our independent project and we’ve planned to dedicate the beginning of our next episode to aline our support for the strike.

But since our podcast is fan promotion for Marvel we are wondering if it would be better to pause.

Please, let me know your opinion.

Thank you

If you have a podcast where you are contracted as an influencer to promote a studio, then you should absolutely stop.

If you are making a fan podcast about Marvel movies then there's no reason to stop and every reason to talk in each episode about the strike and what it's about, and how Marvel movies have so far made over 28 billion dollars in profit*, and that all of the Writers financial Demands could be settled with about half a percent of those profits.

*not revenue. Profit.

[queerasfact]

These two women are Liang Jieyun and Huang Li-e. Photographed in 2014, they were both zìshū nǚ ('self-combed women'), participants in a traditional practice in Guangdong, southern China, where women would declare their independence through a solo marriage ceremony. The term zìshū nǚ refers the way that these women would assert their independence by dressing their own hair before the ceremony, rather than having it combed by a married female relative.

Zìshū nǚ were often part of Golden Orchid Societies, communities of women who chose not to marry, or not to live with their husbands, and instead supported each other socially and financially. Many Golden Orchid groups lived together for their whole lives, and saved up to retire as a community.

We had were joined by Lazou from Nuances: Our Asian Stories to chat about all things queer Asian history, including Golden Orchid Societies, on our podcast this week. Check it out! Or you can listen to our whole episode on Golden Orchid Societies here.

[Image source: Tania Branigan for the Guardian]

[a-room-of-my-own]

Edinburgh Crisis Centre designed to protect women who had suffered serious sexual violence is condemned for failing them in damning report

A controversial rape crisis centre “damaged” victims of sexual violence by hindering their access to biologically female counsellors, a damning report has found.

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC), run by trans woman Mridul Wadhwa, was blasted for “many serious failings” including not putting the needs of survivors first.

The independent investigation condemned the centre for insisting traumatised rape victims, who can be as young as 12, must specify if they don’t want support from someone born a man.

More than 94 per cent of victims of rape are women and the perpetrators men.

Yet the review found ERCC failed to provided vulnerable victims with safe women only spaces, while at the same time opening up services to men.

The report said: “Putting women in the position of having to discuss whether the service they receive will be provided by someone who was born and continues to identify as female has caused damage.”

The review was ordered by umbrella organisation Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) in May 2024, after a scathing employment tribunal judgment ruled that ERCC worker Roz Adams was subjected to a “heresy hunt” for suggesting a rape victim should know the sex of her counsellor.

Although rape crisis centres are autonomous, they sign up to the RCS’s national standards, many of which the review found ERCC had failed to meet.

RCS said the review had found a “significant breach of its standards” and was “pausing” the referral of any new clients to ERCC until it implements the recommendations of the review.

Women only spaces are a required national standard yet they were not available from October 2022 until at least February 2024, when ERCC knew it was facing a tribunal and would be under scrutiny.

The review was heavily critical of Wadhwa, who self identifies as a woman but does not have a gender recognition certificate and is legally a man.

It found her be a domineering as chief executive who “who did not understand the limits on her role’s authority” and it said Wadhwa “failed to set professional standards of behaviour” within the organisation.

She was portrayed as incompetent, overseeing an organisation with systemic failures and a chaotic approach in key areas such as financial transparency, training and safeguarding for staff and clients.

Wadhwa was placed on leave from June this year, a month after she was blamed by the employment tribunal for being the “invisible hand” in the victimisation of Ms Adams for her gender critical views.

The reviewer, charity sector consultant, Vicky Ling, said she was also told victims were not using the service because they deemed it unsafe, given there was no guarantee of being seen by a counsellor born female.

And she recommended ERCC refer any concerned survivors to guaranteed women only services such as Beira's Place, the rape help centre funded by JK Rowling and condemned by Wadhwa as transphobic.

Wadhwa labelled rape victims bigots and transphobes if they doubted whether a man identifying as a woman should run a centre helping women recover from male violence.

She said any staff who did not think all trans women were women should be fired.

According to the employment tribunal, Madhwa was on a mission to 'cleanse the organisation of those who did not follow her beliefs’.

In 2021, Wadhwa caused outrage when she told listeners of the Guilty Feminist podcast that some rape victims were “bigoted people” who needed to “reframe their trauma” and be re-educated if they didn’t agree all trans women were female.

The report said Wadhwa’s controversial comments “caused damage to individuals and to the reputation of the organisation”.

The report said the work environment at ERCC was unhealthy and with high sickness rates and that staff were likely to be too scared to question Wadhwa’s “trans activist” approach.

It recommended an overhaul of the culture at ERCC including the establishment of policies which would guarantee there would be no victimisation of any staff who did not agree with trans-inclusion within the service.

[theereina]

🦋 THAT GIRL CHALLENGE 🦋

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Start a daily gratitude journal to cultivate a positive mindset.

Practice mindfulness meditation for at least 10 minutes each day.

Set specific, achievable goals for yourself in all areas of your life.

Read a self-improvement book or listen to a motivational podcast each week.

Create a budget and track your expenses to improve your financial literacy.

Take a new fitness class or try a different workout routine to stay active and healthy.

Volunteer your time to a cause you're passionate about.

Practice self-care regularly, whether it's through skincare, baths, or relaxation techniques.

Develop a morning routine that sets a positive tone for your day.

Learn a new skill or hobby that interests you, such as painting, cooking, or coding.

Practice forgiveness and let go of grudges or resentments from the past.

Surround yourself with positive, supportive people who uplift and inspire you.

Start a savings account or investment portfolio to secure your financial future.

Practice assertiveness and boundary-setting in your relationships.

Spend time in nature to recharge and reconnect with yourself.

Take a solo trip to explore new places and gain independence.

Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Schedule regular check-ups with your healthcare providers for preventive care.

