Where Should We Begin? Podcast Goes From Spotify To Vox

 The football world is buzzing with rumors of a trade with NFL quarterback great Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets. In the podcasting world, a trade of major value was just consummated this week.

Vox Media announced a strategic partnership with Esther Perel that will bring the acclaimed psychotherapist and bestselling author’s hit podcast, Where Should We Begin?, to the Vox Media Podcast Network. 

Since it launched in 2017, the show has established a loyal audience of millions and frequently ranks among the top shows in trending podcast charts. Each episode features real, anonymous pairs in one-time therapy sessions, providing listeners with an intimate, personal, and complex take on modern relationships — both at home and at work. The show joins Vox Media from Spotify, which was its home for the last three years. 

Now, media psychology experts like Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew have tarnished the profession of media psychologist, but thankfully Esther Perel continues to redeem the profession. Unlike some media psychologists, Perel does not exploit her guests but listens carefully and acts like more of a counselor than an external, judge-y conscience like Dr. Phil. 

Starting this summer, Where Should We Begin? will ramp up to a weekly, always-on show and cover a wide spectrum of modern relationships ranging from couples to friends to work colleagues, and Vox Media will take on sales, marketing, and distribution responsibilities. Magnificent Noise, a boutique podcast production company, will continue to produce the podcast, and special bonus content will be available for subscribers via a partnership with Apple Podcasts. Vox Media will also work with Perel to explore potential editorial collaborations with New York Magazine and The Cut, as well as creative collaborations, such as live events.

“When I started Where Should We Begin?, I opened up the four walls of my office for the very first time and began a global public health campaign, specifically for relationships,” says Perel. “As the podcast has grown, we’ve eagerly sought creative partners to help us bring the podcast to even broader audiences. We’re beyond excited to begin working with Vox Media to bring new episodes to listeners every week – and perhaps a few surprises outside the feed too.”

"Esther brings a unique combination of talents to the podcast space: she informs us, entertains us, answers big questions that we've all had on our minds, and helps her listeners improve the relationships in their lives," says Ray Chao, Vox Media's SVP & General Manager of Audio and Digital Video. "She empowers us all to understand and navigate what it means to be human. We're beyond thrilled to bring Esther's influential voice to the Vox Media Podcast Network."

As I said, Perel is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on modern relationships. Fluent in nine languages, she helms a therapy practice in New York City (note that the voices featured in the podcast are from one-time sessions and not Perel’s ongoing patients). Perel also serves as an organizational consultant for Fortune 500 companies around the world. Her celebrated TED Talks have garnered more than 40 million views and her bestselling books, Mating in Captivity and The State of Affairs, are global phenomena translated into more than 30 languages.

Perel joins a roster of influential voices at the Vox Media Podcast Network that includes Kara Swisher (On with Kara Swisher; Pivot), Scott Galloway (The Prof G Pod; Pivot), Preet Bharara (Stay Tuned with Preet), Phoebe Judge (Criminal), Sean Rameswaram (Today, Explained), Noel King (Today, Explained), Sam Sanders (Into It), Nilay Patel (Decoder; The Vergecast), and more.

Where Should We Begin? is out with a new episode featuring a couple torn apart by the war in Ukraine. Listen to the episode  wherever you get your podcasts.