#Join Substack as a Podcaster

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

How YouTubers, TikToker's & Podcasters Succeed on Substack

A TikToker Aaron Parnas, recently joined Substack has gained over 300K subscribers and 10K paid members to his publication If You Are a YouTuber, TikToker, or Podcaster, You Might Do Well on Substack Recently, I found many of my friends who contribute to YouTube, TikTok or Podcasting platforms like Spotify or Apple have started coming to Substack. Interestingly, in a few days, their subscribers…

[iamrhyme]

Listen 🎧 to, download ⬇️, click the heart-shaped like ♥️ button, comment 🗨️ on, and share episode 366 of the Narrative Podcast across all platforms at the link 🖇️ below 👇

https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-366-the-narrative-podcast--61257809

The Narrative Podcast promotes positive reinforcement about original people and original people culture.

The Narrative Podcast provides positive frames of reference about original people and original people culture.

The Narrative Podcast: Changing the Narrative one episode at a time by destroying negative stereotypes about original people and original people culture.

Tune into the Narrative Podcast and become a Narrator.

Let's change the Narrative!

Visit the virtual online bookstore on Poetizer.com and purchase my original book of poetry "The Black Card." Purchase The Black Card today or get your black card revoked!

[teawiththegods]

In honor of Thargelia (The Divine Twins’ birthdays), Tea With the Gods will be celebrating Apollo and Artemis all month long! 🏹

I’ll be sharing information, stories, advice, resources, and of course memes all centered around Leto’s brilliant yet terrifying children. 🐺

We'll also be celebrating Thargelia and after an over decade long hiatus Tea With the Gods podcast WILL be back with two brand new episodes from my new series, Divine Deep Dives. You can probably guess which two divine beings we'll be discussing. 🦌🐍

Feel free to submit any questions you have about the Twins and share your own stories about them! Tag me or send me posts that feature any art, poems, musings, images of your altars or devotional workings, anything to do with Apollo and Artemis! Let’s come together with our shared love for our beautiful and beloved Divine Twins! 💛🩶

To join in on the festivities and to keep up to date on episode uploads follow Tea With the Gods on Youtube, Instagram, Substack, Bluesky, Tiktok, and here on tumblr! ☀️🌙

Thank you so much for your continued support and love for the podcast, even after so long of no new episodes! It truly amazes me and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it! So instead I’ll show my gratitude by giving you all some new and exciting things! I hope you enjoy it! 😘🥰💕

[ofmdrecaps]

02/09-12/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill (Momentus Event w/Samba, Kristian, and Vico); Samba Schutte; Anapela Polata'ivao; Alex Sherman/Alyssa Lane; Rachel House; Brian Gattas; Adopt Our Crew: Words of Love; Fan Spotlight: Owltrouser's Bayeux Tapestries; Our Flag Means Fanfiction; Gay Pirate News Hour; Love Notes;

= David Jenkins =

David's fic is finally finished (as of the 16th)! The last of it will be posted in the next recap for the 13th-16th, I just ran out of image room on tumblr on this one or I'd have put them all together. If you'd like to read the whole thing you can do so in many different places!

David's Bluesky Thread

On Tumblr: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

All in One Place: On the repository

Source: David Jenkins Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys is out in Austin on the 15-16, Raleigh 18-19, and Philadelphia Feb 25-26 for his comedy tour! If you get a chance to go please let me know how it went!

Source: Cap City's Comedy IG

He's got some New Love Hurts BTS up on his Paid Substack!

Source: Rhys Paid Substack

Rhys has been so busy! He had another Rhys Darby's Funny Thing's Society on the seventh, and was joined by Jim Jefferies and Trae Crowder at the Largo Los Angeles!

Source: Largo Los Angeles IG

= Taika Waititi =

Hey did you know Taika directed this super bowl commercial?

In case you haven't seen enough of him, more and more vids and images are getting released from his award ceremony at the Producers Guild of America!

Source: IG

Source: Kevin Goetz

Source: Producer's Guild IG

= Con O'Neill =

The latest OFMD Momentus Event went out without a hitch! In case you didn't get to join, there were some surprise guests-- Kristian, Samba, and Vico! One of our crewmates, @ringasunn wrote fics just for the occasion and they were read by our cast members! These fics are Izzy centric and NSFW!

The video was uploaded to youtube, but youtube took it down for mature content, so if you'd like a copy, you can access it here!

Con also wrote everyone a note after the fact!

"After today's event I fell into a deep sleep and woke myself up with my screams I am now on my way to find a priest ...thanks to my fellow pirates @puertoricaninja @kristiannairn @sambaschutte and the lovely @charliecapen for arranging it all .... love is a weapon. Use it x #love #ofmd #izzy #fightback"

Source: Con O'Neill's IG

= Samba Schutte =

Samba is finally on bluesky! You can find him here!