Practice saying "no" to obligations or activities that drain your energy.

Explore different forms of spirituality or connect with your spiritual beliefs.

Declutter your living space to create a more organized and peaceful environment.

Practice random acts of kindness to spread positivity in your community.

Learn to manage stress through techniques like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation.

Attend workshops or seminars to continue learning and growing personally and professionally.

Set aside time for creative expression, whether it's through writing, drawing, or crafting.

Practice self-reflection to identify areas for growth and improvement.

Cultivate a mindset of abundance and gratitude rather than scarcity and fear.

Set boundaries around technology use to prioritize real-life connections.

Experiment with different styles and fashion choices to express your unique personality.

Create a vision board to visualize your goals and aspirations.

Practice self-compassion and treat yourself with kindness and understanding.

Explore your passions and interests to find what truly lights you up.

Develop a morning or evening skincare routine to care for your skin.

Take up a regular exercise routine, whether it's yoga, running, or weightlifting.

Practice effective communication skills to express yourself clearly and assertively.

Set aside time for hobbies and activities that bring you joy and fulfillment.

Invest in experiences rather than material possessions for long-lasting happiness.

Foster gratitude by expressing appreciation for the people and things in your life.

Practice forgiveness, both towards others and yourself, to release negative emotions.

Engage in acts of self-love, such as positive affirmations and pampering sessions.

Cultivate a sense of curiosity and wonder by exploring new ideas and perspectives.

Invest in your education and personal development through courses or workshops.

Practice empathy and compassion towards others, seeking to understand their perspectives.

Practice mindfulness in everyday activities, such as eating and walking.

Set realistic expectations for yourself and celebrate your progress along the way.

Surround yourself with supportive friends and mentors who encourage your growth.

Create a financial plan to save for future goals, such as buying a home or traveling.

Practice gratitude by keeping a daily journal of things you're thankful for.

Take time to relax and recharge by engaging in activities you enjoy.

Reflect on your values and priorities to ensure your actions align with your true self.

[subsystems]

hope sending ask is ok rn, i have hard time looking resource. looking for book how to co-exist with independent dissociative parts (have system but not feel safe in saying DID yet). cannot do therapist addressing parts yet but want to cope in daily life. hope can help. or others comment/reblog and give. thank you 🍀

This ask was sent a while ago, I hope you're doing okay now anon. You say you can't talk to a therapist yet but I hope you have someone else in your life who is supportive and you can talk to about these things! You shouldn't have to face this alone.

Even though you don't have therapeutic support, it's still possible to build up communication and cooperation with your parts. I reblog a lot of tips and resources to my coping tag if you want to check that out. Here are some other resources that you might find helpful:

DID/OSDD Self-help Masterlist There are so many resources here, categorized by different topics. You'll find stuff here for both survivors and loved ones, and you don't need to have DID/OSDD to use them!

Beauty After Bruises Blog You'll find so many articles here on coping with daily life as a dissociative survivor. I love how they're written, they feel very approachable and almost calming to read.

Dissociative Living Admittedly, I haven't read many of these articles but the few I've seen have been good. I think their writing is very approachable for people who are new to all of this.

DIS-SOS Lots of advice and informative articles on living with DID here -- in both English and German! I've found some really interesting and unique coping tips here, I definitely recommend it. It's actually because of this blog that I discovered one of my favorite methods of system communication.

CTAD Clinic Youtube Channel A channel run by the director of this clinic which specializes in dissociation and trauma. I've watched probably all of his videos -- they're very good! Lots of the videos provide tools and self-help tips on coping with dissociation & dissociative parts!

Carolyn Spring's Blog You'll find amazing articles here about trauma and dissociation, but do be aware that the author is both a professional and a survivor with DID herself. She isn't afraid to talk about her lived experience, shining a light on the reality of trauma and dissociation which can be confronting but oh-so empowering to read.

System Speak Podcast A podcast run by a DID system. She talks about her own healing journey as well as interviews professionals and dives into the psychology behind trauma and dissociation. Personally, I think the website is a bit hard to navigate but every podcast I've listened to has been extremely informative and relatable!

Self-help books can also be extremely useful if you don't have access to a therapist. You can find a bunch of free downloads here! I would recommend starting with "Got Parts? An Insider's Guide to Managing Life Successfully with Dissociative Identity Disorder" by ATW. Personally, I think this is the best book to start with. It's a bit old and there are some outdated ideas in it, but I think it's a very gentle entry into learning system communication and coping with DID if you have never worked with a therapist.

Some other resources that might be useful:

Strategies for coping with distressing voices

FREE 100 page e-book for trauma survivors

Talk/vent to listeners on this non-crisis support chat line

Apply for a grant to receive financial help or a therapy box -> (Also learn about the Therapy Box Project! If anyone is able to donate, please do!)

- Sunflower

[rhondafromhr]

I normally don’t like social media/youtuber AUs but I just came up with a really unhinged one that I feel compelled to subject y’all to.

So, Stephanie’s a podcast girlie. She started one to rebel against the constant pressure to stay out of the public eye and not do anything to make her dad look bad by saying a bunch of things she know will enrage the public (like “peanuts the pocket squirrel is overrated”) and having controversial guests. As it took off, she really started to enjoy the financial independence and attention/validation it brought her, eventually moving to LA to do it full-time.

Grace has a fundamentalist channel (not unlike Girl Defined) where she basically just spouts purity culture bullshit. She’s controversial and while she does have a decent amount of people following her unironically, most of her views are hate watches and she gets a lot of her engagement from commentary channels dunking on her. One of those channels is run by none other than Peter Spankoffski - most of his content is nerdy/science based stuff and that’s his real passion, but he needs to make rent and the videos about Grace are what get views and money.

