The big business of small streamers

Summary

Summary of "The Big Business of Small Streamers" - Today, Explained

Podcast Information:

• Title: Today, Explained
• Host/Author: Vox
• Episode: The Big Business of Small Streamers
• Release Date: June 13, 2025

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Introduction

In the June 13, 2025 episode of Today, Explained, hosts Sean Rameswaram and Noel King delve into the thriving world of niche streaming services, spotlighting Dropout—a burgeoning platform carving its own space in the competitive streaming landscape. Through an insightful conversation with Jesse David Fox, a Vulture comedy editor, the episode explores Dropout's unique offerings, business model, audience demographics, and the broader implications for the streaming industry.

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Rise of Dropout: A New Player in Streaming

Jesse David Fox introduces Dropout as an independent comedy streaming service that merges gaming and improv comedy, creating a distinctive niche in the market. He recounts attending a live Dropout show, Dimension 20, at Madison Square Garden, which captivated 20,000 fans despite its unconventional format.

Jesse David Fox (00:19): “If you've ever woken up on another planet or in another dimension, that is truly what it felt like to be at Madison Square Garden watching Dimension 20 and having no idea what is going on.”

Dropout has successfully garnered a loyal following, achieving approximately one million subscribers. Unlike giants like Netflix, Dropout offers a tightly-knit universe of interconnected shows, fostering deep engagement among its audience.

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Content and Community Engagement

Dropout's programming revolves around innovative comedy that intersects with gaming. Notable shows include:

• Game Changer: Features games with ever-changing premises, emphasizing uncertainty and adaptability. Fox highlights the show's unique structure where contestants "have no idea what game it is they're about to play."

  Jesse David Fox (02:37): “Players, on any episode, anything could happen. And because the contestants don't know the rules of the game, that is actually what the show's about...”

• Dimension 20: A comedic take on Dungeons & Dragons, blending traditional role-playing with improvisational humor.

• Very Important People: Transforms comedians on the spot, challenging them to create characters spontaneously during improvised interviews.

Fox emphasizes that Dropout's content fosters a strong parasocial relationship with viewers, who feel invested in the overarching narrative and characters across different shows.

Jesse David Fox (05:32): “It's like immersing yourself into this universe. Most subscribers are picking a family of shows...”

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Business Model and Subscriber Dynamics

Dropout operates on a subscription model, with recent rate increases from $5.99 to $6.99 per month. Interestingly, the community response to this hike has been positive, with subscribers appreciating the company's commitment to compensating talent more fairly.

Jesse David Fox (05:54): “They allowed previous subscribers to be grandfathered in at their original rate... They felt bad that they were being grandfathered in at a lower rate.”

Fox discusses Dropout's focus on profit-sharing, ensuring that every employee benefits directly from the company's success, reflecting CEO Sam Reich's ethos of prioritizing team well-being over personal financial gain.

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Audience Demographics and Community Standards

Dropout primarily attracts a young, Gen Z audience with progressive, left-leaning values. The platform is notably diverse, both in its content and its live audience demographics, which surpass Fox’s expectations based on his two decades of attending improv shows.

However, Dropout faces challenges in meeting the high moral and cultural standards set by its dedicated fanbase. Issues such as platforming specific political stances, like Zionism, have led to community debates and a recent statement affirming support for a free Palestine, aimed at maintaining trust and loyalty within its user base.

Jesse David Fox (07:13): “They raised money for the PCRF after many, many people asked and since then they have said absolutely nothing and continue to platform Zionists.”

Fox warns that such conflicts, stemming from the intense parasocial relationships fostered by Dropout, could impede the company's growth beyond its initial passionate supporters.

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Sam Reich: Leadership Outside the Hollywood System

The episode delves into the background of Sam Reich, Dropout's CEO, highlighting his departure from traditional educational and professional paths. Despite being the son of Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Sam faced significant personal challenges, including severe depression and dropping out of high school.

Jesse David Fox (09:12): “By 14, he is severely depressed. He just could not keep up with the demands of the private school he was attending. He tried a few other things, dropped out of high school.”

Sam Reich’s leadership style is defined by a lack of conventional ambition; instead of maximizing personal profit, he emphasizes equitable profit distribution and fostering a creative, sustainable business model.

