Jamie Loftus is a comedian, Emmy-nominated TV writer, animator and podcaster. She’s worked as a staff writer on Teenage Euthanasia, Robot Chicken, and Star Trek: Lower Decks, and wrote and starred in her own web series for Comedy Central. She has written and hosted several popular limited-run podcasts — among them, “My Year In Mensa” (2019), “Lolita Podcast” (2020), “Aack Cast” (2021), and “Ghost Church” (2022) — all the while co-hosting “The Bechdel Cast.” Her first book, Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs is part investigation into the cultural and culinary significance of hot dogs and part travelog documenting a cross-country road trip researching them as they’re served today. Her book comes out May, 23, 2023, and Loftus sat down with me to talk about her life and career.
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This transcript has been edited and condensed only slightly for your convenience.
We're in late-stage social media era. One of the things that still goes viral is when people post nine different things or three different things and they say you can only keep one. So if you could only keep one for the rest of 2023: Would you keep podcasting or hot dogs?
Oh, oooh. Kind of depends on the day, but let's go hot dogs for today. That's timeless.
You have the book Raw Dog that's coming out this May. Have you found yourself eating more hotdogs over the course of the past year than you had in your entire life?
Yeah. I mean, the research process it was like I had to eat a ton all the time. But then after I finished, it just didn't shake out the way I thought at all. By the end, I thought I’d be vegan and like, in this new chapter of my life, but it sort of just led to me eating more hot dogs than I normally would. And now I have, I would say, like one or two a week, just a part of my life. Usually I'll like make one at home and then I'll like get one as a treat. But when I'm traveling, I want to get a local hot dog everywhere we stop, so there's been an uptick recently.
What’s your stand on Fenway Franks vs. Dodger Dogs?
Fenway Franks no contest. Dodger Dogs suck. Easiest, easiest decision I've ever made in my life. Dodger Dogs, even Dodger fans will tell you that they're not particularly very good. And there's so much drama with, like them switching vendors and all this stuff. I mean, all the meat production stuff is a nightmare. But Dodger Dogs, it’s like a special kind of nightmare. And it’s not even good. You're like, what are we even doing here for such a mediocre hot dog? Fenway Franks are great.
That’s the power of branding, is it not?
It’s true. I feel like some of the most powerful hot dog forces, it's like not actually a very good product all the time. But it's sometimes like I think in LA, like Dodger Dogs and Pink’s are both like heavily marketed as like the hot dog when you can get away better hot dog for less money right outside of Dodger Stadium, and you can get a way better hot dog from a streetcar five blocks away from Pink’s, but they don't want you to know that.
So when you decided to go to Emerson College, did you go there knowing that it was a place to go to be in show business? Or was that not even a thought in your mind when you went?
I just knew that I wanted to write. That was about all I was sure of when I went to college, and so, it's funny to think that I thought this was a practical decision. What is writing that isn't, you know, getting an English degree? Or something that doesn't feel as actionable — screen writing. And that was like kind of the only place, or one of the only places that I could, like got a scholarship to go to, where it felt like oh, it's specific enough that I'll try that. But yeah, I don't know. I just knew I liked to write and I didn't know it was a school that really emphasized comedy or anything like that. I sort of found all that out when I got there, but I'm glad I did. I ended up doing like a ton of comedy and radio there.
If I didn't know anything about you, but I knew you did radio in college, I’d be like, oh yeah, of course you'd be a podcasting juggernaut. You were learning it at college.
It's weird, because at the time, I ended up minoring in radio because I was just there so much and I really loved it. But it was like, at the time they were like, well there's no jobs in this industry and you're kind of fucked but we hope you’re having a nice time and they are right in like a lot of the traditional sense, but like there was no real — I feel like radio and podcasts weren't considered like one and the same when I was in school, which is weird, because that is like so obviously what it is.
Wasn't podcasting starting to take off at that point?
