Past Due with Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle
Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle explore what it takes to survive as a creative today. From juggling side gigs to redefining success, we dive into the real stories behind making a living when one job just isn’t enough
Episodes
July 30, 2025 • 63 mins
Video essayist Ian Danskin joins us to talk about the exhausting economics of doing thoughtful work online—and what it means when your most meaningful content can’t pay the bills. From burnout to bad faith backlash, Ian opens up about what it takes to keep going when attention is currency... and you're broke.
Bonus episodes + extras: https://patreon.com/pastdue
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July 23, 2025 • 57 mins
Screenwriter Bob DeRosa joins us to talk about what it really takes to build a long-haul creative career—one that doesn’t go viral, but keeps going. We break down 20+ years in Hollywood by the numbers, and what it reveals about persistence, rejection, reinvention, and the myth of overnight success.
If Bob’s Bluesky post made you feel seen, wait until you hear what didn’t make it into the main episode. In the bonus edition, Bob sha...
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July 16, 2025 • 54 mins
Journalist and podcast host Sam Sanders joins us to talk about what happens when the thing you thought you wanted turns out to be too small. We get into the emotional and financial cost of walking away, what it means to do it yourself in a collapsing industry, and how to balance ambition with reality.
Want to know what the scariest career pivot Sam Sanders had to make? You can find out at patreon.com/pastdue. Each week the epi...
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July 9, 2025 • 45 mins
Comedian Josh Gondelman and writer Maris Kreizman join us to talk about surviving the creative economy as individuals and as a couple. We dig into the emotional labor of staying hopeful, the financial logistics of making art with no guarantees, and what happens when even the “success stories” feel precarious.
If you want more from Josh and Maris, there’s bonus conversations waiting for you at patreon.com/pastdue.
Learn more abou...
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July 2, 2025 • 56 mins
Despite writing bestsellers and landing a Reese’s Book Club pick, Xochitl Gonzalez opens up about the lingering shame of precarity, the invisibility of working-class success, and why we need to drag money talk out into the light.
Love this? Hear more from the conversation with Xochitl Gonzalez at patreon.com/pastdue
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June 25, 2025 • 64 mins
Ana and Mike talk about what it means to sell out... financially, creatively, and emotionally. From brand deals to burnout, they ask whether survival in the creative economy means compromising your values, or just being honest about what pays the bills.
For bonus content and more, visit patreon.com/pastdue
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June 18, 2025 • 42 mins
Writer and podcaster Jamie Loftus joins us to talk about financial anxiety, inherited frugality, and the emotional cost of choosing creative freedom. From 7-Eleven coffee to viral fame, we explore what happens when you build a life around surviving—long after you’ve made it.
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June 11, 2025 • 67 mins
Writer Parker Molloy joins us to talk about the invisible costs of creative independence, from burnout to the search for meaning in an industry built on metrics, and why it’s so hard to believe your work matters, even when it clearly does.
This week on our Patreon exclusive, Parker Malloy names names. She tells us who’s thriving in media right now that absolutely shouldn’t be, and who’s doing such great work it makes her forget ...
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June 4, 2025 • 62 mins
Writer, performer, and YouTuber Maggie Mae Fish joins us to talk about financial survival, burnout, and the hard-earned lessons of giving up hustle culture. We unpack the toll of having five jobs, the shame of rest, the fear of slowing down—and why stability doesn’t magically erase anxiety.
Every episode, we save the most surprising, unfiltered stories for our Patreon. In this week’s bonus segment, Maggie Mae Fish tells us what ...
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May 28, 2025 • 59 mins
Journalist Taylor Lorenz joins us to talk about the hidden costs of writing online today, from the terrifying reality of working without health protections, to the pressure of being a one-person brand, and why real survival might mean building community from the ground up.
If you want to hear more from Taylor Lorenz about the emotional whiplash of losing just one subscriber, join us at patreon.com/pastdue. You’ll get exclusi...
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May 21, 2025 • 56 mins
Comedian Adam Conover joins us to unpack the real costs of the so-called "creator economy" from algorithmic gatekeeping to the crumbling of stable creative jobs.
If you want to hear more from our episode with Adam Conover, including his worst ever gig, join us at patreon.com/pastdue. You’ll get exclusive extras, extended interviews, and first dibs on upcoming surprises.
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May 14, 2025 • 57 mins
Writer Lyz Lenz joins us for a brutally honest conversation about what it really takes to survive the creative economy. From maxed-out credit cards to a New York Times bestseller, we talk about money shame, dental debt, raising kids without a safety net, and why community, not success, is the real measure of a good life.
If you want to hear more from our conversation with Lyz Lenz, including the very chaotic, very real story of ...
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May 7, 2025 • 52 mins
Comedian and actor Paul F. Tompkins opens up about career insecurity, creative joy, and why the secret to survival in a crumbling industry might just be doing it yourself.
If you want to hear more from today’s conversation with Paul F. Tompkins, including his dumbest money decision ever and the surprisingly smart investment he made that paid off big, join us at patreon.com/pastdue. You’ll get exclusive extras, extended interview...
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April 30, 2025 • 2 mins
Overworked, underpaid, & somehow still optimistic? Join us on "Past Due" as we navigate surviving an economy that doesn’t play fair. Starting May 7th, 2025.
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April 23, 2025 • 10 mins
The creative economy is broken, and yet, we’re still here. Past Due is a new podcast from Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle about what it really takes to survive as a creator today. One job isn’t enough, three still won’t cover your bills, and success doesn’t guarantee stability. With honesty, humor, and guests like Paul F. Tompkins, Liz Linz, Taylor Lorenz, Adam Conover, and more, we talk wins, losses, and the myths of "making it....
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April 16, 2025 • 56 mins
In the final episode of Another Day, Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle unpack the quiet panic of not-quite-enough, from spreadsheets and therapy bills to racism, war, and creative burnout. Along the way, they talk literal and figurative agendas, how America speed-runs authoritarianism, and what makes people finally take to the streets.
Also: they reveal what’s next. (Spoiler: it’s their new show.) Welcome to the soft launch of Pa...
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April 2, 2025 • 37 mins
What happens when living your dream doesn’t pay the bills? Ana and Open Mike Eagle talk about how unexpected gigs can save the day, but needing work still feels uncool. They reflect on shame, resilience, and the reality of making it as a creator in a world that doesn’t always reward your art.
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March 5, 2025 • 55 mins
Ana and Open Mike Eagle break down the weird, absurd, and infuriating ways politics and pop culture collide—from a TikTok song about a hostile government takeover to the frustrating reality of media grifts and viral fame. They dig into how labor is devalued, why independent artists are forced to hustle harder than ever, and why newsletters won’t save us.
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February 12, 2025 • 50 mins
Ana and Open Mike Eagle explore the fine line between resilience and overextension—digging into rock climbing injuries, political burnout, and why real strength comes from sustainability, not just survival.
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January 29, 2025 • 55 mins
Ana and Josh Gondelman explore the power of presence, reflecting on how connecting with others, embracing creativity, and asking for what you need transform everyday acts into resistance and joy.
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