Jesse David Fox (12:31): “He does not feel like he needs much more money... He likes running the company and steering the company, but he also mostly likes hosting these shows or developing new shows.”

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The Streaming Industry: Giants vs. Niche Players

Comparing Dropout to streaming behemoths like Netflix and Disney, the hosts explore how niche services are thriving despite industry-wide disruptions. While major platforms grapple with profitability and subscriber saturation, smaller services like Dropout can adapt more swiftly to specific audience needs.

Alex Weprin (17:28): “Streaming is going through a moment of intense disruption...”

The conversation underscores that niche streaming services offer deeper engagement within specific genres, providing value that large platforms, with their broad and generic content libraries, often cannot match.

Alex Weprin (19:15): “These services go a mile wide, and some of them go a little bit deeper...”

However, niche platforms face unique challenges, including brand awareness and competitive pricing, which are crucial for sustaining growth and attracting subscribers.

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Challenges for Niche Streaming Services

While platforms like Dropout enjoy steady growth, other niche services such as Shudder (horror) and Hallmark Plus encounter obstacles in expanding their subscriber base beyond dedicated fans. Key challenges include:

1. Visibility: Ensuring potential subscribers are aware of the service.
2. Value Proposition: Balancing pricing to reflect specialized content without deterring users accustomed to bundled services like Amazon Prime.
3. Scalability: Managing growth while maintaining the intimate, community-focused feel that defines niche platforms.

Alex Weprin (23:24): “The biggest challenges that a lot of these niche streaming services are facing is... letting people know they exist and also having a value proposal proposition that people feel like they're getting their money's worth.”

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Conclusion

The episode concludes by highlighting Sam Reich's innovative approach to building Dropout outside the traditional Hollywood framework. His digital-native strategy, combining insights from online content creation with sustainable business practices, positions Dropout as a model for future niche streaming services aiming to thrive amidst industry consolidation and changing consumer behaviors.

Alex Weprin (24:37): “What Sam did is totally digitally native... He realized that you can build something taking the learnings from the digital video world and taking some of the learnings from the traditional Hollywood world, and you can build a viable business...”

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Notable Quotes

• Jesse David Fox (00:19): “If you've ever woken up on another planet or in another dimension, that is truly what it felt like to be at Madison Square Garden watching Dimension 20 and having no idea what is going on.”

• Jesse David Fox (05:54): “They allowed previous subscribers to be grandfathered in at their original rate... They felt bad that they were being grandfathered in at a lower rate.”

• Jesse David Fox (12:31): “He does not feel like he needs much more money... He likes running the company and steering the company, but he also mostly likes hosting these shows or developing new shows.”

• Alex Weprin (19:15): “These services go a mile wide, and some of them go a little bit deeper...”

• Alex Weprin (24:37): “What Sam did is totally digitally native...”

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This episode of Today, Explained offers a comprehensive look into how smaller, specialized streaming platforms like Dropout are not only surviving but also thriving by fostering tight-knit communities and delivering targeted, high-quality content. It underscores a shift in the streaming paradigm, where depth and niche appeal can rival the breadth and generality of industry giants.

Transcript

[Sean Ramaswaram]

What's your favorite streaming service and would you voluntarily pay more for it?

[Jesse David Fox]

Of course not.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Who'd want to give more money to Warner Brothers or the House of Mouse? But Dropout's a different story. And Dropout is having a moment. Earlier this year, one of their shows, Dimension 20, hit the road and sold out Madison Square Garden 20,000 fans.

[Jesse David Fox]

If you've ever woken up on another planet or in another dimension, that is truly what it felt like to be at Madison Square garden watching Dimension 20 and having no idea what is going on. Six intrepid heroes, one game master with references you have never heard of.

[Alex Weprin]

I mean, some people have heard of.

[Jesse David Fox]

Them and it's an extremely young audience, a queer audience, lots of people dressed up and just a bunch of really earnest people. Very genuinely excited to cheer these people no matter what they did, just playing a game on the floor. Madison Square Garden gauntlet at the Garden.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

The big business of small streamers on.

[Jesse David Fox]

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[Sean Ramaswaram]

Put us in a box.

[Jesse David Fox]

Go ahead.

[Alex Weprin]

That just gives us something to break.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

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[Alex Weprin]

Them when you can shatter them? What we choose to challenge, we challenge completely.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

We are professional grade.

