Sorry to be that person, but....does the discounted annual coupon only apply to those whose annual renewal is between now and June 15? Or is this an ongoing offer? Wasn't sure how long you'll be offering that
Sorry if this wasn't clear. If your subscription ends BEFORE June 15th, you'll be able to renewed (whether auto or manually) at the current, lower rate, and don't need to do anything else. If your subscription ends between June 16th, 2025 and June 15, 2026, send us an email when your renewal is coming up and we'll reply with the coupon. to let you re-up at the original rate.
I wasted 20 seconds of Katie's life requesting the renewal code after not comprehending the post-June 15 part (my renewal is in May). I should always come to the thread first.
I'm really glad you're listening to subscribers and adjusting content to what we want (more of the hosts, less of other people). A price increase makes sense.
If you're taking more feedback: please less shitty American politics and more bizarre online stuff. I know there's quite a bit of overlap now but we get American Politics Online daily now, we don't want it in BARPod too.
I thought the last episode with Katie and her guest was dry as toast. I can't even remember what it was about.
BUT I like the guests in general. I just chalked that one up to not being my cup of tea. They can't all be bangers and I assumed someone else liked it. Let those people have an episode like this, I'll enjoy the others some more in return.
I also enjoy the guests. I wonder where they're getting feedback? People are more likely to complain than say they like something if they bother to leave a comment, so if Katie and Jesse are just reading comments to decide what to change about the podcast, they may be missing a silent majority. Why not do a poll for a better picture?
I remember Jesse also saying at some point that people hate when they cover Israel/Gaza. I absolutely LOVED their coverage of this and it is the reason I subscribed. I am a US expat who lives in Israel, and I have a New York Times subscription. After October 7, I often found myself thinking, "Is this truly the mainstream left's take on the situation?" while reading NYT articles, and feeling completely alienated. Jesse restored my faith in humanity with his reasonable takes. I haven't seen such reasonable coverage anywhere else. Every time I hear Jesse talk about Israel it makes me happy. I know this is kind of ironic because he is quite critical of Israel, but he seems to have a basic grasp of the facts that I haven't seen elsewhere, and I appreciate that so much.
Every time I read someone say they like these episodes I think.... do you not listen to any other podcast?
Yascha Mounk had Larry Summers on to talk about Harvard the same week the pod had a relatively not-notable author to provide milquetoast opinions on publishing. The internet is loaded with funny, engaging, and knowledgeable specialists in their field doing podcasts and BAR seems to pick the b-team. I hope Katie's weekly guest co-host is basically a rotation of Brad and Helen. At least they have good chemistry with her.
Please never stop asking each other how the week is going, the blather at the beginning is so comforting and sets the tone for the frame of mind you are in for the more researched conversation.
I’ve been going back and listening to all the early content I missed and wow the context is great in hindsight. Political current events are fine.
It's a great way to warm up into the episode. Plus I don't think the hosts realize just how funny they both are in the opening banters. #KeepTheBlather
What I want is for "what is the name of this increasingly [insert whatever you were talking about] podcast?" and "and remember" sign offs to come back!!!
I like the sign offs, like the blather, happy with interviews. Katie has done better overall with guests (and the wonderful writer Leigh Stein is included here!!) but I have learned a lot from Jesse’s interviews as well and definitely hope he does interviews when he sees a possible great guest (JD Vance for example).
Also, team interviews are fine and of course I agree on how wonderful Helen Lewis is.
Finally the core of the show—Katie & Jesse and internet bs is magic.
On the rate increase, for me personally it’s totally worth it!
I paid six bucks and change for a just-okay cold brew this morning. BARPod puts way more of a pep in my step than a coffee, and I'm thrilled to keep supporting at the new price.
Can't you keep Americans at the current price and then raise the price on all the dirty non-Americans who are taking advantage of our status as the world's podcast reserve to compensate for the needed revenue? You'll be richer than you ever imagined, very rich, very rich, yes.
Speaking of the theme song: I’m working on a cover of the theme. Both Jesse and Katie will hate it. I can’t wait to finish it and send it to them. It’s note for note the same melody/harmony, but with 80s synth pop production.
