A BETTER-BUILT MAGAZINE — When a company publishes a magazine, or at least an “editorial” product, for whatever reason, it is called custom publishing. I have a long editorial background in custom. And custom has a surprisingly long history itself. How long? John Deere started publishing The Furrow in 1895. The Michelin Star started as a form of cu…

THE PERSON BEHIND THE PERSON BEHIND THE CAMERA — Close your eyes and picture a classic Rolling Stone cover. Dozens probably come to mind—portraits of music legends, movie stars, political icons, cultural rebels. Bruce. Bono. Madonna. These images are etched into our cultural memory as more than mere photographs. They’re statements. But when we reme…

IT’S LE MONDE’S WORLD AND WE’RE JUST LIVING IN IT — Name a major newspaper—anywhere in the world—and you will find a magazine. Or two. Or three. The New York Times is the obvious example of this. The Times of London is another obvious example. And now more and more legacy newspapers from around the world are publishing their magazines in English. L…

TWIST & SHOUT —  Philip Burke’s portraits don’t just look like the people he paints—they actually vibrate. Just look at them. With wild color, skewed proportions, and emotional clarity, his illustrations have lit up the pages of Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Time, and Vanity Fair, capturing cultural icons in a way that feels both chaotic and essen…

THE NEW, NEW COFFEE GENERATION — On today’s show we’re creating a storm in a coffee cup about everyone’s cup of joe. We’re spilling the beans about your morning brew. You’re going to hear a latte puns about your cuppa, your high-octane dirt, your jitter juice, your elixir, and by the time we’re done you will have both woken up and smelled the coffe…

THE WHISTLEBLOWER — I was a reporter and editor in newspapers, including Chicago Today—which had no tomorrow—the Chicago Tribune, and the San Francisco Examiner. I made a shift to magazines becoming TV critic for People, where I came up with the idea for Entertainment Weekly, launching in 1990. After a rocky launch—a story I tell in my new book, Ma…

IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES — Psychedelia has an image problem. At least that’s what editor and journalist Hillary Brenhouse realized after she saw through the haze. Both in art and literature, psychedelia was way more than tie-dye t-shirts and magic mushrooms. Instead of letting that idea fade into the mist, she kept thinking about it. And the more…

WHEN EUSTACE MET FRANÇOISE —  I first met Françoise Mouly at The New Yorker’s old Times Square offices. This was way back when artists used to deliver illustrations in person. I had stopped by to turn in a spot drawing and was introduced to Françoise, their newly-minted cover art editor. I should have been intimidated, but I was fresh off the boat …

EVERY DAY IS MOTHER’S DAY — A monochromator is an optical device that separates light, like sunlight or the light from a lamp, into a range of individual wavelengths and then allows … … Sorry. I failed physics the last time I took it and I would fail it again. I’m not telling you about my shortcomings for any reason, because a podcast about my shor…

A MAN AT HIS F*#KING BEST — While several interesting themes have surfaced in this podcast, one of the more unexpected threads is this: Nearly all magazine-inclined men dream of one day working at Esquire. Some women, too. Turns out that’s also true for today’s guest, which is a good thing because that’s exactly what David Granger did. “But all thi…

EVERY DAY IS MOTHER’S DAY — If The Full Bleed’s second season had a theme, it just might be “We Made A New Magazine During the Pandemic.” Listen to past episodes and you’ll see that our collective and unprecedented existential crisis ended up producing a lot of magazines. Melissa Goldstein and Natalia Rachlin met as coworkers at the lifestyle brand…

“THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE GRAPHIC DESIGN” — Simon Esterson is one of the most influential figures in British magazine design shaping the field for decades with his distinctive approach to editorial work. Unlike many designers who built their careers within major publishing houses, Esterson chose a different path, gravitating toward indepen…

A WEED GROWS IN PORTLAND — Anja Charbonneau would be the first to admit she didn’t have a strategy in mind when she launched her dreamy celebration of all things marijuana, Broccoli magazine, back in 2016. Having worked as a freelance photographer and writer, and then as Creative Director of lifestyle favorite Kinfolk, she started Broccoli with the…

THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON — Nearly 40 years after its launch, Spin magazine has returned to print—and at the helm, once again, is its founding editor and today’s guest, Bob Guccione Jr. Launched in 1985 as a scrappy, rebellious alternative to Rolling Stone, Spin became a defining voice in music journalism, championing emerging artists and unde…

THEY’RE FIXIN’ TO CHANGE YOUR MIND — The people behind The Bitter Southerner are many things but they are not, they will remind you, actually bitter. The tongue is planted quite firmly in the cheek here. But The Bitter Southerner is, for sure, like it says on the website, “a beacon for the American South and a bellwether for the nation.” Sure, why …

MAKE IT BIG. NO BIGGER — Paula Scher is not really a “magazine person.” But if you ever needed evidence of the value of what we like to call “magazine thinking,” look no further than Pentagram, the world’s most influential design firm. The studio boasts a roster of partners whose work is rooted in magazine design: Colin Forbes, David Hillman, Kit H…

WTF IS AFM? — Feeld is a dating app “for the curious” and its users are an adventurous, thoughtful bunch. And Feeld is also a tech company that happens to be led by thoughtful long-term types who see the value in print as a cornerstone for their community of customers. Enter A Fucking Magazine. Led by editors Maria Dimitrova and Haley Mlotek, AFM i…

THE WINNER — Clang! Clink! Bang! Hear that? It’s the sound of all the hardware that Jake Silverstein’s New York Times Magazine has racked up in his almost eleven years at its helm: Pulitzers and ASMEs are heavy, people! When we were preparing to speak to Jake, we reached out to a handful of editors who have loyally worked with him for years to find…

THE HEART OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL — There’s a saying about the Velvet Underground’s first album: it didn’t sell a lot of copies but everyone who bought it went on to form a band. Not everyone who read Creem went on to form a band, but almost everyone who ever wrote about rock music in a significant way has a connection to Creem. Founded in Detroit in 1969…

FARM-TO-NEWSSTAND PUBLISHING — The pandemic screwed a lot of businesses over, but it did a real number on the restaurant industry. Beset by low margins at the best of times, Covid was to the business what a neglected pot of boiling milk is to your stove top. But Max Meighen, a restaurant owner in Toronto decided to fill in his down time by … creati…

NOT THE SAFE CHOICE — Most magazines are not political. Unless, that is, you create a bilingual Arabic-English language magazine about design out of Beirut. Or another bilingual magazine about women and gender—also out of Beirut. Then, perhaps, your intentions are a bit less opaque. Maya Moumne is a Lebanese designer by training who now divides her…

CHAMPION OF A BETTER FUTURE — Wired magazine feels like it’s been around forever. And perhaps these days any media that has been around for over 30 years qualifies as forever. It has, certainly, been around during the entirety of the digital age. It has been witness to the birth of the internet, of social media, of cellphones, and of AI. It feels l…

EVERYONE IS A SALESMAN — In 1995, New York magazine declared Martha Stewart the “Definitive American Woman of Our Time.” And, as the saying goes (sort of), behind every Definitive American Woman of Our Time is another Definitive American Woman of Our Time. And that’s today’s guest, designer Gael Towey. But let’s back up. It’s 1982, and Martha Stewa…

THE BRAND CALLED US — In the summer of 1995, I got an offer I couldn’t refuse. It came from my guests today, Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, the founding editors of Fast Company, widely acknowledged as one of the magazine industry’s great success stories. Their vision for the magazine was an exercise in thinking different. Nothing we did hewed to the …

SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO YOUR PROMPT REPLY — Jody Quon’s desk is immaculate. There’s a lot there, but she knows exactly where everything is. It’s like an image out of Things Organized Neatly. She rarely swears. Or loses her temper. In fact she’s one of the most temperate people in the office. Maybe the most. She’s often been referred to as a “rock.” Sh…

