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.
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]
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]
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
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]
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