Q&A: Jesse Thorn

The very funny (and busy) Jesse Thorn is one of my favorite podcasters. He’s earned raves from publications including Esquire, Time, and Salon.com, and he deserves all of them (I weighed in on the Sound of Young America here). You might find him on your local public radio station, but if not, you can get all of his shows off of his website, www.maximumfun.org.

Jesse currently produces three podcasts: The Sound of Young America; Jordan, Jesse GO!; and The Kasper Hauser Comedy Podcast. He also sends out classic episodes of The Sound of Young America, which he did in college.

Despite his crazy schedule (he’s in the midst of a fund drive right now, and everyone who loves his show should donate), America's Radio Sweetheart was gracious enough to answer a few questions about podcasting for this site.

When and why did you decide to start podcasting?

I started podcasting very early on — December of 2004, if I'm not mistaken. I figured as long as I was working so hard on making this show, I might as well put it out there on every channel I could. When iTunes launched podcast support, the numbers took off, and I haven't looked back since.

Are there things you can do podcasting that you can't do in a regular show?

Of course. Swear, for one thing. I swear a lot in my every day life, and I'm not the slightest bit offended by swearing. I kind of enjoy it, in fact. So there's that.

More seriously, on The Sound of Young America, I can always leave in stuff that I think is cool, but doesn't fit in the radio show. And even, occasionally, do an interview that I don't broadcast at all, like my recent talk with Bill James.

On Jordan, Jesse Go!, well... no one would ever let me do any of that stuff on the radio.

Do you know how many people are listening to your podcasts in a given week or month?

I do. It's comfortably in the six digits per month. Not yet millions, but I've got big dreams.

You've got a radio show, a website, a blog, live shows—how does podcasting fit into your growing media empire?

Really, it's the center of it. I think talking is my, well, "core competency," so this is the perfect outlet. I love performing live, and I love blogging, and I love all the other crap I do... I just try to keep it all focused around the idea of "awesomeness."

What podcasts do you enjoy listening to?

I listen to a lot of public radio podcasts. My favorites are On the Media, RadioLab, The Business and This American Life. My favorite independent podcasts are Jimmy Pardo's Never Not Funny and Dan Savage's Savage Lovecast. Both are guys who I loved pre-podcasting, and always wondered why no one had given them a platform to do almost exactly what they're doing for themselves now.

Anything you think readers should know about your shows/podcasts?

That's a tough question to ask. That they're great? That the name "The Sound of Young America" is a joke? I dunno. Listen to them and see if you like them, please.