A Period Of (Professional) Transition

Notes about future programming and life changes scheduled for 2026

This Friday (December 19) will be the final episode of Indiecast for the foreseeable future. This is not a drill. Uproxx has decided to discontinue production of the podcast I’ve hosted every week with Ian Cohen for just over five years. It is part of an overall downsizing of my role with the company. I will continue to work and write there, though not as much as I have since I was hired in 2016, and for not as much money.

I expected such news for a while now. It was, at least, not as bad as I anticipated. When the COO reached out over Slack last week to ask if we could speak on the phone, I immediately assumed I was losing my job outright. So many of my colleagues in media — and specifically in music criticism/journalism — have faced such circumstances in 2025. But that did not happen. I’m lucky. And I’m grateful for that. Though I am not unscathed.

I’ll spare you (most of) the details and focus instead on how this will impact programming in 2026. No. 1, Indiecast is on hiatus. Possibly for good, though hopefully not. I’ve been pleased and flattered to hear, more times than I can count, from various people (musicians, producers, countless music fans) about how they listen to our show every week. Each time someone says this, I am surprised and humbled. Ian and I have already talked about doing the show on our own, and this feedback gives me confidence that it could work. Also, Uproxx has generously offered to let us keep the name and RSS feed. They did not have to do that, and I think it speaks to the decency of the management there. Now we need to figure out (1) what the new infrastructure will look like and (2) to what degree the show will be paywalled. I don’t know the answers yet. I am open to feedback.

I am a creature of mass media. Whether I’m writing or talking, I am wired to try and reach as many people as I can. I still want to do that. But the reality of writing and talking on the internet now, from the perspective of (forgive the term) a creator, is that a smaller but more engaged audience can be better financially than a larger but more passive one. I have learned this from doing the Never Ending Stories podcast with my pals the Jokermen guys, which started out as a fun lark and has since developed into a valuable revenue stream for me. I’m trying to figure out what the right balance might be for Indiecast, should we continue.

I’ll just say, broadly speaking, that more and more of the things that were once free online are probably going to be paywalled in 2026. Your favorite websites, your most trusted podcasts, all of it — ad-supported internet media is being demolished by the tech powers that be, and subscriptions increasingly seem like the only lifeline. I’m dealing with it along with you. Just know this: The choices we make as consumers have always mattered, but they have more tangible significance than ever. If you want something you like to survive, you have the power to make it happen. It’s as simple as that.

Programming note No. 2: More of my writing now will be appearing outside of Uproxx, whether I’m freelancing (like my recent work with my long-time friends over at The Ringer) or doing this very newsletter. Honestly, I think some of my best writing this year appeared here, including these columns on Jesse Welles, Jeff Buckley and the dreaded state of music criticism.

Thus far, I’ve done this newsletter for free, which I’m generally against on principle though in this case I played the long game, with an eye on eventually monetizing Evil Speakers should the opportunity arise. Well, the opportunity has now arisen. The idea, starting in the new year, is that I’ll be writing here a few times per week. It will be the sorts of things I’m known for, specifically reviews of new albums as well as big-picture thinkpieces and deep dives into artists’ careers and discographies, past and present. (I have previously discussed the idea of doing a “Catalog Club” column on legacy acts that I’m excited about developing.)

This will, in other words, be a major hub for my writing. (To be clear, Indiecast likely won’t live here when/if that comes back, though if that changes I’ll let you know.) Some of the specifics are still being worked out in my head, but I’m excited about the possibilities. Uproxx has long been a supportive outlet for me, and I look forward to that continuing, but it has become harder to do all the things I want — particularly coverage of lesser-known artists and tougher critical pieces on famous (and famously terrible) celebrity acts. I am pleased to now be better positioned to write and talk about the full spectrum of topics that interest me.

I am, again, surprised and humbled by the number of people (more than 100) that have already pledged their support for this newsletter without me asking for it, just because they like and appreciate what I do. If you have done this: Thank you. It means a lot to me. More than just the money, really. (Though the money isn’t unimportant, obviously.) It’s just incredibly gratifying, and it motivates me to do more and better work moving forward. Now that I am preparing to expand the offerings here, I plan on finally accepting those pledges and soliciting for more.

You have many demands for your time and money. I know that. My goal for this newsletter is that readers will support it because they rely upon it and also because they enjoy it. I’ll do my best to make that so.