Shows
Repurpose Test PodcastThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn’t a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2026-02-2811 minRepurpose Test PodcastThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn’t a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2026-02-2811 minRepurpose Test PodcastThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn’t a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2026-02-2811 minRepurpose Test PodcastThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn’t a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2026-02-2811 minRepurpose Test PodcastThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn’t a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2026-02-2811 min
testing podcastThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn’t a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2026-02-2011 mintesting podcastThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn’t a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2026-02-1600 mintesting podcastThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn’t a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2026-02-1300 min
Jimmy's Jobs of the FutureHamish McKenzie | The Future of Media & Substack with its Co-FounderFollow us on Substack: https://jimmysjobs.substack.com/
In this exclusive episode of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie shares the platform’s bold vision to reshape media, publishing, and free speech.
With over 5 million paid subscriptions, Substack is becoming a major force in the media economy. Hamish breaks down how the platform is helping writers, podcasters, and creators take control of their audience and income - without relying on ads or algorithms.
This conversation explores Substack’s move into video and audio, the challenges of scaling in the UK, an...
2025-09-0949 min
Dead CatMy Conversation with Substack Co-Founders Chris Best & Hamish McKenzie Fresh Off Their $100 Million Funding RoundYou heard it here first that Substack was trying to raise a substantial new round of funding. Today, Substack announced that it had raised $100 million at a $1.1 billion valuation in a round led by BOND and TCG. The New York Times had the story.I told you that Substack’s growing mobile application and the prospect that Substack might someday dip its toe into sponsorships were two reasons that investors were excited about what started off as a mere subscription newsletter business. This afternoon, I jumped on a Substack Live with Substack co-founders Ch...
2025-07-1725 min
Three Takeaways - Mediapioniers aan het woordSubstack cofounder Hamish McKenzie: ‘Monetize relationships, not impressions’Hamish McKenzie is een van de medeoprichters van Substack, een platform waar makers zich rechtstreeks door hun publiek kunnen laten betalen. Hij probeert zo een eerlijker en beter alternatief te bieden voor de grote sociale media platforms en heeft uitgesproken ideeën over de toekomst van media. De Three Takeaways van Hamish:1. We’re in the midst of a media transition where power is shifting toward direct relationships, with platforms facilitating rather than mediating2. Media owners should seek to support, not own, talent—invest in th...
2025-07-1633 min
Press ClubHamish McKenzieMediaite editor Aidan McLaughlin sits down with Substack co-founder and chief writing officer Hamish McKenzie for a wide-ranging chat about the platform’s explosive growth, why he believes the traditional media model is broken, and the future of the industry. They also discuss Trump-era attacks on the press, Elon Musk's efforts to buy Substack -- and his subsequent crackdown on the platform -- and what the rise of independent media means for journalism.
This episode was produced by Kathryn Wilkens.
2025-06-3030 min
Anchor Change with Katie HarbathSubstack: A New Era of PublishingIn this conversation, Katie Harbath speaks with Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack, about the transformative role of the platform in the media landscape. They discuss how Substack is redefining trust in journalism, the impact of AI on content creation, and the importance of direct relationships between creators and their audiences. McKenzie shares insights on the evolution of media from centralized control to a more democratic model, the challenges of navigating political discourse, and the future of journalism in an increasingly complex digital world.Topics covered include: * The Media Disruption Landscape* Phases of Media...
2025-06-2645 min
What WorksEP 497: Please Support My WorkIf you subscribe to newsletters, listen to podcasts, or watch videos on YouTube, I've no doubt that you’ve been asked to support the person or people who created them. You can always support with a like or a share, of course. But generally, the support they’re looking for is financial.And for good reason, life is expensive. Jobs with good pay and decent benefit packages can be hard to find—especially in the culture industry.But I gotta tell you, I’ve always been a little irked by the w...