66,000 subscribers paying $5 per month = $3960000 per year. I get that there are fees and taxes, but come on. There are like 3 people that are part of this operation. I don't understand the unanimous acceptance of this and not a single person complaining.
We all make choices about what we want to spend money on.
For the record it's not 66,000 paid; it is, as noted below, about 14,000 paid, last I heard.
So let's do the math, just for shits and giggles.
14,000 x $5 = $70,000/month
x12 = $840,000/year
divided by 2? = $420,000/year
AI says:
Katie: If you make $420,000 a year living in the region of Washington, USA, you will be taxed $134,050. That means that your net pay will be $285,950 per year, or $23,829 per month.
Jesse: (I think he lives in NY?) If you make $420,000 a year living in the region of New York, USA, you will be taxed $163,764. That means that your net pay will be $256,236 per year, or $21,353 per month.
And that's all before expenses, plus I have no idea what staff they have and how much they get paid.
It's a nice income for sure. But it's not like they're raking in millions per person per year.
No one is required to listen. I have unsubscribed a couple of times and resubscribed.
That's a *very* impressive conversion rate if it is 14k/66k subs paid. I think Substack advertises that writers should expect 5-10%
I'm kind of conflicted on the price increase. It's not my business, but currently the price is in the range of "amazing deal. great value. Everyone should subscribe if you like the podcast at all". I'm not even listening to all the episodes, but I'm still subbed 'cause it's nice to have them available as they come out.
pushing it up to $7 USD makes it more like "ugh. fine. still good value, but idk.." - at $10 USD I'd probably cancel and resub every few months to catch up on what I missed.
I'd rather be subscribed to a lot of Substacks paying low monthly subs to each than just a few at a time paying higher. Have always appreciated that B&R was reasonably priced
They haven’t increased the price in 5 years, during which time there has been 24% inflation in the US. The price increase is the cost of one Kind Bar per month. It’s amazing people are sweating this.
I guess. I've just been feeling subscription fatigue lately. Everything wants to be a subscription, and the prices ratchet up over time. It adds up. I'm paying Spotify (recently cancelled), Netflix, Google, Garmin ($25 a month so I don't die in the wilderness, Jesus Christ..), etc. etc. It'd be easier to list the things I use that aren't monthly subs at this point.
I get that this increase isn't that much, but the marginal cost of production for a Substack is zero.
I just .. want to pay "happy prices" and not "grudingly acceptable prices"
Fair I didn't know that number includes free subscribers. But still that is a good income and It's reasonable to complain. Obviously no one is required to listen but people complain about price increases all the time. Sometimes companies listen and back off.
This comment is misinformation. Using J&K reported Primo numbers, the podcast takes in roughly $750k-$800k per year after paying Substack but before expenses. Maybe people aren’t complaining bc they don’t consider that even remotely excessive.
Well even taking into account Substack’s 10% that’s $3.54 million a year…almost 150k a month for each of the two hosts. At $7 a month they’d make $4.9 million a year….which I guess is….fine …if you can get more money everyone would take it. But given the enormous success of the podcast (and Jesse also has one of the most successful Substacks of his own) it feels a little bit greedy. Which again making more money is fine….but let’s not pretend that this is some kind of move to cover “raising costs” for a 3 person operation!
Another massive podcast—The Rest is History charges $6 a month for their US listeners while only paywalling 30 min bonus episodes every week which are listener questions usually so you’re not actually missing any “core content” because all episodes are released to non paying listeners except with ads and one at a time instead of all at once if it’s a several part episode arc. I’m gonna guess their costs are probably higher than BAR pod but probably not by much….im gonna go out on a limb and say they’ll still charge $6 when they hit 5 years in 2026.
Does Substack separate paying subscribers from free subscribers? I assumed it was feee subscribers. And check the leaderboard…. Substack does make that public.
I was thinking of ending my Primo-ship. I mean, I love Katie and Jesse but I am a Moderately Serious Person, sometimes at least. I get home delivery of the New York Times. I don't care and I'm never going to care about furries or internet people who commit pseudo-cide. Then I saw this message and said, "Oh yeah I'm cancelling." But instead I signed up for an annual membership to lock in the savings. Sometimes there's just no explaining things.