Source: Samba's Bsky

Great news! Samba's movie Advanced Chemistry was in the top 3 of the movies streamed on Stars!

Source: Samba's IG Stories

= Anapela Polata'ivao =

Our dearest Auntie was out at the Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, Premiere of her film ‘Tinā’! So many showed up to celebrate her wonderful film which goes live in theatres on Feb 27th!

In honor of the premiere, Costume designer Kama Aliska was kind enough to share some lovely BTS photos of Anapela and the crew!

Source: Kama Aliska's IG

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tagata Pasifika (@tagatapasifika)

Source: TPPlus.NZ IG

= Rachel House =

Just a quick shot with our dear Mary Reed <3

Source: Instagram

= Alex Sherman & Alyssa Lane =

Some great news! Alex Sherman and Alyssa Lane will be joining The Wee Con via a Digital Panel!

Source A MuseOfFyre's IG

= Brian Gattas =

Just a sweet tribute from our Siegfried to Elizabeth Banks for her birthday <3

Source: Brian's IG stories

== Adopt Our Crew: Words of Love ==

More lovely words of love by our crewmates over at @adoptourcrew in honor of Valentine's Day! Thank you for continuing to educate us on all the wonderful types of love there are!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Owltrousers's Bayeux Tapestry =

More Tapestries by the wonderful @owltrousers! This time for Season 1 Episode 2 - A Damned Man!

Source: Owltrouser's Bluesky

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

Another episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction is live, and this time it's The Fang (aka Kevin) Episode! Check it out on your favorite podcast platform via their linktr.ee!

Source: OFMFF Instagram

= Gay Pirate News Hour =

Special debrief of the "Izzy Into Me" Momentus event by the Gay Pirate News Hour side of Our Flag Means Fanfiction!

Source: OFMFF Instagram

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies. I feel like I'm perpetually behind now, kiddo's been sick, I've been sick, heck the whole country seems to be sick. Thanks so much as always for your patience on these <3

I'm running on fumes and I was trying to get the next recap up as well tonight so I'm gonna just send some love from some other folks who've been keeping me going these last several days.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Twillostory™ | Art for Mental Wellness (@twillostory)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Twillostory™ | Art for Mental Wellness (@twillostory)

Source: Twillostory IG / 2

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Holly Murray | Doodles (@hollymurray_doodles)

Source: HollyMurray_Doodles=

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

05/26-05/31/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Con O'Neill; Nathan Foad; Vico Ortiz; Ruibo Qian; Anapela Polata'ivao; Courtney Andersen; Adopt Our Crew; Our Flag Means Pride; Articles; Fan Spotlight: Never Left Podcast, Our Flag Means Fanfiction & More Interviews;

Hey lovelies! Since I'm catching up on so many recaps all at once, I'm skipping love notes for this one <3

= David Jenkins =

David sending us all the love <3 Thanks Pirate Dad!

Source: David's Bsky

David giving us some insight from the writers room for s2 👀

Source: David's Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys has just been crazy busy lately. He was recently on the Ozzy Man's Pub Chat's!

He's also back in the UK for the next round of The Legend Returns!

Thanks to @adoptourcrew for sharing this great article from The Exeter Living!

Source: The Exeter Living Article

More Rhysie articles!

Source: The Guardian

And if that wasn't enough Rhys for you, he's posted several Daily Darby's on his Free Substack.

Source: Rhys Darby Free Substack

May 31 Daily Darby: Read the full thing here!

Source: Rhys Free Substack

= Taika Waititi =

Taika was the executive producer on We Were Dangerous, and they're hosting a screening for it! " In 1954 New Zealand, three rebellious girls—Nellie, Daisy, and Lou—are sent to a remote island institution, where they form an un-breakable bond in defiance of their strict matron. But as cruel punishments escalate, their friendship is tested, forcing them to choose between resistance and survival.⁠" You can join the Miami Film Festival Society to get tickets to Thursday, June 5 at 7:30 PM⁠ at the MDC's Koubek Theater in South Florida!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Miami Film Festival (@miamifilm)

Source: Miami Film IG

= Con O'Neill =

The latest Con O'Neill Momentus event, Izzy Bares All, with @ringasunn is up on Youtube!

Source: Momentus Youtube

= Nathan Foad =

Apparently Nathan was headed out to see Oliver, and decided to do some sketches for us <3

Tumblr is fighting me on videos allowed, so here's his Post-Oliver Sketch as well.

Source: Nathan's IG Stories

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico's Rise of a King Show has been keeping them busy! Their family came out to check it out-- just look at all these fun shots!

Source: Vico's IG

They were featured in BroadwayWorld as well!