2025-05-2927 min
TED TechHow Substack is breaking down traditional media gatekeepers | Hamish McKenzie“The whole Substack ecosystem is about more power because it’s based on those relationships between the publisher and their subscribers, or the video maker and their viewers,” says journalist and Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie. Following his talk at TED2025, McKenzie is in conversation with Sherrell Dorsey to discuss how the media landscape has changed, and how new platforms like Substack allows independent creators to challenge traditional broadcast media – and build trust with their following.To listen to McKenzie's TED2025 talk, click here: Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Castbox.Learn more about our flagship conference happenin...
2025-05-2322 min
TED Talks DailyThis is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn't a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2025-05-2112 min
TED Talks Daily (HD video)This is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn't a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2025-05-2110 minTED Talks Daily (SD video)This is what the future of media looks like | Hamish McKenzieWhat if the polarizing mess of social media, clickbait headlines and addictive algorithms isn't a breakdown of media but a transition to something better? Substack cofounder Hamish McKenzie explores how independent creators are growing a new media "garden," where trust beats engagement metrics and audiences matter more than ads. Learn why clicking “subscribe” doesn’t just signal support; it gives you power.
2025-05-2110 min
FiveStack with Dean Blundell & Zev ShalevCan Substack Save News?Subscribe to Hamish McKenzie and Dean Blundell by clicking on their names or sign up to Narativ.org and receive 25% off our annual subscription below.Traditional media is dying. Journalists are being laid off en masse. Trust in news is at historic lows, suppression has led to self-censorship. Are we witnessing the end of teh free press, or a rebirth. On tonight’s FiveStack, Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie laid out a vision that could save journalism itself—and it's already working."This Has Absolutely Saved My Life"Dean opened our exclusive interview with word...
2025-05-1443 min
How I Built This with Guy RazSubstack: Chris Best and Hamish McKenzieSubstack was founded to create an escape vehicle for writers: Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie imagined a world where writers didn’t have to rely on legacy publications or corporate advertisers, but could instead create a more direct and meaningful relationship with their audience. Despite early skepticism, Chris and Hamish were confident that many people would pay a few dollars a month to subscribe to their favorite newsletters, on subjects ranging from politics to sports to tech. Today, Substack has over 35 million active users, and while many of its offerings are free, a number of its content-creators make upwards of...
2025-05-121h 18
mbanerjeepalmer+listennotes 's Listen LaterThe Substack Playbook: Inside The $650M Platform Rewriting Media, Trust, and Creator Economics | Chris Best & Hamish McKenzie (Co-Founders) Podcast: The Generalist (LS 27 · TOP 10% what is this?)Episode: The Substack Playbook: Inside The $650M Platform Rewriting Media, Trust, and Creator Economics | Chris Best & Hamish McKenzie (Co-Founders)Pub date: 2025-05-06Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationIn a world where attention is fragmented and algorithms rule the content landscape, Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie are taking a radically different approach with Substack. Rather than chasing clicks, Substack focuses on a simple yet powerful idea: creators should own their work and make money directly from the...
2025-05-091h 25
The Obsessive Diary8Q LIVE with… Hamish McKenzieThank you Simon Haisell, Marty Neumeier, Dr. Amber Hull, Laura Washburn Hutton, Georgina Hamilton, and many others for tuning into my live video with Hamish McKenzie! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit eleanoranstruther.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-0251 min
The Good FightHamish McKenzie on How Substack is Transforming Public DiscourseHamish McKenzie is co-founder of Substack, a platform for online publications including Persuasion and writing like Yascha’s weekly column. He is a writer and former journalist based in San Francisco.
In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Hamish McKenzie discuss how Substack was formed, why its business model rewards different behaviors to traditional social media, and its steadfast commitment to free speech in the face of criticism.
Please do listen and spread the word about The Good Fight.
If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone.
...
