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Blocked and Reported
Presentation
Hosted by
  • Katie Herzog
  • Jesse Singal
Genre
FormatAudio
LanguageEnglish
UpdatesWeekly
Country of originUnited States
Publication
Original releaseMarch 24, 2020 (2020-03-24)
Related
Websitewww.blockedandreported.org

Blocked and Reported is an American podcast created by journalists Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog. Launched in 2020, the podcast discusses recent political controversies and internet culture from a heterodox liberal perspective.

Background

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Herzog and Singal are critical of cancel culture, identity politics, and what they see as a growing opposition to free speech among progressives; they have also been described as "liberal but woke-sceptic".[1][2][3] Both hosts received backlash and were accused of transphobia after writing articles on detransitioners, people who have ceased to identify as transgender.[2][4]

Herzog is a former staff writer for the Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger, and has also written for The Free Press.[5][6] In 2017, she wrote the feature article "The Detransitioners" in The Stranger, which she later called "the most-read thing I've ever written."[7][8] After the article's publication, some Seattle residents sent Herzog hate mail or posted stickers calling her a transphobe; Herzog said that she lost friends and felt unwelcome in the city's lesbian community as a result.[8]

Singal has written for publications including New York magazine, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Reason.[9][10] His 2018 cover story "When Children Say They're Trans" for The Atlantic was both praised and critiqued by parents of transgender children.[11][12] Some transgender activists and journalists called the article transphobic or criticized it for focusing on subjects who no longer identified as transgender.[13][14]

Content

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According to the Blocked and Reported website, Herzog and Singal "scour the internet for its craziest, silliest, most sociopathic content" in order to "extract kernels of meaning and humanity from a landscape of endless raging dumpster fires."[15] Stories covered by Blocked and Reported include allegations of a toxic workplace environment at the Reply All podcast, the influence of Robin DiAngelo in the diversity training industry, the firing of Gina Carano from The Mandalorian, a Seattle Pride event that charged white attendees a "reparations fee", criticism of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for her views on transgender rights, and controversies in the young adult fiction community on Twitter.[2][3][16]

The podcast was originally launched on Patreon in March 2020, but moved to Substack in October 2021 due to technical reasons and the hosts' concerns about Patreon's commitment to free speech.[17][18]

Repeat guests at Blocked and Reported include Kat Rosenfield,[19][20] Helen Lewis,[21][22] and Mike Pesca.[23][24] Other episodes have featured guests such as Musa al-Gharbi,[25] Ana Kasparian,[26] Hadley Freeman,[27] and Dave Weigel.[28]

Reception

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Critical response

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Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune said that Blocked and Reported was one of his "new favorite podcasts" and that Herzog and Singal had "great podcast chemistry", though he cautioned that the hosts' "breezy banter and commitment to defending heterodox thinkers across the political spectrum will not appeal to everyone."[4] George Fenwick, in Stuff, praised Singal and Herzog's "clever and accessible" analysis of internet controversies, calling the podcast a "balm" for the chaos of online arguments.[16] The Times columnist James Marriott wrote that Blocked and Reported "provides exhaustive coverage of the latest culture wars scandals", with "a good-humoured, common-sense and often entertainingly exasperated perspective."[3]

Elizabeth Nolan Brown of Reason said that Blocked and Reported "spares nothing in ridiculing online controversies around gender, sexism, racism, and other heated issues but avoids the pitfall of simply gawking at dumpster fires. It also doesn't let any political tribe off the hook."[29] In The Spectator, Robert Jackman called the podcast "a safe space for conscientious liberals" who are skeptical of "the dangerous excesses of identity politics".[2]

Subscriptions and revenue

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As of June 2020, Blocked and Reported had over 1,400 subscribers and was earning more than $8,000 monthly.[1] By May 2021, this figure had risen to more than 5,000 subscribers.[4] In February 2023, Press Gazette placed Blocked and Reported among the highest-earning Substack newsletters, estimating that the podcast was earning at least $550,000 annually.[30] In 2024, the podcast was part of a Substack pilot program to help connect creators with advertisers in which Substack provided the hosts with ads to read during the show.[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gillespie, Nick (June 17, 2020). "Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal on Left-Wing Cancel Culture". Reason. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Jackman, Robert (July 24, 2020). "Purple podcasters". The Spectator. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Marriott, James (July 8, 2021). "Pieces of Britney review — Britney Spears doesn't need any more drama". The Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Zorn, Eric (May 21, 2021). "Column: Two more for the road: My new favorite podcasts". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  5. ^ "Katie Herzog - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper". The Stranger. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "Katie Herzog | The Free Press". The Free Press. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Herzog, Katie (June 28, 2017). "The Detransitioners: They Were Transgender, Until They Weren't". The Stranger. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  8. ^ a b McDermott, John (November 2, 2019). "Those People We Tried to Cancel? They're All Hanging Out Together". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  9. ^ "Jesse Singal". Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  10. ^ "Jesse Singal, Author at Reason.com". Reason. Archived from the original on November 21, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  11. ^ Singal, Jesse (July 2018). "When Children Say They're Trans". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 30, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Peterson, Matt; Kitchener, Caroline (June 22, 2018). "What Do the Parents of Trans Kids Have to Say?". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Neason, Alexandria (January 25, 2019). "The perils of publishing without a fact-checking net". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Barasch, Alex (June 20, 2018). "Sacred Bodies". Slate. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  15. ^ "About - Blocked and Reported". Blocked and Reported. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Fenwick, George (March 6, 2021). "Blocked & Reported: The podcast explaining the internet - a controversy at a time". Stuff. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  17. ^ "Episode 1: The Pilot". Blocked and Reported. March 24, 2020. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  18. ^ "Why Blocked And Reported Moved To Substack". Blocked and Reported. October 12, 2021. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  19. ^ "Episode 237: Time For A Re-Reckoning (With Kat Rosenfield)". Blocked and Reported. November 16, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  20. ^ "Episode 209: What Women Want (with Kat Rosenfield and Phoebe Maltz Bovy)". Blocked and Reported. March 31, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  21. ^ "Episode 210: Facilitating Communicating (with Helen Lewis)". Blocked and Reported. April 6, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  22. ^ "Episode 207: A YouTuber Goes Dark (with Helen Lewis)". Blocked and Reported. March 15, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  23. ^ "Episode 205: Sippy Cup Socialists (with Mike Pesca)". Blocked and Reported. March 2, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  24. ^ "Episode 99: How Slate Became An Embarrassing Basket-Case Shell Of Its Former Self (With Mike Pesca)". Blocked and Reported. January 21, 2022. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  25. ^ "Episode 230: Why Liberal Elites Have Unraveled So Spectacularly (With Musa Al-Gharbi)". Blocked and Reported. September 21, 2024. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  26. ^ "Episode 213: Ana Kasparian Gets Mugged By Reality". Blocked and Reported. April 27, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  27. ^ "Episode 229: Tranorexia (with Hadley Freeman)". Blocked and Reported. September 14, 2024. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  28. ^ "Episode 219: What Is The Purpose Of Journalism? (with Dave Weigel)". Blocked and Reported. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  29. ^ Brown, Elizabeth Nolan (August 7, 2020). "Blocked and Reported". Reason. Archived from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  30. ^ Maher, Bron (February 9, 2023). "Revealed: Top 27 highest-earning Substack newsletters generate over $22m a year". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on June 17, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  31. ^ Fischer, Sara (February 6, 2024). "Scoop: Substack is helping creators sell ads". Axios. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
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