Yeah, in like the mid 2010s. I listened to podcasts, but I didn't think of it as like the same thing, because I was doing like, hit the post kind of DJing. Not to be reductive to that job. It just was like really really brief of like, ‘That’s another song from Iron and Wine,’ because it was an adult alternative station. But yeah, it wasn't until I got out that I was like oh, this is actually like pulling from the same same skill set in a way that's way more fun. Yeah.
Did the desire initially to write was that influenced at all? I know your father was a newspaper guy.
Yeah, I mean, it was it was definitely a lot from my dad. He's a sports writer. And so like, I was very disinterested in sports, but writing we were able to meet in the middle on. Yeah, he worked at The Patriot Ledger. He worked the same local paper for like 30 something years in Quincy, Mass., baby. And then my mom was a teacher. They were very encouraging of me and my brother writing and making stuff.
But being at Emerson and then getting involved in radio, even if it was just playing the adult alternative hits of the 2010s — Emerson also has a rich history of comedy. So being exposed to that suck you in? Or even just being in Boston because Boston has such a rich comedy culture for up-and-comers.
Yeah, I mean, it worked out kind of perfect. I didn't go to school thinking that, I didn't think that I would be like, outgoing enough to do it like I did. Whatever. I did like drama club in high school and stuff like that. But I sort of was like, but I'm not — there's a lot of performing arts students at Emerson and you’re like, well I'm not going to do that. They're so loud.
I watched that oboe clip. Come on.
I mean, that's not someone who needs to be onstage. That's history. God. That clip is so weird. I was like a dork in high school. I did every dorky thing that was possible to do and loved it. But yeah, once I was in college, I just didn't think that that would be something I would be good at, but there was a lot of comedy at Emerson and over the course of my semester abroad, was slowly like, I think I want to try this but I'm too embarrassed for anyone I know to see it. So I tried it while I was away. And it went well enough that I'm like, alright, I'll try it again when I get home and so it was like, sort of a year of me like waffling on whether I wanted to do stand-up or sketch.
Where were you abroad?
In the Netherlands. My first time doing stand-up was in a barn, but it went pretty well. And so I started slowly doing it when I got home. I joined a sketch group. I think the best thing that happened was starting to do comedy outside of school, because that community was so weird and like, super competitive and also not funny because everyone's 20, and no one knows what with they’re fucking doing. So like, getting out of that and getting into Boston comedy was like, it felt like a really cool time to be there. I felt like they were really receptive to weird stuff. There weren't really that many young women in the scene at that time. Which is good and bad because it felt like oh, there's like a place for you. But also, it's gonna suck a lot of the time and so I met my closest friend, another girl my age I met doing stand-up in Boston and we glommed on to each other. And we're neighbors now in California. Yeah, but I felt very lucky to come up in Boston when I did. It was mostly like a really supportive community.
Your first TV credit was Laughs?
Yes.
Laughs was a short-lived clip show that ran on FOX stations, late on Saturday nights.
That was how I got my manager was Laughs.
Really!? How did you get on Laughs, then?
I did this, I think now defunct festival in New York. I forget what it was called. But it was like basically a pay-to-play festival. And I guess I did well enough that they're like, Hey, do you want to come back to New York at your own expense again? And like, maybe you'll be on local TV at night? Yeah, I was like 21 when I did that, maybe 20, and either just out of school or barely I don't remember. But yeah, so then I got the clip on. I don't think you could even watch it in Boston. So it all felt very like vague. The material is not very good. I was working two full-time jobs when I was first out of school. I worked at the Boston Globe and an improv theater I’d go to the Globe in the morning and the theater at night. And I got an email from my like current manager, who was just like, hey, saw you on Laughs, and at first I was like, this is a scam. But it wasn't.
Were you working at ImprovBoston, Improv Asylum or somewhere else?