Source: Vico's Bsky

Vico has been just killing it with how much they've been getting done lately, Im surprised they did so much Today in Gay Podcast with the show going on! New episodes of Today in Gay! May 29 / May 28 / May 27/ May 26

Source: Today In Gay Podcast

= Ruibo Qian =

Our Pirate Queen is back again with more cat pictures for us.

Source: Ruibo's IG Stories

= Anapela Polata'ivao =

The Tinā Film that Auntie starred in is now the the #1 NZ film of 2025 -- AND it's available to watch at home in AoNZ! "You can buy or rent Tinā from:

▪️Apple/iTunes ▪️Prime Video ▪️Neon (NZ) ▪️AroVision ▪️Vimeo ▪️Xbox

Also available very soon on YouTube and Madman On Demand (AONZ only).

From June 18, Tinā will be available on DVD/Blu-ray as well as digital in NZ, and to rent on digital in Australia."

Source: Tinā The Film IG

= Courtney Andersen =

Our rope master was out at the Master Mariner’s Regatta recently aboard the Brigadoon and they won first in class!

Source: Instagram

= Adopt Our Crew =

In preparation for Pride month our friends over at @adoptourcrew had an important question for us!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

= Our Flag Means Pride =

As you've probably already seen since by the time this is posted, it's June 4th, our crewmates over at @adoptourcrew have started up Our Flag Means Pride again this year! Here's some preliminary info regarding how to sign up and the prize catalog is here! Wanna donate and help out Rainbow Youth? Visit the Adopt Our Crew Fundraiser page here!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky Since several milestones have been hit already and I don't want people to miss out I'm including the info for those as well below!

Source: AOC Bsky

Current Milestones Hit, and the forms you can use to enter them!

$250 - Form

$500 - Form

$750 - Form

$1000 - Form

$1500 - Form

$2000 - Form

$2500 - Form

$3000 - Form

$3500 - Form

$4000 - Form

$4500 - Form

$5000 - Form

Source: @adoptourcrew

= Articles =

More articles on OFMD for Pride month! Thanks @adoptourcrew for sharing!

Source: @adoptourcrew

= Fan Spotlight =

More podcast updates today luvs!

= Never Left Podcast =

There's a new episode out of Never Left! This week they are talking to Bec aka YellowMustard about all her awesome fics! Wanna check them out or follow them on their socials? The links are on their linktree! New episode is out on Spotify!

Source: Never Left Podcast Instagram

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

New Episode of Our Flag Means Fanfiction is out! This time The 2 Gentle 2 Beard Episode! Check out the episode on your favorite listening platform by visiting their linktr.ee!

Source: OFMFF Instagram

Remember in the last recap the amazing Chloe, and the team over at Our Flag Means Fanfiction interviewed several of our Cast & Crew in LA? Well great news! There's more questions that were answered-- this time by our dear Lindsey Cantrell!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Our Flag Means Fanfiction (@ourflagmeansfanfiction)

Source: OFMFF IG

Dominic also answered another question "If your character would come back in Season 3, what would you like your character to do?"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Our Flag Means Fanfiction (@ourflagmeansfanfiction)

Source: OFMFF IG

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Get Informed

Join the Trump Accountability War Room, which offers fact sheets on the bad actors in Donald Trump’s Cabinet and primers on their policies, and the AFL-CIO’s Department of People Who Work for a Living, which tracks how funding cuts are affecting federal workers.

Follow MeidasTouch Network, a pro-democracy news organization with a massive social media presence and a suite of podcasts. MeidasTouch personalities such as Leigh McGowan (a.k.a. PoliticsGirl) and Aaron Parnas have reinvigorated the resistance on TikTok, Instagram, and Substack.

Monitor constitutional oversteps and the legal challenges to Trump’s executive orders with Lawfare or Just Security.

Get Strategic

Explore Choose Democracy’s interactive Choose Your Own Adventure activity, which asks you to “guide us towards a better, more humane democracy.” In “What can I do to fight this coup?,” the group offers drop-down menus of resistance techniques arranged by level of difficulty. It also provides training agendas on everything from de-escalation to mutual aid.

Study Indivisible’s Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink, which shares strategies for defending the democratic process against authoritarian creep and a list of tactics constituents can use to pressure their elected officials.

Review the tool kits, how-to manuals, and informational leaflets at Build the Resistance’s comprehensive, crowdsourced resource hub.

Get Outside

Check NoVoiceUnheard, which compiles peaceful protest opportunities, viewable by state or by organization, across the country. For an even more expansive inventory, look at The Big List of Protests.

Brush up on your rights at the ACLU’s protesters’ rights page, which shares information on the kinds of locations where you are protected, when you need a permit, and what to do during a police encounter. Call the Resistance Hotline at 1-844-NVDA-NOW or email gotyerback@resistancehotline.org with your questions, and you’ll get a response within 24 hours.