Stephanie decides that having them both on her podcast would make for one hell of an episode and they agree to do it. She asks questions she knows will get them riled up and cause arguments. It escalates to an all-out screaming match at some points, but the second the cameras are off Grace completely switches up, just totally calm and unbothered. Then she hits on Stephanie, which really confuses the other two. It turns out she’s a grifter - she hasn’t bought into the things she preaches on her channel in a long time, but she keeps it up for the money and because she’s been doing it for so long she doesn’t know what else she would do. Steph and Pete both get it so they’re just like “oh, cool, respect.” Pete invites them to a party hosted by his friend Ruth - an aspiring actress and popular lifestyle vlogger. Her real dream is live theater, but she has a lot of anxiety and she’s way more comfortable talking to a camera and posting online than performing in front of a crowd. The few roles she has gotten have been less about her talent and more about using her following to sell tickets, which is a big insecurity of hers.

At the party, they run into Max, who has one of those awful prank channels where he’s an absolute menace to the public and Richie, his camera man (they met and became unlikely friends in college. They started the channel when Max got an injury that kept him from playing football and had a crisis over what to do with his life). Richie can’t believe this is what he’s using his film degree for and he constantly tries to get Max to pivot to more serious content. The six all get to talking and realize they all grew up in Hatchetfield (Max went to Sycamore in this universe. He was still a literal monster and bullied everyone there, but Hatchetfield High was safe). They talk for hours about all the strange occurrences they noticed back home and the fact that they all suspect some sinister, supernatural forces are at work there. Eventually, they decide to travel back there, investigate and exploit their findings for content in the most epic collab the world’s ever seen.

[draculathedansemacabre]

Also, folks have been asking if there's a way to support the making of Dracula: The Danse Macabre for a bit. Last week, our show's sole financier - aka series creator Gabriel Urbina - created a Patreon.

He's sharing various pieces of unproduced and lost work on there - starting with the full script of a radio play he wrote 5 years ago - as well as some fun retrospective stuff on Wolf 359 and his other past work. And he hopes to use the funds from this Patreon to make more independent audio work and online stories.

We know times are lean all around, but if you have a bit of money to spare and want to support an independent audio fiction producer as we finish up the first episodes of the series and set out to record the season 1 finale, check out the page and see if any of the rewards call out to you!

[jacksgreysays]

Extremely late, completely unnecessary opinion of the Watcher situation, (2024-04-24)

So this is a relatively belated post — several days after the initial “Goodbye Youtube” and one day after the “An Update” videos — and surely by this point there are more interesting/insightful op-eds (both in written form and video form, especially penguinz0’s fairly objective POV as, essentially, a YouTube expert) but there is something about the Watcher situation that made my brain itch. Thus, I wanted to write about it in order to make sense of it all as well as get into a philosophy that seems to be haunting me in recent years and which I think applies greatly here.

This may seem completely out of left field considering 1) definitely not fanfiction and 2) about Watcher Entertainment, a YouTube channel which—as far as this tumblr is concerned—I’ve not engaged with whatsoever, but I don’t know where else I would put this, and weirdly enough I think the general tumblr response to this whole predicament is maybe the… if not objective… then at least, most thoughtful?—or, perhaps, least immediately reactive?—amongst the various social media platforms, that I think some people might appreciate this anyway.

In terms of my relevant background: I majored in Management Science (which is just a fancy way of saying Economics + Business + Accounting because they are, weirdly enough, separate things) and minored in Film Studies in school, I am currently working in the stage tech industry (which, I know, is obviously different from film/video industry), and I like to think I am a fan/consumer of a wide variety of independent creators, some of whom I am lucky enough to be able to afford being a patron/subscriber. I won’t go into all of them—because it is a lot—but there are four in particular whose business models I want to analyze in comparison to Watcher’s admitted blunder:

A) RocketJump (known for Video Game High School and Anime Crimes Division; the core group which turned into the podcast Story Break, then became Dungeons and Daddies) B) Dropout (formerly College Humor, we’ll get into their discography later) C) Drawfee (previously an offshoot of College Humor, now fully independent) D) Corridor Digital (used to be mostly behind the scenes of how VFX studios work, have since become a mostly original content creator)

I will say, right off the bat, I am a patron of Drawfee as well as Dungeons and Daddies, and I am a subscriber to Dropout. I am not subscribed to Corridor Digital’s streamer, which I will get into why later. I understand that being able to sustain those two patronages and one subscription is a luxury that not everyone can afford and so my point of view is already skewed by being such a person who could theoretically afford another streaming service if I so chose. I also acknowledge that many fans of Watcher are not in similarly financially secure places as I am and that regardless of the business model, any monetization that comes from fans would have been a rough ask. However, I wanted to go into this essay in a way that accepts Watcher’s statement—that they needed more funding—in relatively good faith rather than assuming the worst (although that is another point I’ll get into later, largely related to the philosophy I brought up earlier.)

All four of the above listed content creators started or, at least, hit their stride on YouTube:

RocketJump and College Humor were, if not household names, then the digital equivalent of it in the “early days of YouTube.” They were part of the wave of content creators that made YouTube seem less like a bunch of eccentrics with cameras making videos on the side and more like a viable way to support yourself/your team with the art you create.

RocketJump’s Video Game High School went from short (less than 10 minutes) minimal location episodes in season one, to 30 minute plus episodes with full on fight scenes and car explosions by season three thanks to a Monster Energy brand deal. They also had two seasons of Anime Crimes Division, a literal TV quality show, thanks to a Crunchy Roll sponsorship. Unfortunately, RocketJump shut down not long after (their videos are still up on YouTube but they obviously don’t add anything new) but the core creative team behind that have been involved in several projects outside of YouTube (Dimension 404 on Hulu being one of the biggest ones so far) including the podcast Story Break (part of the Maximum Fun network) and now the independent podcast Dungeons and Daddies, the episodes of the main campaigns which are free with ads or, for patrons, ad-less along with additional mini-campaigns and other benefits.