[Jesse David Fox]

Visit gmc.com to learn more. Turn on, tune in and today explain.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Jesse. David Fox covers comedy for Vulture and he recently wrote a big old profile of the smaller streaming service Dropout.

[Jesse David Fox]

Dropout is an independent comedy streaming service where all the content sort of exists on the intersection between games and gaming and improv comedy. Are you ready?

[Alex Weprin]

Go.

[Jesse David Fox]

He was wearing gloves and in a folding chair at the inauguration. Edward Scissorhands.

[Alex Weprin]

No, no, you haven't mused him.

[Jesse David Fox]

Bernie Sanders.

[Robert Reich]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

The most popular show is Game Changer, a show in which the game premise changes every episode. Now you all understand how the game works? Yeah, 100%. Did you get an email?

[Alex Weprin]

What?

[Jesse David Fox]

That's right. Our players have no idea what game it is they're about to play. The only way to learn is by playing. The only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning. So, without further ado, let's begin. Players, on any episode, anything could happen. And because the contestants don't know the rules of the game, that is actually what the show's about, which is the relationship between the host, Sam Reich, who's also CEO of the company. I've been here the whole time playing with the uncertainty the contestants have about what exactly is happening at any moment. Your first question is yes or no.

[Alex Weprin]

There's not like a.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's just you don't play a sound effect or anything. The other sort of popular shows is dimension 20, which is the comedy Dungeons and Dragons show. Our cast of players will assume the role of heroic adventurers embarking on a dangerous quest. Make some noise. Which is kind of like Whose Line Is It Anyway? Hurriedly dropping your horror movie child off at daycare. Okay, Lucious, you have your lunch? Yeah. Break eye contact with me. I can't think when you do that. I think a lot of people, that's maybe where they most see the clips on social media is like, make some noise clips. I gotta go. I will be back. No, no, that's a bad start. That's a bad start. I will be back because the court ordered that I come back. And then there's a show called Very Important People. Today, we're giving this comedian a total transformation. They have no idea who or what they're about to become. That's tight. Once they see themselves in the mirror, they'll have to make up a character on the spot and then sit down with me for an improvised interview. This is Very Important People.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

How popular are we talking when we talk popular?

[Jesse David Fox]

So they have about a million subscribers, or they are in swinging distance of a million subscribers. The thing about it, the thing about the popularity again, they have a million subscribers. It's not like Netflix. If Netflix had a million subscribers, those a million people would be divided up. Oh, this person goes to Netflix because they like Stranger Things. This person likes Is It Cake? Whatever. In many ways, all of dropout shows are the same one show. It is a cast of characters, which at this point is like 50, 60 people that you'll see on all the different shows. And to subscribe, almost everyone I've ever talked to who. Who subscribes. You find yourself less just picking a show and watching it to the end as much as like immersing yourself into this universe. Most subscribers, a lot of subscribers are picking and choosing, but ultimately subscribing to the whole family of shows.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

You're making it sound kind of like the Marvel Cinematic Universe or something, whereas you're going to go to all of the movies because you love the entire world. But you also said it's got about a million subscribers and we know that there are more people subscribing to the mcu. How much are these million subscribers paying for this world?

[Jesse David Fox]

I believe it is now 699amonth. So when they raise the rate from 599amonth to 699amonth, they they allowed previous subscribers to be grandfathered in at their original rate. And so I went to the Reddit page to see if anyone was complaining about the price hike and not only were they not some people were complaining or sad that they could not be paying the talent more, that they felt bad that they were being grandfathered in at a lower rate.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Amazing. I think it's high time I asked you who is Dropout's audience?

[Jesse David Fox]

