Gimlet Media LLC was a digital media company and podcast network, focused on producing narrative podcasts and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. The company was founded in 2014 by Alex Blumberg and Matthew Lieber, who served as the company's CEO and president respectively until both left the company in 2022. In February 2019, Spotify announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gimlet for $230 million. In 2023, Spotify announced that they were merging Gimlet and Parcast into Spotify Studios.
History
Gimlet was founded in August 2014 with the launch of its flagship podcast StartUp hosted by Alex Blumberg. Originally billed as the American Podcasting Corporation (APC), Blumberg was eventually convinced to change the company's name. After working with Lexicon Branding, Blumberg and Lieber chose the name Gimlet Media.Documenting the Journey From Public Radio to Start-Up Owner – Eilene Zimmerman, The New York Times, December 9, 2014
The company raised $1.5 million in seed funding at a $10 million valuation. After raising most of its initial capital from investment firms Betaworks, Lowercase Capital, and Knight Enterprise Fund, Gimlet invited the listeners of its shows to help raise the last $200,000 through equity crowdfunding. The company was estimated to bring in $2 million in advertising revenue in 2015. In December 2015, Gimlet closed a Series A round of funding that raised $6 million at a $30 million valuation.
In July 2015, Gimlet announced it would add the option to pay for membership, a decision motivated by a desire to diversify revenue streams to include more than advertising. Members were given early access to pilots for new Gimlet shows, a Gimlet T-shirt, and access to the company's Slack channel. Gimlet then hired Blumberg's spouse and former Rachel Maddow Show producer Nazanin Rafsanjani to explore other ways to diversify the company's revenue. Rafsanjani spearheaded Gimlet Creative, a wing of the company that, it said, "creates highly produced narrative audio in partnership with brands."
On August 2, 2017, Gimlet announced it closed a $15 million Series B investment round, led by Stripes Group. Emerson Collective, Graham Holdings, Betaworks, and Cross Culture Investors also contributed to the round. In September 2017, British advertising firm WPP announced it was investing $5 million in Gimlet for a minority stake in the company.
On February 6, 2019, Spotify announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gimlet for $230 million. One month later, 75% of staff at Gimlet Media went public with their union campaign, signing cards and seeking voluntary recognition. In April 2021, the employees ratified their first collective agreement. It would last 3 years, with minimum base salary of $73,000 for Gimlet producers. Absent was any provision over worker ownership of content. In the summer of 2022, Lieber left his role as president but remained an advisor to Spotify. In November 2022, Alex Blumberg also departed Gimlet and Spotify. On June 5, 2023, Spotify sent a memo to staff announcing that Gimlet will be merged with Parcast into a single Spotify Studios division, as part of a restructuring that also included the elimination of 200 jobs.
People
Alex Blumberg, a radio journalist, producer for This American Life, and co-founder of Planet Money, came up with the idea of a for-profit podcast network after the success of a T-shirt fundraising campaign for Planet Money. He chose to document the foundation of Gimlet in the first season of StartUp, the company's first show.
Gimlet's co-founder, Matthew Lieber, holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, is a former radio producer at WNYC, and worked as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group.
Lydia Polgreen was managing director until she left for The New York Times.
Shows Title Host(s) / Cast Genre DebutLast episodeScience VsWendy ZukermanScience July 28, 2016HeavyweightJonathan Goldstein Documentary September 23, 2016December 21, 2023Crimetown Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier Documentary November 20, 2016March 11, 2019Every Little Thing Flora Lichtman Documentary April 17, 2017October 11, 2023The PitchJosh MuccioBusiness documentaryJune 14, 2017Dec 9, 2020MogulReggie Osse (season 1), Brandon Jenkins (season 2)Hip-hop documentaryJune 16, 2017July 28, 2021UncivilChenjerai Kumanyika. Jack Hitt cohosted season 1HistoryOctober 4, 2017November 9, 2018Story PiratesThe Story PiratesKidsNovember 20, 2017August 11, 2022ChompersRachel WardKidsMarch 1, 2018July 30, 2023Without FailAlex BlumbergTalk showOctober 1, 2018April 20, 2020ConvictionSaki KnafoInvestigative journalismFebruary 4, 2019March 24, 2023Motherhood SessionsAlexandra SacksFamily lifeApril 11, 2019March 19, 2020The Two PrincesNoah Galvin, Ari'el Stachel, Christine Baranski, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Matthew Rhys, Samira WileyScriptedJune 4, 2019October 20, 2020The Journal.Kate Linebaugh and Ryan KnutsonJournalismJune 26, 2019MotherhackerCarrie Coon, Tavi Gevinson, Lucas Hedges, Pedro Pascal, and Alan CummingFiction, ScriptedNovember 13, 2019June 7, 2021The Scaredy Cats Horror ShowPJ Vogt and Alex GoldmanPop CultureApril 30, 2020June 23, 2020How to Save a PlanetAlex Blumberg, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Kendra Pierre-LouisClimate journalismJuly 31, 2020October 6, 2022ResistanceSaidu Tejan-Thomas Jr.Politics, Current EventsOctober 14, 2020December 15, 2021Reply AllAlex Goldman, PJ Vogt (2014−2021), and Emmanuel Dzotsi (2020−2022). Dzotsi joined in October 2020. Vogt departed amid controversy in February 2021.Internet cultureNovember 23, 2014June 22, 2022Mystery ShowStarlee KineMysteryMay 22, 2015July 31, 2015SamplerBrittany LusePodcastsJanuary 20, 2016October 17, 2016UndonePat WaltersDocumentaryNovember 14, 2016January 23, 2017Surprisingly AwesomeAdam Davidson and Adam McKay (2015–2016) Rachel Ward (2016)DocumentaryNovember 3, 2015April 12, 2017*Twice RemovedA. J. JacobsGenealogyDecember 16, 2016June 16, 2017StartUpAlex Blumberg (Season 1−) and Lisa Chow (Season 2−)Business documentarySeptember 5, 2014October 18, 2019The NodBrittany Luse & Eric EddingsCultureJuly 17, 2017January 20, 2020The Cut on TuesdaysMolly FischerJournalismOctober 16, 2018December 17, 2019
Science Vs was originally launched and produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as part of ABC Radio's First Run digital-first podcast program, before Gimlet announced in October 2015 the podcast was moving to and relaunching on their network in 2016.
