Alex Blumberg

Alex Blumberg is an American producer for the public radio and television versions of This American Life.

Guest Appearances

May 31, 2016

The boys do a live show at VultureFest in New York City’s historic Casper Podcast Lounge, and execute their plan to become the number-one podcast on iTunes with the help of podcast guru ALEX BLUMBERG.

February 18, 2016

Just before The Wolf Den hits its 100th episode milestone, Adam takes a brief listen back to relive some highlights in what’s been an exciting six years in the evolution and growth of Midroll, and podcasting. Adam shares early clips from podcast innovators like Marc Maron and Chris Hardwick, along with entrepreneurs who were influential behind the scenes. We also listen in on some of the important milestones in podcasting and Midroll history, as heard on the show, and get some keen insights on podcasting from hosts like Paul Scheer, Matt Gourley, Paul F. Tompkins, Lea Thau, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. 

April 16, 2015

Public radio veteran Alex Blumberg returns to The Wolf Den, nearly a year after he told then-host Jeff Ullrich about his plans for a new podcasting company. Now Alex is the co-founder and CEO of Gimlet Media, which produces the popular StartUp and ReplyAll podcasts. He documented the founding and the process of raising $1.5 million in capital on the first season of StartUp. Alex tells Adam that the events of the last year have been “shocking,” and recounts the ways in which things turned out how he expected, and the outcomes that surprised him. He and Adam discuss how the breakout podcasts “Serial” and “Invisibilia” have raised the bar for the medium, and why rapid audience growth really qualifies podcast companies as true start ups. Alex also explains the choice to be so personally revealing on StartUp, and the point at which he knew the show and the company was succeeding. He also reveals some teasers about what to expect in the second season of StartUp, which debuts April 23. 

May 8, 2014

Public radio producer Alex Blumberg enters The Wolf Den to discuss the entrepreneurial future of audio journalism. Alex is a long-standing producer for This American Life and the co-founder of the NPR podcast and radio program Planet Money. He tells Jeff about the lessons learned in the Planet Money Kickstarter to make a t-shirt so that they could document its production and distribution across the global supply chain. Alex reveals how this opened a door for him, and that he’s building a new independent project to create and support innovative narrative journalism.

 

Don’t miss the bonus video (http://blog.themidroll.com/twd-57-bonus-video/) where Alex lets us in on what he thinks is the most exciting thing happening in podcasting today.