2025-03-221h 03
The Good FightHamish McKenzie on How Substack is Transforming Public DiscourseHamish McKenzie is co-founder of Substack, a platform for online publications including Persuasion and writing like Yascha’s weekly column. He is a writer and former journalist based in San Francisco.In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Hamish McKenzie discuss how Substack was formed, why its business model rewards different behaviors to traditional social media, and its steadfast commitment to free speech in the face of criticism.Please do listen and spread the word about The Good Fight.If you have not yet signed up for our...
2025-03-221h 04
Mixed Signals from Semafor MediaInside the Independent Creator World, with Substack’s Hamish McKenzie – and Nayeema RazaThis week, we get an inside look at the independent creator model of media with a two-part conversation: First, Ben and Max interview Substack co-founder and chief writing officer, Hamish McKenzie, about the platform’s appeal for the resistance on the left, their move into video, and why they turned down Elon Musk’s offer to buy them a few years ago. Then, former Mixed Signals co-host and newly independent creator, Nayeema Raza, joins to talk about her foray into the new media landscape, what she’s learned about the space, and why her show, Smart Girl Dumb Questions, isn’t...
2025-03-0738 min
Infinite ScrollInfinite Scroll Podcast: Substack founder Hamish McKenzieWe’re back with another edition of the Infinite Scroll podcast. My guest this time around is Substack’s co-founder Hamish McKenzie. Even if you’re not a ‘podcast person’ most of the time, I think this conversation was fascinating. We get into the guts of what Substack is: Is it a neutral piece of technology that just sends out emails? Is it a new kind of social network? Does that distinction imply different strategies for content moderation? With the decline of mainstream publishing, what is the total addressable market for Substack? And is it a mistake to think of Substac...
2024-12-2854 min
The New Liberal PodcastThe Future of Substack ft. Hamish McKenzieSubstack is an increasingly important part of our cultural and media ecosystem. But is it actually any better than other forms of traditional media or social media? Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie joins the podcast to talk about content moderation, the economics of media, and much more as we dive into what exactly Substack is and where it's going. To get bonus episodes, support us at patreon.com/newliberalpodcast or https://cnliberalism.org/become-a-member Got questions? Send us a note at mailbag@cnliberalism.org. Follow us at: https://twitter.com/CNLiberalism https://cnliberalism.org/ Join a loc...
2024-12-1655 min
How Other Dads Dad with Hamish BlakeHow Bret McKenzie Dads - A creative play masterclass from a master of creativityHODD overseas adventure time! We headed to Wellington to chat with Kiwi comedy and music legend, and one half of Flight of the Conchords, Bret McKenzie and he gave us a masterclass on playing with our kids. Bret makes up silly stuff for a day job (he even won an Oscar for it!) and as a dad he’s focused his gift for absurdity and daftness into creating pro level games for his kids, and he gives us some of his best hits. They’re awesome! Seriously, you’re gonna want to write them down. Bret also has som...
2024-10-171h 11
Substack Live PodcastGet to Know Substack to Grow: An Interview with Hamish Mckenzie, Co-founderI had the opportunity to sit down with Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack. I’m so happy to bring you our conversation. It was really illuminating and feels like the best thing I can give you as a Substack writer or creator.Many people don’t understand or know who the people behind Substack are. Hamish and all the people who work at Substack are some of the best, most idealistic people I’ve ever met. That goes across the board, everyone who works at Substack.I’m very happy to bring Hamish to you today.
2024-09-2428 min
The Kākā by Bernard HickeyHow Substack works to take (some) craziness out of America's electionsI spoke with Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie yesterday, just before the Trump-Harris debate, about how Substack is doing its thing during the US elections. He talks in particular about how Substack’s focus on paid subscriptions rather than ads has made political debate on the platform calmer, simpler, deeper and more satisfying than in other social media, where the ad-driven need to maximise outrage, tribalism and performative pile-ons has contributed to a polarisation and toxicity in politics more generally. Hamish details Substack’s growth since the last US Presidential elections and the key role of trus...