I will say, during RocketJump’s decline, they did try their best to keep going. The partnerships with Monster Energy and Crunchy Roll were the big swings to get the funding to make those TV quality shows they wanted. I believe they lucked out with those brands in particular, or, at least, those brands didn’t seem to inhibit the creative process or ask too much of them that it felt like “selling out” but I also don’t have insight into why they didn’t pursue this model of, essentially, very weird but interesting season long commercials. Maybe they just couldn't find the right brands or maybe they did feel like it was too stifling. Regardless, before they shut down completely, they did also downsize—moving out of the actual city of Los Angeles over to Buena Park. Which is in Los Angeles county, and basically counts as LA still, but is way cheaper than literal Hollywood real estate. (I should have added to my relevant background that I’m born and raised LA county, and have relatives and friends in the film/movie industry, so trust me when I say literal Hollywood/city of Los Angeles is so overrated and unnecessarily expensive. There is a reason why LA traffic is the worst and it’s because everyone is commuting INTO the city. Respectfully and with affection, no one should live there. No one’s start up should be located there.) Obviously the downsizing didn’t necessarily work for RocketJump, but they also didn’t have multiple successful revenue streams the way that Watcher currently does.

In contrast, College Humor was acquired by InterActiveCorp and was turned into CH Media which was three pronged: College Humor, Drawfee, and Dorkly. In 2018 they made Dropout, which had exclusive content separate from their YouTube videos which involved all three prongs. Then some financial shenanigans happened early 2020—IAC withdrew their funding—and there were a bunch of layoffs right before the pandemic which extremely sucked. It has been stated by multiple people involved that it was basically a miracle that Dropout survived through all of that, but there were definitely some sacrifices along the way to make that happen. Currently, Dropout seems to be thriving with mostly exclusive content with the occasional “first episode of a season” posted to YouTube, OR if Dimension 20 is doing a “sequel season” in an already established campaign they will put the entirety of the previous season on YouTube.

IAC withdrawing their funding did put CH Media in a bind. They had to layoff a lot of people right before pandemic and, understandably, a lot of trauma was had. There were also weird issues with who controlled certain IPs/brands/digital assets (I mostly come at this from a Drawfee POV, it took several years for them to own the Drawga series and be allowed to host all of the episodes on their YouTube, and there was also something about the sound file for their opening animation?) but mainly the difference is what kind of content they generate. Originally Dropout had multiple scripted shows with high budgets and pretty cool effects/animations/stunts (Troopers, Kingpin Katie, Gods of Food, Ultramechatron Team Go!, Cartoon Hell, and WTF 101) whereas now almost all of their shows are variations of improv comedians being put into different scenarios or given different prompts. I’m not just talking about Game Changer and Make Some Noise, because Dimension 20 and Um, Actually also technically fall under that description as well. Which is not to say that these shows are worse than the scripted shows—I subscribe to Dropout, so clearly I’m a fan of their current shows—and the budgets for them have since increased to resemble, if not match, those early shows, but it is a noticeable shift in their content creation strategy as a response to the lack of IAC funding. And I will say: Dropout releases at least three videos a week if not more and at least two of those are long form at 30 minutes plus (Dimension 20 being the longest, of course.)

So, these first two business models are not really the most applicable to Watcher Entertainment considering their origin was to get away from Buzzfeed—they’re probably not keen to be partnered with or purchased by a larger company—but there are some aspects to both that I believe are valuable in at least showing the strategy in how these former YouTube creators could successfully extract themselves from YouTube or how they still utilize YouTube even if it is not their main hosting platform or revenue stream.

Then there is Drawfee and Corridor Digital, both of whom are currently—if not primarily—on YouTube, whose situations are more comparable to what I believe are Watcher’s goals.

Drawfee had to rebuild themselves like a phoenix from the ashes of the CH Media layoff during the beginning/worst of the pandemic. Side note: I’m happy that Nathan (one of the four main artists of the current Drawfee team) at least has forgiven(? or let bygones be bygones) Dropout enough to be on an episode of Game Changer (although I will say that this happened after Drawga was “returned” to Drawfee, and after Dropout officially split from College Humor as a brand.) All that being said, Drawfee was a team of four artists plus their editor who wanted to stick together but basically had all of their support system taken away from them. They took a bit of a break to assess their goals and options, announced a patreon with several tiers with great perks, and stuck to their upload schedule. In addition to two videos a week, they also stream on Twitch weekly, have a patron only stream once a month, and a draw class (for one of the higher tiers) once month. After asking their patrons on the relevant tiers if they were okay with it, they began releasing the patron only stream and the draw class to the general public for free after a month. The patreon perks also include things like merch discount codes, high quality PNGs of the final rendered art, access to the draw class with live interaction/critique, and a commission from the artist of your choice. The only “ads” they run are for their own patreon and merch store and, even then, they’re usually at the end of the videos with a credit scroll of the patron names during their exit banter.

Admittedly, they only have MAYBE eight employees—that’s including their video editor(s?) and their discord mod(s?)—with the main four artists doubling/tripling up duties as additional video editors, CFO, and marketing/merch leads. It’s a very streamlined crew and their production costs are not very high since it’s mostly screen recording of their drawings with their audio recording overlayed onto that footage. Although the video editors do sometimes have clever cuts to relevant images depending on their vamping. Sometimes they will have a guest artist but, again, since it’s screen and audio recordings, there’s no travel/housing costs. So, very minimal expenses due to low production costs and small crew but, again, their only revenue source is the patreon/merch, they don’t do outside ads and they very rarely do live shows.

