Nilay Patel talks to Chris Best, cofounder and CEO of Substack, the subscription newsletter startup that’s taken the media industry by storm over the past few months.
The conversation explores how Substack's business model could potentially impact the media industry, but also dives into the basic questions about running a media company -- how Substack makes ... Show More
Yesterday
Adam Conover explains how YouTube ruined everything
Adam Conover is a familiar face to anyone who’s spent time on the internet. He got his start at CollegeHumor back in the day, before transitioning into cable TV with Adam Ruins Everything, then onto Netflix, and all the way back to YouTube again, where he posts videos and hosts a ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 10
Why the current tech backlash feels different
We’re back with another Decoder mailbag special. This time, we focused on feedback to Nilay’s “software brain” video essay, our ongoing coverage of AI and Big Tech backlash, surveillance, interviewing politicians ahead of the midterms, and more. Remember: we really do read every ... Show More
54m 35s
Sep 2025
Chris Best of Substack on the Future of Media
<p>What if the future of media isn’t controlled by algorithms or legacy institutions—but by independent voices building directly with their audiences?</p><p>In this episode, Erik Torenberg is joined by Chris Best, cofounder and CEO of Substack, along with a16z general partners Ka ... Show More
46m 23s
Jun 2024
Is the NY Times Just a Gaming Platform?
Even the Grey Lady struggles to profit from the news. This week, Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers are joined by Semafor founder Ben Smith to discuss media profit models, the impact of Google’s AI on the news biz, and the TikTok-ification of information. In the Plus ... Show More
43m 47s
Jun 2022
How to Grow a SaaS Startup -- Niklas Dorn // Filestage
<p>Niklas Dorn, CEO of Filestage, talks about the importance of an optimal martech stack. Filestage has gone from being a bootstrapped company to a market leader in content review and approval platform for marketing teams. As a SaaS company, they were able to scale their product ... Show More
19m 21s
May 2018
#34 Can Storytime Become Big Business?
Max Tuchman is on a roll with Caribu, an app that lets parents and kids read together virtually. But can she convince investors that early success will lead to future returns? Today's investors are Jillian Manus, Michael Hyatt, Nicole Verkindt and Charles Hudson. Learn more about ... Show More
30m 46s
Jun 2023
#282 – Media vs Tech, Twitter Monsters, and Making Millions From Content with Steph Smith of a16z
Steph Smith (@stephsmithio) talks making millions in content subscriptions, working at a16z, putting the AI genie back in the bottle, thread boys on Twitter, educational vs entertainment podcasts, and media companies that monetize aspiring entrepreneurs with Courtland (@csallen) ... Show More
1h 4m
<p><!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p>What does it take to grow a thriving newsletter with 60,000+ engaged readers all while working full-time as a CFO? </p> <p><!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --></p> <p>CJ Gustafson, from Mostly Metrics, is on this week's episode of the Niche ... Show More