2024-09-1233 min
The Active VoiceMichael Easter wants you to take the stairsMichael Easter is a bestselling author, journalist, and professor whose work explores how we can leverage modern science and evolutionary wisdom to perform better and live healthier. Through his Substack, Two Percent with Michael Easter, he offers readers insights to help them ignore the noise and focus on research-backed tips for a happier, healthier life. Michael’s reach is vast: his ideas have been adopted by professional athletes, astronauts, musicians, and Fortune 500 companies, and his work has been featured by outlets including Good Morning America, the New York Times, NPR, Fox News, MSNBC, and The Joe Rogan Exp...
2024-08-1447 min
The Active VoiceNate Silver on the edgeChris here, Co-founder and CEO of Substack. I’m sharing a conversation with Nate Silver that I just published on my Substack.is a man of many talents. He’s been a baseball analyst, a blogger, a legendary election forecaster, and founder of 538. He’s worked in media at the Times, ABC, and ESPN. He’s a professional poker player, and a bestselling author. I was introduced to his work through his book The Signal and the Noise, and he has a new book coming out in August called On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything. He has a...
2024-07-1959 min
Diaspora.nzS2 | E1 — Hamish McKenzie (Co-founder and Chief Writing Officer at Substack), on the Future of Media, Navigating the Culture Wars, and Empowering Creators.Hamish McKenzie is the co-founder and Chief Writing Officer at Substack.Substack is building a “new economic engine for culture” — enabling writers, podcasters, and now video creators to publish and monetise their content directly through subscriptions. Today, newsletter creators on Substack have over 35 million active subscriptions, including 3 million+ to paid content. The Company has gone from strength to strength, reaching near “verb” status synonymous with online newsletters— and most recently raised capital at a $650M valuation.Before Substack, Hamish was Lead Writer at Tesla — going on to author “Insane Mode: How Elon Musk's Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolu...
2024-07-0438 minDayOne.FMS2 | E1 — Hamish McKenzie (Co-founder and Chief Writing Officer at Substack), on the Future of Media, Navigating the Culture Wars, and Empowering Creators.Hamish McKenzie is the co-founder and Chief Writing Officer at Substack.Substack is building a “new economic engine for culture” — enabling writers, podcasters, and now video creators to publish and monetise their content directly through subscriptions. Today, newsletter creators on Substack have over 35 million active subscriptions, including 3 million+ to paid content. The Company has gone from strength to strength, reaching near “verb” status synonymous with online newsletters— and most recently raised capital at a $650M valuation.Before Substack, Hamish was Lead Writer at Tesla — going on to author “Insane Mode: How Elon Musk's Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolu...
2024-07-0438 min
Australian True CrimeShortcut: The Work of WA Police's Sex Crimes DivisionThis is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed. Dr. Hamish Mckenzie is the Detective Superintendent of the Western Australia Sex Crimes Division. That means he's the boss. As you're about to hear, Sex Crimes is a very challenging area of policing, and Western Australia is the largest single policing jurisdiction in the world. Policing, like everything else, is done differently in WA. But according to Hamish McKenzie, child sexual assault is the o...
2024-02-1814 minAustralian True CrimeThe Work of WA Police's Sex Crimes DivisionDr. Hamish Mckenzie is the Detective Superintendent of the Western Australia Sex Crimes Division. That means he's the boss. As you're about to hear, Sex Crimes is a very challenging area of policing, and Western Australia is the largest single policing jurisdiction in the world. Policing, like everything else, is done differently in WA. But according to Hamish McKenzie, child sexual assault is the one area of law enforcement where egos really do take a backseat to results. He joins us on Australian True Crime, which serving off...