Enlist with the ACLU’s “grassroots army” of volunteers working to safeguard civil liberties. Visit the program’s website for a wealth of actions, including signing the organization’s petitions, that will take just a few minutes.

Get out Your Wallet

Donate to legal defense and bail funds. The National Bail Fund Network maintains a directory of pretrial bail funds and immigration bond funds.

Get on the Phone

Call Congress using 5 Calls, which provides policy guides, office numbers for your representatives, and call scripts.

Get in the Way

Flood the Office of Personnel Management’s anti-DEI tip line at DEIAtruth@opm.gov to protect federal employees targeted by the Trump administration’s crackdown. —Kate Mabus

Timothy Noah

Timothy Noah is a New Republic staff writer and author of The Great Divergence: America’s Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It.

[dani-r]

Ok, so you know I do silly comics and drawn jokes for, specifically, the horror audiodrama Malevolent? I have TONS of drafts for jokes for season 1 and 2 that I never finished bc I started doing this fun thing after binging it and signing up for weekly releases. All of this to say: I need an excuse to sit and ink them and look at this: Malevolent is up for voting on two cathegories for the Podcast Awards! And you can vote for it!

So, join me with @ofthecrown and Ren (check their substack here) on tuesday 30th at 9 pm EST (that's 10 pm for me for example) here on a twitch channel I made yesterday.

I'm going to stream drawing those jokes and chat with Queen and Ren about those early chapters (we are extremely good at chit chatting).

Hope to see ya there!

[aggressivelyarospec]

Dracula (the original 1897 novel) is the ultimate aro/polyam solidarity book. 

Firstly, forget everything you think you know about Dracula from the movies or pop culture. The things that might give you pause, like the sexy blood-drinking and romance with Dracula… None of that is in the book, nor accurate to the book even in subtext. The real story of Dracula isn’t focused on romance and sex, but instead friendship.

Friendship is such a heavy theme in this book. All of the characters have such strong, dedicated, and healthy friendships with each other. All the allos I’ve seen read this book even admit that and heavily discuss it.

The main “straight” romance in the book is literally the most well-written and respectful romance I have ever seen in media. Despite the time period the book was written in, the characters treat each other as full equals, actually love and respect each other, have full trust in each other’s love with no jealousy or concern of cheating (at one point in the book, the woman literally laughs because of how silly the idea of her boyfriend cheating on her was!). They are Entirely dedicated and even get a little blasphemous with it, despite being an otherwise very Catholic book.

(Not to mention they both give off major trans and bi vibes.)

The other romance in the book features a woman turn down 2/3 of her suitors. These 2 men hold no ill will towards her for this, but fully accept it and vow to be friends with her forever. And you get to fully see the genuinity and strength of their care and friendship and the lengths they are willing to go through to help and save her. All the suitors themselves have a very strong friendship with each other, with no jealousy in sight.

For the aros, it's a book about unconditional platonic love. Everyone joins and works together to try to save her. Both old friends working together, and new people brought in that very quickly become just as close. And when I say close, I mean “We just met but I will die for you” strength.

For the polyamorous folks, it's a book with so much of that friendship combined with homoerotic subtext and no jealousy in sight. It’s incredibly easy to see all of the characters in a polycule, from the friendship to subtext to thematic parallels. (And most of the modern fandom does!)

I also recommend reading the book via Dracula Daily! The book is an epistolary novel, in the format of exchanged letters and entries all with in-world dates. Dracula Daily sorts all of these entries into their chronological order, so you follow the order of events alongside all the characters. And as there is an in-universe explanation for why the book is written in entries and all of them dated, it's amazing to read day-by-day and get to that reveal in the story. To sign up, Dracula Daily is a free substack subscription by Matt Kirkland. You can sign up for it any time, and the emails start on May 3rd and it runs until Nov 7th. If you do decide to join, check out the Dracula Daily tumblr tags to read and analyze along with everyone else doing it! (But be warned, some people are on re-reads so there may be spoilers, but most folks will tag them for first-timers!)

There’s also Re:Dracula, which is an audiobook podcast that uses the Dracula Daily chronological format. They have different actors for each character and add tons of music and sound effects. It's a really great and book-accurate adaptation, and they lean into the bisexual subtext whenever they can, which is very fun. To listen, you can find it on any podcast service, and it's also on Youtube. (And their tumblr is @re-dracula)

Additional Information: Novel, Horror, Gothic Fiction, Fantasy Trailer: N/A

Added!

[reddanceragain]

Meidas has POWERFUL ANSWER to CBS…BYE BYE!!!