ImprovBoston. I started as a bartender, ticket-taker and then, it was one of my first sort of full-time jobs as a programming assistant. It was great because my priority was like I wanted to classes there for free. So I got through the program there. I got to teach sketch there for a little while. Which was funny because I was like 22 and teaching. You know, people they're like, I don't know. But it was fun. They were really good.
What were you doing at the Globe exactly.
That was another job I kind of like lucked into, because I was writing at this punk blog called Allston Pudding through my radio friends. I was really into like all the local punk bands at the time. And I volunteered at Allston Pudding. I would write stuff for them and it would usually be like really goofy stuff. So off of that, I guess that someone at the Globe — it’s very hard to explain because it doesn't really exist anymore, but it was for their kind of clickbait vertical. And they're like, we need some young people to write some clickbaity local pieces. It was not like particularly hard journalism.
So you worked more for the website and not the newspaper itself.
I was on the website and then yeah, every once in a while I'd be in the paper and it was a big deal. The Globe at the time was testing out a content sweatshop for 22-year-olds. And I actually did have a good time there. It was fun. But yeah, it was a bit messy. I ended up getting fired anyways, and then moved to California.
When people talking about getting fired for a Tweet, you can actually say: No, I was fired for a Tweet.
Yes. Before it was cool.
I've heard you talk about how that move to LA was not easy for you.
I had a rough first year and change, which is not unusual. But yeah, I moved out. I didn't really know anybody because I was 22 and by myself and so it was a rough first year. My mental health was not great. And that sort of reached a head. And yeah, I mean, it was a difficult first year, but I did like the comedy scene a lot and the few friends I did make were through comedy. I was just looking for a situation where I could like do stand-up and support myself doing literally whatever else. And so I ended up being a fact checker at Playboy magazine for almost a year, which was weirdly a pretty fine job. I kind of liked it. But yeah, like mental health wise it was like a really, really tough year. I'm still surprised that I stayed.
How did you get through that?
I mean, honestly, my support system back home was so huge and keeping me afloat for that first year and then the few friends that I did make were so kind. I was in the hospital a couple of times. The friends I had were really really sweet and my family was supportive and respectful, even when they were like, um, are you sure you want to be there still? But they were respecting my decisions. And yeah, I don't know. I mean, I felt really lucky to have great family and friends and they were I think holding their tongue on like, get the fuck out of there, which probably is what I should have done, but I really didn't want to I wasn't ready. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if I would do anything different now but I'm glad I stayed, and things after a year and a half. kind of started to get better. Once I got my OCD diagnosis and like had the right kind of therapy and medication. Things definitely got way better.
Did Playboy offer good health insurance in that regard?
No, they paid me $10 an hour with no benefits. it's a nightmare. I was again super lucky that one time when I went to the emergency room, I met a hospital therapist who kind of like I guess took pity on me and gave me exposure therapy and general therapy at like, ridiculous discounts for about six months. And that really turned things around. And I'm always grateful to him. He was really good to me.
It’s amazing how just one person with compassion or empathy can really turn things around.
Truly. Yeah. I want to reach out to him, but I'm afraid he's gonna be like, OK, now I would like all the money
Or one percent of book sales. Free ads on every podcast!
I guess, I mean, I do owe him big time literally and figuratively but that was really I don't think I would have been able to stay if I hadn't had that support from him.
In terms of breaking into the comedy scene in LA. At that point in time, were you doing traditional stand-up or were you focused more on these, Andy Kaufmanesque bits where you’re doing something outlandish?