Corridor Digital is, I think, the most applicable to what Watcher would ideally do, which I suppose is somewhat ironic for this essay in particular considering they’re the only one of the four that I don’t financially support. They have two YouTube channels: their main one being where they show the “final product” videos, but I believe their Corridor Crew channel which started primarily as behind the scenes type of videos is where most of their views come from. Especially their React series (VFX artists, Stuntmen, and Animators React etc.) On Corridor Crew they usually upload two videos a week — one which is a React and the other which goes into fun projects/challenges (involving VFX or not) or using VFX to explain scientific concepts — as well as the first episodes of their exclusive content on their streamer. Also behind that paywall are longer and ad-less versions of the videos on YouTube. They also have merch. All of them have merch, I don’t know why I’m stating that. They don’t have a patreon as far as I know, but I also don’t know if their subscription to their website comes with similar perks like discounted merch or something similar.

Anyway, their studio seems to be about 15 to 20 people — not all of them are VFX artists, of course. I believe they have higher equipment costs than Watcher since, understandably, Corridor has to be on the cutting edge of video editing technology. They do occasionally travel for shoots, but it doesn’t require big teams, and that’s only when the local locations available to them don’t match the requirements for the “final product” videos. Otherwise most of their videos are set in the studio or in the alleyway outside their studio in Los Angeles (the city itself, not just the greater county, though they are in a rougher and thus probably cheaper part of Los Angeles). I personally don’t subscribe to their website primarily because their exclusive shows don’t appeal to me—either they’re too technical or a little too dry; to be fair, most of them are VFX artists first before they are performers—and I don’t particularly feel the need to see the extended cuts of the videos uploaded on YouTube. Also I sometimes get a little bummed out by their lack of diversity.

All of this to say, from these four different business models, a bespoke Frankenstein business model for Watcher could be cobbled together. But also, even with that bespoke Frankenstein, there are some changes that Watcher would have to make: primarily their upload schedule. As of right now, I think they do MAYBE one video a week if not, perhaps, one video every TWO weeks. If they want a monthly subscription model, their rate of content generation would ideally be higher to double/quadruple their current upload rate. Obviously they want to create videos with higher production value, but at that rate of generation, something’s got to give: supplement their TV quality shows with either a behind the scenes type series or an increase of “we get four episodes out of Shane and Ryan get increasingly drunk in someone’s backyard” or something similar. Leaning into shows like Worth A Shot (the first season in which Ricky Wang makes cocktails based on a random ingredient, the second season threw in some competitive aspects which I didn’t really find necessary) or the Beatdown which has relatively low production costs (no travel, one location, maybe two cameras at most therefore smaller crew requirements) but a higher polished look. Otherwise, for a separate streaming subscription service, 2-4 videos a month is not going to cut it.

As of right now they probably can’t back out of the separate streaming subscription service because those set ups usually require some level of contract/paying for servers for the website and whatever is hosting their videos for a set amount of time. However, what really strikes me is that I literally didn’t know they had a patreon until I scrolled through the comments of the first Goodbye Youtube video. Maybe it’s been linked "tactfully" in the descriptions of videos, but considering they claim to be lacking in funds, the fact that they weren’t plugging their patreon at the end of every video is not just strange, but also irresponsible considering they do have 25 employees that they don’t want to layoff.

Additionally, I understand artists needing to be in a space that promotes creativity, but there are cheaper places that must be comparable that aren’t in literal Hollywood. It’s an unnecessary expense. On top of that, other people have already brought up that it was fairly crass to introduce this paywall, attributing it to the increased production costs, when the next planned “new series” is a reboot of an old Buzzfeed series in which people travel and eat expensive food. I’m not even talking about the personal expenses of Steven, Shane, and Ryan; what kind of car they drive or the cost of their wedding venue doesn’t matter on a business model basis.

But getting back to the patreon: again, I literally didn’t know they had one. I’m looking over their tiers— they have $5, $10, $25, and $100 — and for the most part they seem okay, although I think they have more to offer that wouldn’t necessarily cost them more. Ie, something that has baffled me for a while: the fact they don’t sell the mp3s of the Puppet History songs; they already exist and it doesn’t cost them anything additional because they don’t need to put it on physical media. Or maybe they do and they’re not marketing it similarly to how they weren’t overtly marketing their patreon?

And, okay, maybe they didn’t want to seem desperate — in the early days of Dropout and independent Drawfee, they both were very blatant in getting people to subscribe/join their patreon. As they should be. Desperation maybe doesn’t look cool and sexy, but it is earnest in a way that conveys equal effort that fans who can afford it would want to see. The fact that we weren’t getting rotating ten second clips of Steven, Shane, and Ryan asking people to join the patreon at the end of every video — even if its the same clip every three videos — is wild. And yes, the $25 tier includes a shoutout every 3 months on Watcher Weekly+ (which I don't quite understand what that is,) but the fact that they weren’t doing a quick post movie credits scroll of all the patreon names is, again, wild. Once you have that initial list, it’s not too difficult to add any new names that join and put that title overlay on top of, again, those nonexistent ten second clips of the three.

As others have already stated, it seems like an extreme mismanagement of their existing successful revenue streams, if they are actually struggling to pay all of their employees. Which goes into the philosophy part of this essay: don’t assume malice when it might just be incompetence. It’s something that I have to remind myself of often because I do get paranoid about people’s intentions sometimes and I have to check myself. Am I being overly suspicious of what might be just an honest mistake? Am I assigning ill will to an action just because it inconvenienced me?

Yes, of course, a lot of this situation could be misconstrued as straight up greed. But, also, Watcher is a relatively young company, helmed by three people who certainly don’t have experience running their own company:

They like to travel. They like to bring a full crew around with them. They’re renting out a shiny office in the heart of Hollywood where everyone knows is where real show biz happens. They’re adding more employees to the team because surely more people means better. And they want better productions values because the prettier the videos the more people will like them right?