2024-02-1844 min
Bray and Ethan#107 - Hamish McKenzie - Perth Scorchers Leg SpinnerThe 'Chief' Hamish McKenzie joins us at the desk on the eve of the BBL finals to discuss his rise from Subi-Floreat to debuting for both WA and the Scorchers this summer ! Follow Hamish: https://www.instagram.com/ham.mckenzie1/Follow us on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/brayandethanThanks to our partners use code BRAYÐAN20SkinBRO: https://www.skinbro.com/Hat Locker: https://www.hatlocker.com/CHEATR Clothing: https://cheatr.com.au/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2024-01-1936 min
PlayerZone PodcastPlayerZone Podcast Episode 12 - Hamish MckenzieThis weeks episode sees Hamish Mckenzie join us!! Superb talented left arm leg spinner who plays first grade cricket for Subiaco Floreat and is apart of the Perth Scorchers and WA cricket team. We talk the competitive nature of backyard cricket, the mental struggles of cricket and the experience of being apart of an incredibly strong Western Australian cricket setup. Great chat that is definitely worth a listen!
If you enjoyed a 5 star rating would be much appreciated!!!
2023-08-0555 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: E. Jean Carroll, Mary Trump and Jen Taub are bringing serialization into the mainstreamToday’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 surp...
2023-07-2741 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Taylor Lorenz still believes in the internetTaylor 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 o...
2023-07-131h 08
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Richard Hanania is seeking ‘enlightened centrism’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 challe...
2023-06-2344 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Nadia Bolz-Weber is preaching to break your heartAt 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 resi...
2023-06-0832 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Suleika Jaouad and Yung Pueblo are creating to liveBoth 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 writin...
2023-05-2541 min
Dead CatSubstack's Index Fund of Culture (with Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie)I caught up with Substack co-founders Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie at Substack’s office in San Francisco last week. They’re fresh off raising a community fundraising round and launching their social network Notes. I wrote in March about my decision to invest $5,000 in Substack’s fundraising round, even though the company revealed that it had negative revenue in 2021:I’m already compromised when it comes to Substack. They’ve made my job possible. And while I already have plenty of financial exposure to Substack’s performance just by dint of running my business on Substack’...
2023-05-1751 min
Newcomer PodSubstack's Index Fund of Culture (with Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie)I caught up with Substack co-founders Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie at Substack’s office in San Francisco last week. They’re fresh off raising a community fundraising round and launching their social network Notes. I wrote in March about my decision to invest $5,000 in Substack’s fundraising round, even though the company revealed that it had negative revenue in 2021:I’m already compromised when it comes to Substack. They’ve made my job possible. And while I already have plenty of financial exposure to Substack’s performance just by dint of running my business on Substack’...
2023-05-1751 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Ted Gioia and Mike Solana are fighting from the fringesAt 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...
2023-05-1149 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Robert Reich is pressing the reveal key for societyI 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...
2023-04-2758 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Ethan Strauss is jumping off a high diving boardWhen 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 Golde...
2023-04-131h 23
On with Kara SwisherInside the Elon-Substack Drama with Chris Best & Hamish McKenzieLast week, Elon kicked off a feud with both Substack and his very own former Twitter Files ingénue (and Substack star), Matt Taibbi. Kara and Nayeema break down the battle of the bros before turning to an interview with those at the center of the storm: Substack co-founders Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie.The two address questions about Substack Notes (which Elon dubbed, and they deny, is a “Twitter clone”), the challenging business model of newsletters and their stance on free expression. Somehow, they manage to avoid uttering the name “Elon.” Kara doesn’t shy away though. ...
2023-04-1354 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Alison Roman is bored of InstagramAlison 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...
2023-03-301h 05
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Patti Smith loves being aliveI 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 v...
2023-03-161h 06
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Emily Oster is okay with taking heat from the mobWhen 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...
2023-03-0250 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Etgar Keret is thinking weird thoughtsEtgar 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 i...
2023-02-1754 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Heather Havrilesky finds life romantic, even when it’s terribleHeather 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...
2023-02-0958 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Paul Kingsnorth is happiest on the marginsIn 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 collap...
2023-01-271h 00
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Jessica DeFino is revealing the real face of the beauty industry (and it’s not pretty)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 w...
2023-01-1955 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Ted Gioia takes the long viewTed 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...