Even when I was in Boston, I was always trying to do both. It just felt better. In Boston, it was great because there was kind of more breathing room and it felt like the stakes were lower. You could experiment a lot and people were interested in it and it was fun. And then yeah, when I went to LA I sort of was like, I just want to do anything. I wanted to perform anywhere I can. And so if I find a show that want to be present, I would do that. I could find a show at like The Clubhouse that is like, you know 4pm on a Monday that wants to be there like, do a milk enema, I would do that and like whatever it was. I was just like, excited to be there and to feel like a part of the scene there. And it was cool because I think my first 2 years here I was trying to like blend those two things. I feel like I don't know to what degree of success but like I wanted to try to like blend stuff together that I like doing and so like doing bits that start as stand-up and then turn into performance art stuff, which is how I met Christina Catherine Martinez because we were very like copacetic in that way. Yeah. It was just like there were more people in LA who were like, interested in doing that kind of work and finding the Lyric Hyperion in the original iteration of it and like finding a place that was also not just like supportive of that kind of work but would like make it affordable to do it and like wanted you to workshop stuff and it didn't need to be perfect the first time and just that kind of community was really cool. I remember one of my first shows I did was at the now-dead UCB Inner Sanctum home. And I saw Natalie Palamides, early 2016. She blew my mind and then was so nice. And has always been so supportive. And it was just like, really cool to see people like that, that you're like, Oh, you can like actually do this. And, you know, the less self-conscious you are, the better, so yeah, like my first couple years, I was just trying to figure out how to have a good balance between between the two. And it was exciting. And then once I found the Lyric, they were really like, oh, you should start you know, developing shows and start doing that. And that was also cool.
What inspired you initially to do stunts like the Infinite Jest feast?
I just think they're funny. I don't know. Like, I feel like at the time when, like, especially the Infinite Jest one I kind of like wish I had not capitulated as much as I did like as I did. It randomly went viral after I'd been doing it for like a year. And yeah, I’d like been doing it to an audience of like my friends back home for a year and then all of a sudden they're like, this is a thing. And I had to do these interviews about it. I've never done anything like that, really. I felt like they were looking for a smart, like commentary reason I was doing it. And so at the time I was like, I look back at those interviews and like what? Just say you don't know!
Just say you thought it was funny.
Yeah, like it was a commentary on feminism and something, but it was just, I worked in the bookstore and people bought the book a lot. And you know, it was kind of like annoying. I've never read the book. So I'm like, it's not a value judgment on the book. I don't know what the fuck it's about. It seems like a funny thing to do. And I had fun. I had fun doing it. And it's like there's a lot of stuff I was doing then where it's like I had a lot of fun and then it made me sick. And then I stopped.
Had you seen someone as a kid do outrageous things for laughs and you're like, Oh, I didn't realize you could do it that way?
I guess I'm trying to think of where. I don't know.
It wasn't Inception. They didn't like go into your dreams and go you're gonna do
disgusting. things? I don't really know. I feel like I was always kind of game for that stuff as a kid. I don't know what the internal logic is. But I do know that the second I started doing comedy, I was doing that kind of stuff. That was like just what I thought was funny. I do think like when, especially in my college sketch group, which was just like a horrible experience and I did not have a good time at all. But pretty early on it was like so where I really hope it's not still like this. But at the time, it was like there would be you know, like a group of 12 people and there's two women and all the parts suck and so it felt like, well if this is what I think is funny anyways, then I can eat a whole can of dog food. They cannot make me a girlfriend in a sketch if I can eat a whole can of dog food….they can't like disappear you if you can do something that no one else can, which is like a game. I think about that a lot now where it's like, oh, you have to do something like, I'm willing to kill myself to not pretend like be a part of this basically. Because there were only so many ways that it felt like you could be meaningfully included. And I mean at that time, at least in the mid 2010s, 100 years ago.
Well, you were born in the late 20th century. The late 1900s!
It was just like, well, this is the way that I can get stuff in and it was fun to like, be like OK, here's the gross thing and how can I write to it? In a way that like, you know, that’s sort of coherent.
It's not just the 2010s I think throughout comedy history, especially with improv and sketch. If you're not a white guy, or if you're not a straight white guy, you can get pigeonholed into certain characters and scenes, because they only see you as what you look like, whereas the straight white guy can play anything in their head.