It’s naive. It’s a level of inexperience combined with giving responsibility to officers whose main priority is to entertain. And if that means entertaining themselves and their staff, then they might not know the difference. It’s the kind of mistake that first time managers make—trying to prioritize fun over getting the job done. Prioritizing making friends with their employees rather than making sure the work the employees put in is equal to (or greater than) what you spend on them whether that is in paycheck or bringing them to cool locations for fun shoots. It’s a mistake anyone can make, it's just unfortunate that they made this mistake in front of millions of people. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s solely a greed induced cash grab.

But then comes the catch-22 of the philosophy—is it worse to assume incompetence than it is to assume malice? Or, in this case, greed. Especially for the heads of a company that holds the livelihoods of 25 employees in their hands. At what point does it not matter if it’s incompetence or greed if the end result is the same?

Is it better to think that Watcher knew about the various other business models of independent creators and just ignored the efforts put into achieving those successes or is it better to think that they didn’t know and just stumbled into one of the worst moves they could have done. Again, other people have mentioned that Great Mythical Morning—which Watcher has had multiple collaborations with—has managed to make the YouTube subscription/tier system work to the point that they can sustain themselves as well as spinoff channels. Is it incompetence or greed that led to Watcher thinking they could bypass that completely in less time and with less content?

I’ve been at this mess of an essay for several hours when I should have been asleep. Ultimately I want to say, regardless of incompetence or greed… yes, Steven is CEO and yes he is ultimately the one who makes the final call but it is disheartening to see the pointed vitriol at Steven specifically and the infantilizing of Shane and Ryan in comparison. Either they’re all silly uwu boys who are messing around not knowing how to run a company, or they’re all complicit in a crass cash grab in an extremely busted economy.

I think what’s most frustrating to me in all this is that there were so many other channels and creators who have literally walked this path before them and, again, whether through incompetence or greed or arrogance, for them to just ignore it… It’s not betrayal because I don’t know them and so there’s no relationship to betray, it’s just so inefficient and convoluted that I don’t understand. Or, no, even if it was greed, it’s an incompetent greed because at least pure greed would have been pushing that patreon every second they could. Their ratio of YouTube subscribers to patreon members is less than 1% and I bet that’s because a lot of their audience, like me, literally didn’t know they had a patreon. I probably would have become a patreon member of theirs had I known earlier, ESPECIALLY if it included access to those Puppet History songs. Drawfee has half as many YouTube subscribers and nearly double the patreon members as Watcher. I’m just baffled, is all, and maybe by this point sleep deprived.

Anyway. That’s my extremely late, completely unnecessary opinion of this situation.

Edit (several hours later after some sleep): I forgot to mention, because they did walk this back almost immediately, even before their "An Update" video, but I believe the original plan was to put EVERYTHING behind that paywall and pull their content from YouTube entirely. Which is, again, extremely baffling, because if ALL of their content is behind a paywall, how would they possibly gain new fans? Even if all of their current fans were able and willing to pay for their separate subscription streaming service, how would a brand new person even stumble on their content enough to want to subscribe if there wasn't a significant amount of "proof of value" free content on YouTube? Again, extremely baffling, and a level of incompetence that overshadows a "cunning" greed. But, like I said earlier, they did walk this decision back almost immediately. If I've misunderstood this and that was never their plan, please let me know, I don't want to be spreading misinformation in a situation that is already so convoluted.

[theroguebanshee]

Essential First Steps for Preparedness and Self-Reliance

Show Notes: In this episode of The Undependent Podcast, host Jason Schaller, also known as The Rogue Banshee, kicks off National Preparedness Month by diving into the essentials of self-reliance and personal preparedness. Jason emphasizes the importance of taking control of your safety and security, especially in an unpredictable world where centralized systems may not always be reliable. Key…

[ventsesh24]

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Introduction to the Girl-boss by Day Grandma by Night Era

This era is all about embracing your highest self by focusing on career growth, self-improvement, and relying on a supportive community of like-minded women. It’s a time for productivity, success, and expanding knowledge—while nurturing creativity and self-expression. Ideally, this is a time to invest fully in yourself, uplift others, and build a foundation of success, knowledge, and meaningful connections.

Girlboss Mindset:

★This mindset mainly focuses on career, financial, and personal growth.

★Grind in school and/or work: prioritize studying, aim for all As, get the promotion, network with intention, dress for success, and continue honing professional skills

★Engage in self-improvement workshops (solo or group) once or twice a week on topics like public speaking, financial literacy, tackling your weaknesses, learning important skills, etc.

★Intellectual enrichment and skill building: read daily, listen to audiobooks, learn new skills or hobbies (like learning a language or DIY projects)

★Stay active & healthy: set a workout routine and stick to it, learn self-defense, do weekly pilates and core strengthening, start running, and stick to a healthy diet plan with real food

★Be proactive and cautious: get the fazer pepper spray or other protection, run errands (gym, store) during the day, avoid going out alone at night (even in safe areas), and stay aware of your surroundings.

★Civic duty: listen to informative podcasts from neutral/objective sources (NPR on spotify), if possible participate in public forums and town halls, engage with elected representatives, volunteer, and stay informed for every election especially local

Grandma Mindset:

★This mindset primarily focuses on self-expression and self-care through fulfilling activities and a supportive community of like-minded women.

★Get into gardening & live a self-sufficient life— you can start off with a small garden with herbs you use regularly.

★Set aside time each day for self-expression through nurturing old passions or new ones like journaling, poetry, art, crafting, sewing, etc.

★Prioritize self-care through meditation, grounding techniques, self-love practices, etc

★Shift your social energy from clubbing/bars/dating apps to meaningful connections and prioritizing activities that bring out your best self.

✧Instead of paying to party and being around strangers, try hosting/attending house gatherings, book clubs, wine nights, potlucks, etc with women & trusted allies.