I think I am in the minority of your listnership who doesn't think that this show is suffering by becoming overly political. I maintain that this show has always been fairly politically valenced, even if through the lens of online discourse cultural commentary. The shows relevancey has come from criticizing the culture of the left from with in the left wing cultural bubble. In other words, it did fall into the genre of anti woke. It was relevant and cathartic in 2020ish, but it has become less and less relevant since that inflection point.
I think barpod has struggled to maintain its moderating and clear headed perspective on hot button cultural in the face of an increasingly insane cohort of heterdox pundits and an increasingly red pilled audience. However, I have stuck with barpod because they have done a better job than most the heterodox at staying sane and calling out bullshit when they see it. Although they do have a lot of the characteristic blindspots and could use a little more self reflection in regards to their own participation in group think and audience cultivation. No one is perfect and have still found their perspectives valuable.
That being said, I am honestly losing some interest in the podcast. I don't really care that much about the internet bullshit just to learn obscure internet bullshit. I care about the topics that are relevant to the broader cultural and political discourse. In the past you all have added valuable insights into hot button news topics that were butchered in the mainstream due to media bias and lack of knowledge of internet culture. However, it seems like your internet bullshit topics now have less relevancey.
Additionally, you all now have to be hypersensitive about the political discourse you engage in due to your audience's proclivities. Much of your audience has little for criticism of the right wing culture war crap comparative to left wing culture war crap. I know audience vehemently denies such a bias, but it is frankly obvious.
Also, although appreciate your criticism of the right and even your own fellow heterodox pundits, I do think you all have fallen into some blindspots to the rise of the new right and its broader implications. I think you all often failed to see the rightward slide within your own cohort and audience. I think that deserves more open self reflection.
I am curious where this podcasts goes moving forward, but to be honest I think it may be on a slow decline at this point. I don't think there's necessarily shame in that, but it may be it has just lost relevancey. I would be glad to be proven wrong though.
So glad there will be fewer solo episodes. That was a change I REALLY did not like. Every once in a while is fine but I thought it really diluted your brand. Don’t mind the price increase. I was wondering if that was ever going to go up. My renewal just happened yesterday so good timing on my part.
Sorry to be that person, but....does the discounted annual coupon only apply to those whose annual renewal is between now and June 15? Or is this an ongoing offer? Wasn't sure how long you'll be offering that
I'll add this to the post:
Sorry if this wasn't clear. If your subscription ends BEFORE June 15th, you'll be able to renewed (whether auto or manually) at the current, lower rate, and don't need to do anything else. If your subscription ends between June 16th, 2025 and June 15, 2026, send us an email when your renewal is coming up and we'll reply with the coupon. to let you re-up at the original rate.
I hope the coupon code is for Jesse Bucks for the merch store!
I wasted 20 seconds of Katie's life requesting the renewal code after not comprehending the post-June 15 part (my renewal is in May). I should always come to the thread first.
If I don't want the original rate and just want to pay you an extra $2/month, I just do anything and wait for my renewal next January, right?
Thanks, Jesse. My renewal date is June 21st. 😅
Small typos: "renewed" should be "renew" and the period after "coupon" should be removed.
Charge em 2 bucks for this Nic!
I will also be that person: My renewal isn't till December. Do I still get a discount?
You just need to email them sometime near your renewal date and you will be provided a discount code, is my understanding.
Yes, that seems to be the case. But I may not bother.
I'm really glad you're listening to subscribers and adjusting content to what we want (more of the hosts, less of other people). A price increase makes sense.
If you're taking more feedback: please less shitty American politics and more bizarre online stuff. I know there's quite a bit of overlap now but we get American Politics Online daily now, we don't want it in BARPod too.
Also, more Helen Lewis! Please!
the tariff on british podcast guests will only drive up subscription prices!
I thought the last episode with Katie and her guest was dry as toast. I can't even remember what it was about.