Right, right. Yeah, it's still I mean, like, I know that that is still true to a large extent. But yeah, like at least you think it's better than it was 10 years ago, because it was, it was like not not very fun. And to feel like it's constantly run like a meritocracy. Like we're voting in sketches, but you're like, No, sometimes there's only one other person in the room who knows what you're talking about, which also comes up in like writers rooms and other stuff. So I guess in that way, it was preparing for the real world.
According to your bio, your wiki and stuff. It seems like things turned around for you in LA in a big way in 2018. There were a number of things that happened. You had your Comedy Central web series Irrational Fears, which I subtly referenced earlier. You worked for Robot Chicken. You were a consultant on the movie All About Nina. I love watching movies about stand up comedians. And you also were part of the short-lived comeback of SuperDeluxe. Which of those things happened first in the dominoes starting to fall for you?
It was SuperDeluxe that happened first, and that happened because one of the directors there, this amazing person, Stephanie Ward, she's the best. She saw me eating dog food at a show. If it was 2017 I was eating dog food. In public all the time. And she saw me at a show at The Satellite. I feel so old. Like I think I was doing Power Violence at The Satellite. She saw me do that and was like, Hey, we're looking for someone who will do disgusting things on camera. And I was like, great. So I started doing stuff with them in like late 2017. And like the money was horrible. But it was like kind of the first time that I had like an actual audience, which was cool and like unusual and it felt encouraging. I got to write my own stuff, and then do the nasty things. Collaborating with Stephanie was really fun. And there were so many cool, talented people and a lot of women working at that company then and it felt like at the time, it was like the most creatively free that I've ever felt. And also people were like, watching it, which was cool. So that was really fun. I definitely like fucked my body up a lot there but I don't regret it. It was really fun.
Did you know about the earlier SuperDeluxe?
Oh yeah, cuz I mean I was like a huge and am a huge Maria Bamford fan. So I remember watching her stuff on SuperDeluxe in like, high school would have been the first iteration of it. And yeah, The Maria Bamford Show was like, huge. Yeah, so I remember the first one and so it felt like an honor to be included in the second shorter iteration. It was a good year. We had a good run.
Did you were you surprised at all that it didn't last?
No. I mean, it was like it was disappointing it really was. But I think my first experience with them being like, well, this doesn't make enough money so you have to, you know, go do your nasty shit somewhere else. It was a bummer that that happened but I don’t know. it's really depressing and stuff like that because. I was really sad about it and we were making some cool stuff there. But everyone's kind of like moved on to do other other stuff. Which is nice.
And you got to be more of a leading lady in the Comedy Central web series.
Yeah. That was fun. Yeah, that was cool. And another one of the first things that I felt I had creative control. My creative input was like, important to, to what we're doing. And those shorts were so fun to put together and I got to work with some of my favorite comedians doing it, like Jon Daly and Maggie Mae and just like people I really admired. And, yeah, that was super fun.
Of course, you know, we've talked for a half hour and I haven't touched on the thing that most people know you for which is your many podcasts. One of the things that I noticed first off is you definitely have more of a strategy to them. And I don't know if this comes from the journalism background or not, but as opposed to someone like me, who just has one idea and runs it into the ground for 400 some odd episodes. You have an idea, you execute it, and then you get out.
Yeah, I kind of prefer to do it that way. But also I like, I admire when anyone can run a marathon because I feel like I'm doing all these tiny sprints. And when someone's like true and doing a marathon of a project. It's like so amazing to me, because I feel like like I don't know, I don't know if I could last that long.
But I mean, how long could you keep going with the Mensa bit or how much more can you really talk about Lolita without getting super depressed?
Yeah, I mean, yeah, with Lolita, it was like I got super depressed for as long as I did.
That seems to me a fitting way to tie you in with with Sarah Marshall. Because the Lolita project seems like a You’re Wrong About project.
