I know for a fact some of you readers and listeners wield awesome media power. I also suspect you, like me, have a strong interest in bringing more in-depth, long-form cultural conversation to and hearing more in-depth, long-form cultural conversation on the radio. So why not use that awesome media power to promote The Marketplace of Ideas, thus bringing us all one step closer to a much more interesting world to listen to?
For your convenience, I have come up with 50 ready-made headlines, each with its own “angle” for use in your publication, program, pamphlet, blog, or screed. Should you choose to use one, I will make myself available to provide all necessary quotes, sound bites, photo appearances, etc.
- 26-Year-Old Public Radio Interviewer “Throws Down the Gauntlet” To All Public Radio Interviewers Over 26
- In Wasteland Of Radio, Actual Interestingness (NYT edition)
- Southern California Public Radio Personality Interviews 150 Luminaries At Length, All Without Ever Owning Garbage Disposal
- Area Public Radio Broadcaster “Mad As Hell” And “Not Going To Take It Anymore”
- Young Achievers: Colin Marshall, Microphone-Talker
- A Rising Public Radio Star’s Quixotic Mission To Perceptibly Rise To Public Radio’s Equivalent Of Stardom
- Host-Producer of “Most Fascinating Show on Radio” Eats Peanut Butter Sandwiches Every Single Day
- A Newish Thing For Radio: Actual Conversation
- Delusional Young Man Makes Content
- Devil-May-Care Radio Interviewer Does Not Edit Out 80 Percent Of Conversations
- He Does Radio And Office Nihilism
- Public Radio Maverick Produces Program On “Non-Insane” Budget
- Santa Barbara Man Has Nonsensically Interviewed Michael Silverblatt, Tyler Cowen, Momus, Steve Wozniak, And Charles Murray All On One Show
- “He Seemed To Have Read My Book,” Claim Shocked Authors Interviewed By Marginal Public Radio Personality
- Local Man Regularly Speaks To Own Heroes at Length, Cannot Afford Hamster
- “Why Is This My Life,” Says Radio Host, 26
- Marketplace of Ideas Broadcaster Declares Fatwa On Four-Minute “Nothing” Interviews
- In Act Of Raw Impudence, Radio Interviewer Publicly Desires Career
- “I Bring Up Abbas Kiarostami Almost Every Week”: An Interviewer On The Rise Talks Techniques
- A Man, A Plan, An Ear Canal: The Marketplace of Ideas
- “Be About Something”: A Fledgling Show’s Controversial Manifesto
- Young Host Pledges To Create Richest Richest Interview Program in Existence — But Can He Do it Without Temping?
- Starkly Experimental Radio Program Discusses Only “Interesting” Books, Films, Music
- Public Radio Meany Refused to Promote Ephemeral Trend Piece-Turned-Book, Claims Aggrieved Publicist
- The Marketplace Of Ideas’ Battle To Become A Known Entity: Impossible Or Highly Improbable?
- Point: Radio Needs More Thoughtful Long-Form Conversations; Counterpoint: Isn’t A Stream Of Jittery Nonsense Enough?
- Santa Barbara Public Radio Interviewer Attains Positive Net Worth (purely speculative)
- Discovering Own Unemployability, California Radio Personality Left Only One Choice: Creating Worthwhile Things
- Meet Colin Marshall: Public Radio Host By Night, Nihilistic, Motionless Desk-Sitter By Day
- Versatile Radio Host-Producer Interviews Authors, Musicians, Filmmakers, Bloggers, Scholars — Pretty Much Everyone Except Entrepreneurs, Who Keep Being Dicks About Scheduling
- Scandalous Radio Program Discusses People and Things You Haven’t Heard of Yet
- “Kept to Himself, Mostly,” Say Neighbors of Apocalyptically Frustrated Public Radio Gunman
- “Intellectually Engaged” Public Radio Interviewer Holds “Question Sheet Bonfire” in Town Square
- Santa Barbara Program Contains Fewer Than 15 Resets Per Hour; “Insane,” Says Mainstream Public Radio Representative
- Bitter Drought of Broadcast Conversations About Robert Walser, David Hume, and Kobo Abe Reaches Merciful End
- Brazen Radio Host Programs For “Attentive” Audience
- “He Does Interviews Designed To Be Relevant Even Next Week?” Ask Bewildered Public Radio Bigshots
- Santa Barbara Public Radio Host Announces Goal Of 10,000 Listeners; Listener Count Drops Vertiginously
- Public Radio Establishment On Up-and-Coming Interviewer Who Talks Only To Guests He Wants To: “You Can’t Do That”
- Destitute Public Radio Professional Charged In Social Security Scam; “What Choice Did I Have?” Cries Disgraced Host
- Literary Modernism, Experimental Film, Wang Chung: Do These Topics Belong On Our Radios? (op-ed)
- Shamefully Unprofessional Interviewer Refuses To Write Rigid, Uncomprehending Questions Beforehand
- Headless Public Radio Host Found in Topless Bar
- “I Want To Make A Halfway Respectable Show,” Says Hopeless Radio Host-Producer
- 26-Year-Old Interviewer The Future of Public Radio, Such As It Has One
- Even In State Of Extreme Despondency, Heroic Public Radio Host Manages To Interview Prominent Literary Translators
- Freakish Public Radio Program Wholly Ignores Politics, Racism, Youthful Weltschmerz, And Ambient Sounds of The Barrio
- Embittered Public Radio Host Renounces World, Begins Broadcasting Exclusively To Own Shack
- “I Don’t Mind A Small Audience, As Long As It’s Smart,” Says Quietly Weeping Radio Interviewer
- Respected Radio Interviewer Reveals Interviewing Secret: “Actually Be Interested”
Anthony asks about all this 10,000-subscriber fuss
Anthony comments on my push for 10,000 Marketplace of Ideas subscribers or bust:
The long and short of it: because I expected to reach 10,000 subscribers years ago. At the current rate of growth, I'll die of liver spots before I can make a sustainable career out of this.
Interestingly, I haven’t had trouble getting guests of any profile; nobody’s even come close to asking for listenership figures. But while I seem able to invite any guest I want, there remain a few things I can’t do, the most urgent priority of which is to make the show without having to burn a huge chunk of my day on a job that has nothing to do with anything. To achieve that state, I reckon I’ll need at least the following:
Much soul-searching tells me that, content-wise, I have already done enough to achieve this, so the sticking point must lay elsewhere. (As Principal Skinner once said, “No, it’s the children who are wrong.”) I choose to heed the golden words of wisdom Conan O’Brien uttered during his interview on WTF (a podcast that, coincidentally, recently hit it big on public radio): “Get into situations where you don't have a choice. I believe that's the definition of accomplishing things in this life.” Hence the decision to rip myself off of whatever teat now holds me back and move to L.A., with nothing lined up, in exactly two months.
I’ve heard the question before, in various forms: “Why can’t The Marketplace of Ideas continue as a hobby?” Because nothing can. Maybe my own personal psychological weirdness causes this, but, broadcasting, filmmaking, or writing, I can’t keep any pursuit rolling viably as a hobby. But nor can I convert them into “jobs,” traditionally defined and separate from “life.” There comes a point when they must integrate with my existence itself or begone — and the clock’s ticking.
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