BUT I like the guests in general. I just chalked that one up to not being my cup of tea. They can't all be bangers and I assumed someone else liked it. Let those people have an episode like this, I'll enjoy the others some more in return.
I liked that one!
Book publishing. I enjoyed it, especially the stats, but then I was en route to a bookclub to moan about a truly awful ‘women empowering women’ novel.
I also enjoy the guests. I wonder where they're getting feedback? People are more likely to complain than say they like something if they bother to leave a comment, so if Katie and Jesse are just reading comments to decide what to change about the podcast, they may be missing a silent majority. Why not do a poll for a better picture?
I remember Jesse also saying at some point that people hate when they cover Israel/Gaza. I absolutely LOVED their coverage of this and it is the reason I subscribed. I am a US expat who lives in Israel, and I have a New York Times subscription. After October 7, I often found myself thinking, "Is this truly the mainstream left's take on the situation?" while reading NYT articles, and feeling completely alienated. Jesse restored my faith in humanity with his reasonable takes. I haven't seen such reasonable coverage anywhere else. Every time I hear Jesse talk about Israel it makes me happy. I know this is kind of ironic because he is quite critical of Israel, but he seems to have a basic grasp of the facts that I haven't seen elsewhere, and I appreciate that so much.
Every time I read someone say they like these episodes I think.... do you not listen to any other podcast?
Yascha Mounk had Larry Summers on to talk about Harvard the same week the pod had a relatively not-notable author to provide milquetoast opinions on publishing. The internet is loaded with funny, engaging, and knowledgeable specialists in their field doing podcasts and BAR seems to pick the b-team. I hope Katie's weekly guest co-host is basically a rotation of Brad and Helen. At least they have good chemistry with her.
Yes, I do listen to other podcasts. I don't generally rate podcasts based on how famous their guests are though.
If you like not-notable non-experts sharing their opinions, you should look into twitch streamers.
I didn't like it either, but most guest episodes are interesting.
Please never stop asking each other how the week is going, the blather at the beginning is so comforting and sets the tone for the frame of mind you are in for the more researched conversation.
I’ve been going back and listening to all the early content I missed and wow the context is great in hindsight. Political current events are fine.
Anything so you don’t both burn out!
And keep telling us -- in the middle -- that it is a podcast we are listening to.
I would be so lost otherwise. It is the anchor that holds my sanity every week.
It's a great way to warm up into the episode. Plus I don't think the hosts realize just how funny they both are in the opening banters. #KeepTheBlather
What I want is for "what is the name of this increasingly [insert whatever you were talking about] podcast?" and "and remember" sign offs to come back!!!
I like the sign offs, like the blather, happy with interviews. Katie has done better overall with guests (and the wonderful writer Leigh Stein is included here!!) but I have learned a lot from Jesse’s interviews as well and definitely hope he does interviews when he sees a possible great guest (JD Vance for example).
Also, team interviews are fine and of course I agree on how wonderful Helen Lewis is.
Finally the core of the show—Katie & Jesse and internet bs is magic.
On the rate increase, for me personally it’s totally worth it!
Yes!! 💯 I miss both of those!
Wait, you're raising prices in June?
YOU'RE RAISING PRICES IN PRIDE MONTH!!!!1!
Absolutely worth the higher price, somewhat surprised it didn't happen sooner.
I guess I'm in the minority in that I liked the interviews, but once a month is fine, too.
I paid six bucks and change for a just-okay cold brew this morning. BARPod puts way more of a pep in my step than a coffee, and I'm thrilled to keep supporting at the new price.
I was going to try to save money by listening to the Chinese knock-off version of the podcast, but the tariffs put the kibosh on that.
Cut off comments right now. Can't top that one.
I was going to say it was called "Brocked and Leported" but I thought that was too lacist.
Can't you keep Americans at the current price and then raise the price on all the dirty non-Americans who are taking advantage of our status as the world's podcast reserve to compensate for the needed revenue? You'll be richer than you ever imagined, very rich, very rich, yes.
Do us Australians get an exemption because we join all your wars without asking questions? 🥺
I see a question mark at the end of your sentence. Quit asking questions, Aussie.
