I was hoping to meet Samantha Irby in person, since podcast interviews are more fun that way and she is a fun person, but she is obstinately committed to Kalamazoo, the small Michigan city plonked equidistant from three Great Lakes. This podcast has not yet reached the point where I can justify the expense of a Courtyard Marriott in Kalamazoo for one interview. So, Zoom it was. 

Kalamazoo looms so large in Samantha’s bio that it has become part of her brand. She doesn’t care for the literary cool clubs of New York and Los Angeles. She’s an outsider, but loved by insiders. She has a voice all her own—energetic, profane, wacked-out—that is of some place other than where all her peers seem to reside (physically and psychologically). And she is very nice, in that way that obliges everyone to remark on how nice people from the Midwest are. 

Relatedly, she quit Twitter. Unrelatedly, she has a Substack about Judge Mathis. Actually, on second thought, I am pretty sure that is related. Relatedly, she has a new book of essays called Quietly Hostile, her fifth (“please buy it or I will die,” she implores readers). Relatedly, she writes for TV shows, including Shrill, Tuca & Bertie, and most up-to-datedly, And Just Like That… (the Sex and the City reboot). These are impressive achievements for someone who started her writing career with a MySpace blog in 2008 (“I met this dude who was like, ‘I’m really into writers’ and I wanted him to be really into me”). 

That background, with a love for writing online developed before social media became a Thunderdome, has helped her find freedom in her art, so she can really let loose with foul language and exquisite potty humor. Samantha Irby gets to be who she wants on the internet. If only she could do it without the death threats… 

Samantha’s recommended read

*  Now That I Mention It by Meecham Whitson Meriweather

Show notes

* Subscribe to bitches gotta eat! by Samantha Irby

* Find Samantha’s author profile and personal website

* Quietly Hostile, published by Penguin Random House, is out in May 2023

* Follow Samantha on Instagram

* [01:27] On that phone call from Cynthia Nixon

* [07:25] Writing for And Just Like That…

* [11:38] Receiving feedback online

* [13:44] Shutting down comments

* [15:48] Being tagged by “some bitch”

* [19:17] The challenge for modern writers

* [27:27] Advice for emerging writers

* [33:11] Becoming a writer, not giving up the day job

* [35:32] From Myspace to Substack

* [44:39] The newsletter as a job

* [46:44] Getting voicemails from Warner Bros

* [50:30] Living in Kalamazoo, Michigan

* [56:06] Depression memes and hopefulness

* Samantha’s profile piece on Lizzo for Time Magazine in 2019

* miranda??? texting me?????

The Active Voice is a new podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com