From what I understand it is young, definitely Gen Z, leaning politically, very left. They over subscribe in terms of the proportion that is queer identifying diverse. Like the live shows I went to were honestly much more diverse than I was expecting. I say that as a person who's been going to improv shows for the last 20 years and would not say those audiences were particularly diverse. And they are people who historically are very invested in Dropout. They are constantly talking about it on the Dropout Reddit page. There was a dropout discord until fairly recently that was very active. They are constantly debating or criticizing if they feel like the shows are not operating to whatever standard they have of morality. It's well and truly time for Dropout to say something, to stand up and actually make a decision. They raised money for the PCRF after many, many people asked and since then they have said absolutely nothing and continue to platform Zionists. So Dropout released a statement reasserting their stance on a free Palestine. It's a good statement, not perfect by any means, but I think it should assuage any bad feelings anyone has towards them as a company. You know, it is a parasocial relationship, but it's almost like a trauma bond related parasocial relationship where they feel a lot of ownership over it and they believe Dropout should live up to the standards that they have for it, which causes some conflict. And as I presuppose in the piece, I do think could have the potential of hindering Dropout's growth as it continues to expand beyond its initial passionate fan base.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Tell us about the guy behind dropout Sam Reich. Not exactly a Nepo baby, but a sort of famous father.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, I mean, in so much as anyone ever knows any former Secretary of Labor, they know his father, Robert Reich. For context on the evolution of Reich's politics, we go now to former U.S. secretary of labor and Sam Reich's father, liberal icon Robert Reich.

[Alex Weprin]

If I'm being honest with myself, the trouble started with Sam. When he was young, I gave him a toy to put in a charity bin one year and instead he kept the toy for himself and told the.

[Jesse David Fox]

Lady running the drive that her tote.

[Alex Weprin]

Bag had big NPR energy.

[Jesse David Fox]

Robert Reich did not get him this job whatsoever, though. Obviously, growing up the son of Robert Reich and his mother's also a law professor, he had access to a very good education, I should say. But pretty quickly, he did not do well with that education. He, you know, in the story that I tell, by, by 14, he is severely depressed. He just could not keep up with the demands of the private school he was attending. He tried a few other things, dropped out of high school.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

The CEO of Dropout is a Dropout?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Is it named after him?

[Jesse David Fox]

I think it's probably named after a few things. One is Dropout grew out of college humor, a brand that at least probably millennials are familiar with. It was a. It first started as like a website for party photos for college students. Then it became like a YouTube channel for, like, I think I say, like beer chugging related comedy. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do. You can't hack this. You're the wackness. It's Morocco, Versat. Leave your head spinning like a dreidel. Knock your socks off and the locks off your bagel. That's right. See, I'm winning. Your face looks like mayonnaise. That's grinning. Dear Kathy, I believe a good project would be a macrame owl. Owls are lots of fun to make. I love your show. Dear Kathy, I would like to make a macrame owl. Can you show me, please? Dear Kathy, every week I ask you to make an owl and you still won't make an owl. Now, as I have stated many times on this show, I am deathly afraid of owls. Check it out, check it out. Lesbians, bro. Yes. Dude, they are so hot. They're going all the way, yo.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

This is more than just a hookup, bro. That conversation is crazy intimate.

[Jesse David Fox]

So after a while, college humor not working. The company that owned them at the time, IAC was like, our last hope is we're going to just do it. A streaming service. And then so you're like, okay, well, what comes after college? Dropout is kind of like a cool name for a post college thing opposed to graduate or something like that. But I think it. It definitely resonated to Sam, who is a high school dropout. I also think, conceptually, he liked the idea that a streaming service allowed them to drop out of the sort of business rat race they were in, where they're either dependent on advertisers or dependent on Hollywood to give them their success or give them whatever that means. So I think dropout kind of is all of those things. But, yes, he clearly believes in the potential of dropping out because it worked. It obviously worked out for him.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Sam Reich is currently making more money than. Than your average American will ever make in their life. Yeah, it sounds like he's a millionaire. His streaming service is making tens of millions of dollars a year in profits at least. Is he content to stay there or does he want to be, you know, improv comedies, Walt Disney?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. So financially, he has almost no ambition whatsoever. So as I report in the story, the first year he made no money. The second year he essentially made no money. And then the third year, he made a million dollars because the company was doing well. He's the owner of the company. And that point he was like, I need to be making less money. The people at the top need to be making less money. Then in the following year, they start doing profit sharing. Every single person who gets paid $1 by dropout shares in whatever profit they have from that year. And talking to Sam, he just truly does not feel like he needs much more money. Sam likes running the company and steering the company, but he also mostly likes hosting these shows or. Or developing new shows. And if a company gets bigger, it has less time to do that. So, like, he does not want to compete with Netflix or hbo. That's, like, not a goal. I think, if anything, he is more interested in. In creating a model that other people can replicate.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Jesse David Fox has his own show. It's called Good One, a podcast about jokes. Recent episodes feature Jason Segel and Seth Meyers. Give it a whirl. When Today Explained returns. We're going to hear about the other little streamers and ask why they appear to be having more fun than the bigs.