I was a fan of Sarah’s before we ever met and I listened to a lot of You’re Wrong About when I was putting together Lolita podcast. I listened to their Amy Fisher episode a couple times because she's like the Long Island Lolita, so I got into Your’re Wrong About while I was putting that show together and then I think that show’s like pretty obviously influenced by it. I love Sarah's work. I love Michael's work. And then when the Lolita podcast came out, she like, heard it and was like, I like it. Oh, shit! It was really exciting. And yeah, I mean, I'm very influenced and inspired by what Sarah does I love her work so much.
Do you go ever go into a project with big aspirations or goals of like, this podcast is going to change the way people talk about age disparities in relationships, or comic strips about middle-aged women or how people are going to think about mediums?
I don't really, no, because I felt like then I would just be constantly disappointed. One of the things I really like about podcasts is like people can come to it whenever they come to it. And like, you know, I get messages about Lolita podcasts now, like, you know, two and a half years after it came out of like, Oh, I just found this and it really changed the way I think about this or like contextualize this event in my life. So I like that it's like a durational thing where I don't know like, if anything is like a drop in the bucket for changing the wider perspective, that would be great. The best and the worst part of it is podcasts are a personal one-to-one kind of medium it feels like, but I feel like that does mean that podcasts can like really affect someone on a personal level. And I think that that is just as powerful in a lot of ways than like, I don't know, I don't think my shows you're gonna change the law or the world. If it works for one person and that helps them out even through like a tough time or whatever, then it's like I feel like I'm doing what I what I want to do.
You're absolutely right. And I even as I was asking the question, I was second guessing myself, because obviously it's much like when you were being asked about the Infinite Jest. Like, I'm trying to get you to come up with some brilliant commentary when really, it is just, oh, I have this idea and I did it and also, I mean, what do I do? I do a one-on-one podcast, and I do it this way because I feel like anyone can have a topical podcast where they talk about the news of the week but then that's gone and when you listen to it years later and you're like why am I even listening to this? Whereas a conversation with an individual about their hopes and dreams and why they have their hopes and dreams? That’s timeless.
That’s the thing I really like about your work. Is like you can you can just feel when someone wants to be there, you know. And you can also really I feel like with podcasts especially you can really tell when someone's heart is not fully in it, even if the recording is good or like interview is good in a technical sense. Like you can just feel and that's why I feel very lucky that I've gotten to have a lot of almost complete, like creative control over the topics that I pick, because I feel like if I was not interested in it, it would be very, very obvious.
Would you have any advice for anyone who wants to start a podcast in 2023 or beyond?
Oooh Boy. I would just say I don't know. I mean, I don't know if I'm very good at giving advice. I think that it truly is a matter of like, don't like chase any sort of trends. Because if you're chasing any sort of trend, chances are you will be outdone by a gigantic conglomerate that gets some famous person who barely knows what the fuck they're talking about to talk about the same thing, and it's such a challenging area right now that I feel like it's like you have to really love what you're talking about or who you're talking to or like the kinds of conversations you want to have. Because I think that that is at least in my experience that's been what people connect to the strongest. They care that you care, and I feel like with the shows that I do, I really value the trust built between me and listeners and that like I'm like alright, we're gonna talk about this this time and like let's see if you're interested and I really appreciate that people are kind of willing to give stuff a shot that they wouldn't normally be willing to. And I think a lot of that just has to be like like, really caring about it.
Are you able to make a living as a podcaster us or you have to have other things going on?
I am now. I have been able to for the last. I mean, since My Year in Mensa is kind of when I was able to start making my living as a full time podcaster but I know that I'm very privileged to get to do that, and it's pretty rare and I honestly think a lot of it was like the timing of like when I got — because I've been podcasting since 2016. So I've been whatever like doing shows before there was a show about literally everything. And so it just felt like I definitely lucked out with the timing and even then it was like still over three years before I was able to make a living doing it.
If you don't mind, how did that end up happening? When you did the Mensa show? Did you have sponsorship or are were you with a network or were you just doing it? Like me right now? Independently?
