Past Due with Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle

Latest Episodes:

What Do You Really Get Paid In? with Will Hines Oct 15, 2025

Show notes

Comedian and actor Will Hines joins Ana and Mike to talk about trading a salary for freedom, and why time might be the only currency that really matters. From leaving a corporate job at 33 to building an improv school from the ground up, we get into the real economics of creative work: how to manage taxes, protect your energy, and figure out what’s worth outsourcing (and what’s not).

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Is the Climb Its Own Kind of Arrival? with Jacquis Neal Oct 08, 2025

Show notes

Actor and comedian Jacquis Neal joins us to talk about the strange space between doing good work and still feeling like you haven’t arrived. From voiceover gigs to the long-haul hustle, we explore what it means to trust the process when the results don’t always look like what you imagined.

Want more? On the bonus episode, Jacquis opens up about the thing he keeps doing—whether or not anyone’s watching. Subscribe at patreon.com/pastdue for that, plus early access, ad-free episodes, and more.

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How Do You Let Go And Still Stay In It? with River Butcher Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

Comedian River Butcher joins us for a conversation about what happens when the gigs stop coming—and the world doesn’t end. We talk about the fear of slowing down, and how gratitude, perspective, and a working fridge might just be the real signs of success.

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Is Doing It Yourself the Only Honest Way Left? with Michael Burns Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

Writer and video essayist Michael Burns joins us to talk about what happens when the platform you helped build stops serving the work and starts serving itself. After Wisecrack, he set out to make something smaller, stranger, and more his own. We get into the emotional cost of reinvention, the illusion of creative security, and why doing it yourself might be harder… but also the only honest way left.

Get more at patereon.com/pastdue

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Ana and Mike Leave the House Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

Ana and Mike compare notes from the road: Ana’s on assignment in small-town Maine chasing a political story she believes in, and Mike’s in between tour legs, chasing rent. They get into the economics of chasing meaning when the math doesn’t make sense, the disappearing budgets of real journalism, and why a DIY ethos is both a burden and a blessing.

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Can You Make a Career Out of a Patchwork Quilt? with Ron Funches Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Comedian and actor Ron Funches joins us for a deeply funny and unexpectedly honest conversation about the strange economics of creative work. We talk about surviving on joy, staying positive when nothing’s going right, and why failure is sometimes part of the paycheck.
Originally recorded in 2022 for Mike’s podcast "Secret Skin."

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Is the Garage Is Better Than the Studio? with Chris Gethard Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

Comedian Chris Gethard joins us to talk about walking away from the version of success he spent years chasing, and why that might be the reason he's still standing. We get into the grief of giving up the big dream, the joy of making weird stuff for the people who get it, and the radical act of building a career that actually fits your life.

We’ve got more with Chris Gethard on patreon.com/pastdue - In this week’s bonus episode, Chris shares the hardest, weirdest, and most soul-crushing gig he’s ever taken. Hear that and more, and help support our show at patreon.com/pastdue⁠

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What If the “Recession-Proof” Job Isn’t? with Siri Dahl Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

Adult performer and podcaster Siri Dahl joins us to talk about the emotional and economic realities of sex work in an era that calls itself creator-friendly, but still censors, exploits, and erases. We talk about the myth that OnlyFans is easy money, the rising pressure to be everywhere at once, and what it means to be both the product and the platform.

Bonus episode on Patreon: patreon.com/pastdue

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What If 30 Years Is Just The Beginning? with Rhett Miller Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Musician and writer Rhett Miller joins us to talk about staying creative in an industry that keeps changing. From fronting the Old 97’s to writing children’s books, Rhett opens up about the financial rollercoaster of life on the road, the loneliness of independence, and the challenge of keeping faith in your work when the world stops clapping.

There's even more waiting for you on our Patreon. In this week’s bonus segment, Rhett tells us the behind-the-scenes story of filming the music video for “The End.” Including what it was like sitting in a bathtub full of (non-alcoholic) beer bottles after more than a decades of sobriety. Hear it only when you subscribe, plus ad-free episodes and more bonus content, at patreon.com/pastdue.

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Ana and Mike Face the Music Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Ana and Mike get real about what creative work actually looks like behind the scenes, breaking down the economics of touring, Substack’s Nazi problem, how platforms trap creators, audiences, and the psychology of performing.

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