2023-01-1251 min
The Glenn ShowHamish McKenzie – Speaking Out in an Age of Partisan Rancor0:00 Why Glenn does The Glenn Show13:02 Glenn: “If I was going to vote for Trump, I wouldn’t tell you”19:21 “The cat is out of the bag” on election denial25:45 Modeling epistemic modesty31:12 Why is race such an important issue for Glenn?39:13 The Old Glenn and the New Glenn45:46 Confronting the past50:44 Putting “the funk” on the story of your lifeRecorded October 27, 2022Links and ReadingsHamish’s podcast, The Active VoiceEmily Oster’s SubstackRobert Wright’s...
2022-12-2357 min
Grow A Small Business PodcastQFF Travelled the globe specializing as a consultant. Hamish McKenzie: co-founder of Mckenzie Pitch Partners, a sought-after consultant now helping small-medium business owners develop winning pitches. (Hamish McKenzie)In this week's QFF episode, Michael interviews Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of McKenzie Pitch Partners. He's based in Toronto, Canada, however, Hamish's a proud Aussie from Tasmania. He studied accounting at a university, then went into corporate banking. Gathering experience and wisdom, paving the way to what he is now, a sought-after pitch consultant. As Hamish defines it, pitching is the effort to win a piece of business. It is the final nail in the coffin to entice investors. This is why it's critical to understand and to be efficient with what you're pitching; Hamish McKenzie specializes in t...
2022-12-2222 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Rayne Fisher-Quann wants your attentionI 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...
2022-12-1655 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Joshi Herrmann knows the difference between bullshit and media goldYou’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...
2022-12-0851 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Doomberg is willing to make some big callsDoomberg, 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...
2022-12-0243 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Chris Hedges stands with whatever side is being crushedChris 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, an...
2022-11-2443 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Cheryl Strayed might be whispering your name into a candleDid 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 bi...
2022-11-1757 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Glenn Loury doesn’t want to be told what to thinkAmong 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 U...
2022-11-1053 min
Smart Venture Podcast#121 Substack(valued $600M+)'s Co-founder, Hamish McKenzieHamish McKenzie is a Co-founder of Substack, a platform that makes it simple to start a paid newsletter. Substack is currently valued at $650 million, and has raised over $80 million dollars from a16z, YC among other top funds. Prior to founding Substack, Hamish is a journalist and former lead writer for Tesla, and a one-time reporter for tech blog PandoDaily. He is also the author of Insane Mode: How Elon Musk's Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil. You can learn more about: How to build a successful media tech company How to s...
2022-11-0948 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Samantha Irby will make you rethink your toiletI 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 Angel...
2022-11-041h 02
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: Jessica Reed Kraus goes where gossip reporters fear to treadNo 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...
2022-10-2735 min
The Active VoiceThe Active Voice: George Saunders thinks you should watch your mindA 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 si...
2022-10-201h 06
The Active VoiceIntroducing The Active Voice, a new podcast about writing and the internetWelcome to The Active Voice, a new podcast with Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie about how great writers reckon with the only thing in the last 17,000 years to challenge the technological supremacy of writing: the internet. Through these conversations, we’ll explore how the world’s most important stories are told in a time when social media has come to dominate our minds and attention. Today, we start with George Saunders, one of America’s greatest living writers (and author of the wonderful Substack Story Club).This podcast is called The Active Voice because we enjoy the dou...
2022-10-2001 min
The Pomp Podcast#1097 Hamish McKenzie On How This Tech Startup Is Disrupting Mainstream MediaHamish McKenzie is the Co-Founder Of Substack. In this conversation, we discuss the downfall of legacy media, the rise of independent media, where money is being made in this new industry, supporting free speech, the creator "middle class", and the Substack subscription model.
=======================
Arculus is the next generation crypto & NFT cold storage wallet that combines one of the world’s strongest security protocols with the easiest to use form factor and app. Arculus requires 3-Factor Authentication to ensure only you have access to your digital assets – something you know – a PIN, something you have – the Arculus...