I was doing it totally independently. I have a movie podcast called the Bechdel Cast that my friend Caitlin Durante and I've been hosting since late 2016. And we had signed on to the How Stuff Works network in like two years after we started and then that company was swallowed by iHeartRadio and all of a sudden we're work for iheart radio and but like we weren't really making very much money because we didn't get a ton of advertisers and but my contracts said like, Oh, if you're gonna make another show, you have to like pitch it to iHeartRadio first, so I pitched my Year and Mensa at iHeartRadio and they essentially told me to go fuck myself. They were like, we don't know what that is like. Best of luck doing it by yourself. And so I did do it by myself. And then it ended up doing, to my surprise ended up doing pretty well and then iHeartRadio came back and said actually, we would like that. And so, and that was all happening. I mean that show came out at the beginning of 2020 and by the time they decided that they actually did want to pay me to do it. It had already been out for a while and lockdown had started and so they I was basically offered this very, very fortunate deal at a time I very much needed a full time job that they were like OK, we're going to essentially buy My Year in Mensa from you and give you a contract so that you make I think was originally like two more shows that are kind of these limited run narrative shows. And that was why I got to do Lolita podcast and Aack Cast and so yeah, that was it was again just like a very bizarre timing, but it ended up I'm very grateful that they said no to My Year in Mensa of the first time because it meant that like I got to make my year in Mensa completely by myself. I had total creative control over it. So then when they like well you make more? I got to be like yes, but I get to pick who I work with and like I'm going to make it the way that I want to make it and I don't want a bunch of weird development hands in this and so to this day, it's worked out great because it's me and my producer and my editor and that's pretty much it.
To bring it back around to Raw Dog. I read an interview you gave a couple of years ago, where they ask what do you think you're going to do next? And you're like I’ve really started to get interested in hotdogs. To see how the sausage gets made, in fact, in an interview where you're like I'm gonna do a thing about hot dogs. I don't know what it's gonna be but…
Wow, I'm glad I said that out loud at some point. Because that was definitely on my mind.
At what point did it make sense to do it as a book and not a podcast?
I was just burned out on podcasts honestly. To make the kinds of shows that I have made at iHeartRadio and make one a year, it's a pretty intense grind. And the good thing about doing a book I mean, I always wanted to write a book. I wanted to be a writer when I was a kid. Writing a book feels so like real and exciting. And so I had always wanted to write a book. But yeah, it also just meant that you just get a lot more time. You don't get more money, but you do get a lot more time. And so yeah, so when when I was sort of asked, and again, but it's like I wouldn't have been able to write a book if I hadn't done the podcasts first, because it was sort of what like, hey, what's something that you would make into a podcast, make it into a book instead and see how it and so I then at that point, it was just getting like, remotely safe to travel. And so I knew I wanted to do something that involves as much safe travel as I could do, and I knew I didn't want it to be I mean, when I started it, I was in the middle of making Aack Cast and had finished Lolita podcasts and Lolita podcast had thoroughly destroyed my mental health. I'm like, well, it can't be that. It can't be so bone crushingly sad, like it has to be fun. And it has to be something that I will be excited about for you know, I didn't realize two years, but two years. And so I'm very glad that it was hot dogs. It felt like it was like all the things I was looking for.
Well, Jamie Loftus, congratulations on all of your success and the fact that so much of it has been accomplished on your own terms.
Thank you. I feel very lucky and, I want more creative people to be able to do the kind of stuff that I've been lucky enough to do. So, I don't know what that looks like, but Sarah Marshall and I talk about that a lot, of how we've both been very fortunate to get to make work on our own terms. It feels so much better. More creative people should sort of have that opportunity. Not everyone should have to luck into it the way I've gotten to.
Just seeing and hearing and knowing that it's possible, helps inspire someone else down the road. So thank you for doing that.
I hope so. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Thank you. I really appreciate you taking time out from a busy schedule.
Of course. Yeah, now it's time to get pied in the face again.