CHIC, BUT MAKE IT NICE — It’s a cliché because it’s true: in the fashion world, you’ve got your show ponies and you’ve got your workhorses. We mean it as a compliment when we say that Samira Nasr truly earned her place at the helm of the 156-year-old institution, Harper’s Bazaar. Don’t get us wrong; Samira is seriously glamorous—she’s the kind of w…

THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER — “I was a publication designer for 20 years, making book covers at Knopf with Sonny Mehta, Carol Carson, and Chip Kidd. Later, in the early aughts, I made stories and books—and other things—at Martha Stewart Living. Then I took a brief adventure to graduate school—to learn a new trade. And finally I moved to The New York…

A PRETTY COMPLICATED ORGANISM — Like many of you, I was stunned by what happened on November 5th. It’s gonna take me some time to reckon with what this all says about the values of a large portion of this country. As part of that reckoning—and for some much-needed relief—I’ve opted to spend less time with media in general for a bit. But on “the mor…

WHAT MAKES STEVE BRODNER HAPPY — When your boss tells you to track down an amusing Steve Brodner factoid to open the podcast with, and one of the first things you find is a, uh, a “dick army,” welp, that’s what you’re going to go with. Lest you judge me, I can explain. Brodner’s drawing of this army was inspired by a guy who was actually named Dick…

SHE’S OUR TYPE — Everybody knows that in May 2023, a jury found Donald Trump liable for defaming and abusing E. Jean Carroll, and awarded her $5 million. And everybody also knows that in January 2024, another jury found Trump liable for defamation against her to the tune of $83.3 million. P.S., with interest, his payout will now total over $100 mil…

SOUL SURVIVOR — Just about every magazine Richard Baker worked for has died. Even one called Life. Also dead: The Washington Post Magazine, Vibe, Premiere, and Parade. Another, Saveur, also died, but has recently been resurrected. And Us Magazine? A mere shadow of its former self. Sadly, Baker’s career narrative is not that uncommon. (That’s why yo…

SMILING THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE — In the past few weeks, Will Welch has taken a bit of flack for letting Beyoncé promote her new whiskey label on the cover of GQ’s October issue, with an interview that one X user described as “an intimate email exchange between GQ and several layers of Beyonce’s comms team.” Whether that kind of thing rankles you or…

WHEN ‘HOUSE’ IS NOT A HOME — Dominique Browning jokes that after the interview for this episode, she might end up having PTSD. After more than 30 years writing and editing at some of the top magazines in the world, Browning has blocked a lot of it out. And after listening today, you’ll understand why. At Esquire, where she worked early in her caree…

VIVE LA CREATIVITE! — There are many reasons for you to hate Fabien Baron (especially if you’re the jealous type). Here are 7 of them: • He’s French, which means, among other things, his accent is way sexier than yours. • He’s spent an inordinate amount of time in the company of supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Kate Moss. • …

THE FIFTH — You cannot overstate how much Tom Bodkin has changed the Times. In fact, you can say that there was the Times before Tom and the Times after Tom. The Times before Tom threw as many words as possible at the page, with little regard for the reader. The Times before Tom thought tossing a couple of headshots on the page was all the visual j…

DUTCH MASTER — Dutch-born, California-raised designer Hans Teensma began his magazine career working alongside editor Terry McDonell at Outside magazine, which Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner launched in San Francisco in 1977. When Wenner sold Outside two years later, Teensma and McDonell headed to Denver to launch a new regional, Rocky Mountain …

THE ART DIRECTOR’S ART DIRECTOR — Janet Froelich is one of the most influential and groundbreaking creative directors of all time. For over two decades, she lead the creative teams at The New York Times Magazine and its sister publication, T: The New York Times Style Magazine. In this episode, Froelich recalls her own personal 9/11 story, and what …

A HANDY MAN — Photographers are gearheads. They’re always throwing around brand names, model numbers, product specs. So when legendary photographer Eddie Adams asked today’s guest, Dan Winters, if he knew how to handle a JD-450, it was a no-brainer. He had grown up with a JD-350. So yeah, the 450 would be no problem. But here’s the funny thing: the…