[Robert Reich]

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[Sean Ramaswaram]

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[Jesse David Fox]

This episode is brought to you by ebay. We all have that piece, the one that's so you. You've basically become known for it. And if you don't yet fashionistas, you'll find it on ebay. That Miu Miu red leather bomber, the Cousteau Barcelona cowboy top. Or that Patagonia fleece in the 2017 colorway. All these finds are all on ebay, along with millions of more main character pieces backed by authenticity guarantee. Ebay is the place for pre loved and vintage fashion eBay things people love. This is Day Today Explained.

[Alex Weprin]

This is.

[Jesse David Fox]

You're listening to Today Explained. Today Explained.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

If you were trying to think of like the polar opposite of a show on Dropout, it might be something like andor on Disney, a show its creator recently revealed cost about $650 million to make. And yet its creator, Tony Gilroy, was recently told this about streaming by Disney executives.

[Alex Weprin]

Streaming is dead.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

We don't have the money we had before. We asked Hollywood Reporter reporter Alex Wetbrin why Disney executives might think streaming is dead.

[Alex Weprin]

You know, streaming is going through a moment of intense disruption, which is kind of funny, because I think streaming disrupted the TV industry. And now it does feel like streaming is perhaps getting disrupt itself.

[Jesse David Fox]

They put WarnerMedia and Discovery Communications together back in 2022 with the thesis that they would be stronger together. Now, forget that it's all being undone. This is all during the time when.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

They were chasing subscribers, because Wall street.

[Jesse David Fox]

That'S what they wanted. And then kind of the bubble hit.

[Alex Weprin]

And they're like, no, we actually want.

[Jesse David Fox]

You to be profitable. And there's such flux in the media land now, and it's really separating between the winners and the losers. Companies like Paramount and Warner Brothers still struggling.

[Alex Weprin]

And I think part of that is driven by the fact that you now have really giant tech platforms in Netflix and Amazon that have just immense scale in streaming. And at the same time, I think a lot of other players in the space are realizing that they aren't going to be that big, and they may need to settle for something that's a little smaller, a little more modest. And so when he says streaming is dead, it's not that people just want to stop streaming videos. It's that the business model of streaming, the way that creatives create content on streaming and the way that these companies make money in streaming, is changing, and that is having a downward effect on everyone in the industry, including him, is.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

What'S going out with a niche streaming service like Dropout. Part of the change you're talking about, because we're talking about the big titans of streaming maybe struggling. And yet over in this little pocket, you're selling out Madison Square Garden, and you've got a loyal audience that wants to pay more than you're even charging them. In some cases.

[Alex Weprin]

I think you can draw a direct connection between what we're seeing at the big streaming services and what we're seeing in the growth of these smaller niche services like Dropout. You know, consumers are kind of settling in on the fact that they're going to subscribe to Netflix. They have their Amazon prime subscription, they're watching YouTube. But those big services may not scratch every itch that they have. These services go a mile wide, and some of them go a little bit deeper. But a service like Dropout or a horror service like Shudder, they can really, you know, meet the needs of consumers that really care about a specific genre or type of programming in a way that makes them feel more connected to the creatives. So it's not just that, you know, Dropout is a service that has a lot of comedy for comedy fans. It's that they feel like they are supporting comedy creators in a way that they don't. When you're subscribing to Netflix, you know, when you're, when you Pay Netflix your $20 a month or whatever it might be, you're not thinking, oh, I'm so glad that some of this is going to Shane Gillis or some of this is going to. Or some of this is going to Ricky Gervais, whatever. Creator of Squid Game. Ricky Gervais. Right. You know, whoever it may be, you know, you're not thinking about that. You're paying Netflix and whereas if you pay for Dropout or Crunchyroll, you feel like you're supporting an actual art form and the creators that create it.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Crunchyroll, perfect. So I imagine there you could name some niche streaming services that at least someone in our audience has never even heard of. How many niche streaming services are there, like Dropout or is it impossible to even name them all?