2022-09-281h 27
London Writers' Salon#027: Hamish McKenzie — The Future of Newsletters, Writing About Elon Musk & How to Make It on SubstackIn this episode we go behind the scenes with writer and Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie (@hamishmckenzie) to explore his journey from journalism to working at Tesla, writing a book about Elon Musk, and his motivation for creating Substack, a newsletter platform that allows independent writers to publish directly to their audience and if they choose to, monetize their writing. We discuss what commonalities he sees with the more successful writers on the platform, why he's excited about new writers that will emerge in the coming years and his take on the future of publishing and newsletters.*
2022-09-2740 min
The Detour PodcastWe recap the mixed TTT and Hamish McKenzie liveA day of drama for the Dutch at #Wollongong2022 as Annemiek van Vleuten crashed not long after the start and a mechanical for Mollema. We recap all the results from the day and Australian Hamish McKenzie joins us live after his silver medal in the junior TT.
2022-09-2130 min
The Fifth Column369 w/ Lara Bazelon and Hamish McKenzie (Live in collapsing San Francisco!)A few weeks ago, with Matt Welch bleeding out of his ears and supposedly forbidden from flying, Kmele and Moynihan hopped a plane to a post-apocalyptic hellscape called “San Francisco” to kibizt with their new benevolent overlords at Substack. Unlike the boring prigs at Patreon (whose “Trust and Safety” commissars never even returned our calls), Substack rather generously hosted the Fifth crew for drinks, drinks, some more drinks, and a live show at company HQ. In Matt’s stead, the lads called up FOTF (Friend of the Fifth - ed.) Lara “Che” Bazelon, a local law professor and communist...
2022-08-201h 31
30,000 Days Podcast by Sarb Johal30,000 Days with Hamish McKenzieHi friends, In this conversation, I talk with Hamish about the experiences have shaped his journey through life so far, and the societal problems he is trying to solve through developing Substack. Hamish shares how connection with a special tribe when he moved to study at Dunedin was an important part of his journey, as well as his sink-or-swim move to Hong Kong, and then joining Tesla as Lead Writer. Hamish is the author of Insane Mode: How Elon Musk’s Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil. He is a...
2022-06-1300 min
MumbrellacastHamish McKenzie explains why Substack won't be enabling advertisingNew Zealand-hailing Hamish McKenzie co-founded Substack with the goal of helping journalists get paid for writing newsletters. McKenzie worked as a journalist in New Zealand, Hong Kong and the US, and is now based in LA. McKenzie - who has also worked for Tesla, and is the author of ‘Insane Mode’ about the arrival of the battery revolution - joins Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes to chat about his departure from journalism and eventually creating Substack.Substack is only 4 years old, but is already being talked about in the same way that journalists were talking about...
2021-07-2733 minMumbrellacastHamish McKenzie explains why Substack won't be enabling advertisingNew Zealand-hailing Hamish McKenzie co-founded Substack with the goal of helping journalists get paid for writing newsletters. McKenzie worked as a journalist in New Zealand, Hong Kong and the US, and is now based in LA. McKenzie - who has also worked for Tesla, and is the author of ‘Insane Mode’ about the arrival of the battery revolution - joins Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes to chat about his departure from journalism and eventually creating Substack.Substack is only 4 years old, but is already being talked about in the same way that journalists were talking about...
2021-07-2733 min
Channels with Peter KafkaSubstack’s next target: Local newsSubstack is known for recruiting high profile writers to leave the big name publications and start their own newsletter businesses. Now it wants to recruit writers you haven’t heard of, and get them to cover local news. Cofounders Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie talk to Recode’s Peter Kafka about their plans — as well as criticism and controversy their startup has kicked up in the last year.Featuring: Chris Best (@cjgbest) Co-Founder of SubstackHamish McKenzie (@hamishmckenzie) Co-Founder of SubstackHost: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at RecodeMore...
