Trying (and Failing) to Book Guests: Jane Mayer and the Studio Apartment

• 1:53Tim pitches advertisers on the show's audience: mostly kid rape, with occasional death-of-the-diner content thrown in.
• 2:12Tim wants to position the podcast as WikiLeaks for people who need a platform to run their mouth.
• 2:32Getting guests on the show is difficult; Tim tries not to get mad at them for declining, and hopes they won't get mad at him for emailing them.
• 2:56Tim wonders how many podcast appearance requests any given person receives, imagining boxes full of pitches from shows with gimmicks like politically-themed puppet theater.
• 3:24Tim sends emails citing a Rolling Stone appearance for credibility, even though he may not have actually been in the magazine, just on the website.
• 3:58The problem of getting gigs parallels Tim's experience shooting weddings on Long Island during the digital photography boom—now anybody with a camera thinks they can do it.
• 4:37Tim recalls mortgage industry sales seminars at Jericho Terrace in the mortgage heyday, where executives would give pitches over buffet chicken while everyone zoned out.
• 5:07Tim imagines the likely fate of his guest request emails: people probably don't read them, but even if they do, they Google the show and that's the end of it.
• 5:23Tim and guest debate what subject line would actually get responses, with Tim suggesting something provocative like 'we got your kids.'

Rolling StoneLong IslandCountrywide Home LoansChris HedgesJericho Terrace