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Episode 583: Jay Caspian Kang

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

Episode 583: Jay Caspian Kang

Longform

2024/06/12
Longform

Longform

2024/06/12
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Jay Caspian Kang is a staff writer for The New Yorker and a co-host of Time to Say Goodbye. “At some point, you have to kick it out the door, and it’s never finished to the degree that you would finish a magazine piece. But it, in some ways, is more intere...

Highlights

In this reflective, final-season episode of The Longform Podcast, host Aaron Lammer sits down with writer and podcaster Jay Caspian Kang to examine the meaning of endings—not just for the show itself, but for creative identity, professional evolution, and long-term media work.
00:01
This is the third-to-last episode of The Longform Podcast after 12 years
06:03
Aaron's final Longform episode after 12 years
08:01
The podcast started as pandemic updates on Asia with two Asian American friends, then shifted to left Asian American politics
10:00
The podcast landscape has changed over time, from chatty podcasts to high-production narrative true-crime ones and now back to a focus on chatty content
14:52
Jay Caspian Kang writes 3,000–4,000 words weekly for financial reasons and to be less precious about his work
25:32
Feeling 'washed' as a podcaster raises questions about longevity and relevance in media
33:38
Few want to hear media criticism except maybe on sports casting
34:02
Substack seemed like a lifeboat for a while
37:36
Directing the ESPN documentary was both a luxury and daunting, requiring delegation—a new experience compared to writing.
42:04
There are many journalists they haven't had on the show, from regional newspapers or other parts of the world
43:05
People mainly want to talk about their past work on Grantland or the current podcast, showing the special bond formed through audio over time

Chapters

The Longform Podcast’s Final Chapter
00:00
Coin Talk
06:00
Tyler Austin Harper’s Atlantic archive
08:00
Serial
10:00
The Daily
12:00
“The High Is Always the Pain and the Pain Is Always the High” (The Morning News • Oct 2010)
20:00
James (Percival Everett • Doubleday • 2024)
28:00
“American Son” (ESPN • July 2024)
34:00
Kang’s VICE archive
35:00
“Mike Francesa Still Believes in the Power of Radio” (New York Times • Aug 2018)
42:00
Kang’s Grantland archive
43:00

Transcript

Speaker 1: support for the show comes from amazon. There are the things you can plan for a first birthday party, a movie marathon, a renter-friendly bathroom reno, and then there are the things you can never plan for. A surprise rainstorm, a Blu-ray player...