2021-04-1541 min
The FoldSubstack's Hamish McKenzie on a new era of publishingIn this episode of The Spinoff’s media podcast The Fold, Duncan Greive is joined by Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack.For years, the media landscape has been filled with publications making money by filling up ad space. While an effective mode of funding for the already underfunded sector, Hamish McKenzie saw an alternative. Alongside co-founders Chris Best and Jairaj Sethi, McKenzie developed Substack, an online platform for writers to send newsletters directly to paying subscribers.In the three years since its inception, the platform has become host to so...
2021-02-1451 min
Become a Writer TodayHow Newsletters Make Money for Writers with Hamish McKenzie of SubstackThe internet is a noisy place for writers. If you want to build a relationship with readers and earn more from your creative work, consider starting a newsletter. Substack is an example of a popular service that you can try.I recently interviewed co-founder and COO Hamish McKenzie. In this interview, he explains: Why newsletters are a great way of earning more money as w writer Why your first newsletter starts with an ideal reader How to build a relationship with readers and fans What it takes to grow a newsletter that people will pay for
2020-01-2925 min
LifeDoneDifferent.lyHamish McKenzie - How to recycle yourself out of the systemIt would be fair to say Hamish is not a conventional man. Check out The Bizarre Houseboats of Britain to see what I mean. He thinks and acts differently and the effect is certainly different. In this conversation he tells us: - Why he got rid of the TV at 18 years old- Why he rescued a shapely old Portsmouth Ferry from the riverbed- How his floating home became a reflection of his warped self - What a squircle is- The freedom that comes from a frugal lifestyle- The s...
2019-04-291h 19
The Tim Stodz PodcastWhy You Need to Create a Substack Account w/ Hamish McKenzie - EP 67Hamish McKenzie is the cofounder of substack, a subscription based email newsletter service that is revolutionizing the way we publish content. Go to https://www.substack.com/ to create an account and go to http://hamishmckenzie.com/ to learn about Hamish's work with journalism, read his book and learn about his work with Tesla.
2019-02-2156 min
Story in a BottleHamish McKenzieFrom a young age in New Zealand, Hamish McKenzie always had a passion for writing and he knew he was pretty good at it! He pursued an English degree and eventually earned a graduate degree in journalism. Hamish went on to be a reporter and wrote for PandoDaily, the Guardian and the Toronto Star. His freelance writing eventually lead him to he role as head writer for the innovative car company, Tesla -- making Elon Musk his boss. Hamish used his experience in the the day to day world of Tesla to write the book “Insane Mode: How Elon Musk...
2018-12-211h 05
This Is the AuthorS3 E142: Richard Sheridan, Ralph De La Rosa, and Hamish McKenzieIn this episode, meet CEO of Menlo Innovations, Richard Sheridan—although you may want to refer to him as Chief Joy Officer—therapist and meditation teacher, Ralph De La Rosa, and journalist Hamish McKenzie. From stories of joyful leadership to why we need a more joyful meditation practice, you’ll be inspired by the fascinating lessons and research these authors have to share.
Chief Joy Officer by Richard Sheridan: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/557539/chief-joy-officer/
The Monkey Is the Messenger by Ralph De La Rosa: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/576131/the-monkey-is-the-messenger/
Insane Mode by Hamish McKenzie: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/5...
2018-11-1314 minWhen pitching, it’s the stuff you AREN’T doing that makes all the differenceVery excited to welcome Hamish McKenzie to the show! Hamish is the Co-founder of McKenzie Pitch Partners, and is the author of a new book called Pitch: What You’re NOT Doing Makes All the Difference.
The Key Takeaways/topics from today’s conversation:
The most common mistakes most pitch teams make. What are the things we are NOT doing?
Why are we still letting them commoditize us?
We discuss the game-changing Pitch SSP Process [Strategy, Story, Presentation].
Why do pitch teams turn in passive question answerers?
The...
2015-08-1227 min