✧Embrace alone time, create a regimen, do self care, do things independently, etc

✧Build a supportive community of women where you can connect, express your thoughts, and share experiences. This space allows for open discussions about potentially harmful/sketchy situations or people, helping everyone stay informed and safe.

✧Redefine dating: focus on self-growth and consider celibacy or, at the very least, raise your standards. Take time to get to know anyone new and prioritize safety by meeting in public spaces and avoiding going back to their place if you barely know them. Also trust your intuition.

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[thelaurenshippen]

this is a genuine question not at all meant as a rude gotcha, but I feel like I've seen lots of people cite the relatively low barrier of entry as a huge advantage of podcasts as a medium, "if you have access to decent audio tech you can make a podcast" etc etc. So where does the need to sell a script come in? Is it a financial thing, and IP thing, something else?

this doesn't read like a rude gotcha at all, it's a really good question! there is a much lower barrier to entry when it comes to podcasts compared to tv, film, theater, etc. (though not as low as writing a book if we're talking about hard resources - you can technically write a book with just a laptop and a dream and then self publish! though as a writer who has written a lot of scripts and four books (3 published) writing a book is a much bigger psychological burden imo lol).

the need to sell a script, for me, is entirely a financial thing. if I had the money to produce podcasts at the level I want to entirely independently, I would! I know how to do it! but, unfortunately, I really only have the funds to produce something like @breakerwhiskey - a single narrator daily podcast that I make entirely on my own.

and that show is actually a great example of just how low the barrier is: I actually record the whole thing on a CB radio I got off of ebay for 30 bucks, my editing software is $50/month (I do a lot of editing, so this is an expense that isn't just for that show) and there are no hosting costs for it. the only thing it truly costs me is time and effort.

not every show I want to make is single narrator. a lot of the shows I've made involve large casts, full sound design, other writers, studio recording, scoring, and sometimes full cast albums (my first show, The Bright Sessions had all of those). I've worked on shows that have had budgets of 100 dollars and worked on shows that cost nearly half a million dollars. if anyone is curious about the nitty gritty of budgets, I made a huge amount of public, free resources about making audio drama earlier this year that has example budgets in these ranges!

back in the beginning of my career, I asked actors to work for free or sound designers to work for a tiny fee, because I was doing it all for free and we were all starting out. I don't like doing that anymore. so even if I'm making a show with only a few actors and a single sound designer...well, if you want an experienced sound designer and to pay everyone fairly (which I do!), it's going to cost you at least a few thousand dollars. when you're already writing something for free, it can be hard to justify spending that kind of money. I've sound designed in the past - and will be doing so again in the near future for another indie show of mine - but I'm not very good at it. that's usually the biggest expense that I want to have covered by an outside budget.

but if I'm being really honest, I want to be paid to write! while I do a lot of things - direct, produce, act, consult, etc. - writing is my main love and I want it to be the majority of my income. I'm really fortunate to be a full-time creative and I still do a lot of work independently for no money, but when I have a show that would be too expensive to produce on my own, ideally I want someone else footing the bill and paying me to write the scripts.

I love that audio fiction has the low barrier to entry it does, because I think hobbyists are incredible - it is a beautiful and generous thing to provide your labor freely to something creative and then share it with the world - but the barrier to being a professional audio drama writer is certainly higher. I'm very lucky to already be there, but, as every creative will tell you, even after you've had several successes and established yourself in the field, it can still be hard to make a living!

anyway, I hope this answers your question! I love talking about this stuff, so if anyone else is curious about this kind of thing, please ask away.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Taylor Lorenz at User Mag:

Minutes after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 election, Dana White took the stage to thank the influencers who helped lead Trump to victory. “I want to thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin' With The Boys, and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan,” he said. The acknowledgement crystallized an alliance between Trump and a vast network of online influencers. Joe Rogan*, Adin Ross, the Nelk Boys, and the myriad content creators who Trump collaborated with during his campaign played a key role in amplifying conservative messaging and helping him reach audiences that traditional right-wing outlets simply never could. You can read more about Trump's influencer strategy in an article I wrote for The Hollywood Reporter today.  While the right has spent years fostering a symbiotic relationship with alternative media, the left has failed replicate anything like it. There are simply no progressive content creators with Rogan's cultural impact and online following, and a quick look at the podcast charts or trending channels on YouTube shows the disparity between conservative vs progressive creators' reach online.

Without a network of culturally relevant influential content creators boosting and translating their messaging, the Democratic Party is rapidly losing credibility among younger, predominantly male audiences who have become ardent supporters of influencers that promote a distinctly conservative worldview. This imbalance when it comes to online influence is no accident. It is the result of massive structural disadvantages in funding, promotion, and institutional support. And understanding why Democrats can't (or really won't) cultivate an equivalent independent media ecosystem that rivals what the right has built is crucial for anyone who hopes to ever see the Democrats back into power. 

The conservative media landscape in the United States is exceptionally well-funded, meticulously constructed, and highly coordinated. Wealthy donors, PACs, and corporations with a vested interest in preserving or expanding conservative policies strategically invest in right-wing media channels and up and coming content creators. This creates a well oiled pipeline for conservative influencers: young TikTokers, YouTubers, livestreamers, or podcasters are discovered, developed, and pushed to larger platforms, often with the financial backing of conservative billionaires or organizations on the right who have long recognized the content creator industry a valuable means of shaping public opinion and policy. Organizations like Turning Point USA, PragerU, and The Daily Wire and others receive millions from backers who view them as advertising for a broader conservative agenda. These media entities act as content creator incubators and spend extensively on outreach, production quality, and audience growth. The resources and near unlimited funds they receive allow conservative content creators to grow rapidly and spread their message widely. 

[...]

