Maximum Fun is an independent, worker-owned cooperative[1][2] podcast and radio show production organization founded by Jesse Thorn. The organization originated with Thorn's college radio show The Sound of Young America which continued in an adapted format and with a new name, Bullseye with Jesse Thorn.[3] Maximum Fun has since grown to include several other programs. Shows on the network cover a wide variety of topics.[4]
In May 2014, Rolling Stone included three Maximum Fun shows on its list of "The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now": Judge John Hodgman, RISK!, and Throwing Shade.[5]
Operations
Maximum Fun officially converted into a worker-owned cooperative on June 30, 2023. According to Thorn, this decision was made as a result of his own burnout and as a way to avoid selling the organization to a larger company.[2] This decision made Maximum Fun, at the time, one of the only worker-owned co-ops in media, following in the footsteps of Defector Media.[1]
While the original management team remains in place, the co-op is now overseen by a Board of Directors made up of five worker-owners. The current Board of Directors (as of August 2024) are Jennifer Marmor, Julian Burrell, April Pendergraft, David Goldstein, and K.T. Wiegman.[6] Founder Jesse Thorn stayed on as a worker-owner and board advisor,[7] and is not a voting member of the Board.[8] There are currently twenty worker-owners.[6]
Current shows
The Adventure Zone
The Adventure Zone is an actual play podcast in which Griffin, Justin, and Travis McElroy play Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games with their father, Clint.[9]
Baby Geniuses
Baby Geniuses is a weekly podcast hosted by comedian Emily Heller and cartoonist Lisa Hanawalt.[10] The first episode was released on August 22, 2012,[11] and the show joined Maximum Fun on September 29, 2014.
Limited series
The Art of Process with Aimee Mann and Ted Leo
Released every other week of 2019, singer-songwriters Aimee Mann and Ted Leo interview musician and artists about their creative process.[56]
Bubble
Bubble is a scripted science fiction comedy that premiered June 13, 2018.[57] From the Maximum Fun website, "Welcome to Fairhaven, a literal Bubble of corporate utopia set amid the wild, goblin-infested Brush. The first scripted comedy series from Maximum Fun, Bubble tells a tale that is both contemporary and otherworldly, as a small band of monster killers struggles to make ends meet and find love in a nightmarish version of the gig economy."[58]
Starring: Alison Becker (Parks and Recreation
Retired programs
Adam Ruins Everything
Adam Ruins Everything was an interview podcast hosted by Adam Conover where he talked to the experts and people who appeared on the TV show by the same name. The last episode was released in November 2017.[65]
Coyle and Sharpe: The Imposters
This show was a series of rebroadcasts of audio comedy pranks performed and recorded by Jim Coyle and Mal Sharpe in the 1960s.[66] Coyle and Sharpe met in 1959 in a San Francisco boarding house and hatched a plan to make a living performing pranks. Using a hidden tape recorder, they recorded themselves doing comedic interviews with people on the streets of San Francisco. Some of these recordings were released by Warner Bros. Records as an LP. The duo also had a nightly radio show on KGO Radio.[67]
Former programs
Bunker Buddies with Andie and Ben
Bunker Buddies with Andie and Ben is a comedy survival podcast hosted by comedian Andie Bolt and gear/tech expert Ben Ellis. Ellis had previously appeared as a guest on the show, and replaced Travis McElroy as the co-host in 2018.[86] The hosts discuss survival strategies for "every single Apocalyptic scenario" they can think of. The show left Maximum Fun to be independently produced in 2019.[87]
Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness
Getting Curious is a podcast where Jonathan Van Ness follows his varied interests into topics like menstrual cups, lupus, modeling, and mass extinction by talking to experts in those fields. The show premiered in 2015 and was retired from Maximum Fun on March 3, 2017.[88]
Other projects
Begun in 2009, MaxFunCon is an annual weekend convention where fans of Maximum Fun can spend time with Maximum Fun hosts and other celebrities held in Lake Arrowhead, CA. In fall 2012 MaxFunCon East was offered in the Poconos.[104] The Atlantic Ocean Comedy and Music Festival (also known as boatparty.biz) was held in summer 2013 in lieu of Max Fun Con East.[105]
Begun in 2011, the JoCo Cruise is an annual week-long cruise started by Jesse Thorn and other Maximum Fun hosts and artists.[106] Festivities include live concerts from artists like Jonathan Coulton, comedy performances, and gaming.[107]
External links
References
- Podcast network Maximum Fun is becoming a worker owned co-op Tech Crunch, March 20, 2023, retrieved April 2, 2023^
- Nicholas Quah. The People's Maximum Fun Vulture, 2023-03-22, retrieved 2023-10-16^
- Kyle Wrather. Making 'Maximum Fun' for fans: Examining podcast listener participation online