MeidasTouch Network Apr 24 By Ben Meiselas

Revenge is a dish best served cold…

CBS, let’s face it, your betrayal is unforgivable. The fact you compromised the independence of 60 Minutes and forced legendary Executive Producer Bill Owens to resign pissed me off.

Do you have any sense of the moment?!

Seriously, you are so damn greedy and want regulatory approval of the $8 billion merger between CBS parent company Paramount and Skydance that you’re willing to sell out our democracy? I hate to be crass, but you are pathetic.

Donald Trump is weaker than ever right now. His approval is plummeting. The recent Pew Research poll has Trump’s approval at 40 percent and his support among 18-29 year olds and Latinos in the 20 percent range. Even the Fox poll released yesterday has his approval at 44 percent, which is their lowest ranking by far of a president in modern history in the first 100 days. Now is the time to fight harder and not capitulate, CBS! Don’t you realize that Trump is an extortionist? The moment you give him an inch, he takes a foot, then an arm, and then your life.

You think he’ll stop at you settling some bogus lawsuit with him?

The moment he senses your weakness, he’s going to come back to the well and demand more from you until you look like some idiotic channel like Mike Lindell TV. How many times do I have to tell you?! You don’t obey in advance, and you don’t obey ever.

What does $8 billion mean if you lose your freedom and democracy—and eventually that $8 billion—to an authoritarian who takes and takes and takes?

CBS gave us all the middle finger, and we responded.

As I said at the outset of this post, revenge is a dish best served cold. I’m reminded of the ritzy event in Sun Valley, Idaho a few months back where Paramount head Shari Redstone and Warner Bros. head David Zaslav pranced around like giddy school kids reenacting a youth they never had, bragging about the “deregulatory environment” that would drench them in money under a Trump presidency.

Nope.

Now you’re drenched in your own vomit of greed, and independent media like us needs to stop you sickos from continuing to project that venomous slop on the rest of us.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

So it’s fitting that as these oligarchs and agents of oligarchy like Redstone and Zaslav mock us all, laugh in our faces, and try to sell us out, we respond with force. And that we did!

After our post yesterday forcefully calling out CBS, we got some incredible news.

First, we found out from the top podcast data company Podscribe that The MeidasTouch Podcast came in first again in the charts for the third straight month in a row with 107.3 million downloads. This is more than Joe Rogan, Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro, and Charlie Kirk combined.

Second—and what’s more—we learned we get over 8 million more YouTube views per day than CBS News.

It’s a wipeout, CBS!

You gave us the middle finger. You cared so much about your $8 billion, and now you’ve been trounced by us with 8 million more views a day!

What CBS and Skydance can’t fathom is that the MeidasTouch Network crushes them—and we’ve grown thanks to our subscribers on this Substack.

They care so much about their $8 billion merger and their news assets that they’ve exposed themselves as gigantic orange-turd-enabling assholes. Excuse my language—I don’t like cursing—but I found that one funny and so true.

You’re supposed to be reporting on news. So report on it, damnit, or get out of the way!

Why don’t you sell Meidas 60 Minutes at this point since you apparently don’t care about the news?

By the way, we told Bill Owens in our post yesterday that he should join Meidas. We’ll see.

[queerlilchinchin]

First post up on the substack site.

I plan for my free subscribers to be able to see my short stories (1-2 posts per story), which I plan to post 1-2 times a week.

The paid subscribers will be seeing my longer-form writing, stories like Necrosis and Death Has a Face, which took me several posts to finish. These will require a paid subscription to read.

I may also add poetry and such other writing in the future, but it's been a long time since I've written poetry, so for right now, I want to focus on the writing I've done for 20 years.

:] Chats are turned on. Subscriptions are available. I may end up doing a podcast later on, just not in the beginning of setting everything up. That'd be way too much to do immediately.

Come join me on this new chapter of my writer story! 🤍

[mightdeletelater]

when fame turns fatal: the tragic cycle of celebrity exploitation

this blog post was originally posted on my substack

How do you capture the unknowable life of someone else? Someone only seen through interviews, music videos, and invasive paparazzi snapshots? Maybe starting by laying out the simplest biographical details? Liam Payne was born in 1993 in Wolverhampton. He first auditioned for The X Factor at 14. Joined the boy band One Direction at 16. Had a son named Bear at 23. Released his only solo album at 25. And passed away at 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

Another approach could be to focus on the photos, the ones from both the beginning and the end. In 2010, when One Direction was formed, judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Nicole Scherzinger hovered over a polaroid of a 16-year-old Payne, arranging it with pictures of three future bandmates – Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson – as if they were playing with dolls. "That looks good." "That looks great." "It looks unbelievable." When Payne passed away in 2024, TMZ published zoomed-in, cropped photos of his lifeless body. His arm, and section of his side, both with his distinct tattoos. The article had no warning of the contents. 

