There are always layers when it comes to gossip and secrets. There are the gossip stories you tell on a podcast to thousands of people, and those you would only mention at a dinner party or share with your closest of friends. Before the premiere of season two of Normal Gossip (the date of which is mentioned at the end of this bonus episode), we thought it was time for our little show to have some close friends of our own.
Today, we are launching Normal Gossip subscriptions! Those of you who have been around here for a while, who know about Zillowing Out or Chefector or why the NFL seems to run on nepotism, know Defector is a relatively small worker-owned company that is able to do what it does through direct support from readers. The same thing is absolutely true of our little podcast team, which is why we are launching subscriptions.
A truly weird and great thing happened when we launched Normal Gossip: people really seemed to like it! And for many people, it was the first time they heard of Defector! We thought it seemed like a good idea to find ways for all these new friends to help support the show and get to know the company that created it. We want to keep Normal Gossip weird and good and fun. We want to make it the way we designed it, and to make decisions based on what listeners, not advertisers want.
So what does that all mean? It means delightful treats, of course! Starting at $5 a month you can subscribe at the Friend-of-a-Friend level, where you'll get a special bonus episode of Normal Gossip every month that only goes out to subscribers. If you're new to Defector, Friend-of-a-Friend level will give you a tiny taste, an appetizer sampler really, of blogs each month. For $12 a month you can be a Friend level subscriber, which gets you the bonus episode and all the benefits of the Defector Pal tier, including unlimited blogs and commenting privileges. But here's the best crazy part: Friend-level subscribers get the option to throw their name into the hat to be the very special guest on the subscriber-only episode. And, for something truly spicy, you'll also be added to Normal Gossip's close friends circle on Instagram.
If you're already a Defector pal subscriber, guess what? You get all this stuff too! Wow this is a lot of information. You can find more details over at supportnormalgossip.com, or you could listen to today's bonus episode, which features answers to some Frequently Asked Questions!
In today's episode, I take Alex on a journey through some delightful and terrifying drama about a MBA program, we answer all the burning questions you have about how we make the show, and we tease future live shows and merch! And finally, we reveal the premiere date of season two!
For all our Defector pals and accomplices, you should have gotten an email this morning about the newly added Normal Gossip benefits. If you have questions about your subscription or how to upgrade it, or what your benefits are please email info@defector.com.
As always, if you have feedback on the FAQ episode or your own gossip to share, leave us a voicemail at 2-6-7-9-GOSSIP or send us a voice memo to normalgossip@defector.com.
You can subscribe to Normal Gossip on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen!
You can follow Normal Gossip on Instagram here and TikTok here. (The transcript for this week’s episode can be found here.)