;-)
(And thank you for your support, from the bottom of my red/white/blue heart).
Sorry, bro. Past is the past. You don't know what time it is!
👊 🔥 🇺🇲
(Okay, let your sub expire and I'll think about sending you download links for a small fee. I'm thinking $5 a month.)
❤️
Speaking of the theme song: I’m working on a cover of the theme. Both Jesse and Katie will hate it. I can’t wait to finish it and send it to them. It’s note for note the same melody/harmony, but with 80s synth pop production.
Yaaaassss Queen (King? Quing?)
Post it here first !
66,000 subscribers paying $5 per month = $3960000 per year. I get that there are fees and taxes, but come on. There are like 3 people that are part of this operation. I don't understand the unanimous acceptance of this and not a single person complaining.
We all make choices about what we want to spend money on.
For the record it's not 66,000 paid; it is, as noted below, about 14,000 paid, last I heard.
So let's do the math, just for shits and giggles.
14,000 x $5 = $70,000/month
x12 = $840,000/year
divided by 2? = $420,000/year
AI says:
Katie: If you make $420,000 a year living in the region of Washington, USA, you will be taxed $134,050. That means that your net pay will be $285,950 per year, or $23,829 per month.
Jesse: (I think he lives in NY?) If you make $420,000 a year living in the region of New York, USA, you will be taxed $163,764. That means that your net pay will be $256,236 per year, or $21,353 per month.
And that's all before expenses, plus I have no idea what staff they have and how much they get paid.
It's a nice income for sure. But it's not like they're raking in millions per person per year.
No one is required to listen. I have unsubscribed a couple of times and resubscribed.
It's a business. 🤷🏻♀️
That's a *very* impressive conversion rate if it is 14k/66k subs paid. I think Substack advertises that writers should expect 5-10%
I'm kind of conflicted on the price increase. It's not my business, but currently the price is in the range of "amazing deal. great value. Everyone should subscribe if you like the podcast at all". I'm not even listening to all the episodes, but I'm still subbed 'cause it's nice to have them available as they come out.
pushing it up to $7 USD makes it more like "ugh. fine. still good value, but idk.." - at $10 USD I'd probably cancel and resub every few months to catch up on what I missed.
I'd rather be subscribed to a lot of Substacks paying low monthly subs to each than just a few at a time paying higher. Have always appreciated that B&R was reasonably priced
They haven’t increased the price in 5 years, during which time there has been 24% inflation in the US. The price increase is the cost of one Kind Bar per month. It’s amazing people are sweating this.
I guess. I've just been feeling subscription fatigue lately. Everything wants to be a subscription, and the prices ratchet up over time. It adds up. I'm paying Spotify (recently cancelled), Netflix, Google, Garmin ($25 a month so I don't die in the wilderness, Jesus Christ..), etc. etc. It'd be easier to list the things I use that aren't monthly subs at this point.
I get that this increase isn't that much, but the marginal cost of production for a Substack is zero.
I just .. want to pay "happy prices" and not "grudingly acceptable prices"
$10 is my pain point for podcasts. It’s why I’ve never subscribed to 5th Column. $7 is less than my subscription to The Athletic so I’m in
Yeah, I hear you.
Fair I didn't know that number includes free subscribers. But still that is a good income and It's reasonable to complain. Obviously no one is required to listen but people complain about price increases all the time. Sometimes companies listen and back off.
66,000 includes free subscribers. Primos will be a much lower percentage.
This comment is misinformation. Using J&K reported Primo numbers, the podcast takes in roughly $750k-$800k per year after paying Substack but before expenses. Maybe people aren’t complaining bc they don’t consider that even remotely excessive.
I think the 66K might be total subscribers, free and paid. Paid might be around 14K, or around 21% of total #.
Accurate information
Well even taking into account Substack’s 10% that’s $3.54 million a year…almost 150k a month for each of the two hosts. At $7 a month they’d make $4.9 million a year….which I guess is….fine …if you can get more money everyone would take it. But given the enormous success of the podcast (and Jesse also has one of the most successful Substacks of his own) it feels a little bit greedy. Which again making more money is fine….but let’s not pretend that this is some kind of move to cover “raising costs” for a 3 person operation!