Denial of dignity in death is a tragic culmination of a toxic kind of fame, one especially endured by pop stars and teen idols. Payne was simply just another one who was dehumanized throughout his life – by the music industry that propelled him to stardom, by the tabloids, by social media, and even by his own fans. Being idolized can be as depersonalizing as being vilified. He became a pin-up poster, and eventually a literal doll (fans could collect all five members of the boyband). 

The cycle of objectification persisted even after One Direction disbanded in 2015. Payne's solo career and erratic interview behaviour became a source of online mockery. Once endearingly called the "dad" of One Direction for being more serious, ambitious, and occasionally a bit awkward, these traits grew exaggerated over time. His ‘cringe moments’ became viral content on social media. Despite being open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse, he received little empathy. He was open about by long periods of boredom that came after the highs of performing to sold out arenas which led him to an alcohol and drug addiction and suicidal thoughts. Speaking on the Diary Of The CEO Podcast in 2021, Payne said: “I was worried how far my rock bottom was going to be. Where's rock bottom for me? And you would never have seen it. I'm very good at hiding it. I don't even know if I have hit it yet. I can either make that choice now and pick my last moment as my rock bottom or I can make a whole new low.” While the exact circumstances of Payne's fall from the balcony remain unclear, emergency services were called to the hotel for “a guest who has had too much drugs and alcohol.”

Before his death, Payne was accused by his ex-fiance Maya Henry of physical and emotional abuse, including chasing her with an axe and forcing her to get a self-induced abortion. Last week, Henry had issued a cease and desist against Payne, accusing him of repeatedly contacting her. She also alleged that the singer continuously contacted her friends and family, including her mother. 

The fantasy that One Direction embodied for a generation was always deeply co-dependent – a symbiotic relationship between the fevered daydreams of millions of teenage girls and the dream come true for five young boys. But what once seemed like a fantasy looks more like a nightmare. There is something undeniably troubling about adults marketing 16-year-old boys to children for maximum profit, despite the clear risks to their well-being and mental health. Why do we only recognize this when tragedy strikes? How can we justify doing this to such young people – isolating them from their families, their normal lives, and their sense of self – only to mock them as they struggle through adulthood? How many more lives must the pop industry claim before something finally changes? It all just feels irredeemable. What is someone supposed to do with all that fame and then all that vilification? What does it say about us when there is a market for identifying tattoos from a corpse?

And there will never be closure. Henry will not get justice. Payne will have never beaten his battle with addiction. While the tributes pour in for Payne, it is clear how most of the decisions he made – and that were made for him – never were in his best interest. But that never mattered because the industry chews and spits out young people but will continue to thrive and produce entertainment. Unregulated fame has horrific ramifications, for the person in the spotlight and all the people in their lives standing just outside of it. 

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

How to GrowYour Substack with Peer Recommendations

Summary of my Udemy Course “From Zero to Substack Hero.” Dear freelance writers, this is a new series upon request from my readers. I recently developed a course titled “From Zero to Substack Hero” and published it on Udemy and shared it on Content Marketing Strategy Insights owned by Dr Mehmet Yildiz who kindly allowed me to use his Substack Mastery book to design the curriculum. Some writers…

[sussex-newswire]

Meghan's Accomplishments

Today in the smear campaign: Tina Brown launched a Substack and filled it full of Meghan-bashing quotes to get clicks. The tabloids are happily picking them up and recycling it all ad nauseum. "The trouble with Meghan is that she has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world. She’s flawless about getting it all wrong...all of her ideas are total crap."

Hm! Does this bear any relationship to truth? Let's look at Meghan's accomplishments, starting with the toe she dipped into Tina Brown's career area, magazine editing:

The issue of British Vogue that Meghan guest-edited, "Forces for Change," was their fastest selling edition in history, so overwhelmingly successful that they recently revisited it for a fifth anniversary retrospective.

Sure seems like Forces for Change is the kind of "total crap" idea that Tina Brown wishes she could come up with!

But of course, magazine editing was a one-off for Meghan. She just casually hit that home run while strolling through the ballpark. At the same time she was also busy with other projects, like:

Together: Our Community Cookbook, Meghan's first project as the Duchess of Sussex. This cookbook spotlighted the community of women displaced by the Grenfell fire and it was a huge hit, winning awards and raising more than half a million pounds for the Hubb Community Kitchen.

What a total crap idea! Let's look at a few of the others:

Meghan's picture book for children, The Bench, was a #1 New York Times Bestseller in its category.

Meghan's podcast, Archetypes, reached No. 1 in the podcast charts in more than six countries. It won the People's Choice Award for "The Pop Podcast of 2022," and Meghan was named as the "top entertainment podcast host" at the Gracie Awards.

The Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries holds the record for the biggest debut for a Netflix documentary and remains Netflix's second-highest ranked documentary ever.

Wow! Banger after banger after banger! This woman has a golden touch—everything she does breaks records for success!

Oh and speaking of awards:

With Harry, Meghan collected the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award for their "willingness to speak up" and "moral courage." They were also honored with the 2022 NAACP Image Award for "join[ing] the struggle for equity both in the U.S. and around the world." Meghan alone was singled out for her "global advocacy to empower and advocate on behalf of women and girls" at the 2023 Women of Vision Awards.

Moral courage and global advocacy—crap ideas for sure!

And what has Tina Brown done lately, after quitting The New Yorker to go and work for Harvey Weinstein, a choice that she herself now calls "the dumbest career move of anybody’s life"?

Well, she's got a Substack, and the only reason she's getting any attention for it is by putting lies on Meghan's name.

It's pretty obvious which one of these women has good ideas. And it's not Tina Brown.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jessica Testa at NY Times:

Should Jim Acosta wear a tie? For the last two months, since the former anchor quit his job at CNN, Mr. Acosta has been broadcasting online several times per week, usually from his dining room, using his iPhone. Often, he is troubleshooting in real time, far from the high-gloss desk and sophisticated cameras of his CNN set. One question he faces is how many “frills” to add to his interviews with the likes of Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary, or Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top House Democrat. “The magic here is not killing or messing with this organic nature of the show,” said Matt Hoye, Mr. Acosta’s newly hired executive producer and a 30-year veteran of CNN, who is leaning “no” on adding neckties but “yes” on graphics. “The Jim Acosta Show” streams live on Substack, a platform that has recently cemented itself as a harbor for stranded television anchors. In January, the start-up best known for email newsletters gave all users the ability to publish live video. Now it is home to a handful of cable stars marooned from their mainstream media jobs amid reshuffled lineups, salary cuts and other controversies. On Substack, where politics is the most popular and lucrative category, anti-Trump publishers have been performing particularly well.

Joy Reid began regularly posting to Substack in March, after her MSNBC show was canceled. On Friday, the former CNN anchor Don Lemon joined Substack after a year of livestreaming on YouTube. They join established chart-toppers, like Mehdi Hasan (the former MSNBC host) and Dan Rather (the onetime face of CBS News), along with various CNN expatriates: Norm Eisen, Jessica Yellin, Chris Cillizza, Elise Labott and Alisyn Camerota. This new TV diaspora has one central proposition: The future of news is casual. Sometimes very casual. Anchors can lose their seats and still hold on to their star power, so long as they give modern audiences what they want. “What’s most important in my business now is authenticity,” as the Fox News host turned YouTube star Megyn Kelly recently told The New York Times. [...] Katie Couric, who started an independent media company in 2017, has found the accelerated decline of linear television “at times upsetting,” she said: “I used to anchor the ‘CBS Evening News’ and the ‘Today’ show, and I’m doing Instagram Lives now.” Today, however, with a few dozen employees and a newsletter nearing one million subscribers, she more often feels legacy media is “late to the party.” Broadcasting on social media is “authenticity on steroids,” said Ms. Couric, who recently paused shopping for an Oscars party dress to livestream a breaking-news discussion on Ukraine, parking herself on the couch of a fashion brand’s showroom, wearing no makeup, she pointed out. [...] Some networks have tried to incorporate more of the internet’s casual and chaotic offerings into their sleek lineups, as when ESPN acquired the freewheeling “Pat McAfee Show” or Fox News developed a show with “a signature podcast style” around Will Cain.

Journalists such as Jim Acosta, Joy Reid, and Don Lemon have traded on-air roles at major cable outlets that have fancy studio setups for more modest digs and post on Substack with more editorial freedom.

[ofmdrecaps]

03/17-20/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Kristian Nairn; Zayre Ferrer; Vico Ortiz; Jes Tom; Bronson Pinchot; Dominic Burgess; Nicola Dove; The New Uni-Con; Our Drag Means Slay; Love Notes;

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys' Tour is in full swing in Aotearoa and he's been featured in lots of articles and participating in Podcast and Radio Shows all over!

Source: Beat Magazine

One of the podcasts he was on recently was Wilosophy! You can listen below, but there's also some clips on IG! Our friends over at @adoptourcrew also put up some clips on their Bluesky as well!

Source: Wilosophy

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Everyone Relax (@everyone.relax)

Source: Rhys's IG

Tired of Rhys yet? ME NEITHER! It's like a gift every day! There's also a New Cryptid Factor Episode! #105 The Robot Host Issue!

Source: The Cryptid Factor - Paid Patreon

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian just sending some love and hinting at some Spektrum updates!