THE JAZZ OF THE NEWSROOM — In this episode, we talk to George Gendron, the long-time editor [Inc. Magazine] and educator who created one of the first liberal arts-based entrepreneurship programs in America. We talk about his first job working under legendary editor Clay Felker in the early days of New York magazine, how a third-grade book report se…

THE ARTIST AS ENTREPRENEUR — Michele Outland has spent her career at some really beautiful magazines. Beautiful ... because she made them that way. Her resume includes stops at Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, Domino, Nylon, and Bon Appétit, as well as the magazine she created and launched with her good friend, Fiorella Valdesolo: Gather Journal. Ga…

THE GREATEST STARTUP IN THE HISTORY OF MAGAZINE STARTUPS — We’ve always had a thing for magazine launches. They’re filled with drama and melodrama, people behaving with passion and conviction, and people ... misbehaving. Anything to get that first issue onto the stands and into the hands of readers. Some new ventures seem to sneak in the back door.…

WHAT’S BLACK AND WHITE AND RED ALL OVER? — Roger Black is a pioneer. His art direction of iconic print brands and high-profile redesigns, his early embrace of digital publishing technology, and his typographic innovations are hallmarks of a 50-year, trailblazing career. He’s refined his design mastery at publications ranging from Rolling Stone to E…

THE SLOWER THE BETTER — Given that this is the final show of the season, it is perhaps a bit poetic that our guest today is Rob Orchard from Delayed Gratification. Not that we would plan an episode around a bad pun. Not us. Delayed Gratification is media created to comment on, and offer a counterpoint to, the media. Rob Orchard and his team met eac…

RICHARD TURLEY CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP — Richard Turley is changing the idea of the magazine. Richard Turley has no idea what a magazine is in the year 2024. And in this sense, he is not so different from you or I. Richard Turley’s magazines—and there are many—are confrontations, loaded with text, or not, sometimes, but if you ask him, he’s not sure…

IT’S COMPLICATED — If Teen Vogue’s editorial still surprises you, it might be time to admit that this says more about you than it does about Teen Vogue. And also, perhaps, that you haven’t been paying attention. Teen Vogue is not the first magazine aimed at “the young” of course, and it’s not the first one to address multiple issues. But…Teen Vogue…

THE FIFTH — I want you to stop what you’re doing for just a moment and imagine we’re back in 1998. (Those of you born since then will have to use your imagination). We’re on an ASME panel exploring the future of magazines in the digital age. The moderator, eager to get the discussion off to a lively start, turns to you and asks, “What magazine that…

THE FINE ART OF MAGAZINE MAKING — Imagine this: You’re a 42-year-old designer who’s only worked at one magazine. Ever. Then one day, unexpectedly, you’re tasked to lead the design of that magazine. Now imagine that the magazine is universally lauded as a design masterpiece. Add to that, your immediate predecessors have both been enshrined into ever…

THE CHERRY ON TOP — Cherry Bombe is a full-course meal. Its founder, Kerry Diamond, created the magazine after working in titles like Women’s Wear Daily and Harper’s Bazaar, and after working for brands like Lancôme. And in the restaurant industry. She worked in restaurants at a time when everything culinary was in the ascendance in the zeitgeist. …

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER — In early April, what’s left of the magazine industry gathered at Terminal 5 to see who would win this year’s National Magazine Awards—the ASMEs. Throughout the evening, the usual suspects stepped up to accept their Alexander Calder brass elephants—the ‘Ellies’—on behalf of their teams at The Atlantic, New York, and The New …

WELCOME TO THE GREAT OUTDOORS — Mountain Gazette is one of those media … things … that only long-time fans really know about, with a long and colorful history. A kind of Village Voice of the outdoors, the first incarnation (1966) of the magazine was about mountains and for “mountain people”—a lifestyle magazine for those who weren’t interested in e…