[Alex Weprin]

Yeah, I mean, there are dozens of services that have a certain amount of scale. You know, typically they focus on specific genres. Crunchyroll is pretty dominant in the anime space. So if you're someone who really loves anime, you probably know what Crunchyroll is and you're probably a subscriber. There are a few horror themed services, Shudder being one of them, that really cater to horror fans year long. And then you've got services like Hallmark, which is a spin out of the Hallmark channel, that just kind of takes those Hallmark movies that you know and love and makes it kind of a year round attraction. So if you have a specific genre of programming, there's likely a streaming service that caters to it. Whether it's independent film, whether it's horror, whether it's comedy, whether it's British dramas, it probably exists somewhere.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

And are they all experiencing the kind of, I don't know, small scale boom that we heard about early in the show?

[Alex Weprin]

With Dropout, you are seeing pretty consistent growth at a lot of these streaming services. The challenge they have is pretty much by definition, there's a limit to how big they can get. You're catering to a niche.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

We've heard about some of the challenges that dropout's facing, maybe, you know, wearing your politics on your sleeve doesn't really function once you hit a certain tier of popularity with your streamers. You know, facing questions about how to grow while remaining true to your mission. What have you do services like Crunchyroll or Shudder or even Hallmark plus face the same kinds of challenges?

[Alex Weprin]

I think they probably do not face the same kinds of challenges. Partly that's just because comedy is a little bit different. Comedy tends to poke around the edges of politics and culture in a way that a Christmas movie or a horror movie might not. Not to say that those places can't touch on politics or larger pop culture, but just not what they're naturally inclined to do. You see that in comedy across the board. You know, at Netflix, at big TV networks, it's really tough to do comedy that can cater to everybody. So really what you end up seeing is you end up developing a style of comedy that appeals to a certain part of the audience. It's a niche within the niche.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

What are the challenges that people like Shudder or Hallmark or Crunchyroll are facing, if any?

[Alex Weprin]

So the biggest challenges that a lot of these niche streaming services are facing is one, people have to know you exist. And, you know, you might take it for granted that people know about these streaming services, but actually they don't. You may have someone who loves Hallmark Channel Christmas movies on TV and has no clue that they have the streaming service that, like, can indulge them in that year round. So it's really a big part of it is just letting people know they exist and also having a value proposal proposition that people feel like they're getting their money's worth. Because Netflix, Disney, these are not expensive services. Amazon prime video is included in an Amazon prime subscription. So there's a lot of value at the high end. So if you're kind of a niche service, you can't really have a price at that level. You have to figure out how you can price a service that is appealing to people while also reaching the audience that you hope to reach and engage.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

And to bring this back to Sam Reich and Dropout, Sam's story feels sort of outside of the entire Hollywood system. Did operating outside that system, if that is indeed what he was doing, sort of help him figure something out that it's harder to figure out within that system?

[Alex Weprin]

Yeah, I mean, what Sam did is totally digitally native, right? He's a digital native. He is not from the traditional Hollywood system. I think taking that ethos and applying those learnings to what he's done at Dropout, actually, I think has benefited them tremendously. So if you think about it, the traditional studios and the big streaming services tend to do things a certain way, and it tends to be very similar to the way Hollywood has done things for years. But if you come from the world of college humor, if you come from the world of digital video, you realize that the old way of doing things doesn't necessarily have to apply to you. You don't have to do things that way just because that's how people always did it. And I think he's realized that, you know, you can build something taking the learnings from the digital video world and taking some of the learnings from the traditional Hollywood world, and you can build a viable business that can really be scalable and sustainable without necessarily, you know, being exactly the same thing that Comedy Central was back in the day. For example.

[Sean Ramaswaram]

Alex Weprin, senior [e-mail] Hadi Miwagnee made this Friday, the 13th edition of Today Explained. Jolie Meyers edited, Patrick Boyd mixed, and Laura Bullard is our senior researcher on facts. I'm Sean Ramasweram, Avishai Artsy, Miles Bryan, Victoria Chamberlain, Peter Balinon Rosen, Andrea Christensdotter, Devin Schwartz, Gabrielle Burbe, Denise Guerra, Aminah Al Saadi, Miranda Kennedy and Noel King also work here. We use music by Breakmaster. Cylinder Today Explained is distributed by WNYC and the show is a part of Vox. You can listen to this podcast ad free by signing [e-mail] members. And do not forget, we got a show on Sundays now, too. Explain it to me. We'll be riding bikes this weekend.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sam.