Longform Podcast Joins Vox And Expands The Conversation

 In the last two years, established and new podcast networks have been attempting to set a world record for the number of new shows released or swallowing other podcast shows or networks without chewing properly. This need for speed in podcast growth and quest for dominance hasn't always included content quality as one of its companions. For example, true-crime podcasts are born faster than the Duggar family can announce a new pregnancy, and social media influencers try to make a soft landing in podcasting without considering that a podcast requires more skills than a three-minute TikTok video on a trampoline. 

 

By contrast, the Vox Podcast Network has expanded, but without the frenetic race for more of everything and less of anything. Its growth consists of organic development with shows like Unexplainable, Vox Quick Hits, Recode, and Land Of The Giants. 

Then, Vox develops strategic partnerships with podcasts that blend well with its podcast oeuvre. For instance, it acquired Cafe, Preet Bharara’s podcast-first media company in April, and recently announced a strategic partnership with the widely-beloved food podcast Gastropod.

In that same vein, Vox VP of Audio Liz Nelson has announced that Longform, the long-running interview podcast co-hosted by Max Linsky, Aaron Lammer, and Evan Ratliff, is joining Vox. Effective as of the show’s August 11th episode, Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network will take on sales, marketing, and distribution for Longform, working with the Longform team as they expand their focus into non-fiction mediums beyond writing – podcasting and documentary film in particular.

“Over the last nine years and more than 500 episodes, Longform has become the go-to place to hear about the craft of true storytelling from some of our era’s most celebrated and groundbreaking creators — and the struggles and triumphs that never show up in the final work,” says Vox’s VP of audio Liz Kelly Nelson. “At Vox, we value deep conversation and curiosity, and can't wait to welcome Max, Aaron and Evan into our own community of makers and journalists.”

The show is smart but never smarmy, and insightful without being insipid. At Vox, Longform will have the opportunity to scale its audience as it takes its place among an already-robust lineup of interview shows, which includes Vox Conversations (hosted by Jamil Smith and Sean Illing), The Weeds (hosted by Matt Yglesias), Recode Media (hosted by Peter Kafka), and Worldly (hosted by Zack Beauchamp and Jennifer Williams).

Moreover, Vox's wider slate of like-minded shows, which features programming from networks including New York Magazine, The Verge, and more, will offer Longform further promotional opportunities.

Aaron Lammer and Max Linsky co-founded Longform.org, a site which catalogs and recommends the best nonfiction on the Web, in 2010. Max Linsky is the co-founder of the podcast company Pineapple Street Studios, and also created and hosts 70 over 70, the acclaimed show that asks the big life questions of 70 remarkable people over the age of 70. Evan Ratliff is a longtime reporter for magazines like Wired and The New Yorker, cofounder of The Atavist Magazine, and the author of The Mastermind: Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal.


"We've been huge fans of Vox from its earliest days, and have been so impressed by what this group is building in audio — we're thrilled about what this partnership will mean for our show,” says Longform co-host Max Linsky. “After producing Longform independently for nearly a decade, with almost 500 episodes in the catalogue, the chance to reach a whole new audience alongside some of the smartest people in media was a complete no-brainer.”