Max Notes
I’m really excited for the imminent launch of the new website and to reveal some of the details of UNFTR 2.0. Thanks to all who are reading this, we’ve had a remarkable journey from pandemic podcast experiment to where we are today. So far we’ve had 2 million downloads of the podcast and covered a remarkable amount of topics. What began as a 20 to 25 minute bi-weekly audio essay has evolved into longform deep dives every week with a break out episode in between of Show Notes. We added the voice of our producer 99 and audio engineer Manny Faces to give the show some dimension and personality and it really resonated with Unf*cking audience.
We welcomed UnCanuckers, Down Under F*ckers, Eurof*ckers, Pitch/Pak & BOTL F*ckers along the way as we broadened our horizons. At the start of 2023 we had an ambitious agenda to launch a YouTube companion to the podcast and a weekly newsletter as well. With your help we hit the YouTube partnership program threshold in record time and have already signed up more than 3,000 people to the newsletter. But as far as we’ve come, we feel like we’re just getting warmed up.
So here’s what we’ve got cooking for 2024…
The new UNFTR website is launching this week. And it’s jam packed. Once we flip the switch, everything will be housed in one beautiful digital environment so you can easily access the podcast, new videos, the newsletters, merchandise, coffee, our Bookshop and resources that will continue to grow in the coming weeks and months. The goal of the new site is to create a more news forward website that is easy to navigate and offers more timely and substantive information. To that end, we’re proud to announce a partnership with the folks at the News Beat podcast (another Manny Faces production).
The News Beat crew will be contributing to our newsletters (more on that below) and news section of the website to bring you in depth analysis of social justice and civil rights issues. We will also be collaborating to develop complete online resources for progressive causes, outlets and organizations.
In addition to the free weekly newsletter that I write for Unf*ckers, we are launching a second weekly newsletter in partnership with News Beat that will be for members only. Subscribers to the free newsletter will still have full access to everything in this edition. The new collaborative newsletter will have original content and new fun features that we know our members will love.
That brings us to the membership tiers.
One of the membership perks we’re adding to the mix is a monthly online hang with me and a surprise guest each month. I’m really excited about this feature because it will be an interactive safe space for Unf*ckers to hang together, have a few laughs and learn some stuff along the way. The new membership tiers also include more premium items so be sure to take a look when they’re announced on the website.
I’ve built several things over my career. I’ve also broken some stuff. This lived experience taught me patience. The growth of our platform will be slow, steady and measured, all with an eye toward quality and relevance. I intend to earn your support and continued trust every step of the way and will always listen to your feedback. It’s mission critical that we remain focused on Unf*cking the Republic and don’t allow ourselves to dilute or cheapen the content in pursuit of subscribers and downloads. We’re going to continue growing this organically with your support.
Now for the personal stuff.
I’m dog tired. Building this in the background while pumping out content has taken a toll on me personally so dialing it back this past couple of weeks to focus on the launch of the new website and features was important. So thank you for allowing me to step back to focus on this part of the journey. If we do this right, we’ll welcome new supporters to the fold who will help fund the next stages of our growth so we can push the envelope in 2024 and beyond.
This week on the pod.
Because we’re taking this week off to get our proverbial poop in a group ahead of the new website launch and other announcements, we are releasing the consolidated episodes of The Carter Years series from the summer.
In Other News
George Santos
You can pay him to say stupid shit on Cameo. That’s fun. What’s more fun for me (recall that he was my congressman) is what’s happening in the NY3. I made a glib mention that the former occupant of this seat, a Democrat named Tom Suozzi, would be the likely victor of the special election. He and I go way back. Suozzi was a member of the problematic Problem Solvers Caucus and doesn’t have an ideological bone in his body. A pure opportunist. So I was kind of shrugging this one off until…