Another massive podcast—The Rest is History charges $6 a month for their US listeners while only paywalling 30 min bonus episodes every week which are listener questions usually so you’re not actually missing any “core content” because all episodes are released to non paying listeners except with ads and one at a time instead of all at once if it’s a several part episode arc. I’m gonna guess their costs are probably higher than BAR pod but probably not by much….im gonna go out on a limb and say they’ll still charge $6 when they hit 5 years in 2026.
Does Substack separate paying subscribers from free subscribers? I assumed it was feee subscribers. And check the leaderboard…. Substack does make that public.
66,000*5=330,000. Where are you getting 3.9 million from?
$5 per month, 12 months a year (probably should factor in the slight discount for annual subscribers, but it's napkin math so whatever)
I was thinking of ending my Primo-ship. I mean, I love Katie and Jesse but I am a Moderately Serious Person, sometimes at least. I get home delivery of the New York Times. I don't care and I'm never going to care about furries or internet people who commit pseudo-cide. Then I saw this message and said, "Oh yeah I'm cancelling." But instead I signed up for an annual membership to lock in the savings. Sometimes there's just no explaining things.
Would now be a bad time to mention that given what’s happening to the dollar, this is going to be cost neutral for UK based listeners pretty soon…
I think I am in the minority of your listnership who doesn't think that this show is suffering by becoming overly political. I maintain that this show has always been fairly politically valenced, even if through the lens of online discourse cultural commentary. The shows relevancey has come from criticizing the culture of the left from with in the left wing cultural bubble. In other words, it did fall into the genre of anti woke. It was relevant and cathartic in 2020ish, but it has become less and less relevant since that inflection point.
I think barpod has struggled to maintain its moderating and clear headed perspective on hot button cultural in the face of an increasingly insane cohort of heterdox pundits and an increasingly red pilled audience. However, I have stuck with barpod because they have done a better job than most the heterodox at staying sane and calling out bullshit when they see it. Although they do have a lot of the characteristic blindspots and could use a little more self reflection in regards to their own participation in group think and audience cultivation. No one is perfect and have still found their perspectives valuable.
That being said, I am honestly losing some interest in the podcast. I don't really care that much about the internet bullshit just to learn obscure internet bullshit. I care about the topics that are relevant to the broader cultural and political discourse. In the past you all have added valuable insights into hot button news topics that were butchered in the mainstream due to media bias and lack of knowledge of internet culture. However, it seems like your internet bullshit topics now have less relevancey.
Additionally, you all now have to be hypersensitive about the political discourse you engage in due to your audience's proclivities. Much of your audience has little for criticism of the right wing culture war crap comparative to left wing culture war crap. I know audience vehemently denies such a bias, but it is frankly obvious.
Also, although appreciate your criticism of the right and even your own fellow heterodox pundits, I do think you all have fallen into some blindspots to the rise of the new right and its broader implications. I think you all often failed to see the rightward slide within your own cohort and audience. I think that deserves more open self reflection.
I am curious where this podcasts goes moving forward, but to be honest I think it may be on a slow decline at this point. I don't think there's necessarily shame in that, but it may be it has just lost relevancey. I would be glad to be proven wrong though.
Sorry for spelling errors. No time to edit.
think i'm enjoying the pod more than you but totally agree with what the original value of the podcast was/is.
will prob keep subscribing because the world is so lacking in relatively non-tribal, honest media pundits
So glad there will be fewer solo episodes. That was a change I REALLY did not like. Every once in a while is fine but I thought it really diluted your brand. Don’t mind the price increase. I was wondering if that was ever going to go up. My renewal just happened yesterday so good timing on my part.
When you say really in caps it’s much more impactful.
I’d pay more for more katie solo rides with a guest. I’d also pay more to find out what a daisy chain actually entails
A graphic moment by moment explanation of a daisy chain would be worth the price of admission.
I'm going to start smuggling in BarPod episodes from Mexico.
*Reporting to ICE