The Pitch was originally launched as an independent podcast in July 2015 and joined Gimlet in 2017. The show returned to independent production in 2022.
Story Pirates was originally launched independently in October 2013, later joining Gimlet in 2017.
Science Vs
In October 2015, it was announced that the podcast Science Vs, hosted by Australian science journalist Wendy Zukerman, would move to Gimlet Media after previously being produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as part of ABC Radio's First Run digital-first podcast program.
The program dissects fads that are framed as scientific facts.
Heavyweight
In September 2016, Gimlet released the first episode of the podcast Heavyweight with Jonathan Goldstein. The company describes the format as stories "about journeying back to the moment when everything went wrong".
Heavyweight was cancelled by Spotify in December 2023. Goldstein has stated he hopes to find another production partner to continue the podcast. Heavyweight relaunched in 2025 with Puskin Industries.
Crimetown
Crimetown, a documentary series "centered on organized crime" debuted in 2016. The first season focused on organized crime in Providence, Rhode Island. The show is hosted by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier. The two previously worked together on the HBO documentary series The Jinx and the documentary film Catfish.
Season two of Crimetown, which focuses on police corruption and brutality in 1970s Detroit, Michigan, began on October 2, 2018. Unlike season 1, it was released exclusively on Spotify.
Every Little Thing Every Little Thing premiered on April 17, 2017, as the successor to Surprisingly Awesome. In finding a new host in former Science Friday producer Flora Lichtman, Gimlet decided that what they were creating was "a whole new thing" and decided to change the show's name to reflect that. Every Little Thing was cancelled and aired its final episode on October 11, 2022.
The Pitch
In June 2017, it was announced that the podcast The Pitch, hosted by Josh Muccio, would move to Gimlet Media after previously being produced independently. The Pitch returned to independent production in July 2022 following Muccio's buyback of the show from Spotify.
The program features entrepreneurs in need of venture funding as they pitch to a live panel of angel investors. It has been described as similar to ABC's hit TV series Shark Tank.
Mogul Mogul is produced by Gimlet in collaboration with Loud Speakers Network and premiered on Spotify on April 27, 2017, with a general release via other channels on June 16, 2017. The series is a six-episode documentary podcast that tells the story of Violator's Chris Lighty and his career as a music executive. The last episode of season 1 was on September 28, 2017 and at age 53 on December 20, 2017, host Reggie Ossé passed away."
A second season of Mogul exploring the growth of Southern hip hop premiered on September 18, 2019, with new host Brandon Jenkins.
Uncivil Hosted by journalists Jack Hitt and Chenjerai Kumanyika, Uncivil confronts the official version of the Civil War with previously-untold stories about covert operations, corruption, resistance, mutiny, counterfeiting, and more, looking to trace their effect to the modern political climate. The show debuted on October 4, 2017.
Uncivil's premiere episode "The Raid" won a 2017 Peabody Award for News, Radio, Podcast, and Public Service Programming. This was the first Peabody award for Gimlet Media.
Story Pirates
Hosted by the Story Pirates performance group, Story Pirates takes original stories submitted from kids and turns them into comedy shows. The Story Pirates crew includes actors, comedians, improvisers and musicians on a rotating basis. The show debuted on November 20, 2017.
Chompers
Hosted by Rachel Ward, Chompers is a twice daily show designed to help kids develop good tooth brushing habits. The show is designed to help kids brushing for the full two minutes that dentists recommend by integrating jokes, riddles, stories, fun facts, silly songs and more. Chompers is the first Gimlet-produced podcast that is directly integrated into an Amazon Alexa Skill. The show debuted on March 1, 2018.
Without Fail Billed as Gimlet's first interview show, Without Fail features CEO Alex Blumberg interviewing new guests in each episode. Each episode includes a guest who has taken a big professional risk, with the interview discussing why and how that risk came to be. The first season debuted on October 1, 2018. Guests on the show included Sophia Amoruso, Andre Iguodala, and Andrew Mason.
Conviction On February 4, 2019, Gimlet released the first season of its investigative true crime series Conviction. All seven episodes of the season were released together. Intended to focus on a new story each season, the first season is hosted by Saki Knafo and covers reporting he did involving a series of NYPD officers and some of the people they arrested. The first season was released in partnership with The New York Times Magazine and Type Investigations.
Motherhood Sessions In April 2019, Gimlet released Motherhood Sessions, a show about the challenges and new experiences for mothers. The show is hosted by Alexandra Sacks, a psychiatrist who specializes in reproduction and family life. The show's topics include dealing with divorce, careers, a financial strain for new or expecting mothers.
The Two Princes