There is simply zero equivalent to this massive infrastructure on the left.  Leftist channels do not receive widespread financial backing from billionaires or large institutional donors, primarily because leftist content creators support policies that are completely at odds with what billionaires want. Left leaning influencers argue for things like higher taxes on the rich, regulations on corporations, and policies that curb the power of elites. Wealthy mega donors aren't going to start pouring money into a media ecosystem that directly contradicts their own financial interests. And so, progressive creators are left to rely on meager crowdfunding efforts to make a living. 

Because they are not well funded, leftist creators also don't have money to pour into production teams or marketing for their independent media businesses. While Bari Weiss and other billionaire-backed right wing influencers who cosplay as independent media can hire large staffs and run national ad campaigns thanks to their robust funding, progressive influencers are forced to rely on organic growth on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, TikTok. Meanwhile, these platforms' distribution algorithms have been shown to reward conservative outrage and extremism.  There is simply no way that progressive content creators can compete. So, they burn out, they quit, and this further constrains the left’s ability to build a powerful leftist influencer ecosystem that could even begin to rival conservative influencers' reach and power.

All of these things could change significantly if the Democratic party had any interest in supporting the independent media ecosystem on the left, but leftist creators have been repeatedly shunned by the Democratic party establishment.  Harris' campaign is a perfect example of this. Biden began alienating progressive content creators before Harris even became the candidate. When Harris did become the nominee she showed a repeated refusal to engage with any creators challenging her ideology or policies. Mainstream Democrat loyalist centrist creators with very little cultural relevance were welcomed at events like the DNC and campaign rallies, invited to speak and collaborate with the campaign, while influencers who challenged the Harris campaign on issues like the war in Gaza, or spread more populist messaging were not granted access or similar opportunities. 

The closest thing to a "progressive Joe Rogan" in mainstream liberal media is probably the podcast Pod Save America. But the podcasters on that show operate with a clear allegiance to the Democratic Party establishment. They don't speak to the youth or the disaffected masses who are fed up with the entire system.  "Republican independent media is directly linked to the party in ways that the Democrats cannot recreate among the independent ecosystem because they're ideologically opposed to Bernie style populist sentiment the base wants to hear," leftist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker tweeted yesterday.  The end result of all of this is an influencer landscape that's heavily biased towards right wing creators. We have created a system where right-wing influencers can thrive and scale rapidly and leftist content creators remain marginalized, struggling to gain traction and funding without selling out and becoming right wing grifters (which is just objectively SO much more profitable!).

Taylor Lorenz wrote in User Mag on why Democrats need to form their own Joe Rogan-like influencer circle, just like what the right did that propelled Donald Trump’s win.

[politicalfeed]

Michael Wolff’s New Claims on Trump-Epstein Relationship: Key Takeaways

Author and journalist Michael Wolff has stirred controversy again with new claims about the relationship between former President Donald Trump and the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. On his podcast, Fire and Fury, Wolff detailed what he describes as a “competitive playboy lifestyle” between Trump and Epstein, and shared stories ranging from real estate deals to alleged photos. These revelations come just days before the election, adding to the mounting scrutiny around Trump’s past associations. Here are five key moments from Wolff’s podcast, which Newsweek has summarized, though these claims have not been independently verified.

1. Trump and Epstein’s “Brothers in Arms” Bond

Wolff describes Trump and Epstein as sharing a lifestyle focused on wealth, status, and women in the 1980s. According to Epstein, the two enjoyed a friendship where their larger-than-life personalities could thrive. Epstein allegedly felt that Trump’s bold behavior made his own actions seem more reasonable. “He said that Trump has no scruples,” Wolff said, suggesting that Epstein saw Trump as a kindred spirit in his own flamboyant pursuits.

2. The “Bet” on Princess Diana

One of the more startling claims is that Trump and Epstein were engaged in a competition over who could win over Princess Diana. Wolff mentioned that in the 1980s, models were “sexual currency,” and Trump and Epstein allegedly placed bets on high-profile women. Although Wolff did not claim they succeeded with Diana, he argued that this “high-stakes” competition was typical of their era and their egos.

3. Money Laundering Allegations in Real Estate Deal

Wolff detailed a 2004 falling-out between Trump and Epstein involving a real estate deal in Palm Beach, Florida. Epstein had reportedly sought Trump’s advice about a property, only for Trump to bid on it himself. According to Wolff, Epstein suspected Trump was acting on behalf of a Russian oligarch, as he couldn’t afford the property on his own. Wolff’s allegations of “money laundering” link Trump’s dealings with a Russian buyer and remain one of the most contentious points in the podcast.

4. Claims of Embarrassing Photos in Epstein’s Safe

Wolff claims that Epstein once showed him photographs of Trump with young women in Epstein’s Palm Beach home, including a photo with a “telltale stain” on Trump’s pants. Wolff said Epstein stored these photos in a safe that may have been confiscated by the FBI during their 2019 raid. This claim adds to existing questions about what Epstein might have kept hidden and how these materials were handled.

5. “Shared Girlfriend” and Alleged Envy

According to Wolff, Trump and Epstein were not only friends but also had shared interests in the same women. Wolff even claims they shared a girlfriend — a former model whom he did not name. Wolff said this “twisted game” between the two men involved a level of masculine bravado and rivalry. He pointed to a culture of “excess and license” among wealthy men, suggesting that their lifestyle reflected a time when such attitudes were celebrated.

Trump’s Response and Wolff’s Controversial Record

While Wolff’s prior works have been criticized for inaccuracies, he maintains that these new claims stem from nearly 100 hours of interviews he conducted with Epstein. Trump’s team has not responded to these new allegations as of yet. Epstein’s mysterious 2019 death only fuels the intrigue around his connections with powerful figures like Trump, leaving the public to question what else might remain undisclosed.

With the election looming, these claims add yet another layer to the complex narratives surrounding Trump, Epstein, and their alleged connections to a high-profile social scene marked by wealth, status, and controversy.