Gimlet Media: Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber

Alex Blumberg, co-founder of Gimlet Media, discusses his journey from public radio to creating a podcasting empire. He recounts his early career at "This American Life" and "Planet Money," highlighting the inspiration he drew from the success of the T-shirt project and Roman Mars' independent podcasting venture. Blumberg details the challenges of leaving NPR, the initial struggles to secure funding, and the pivotal partnership with Matt Lieber, who brought business acumen to the creative endeavor. Lieber recalls his initial skepticism of podcasting, his early rejection from "This American Life", and the industry-level challenges Gimlet faced regarding audience discovery and data collection, which ultimately led to the acquisition by Spotify. Both reflect on the role of luck and privilege in their success, and their plans to pay it forward through angel investing and philanthropy.