Source: Kristian's IG

= Zayre Ferrer =

One of our fabulous writers, Zayre Ferrer is looking for "Los Angeles locals of all genders who identify as Afro-Caribeños, Hispanos & Latinos in their early 20s to 50s for various lead and supporting roles! Check out the casting info below!

Please email teamdpd@dpdcasting.com for more information."

Buscando talento Afro-Caribeño, Hispano y Latino residente en Los Angeles, de todos géneros entre 20 y 50 años, para papeles principales y secundarios. Para participar, obtener más información o si tiene preguntas envié un correo electrónico a teamdpd@dpdcasting.com.

Source: Zayre's IG

= Vico Ortiz =

Vico's been very busy with Today in Gay and other projects!

Source: Vico's Bluesky

March 17

March 18

March 19

March 20

Source: Today In Gay Substack

Vico's also been keeping us fed with more BTS on their paid Patreon! Here's a couple previews!

Source: Vico's Paid Patreon

Source: Vico's Paid Patreon

= James Tom =

Gonna be in San Francisco on May 6th? Why not stop in and see James Tom, one of our dear writers for their stand up! Get tickets here!

Source: James Tom's IG

= Bronson Pinchot =

Bronson, our villainous Ned Low, was out at "The Residence" Red carpet event with Netflix! I ran out of space for videos on this post, but Bronson also posted a video of him and his pup you should go watch here on IG for some serotonin!

Source: Bronson's IG

= Dominic Burgess =

Our dear Jeffrey Fettering, Dominic, is going to be in Hulu's GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY! Here's a clip!

Source: Dominics Bsky

As a bonus, Dominic is thinking of us and sending us kitty love <3

Source: Dominic's Bsky

= Nicola Dove =

More wonderful BTS photos and memories from one of our S2 Photographers-- Nicola Dove! These feature both before and after shots of specific scenes.

Source: FilmstillsAcademy IG

"Don't get too close to Rhys Darby with a sword. 😉 Behind the scenes on Our Flag Means Death S2"

Source: FilmStillsAcademy IG

== The New Uni-Con ==

Guess who's joining The New Uni-Con in London June 20th - 22nd? Why it's none other than, "Mr. Cool", Nathan Foad! Why is it I don't live in the UK again?

Source: Siren UK Events

== Our Drag Means Slay ==

My sincerest apologies to the Our Drag Means Slay folks, I've been so behind on these I'm not sure there's enough time to still send raffle prizes you'd like to donate-- but if so-- they're still accepting raffle prizes for their April 12 show in Chicago! They need them in hand by 04/10! All proceeds from the raffle, and part of the ticket sales go to The Lighthouse Foundation!

Source: Our Drag Means Slay IG

== Articles ==

As always, thank you to our amazing crewmates over at @adoptourcrew for keeping us up to date on articles featuring our favorite show!

Telltale-tv: The 15 Best Will They - Won't They TV Relationships

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

Max's #4 most-watched show is The Righteous Gemstones – here are 3 more great comedies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

More of the OFMD Craft Fair featured on INTO!

Our Flag Means Death creator donates to a craft fair raising funds for trans youth - INTO

Source: Intomore.com's Bsky

== Love Notes ==

Just a couple love notes for you lovelies. Please remember that you're doing the best you can, and you're going to get wherever you want to go one day <3

Love you crew <3

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A post shared by bailey (@anxiety.positive)

Source: Anxiety Positive IG

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A post shared by bailey (@anxiety.positive)

Source: Anxiety Positive IG

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Been a while since we've had some silly gifs! Tonight's gifs are courtesy of the lovely and talented @fandomsmeantheworldtome and @soapbubbles511 <3

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

05/21-25/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Con O'Neill; Nathan Foad; VIco Ortiz; Ruibo Qian; Anapela Polata'ivao; Bronson Pinchot; Andrew DeYoung and Andy Rydzewski; Gypsy Taylor; Cohen Holloway; Articles; TinyCrewBigRaffle2 Winners; Fan Spotlight: BrainBowie/OurFlagMeansFanfiction cast & crew interviews; Love Notes;

Well this is a new one...now I'm hitting the 10 video limit on Tumblr! Crazy! Apologies ahead of time for the buffering!

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys shared a clip of one of his recent performances, gotta love those sound effects!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rhys Darby (@rhysiedarby)

Source: Rhys' IG

He's also reminding us that there's shows coming up in UK and Ireland from May 30-July 3!

Source: Rhys' IG Stories

= Con O'Neill =

Con is going to be joining the Netflix series "Legends!"

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

= Nathan Foad =

Source: Nathan's IG Stories

= Vico Ortiz =

Our beloved Jim is keeping us fed with more OFMD BTS! This has Joel, Madeleine, Samba, and more! Check it out on their Paid Substack!

Source: Vico's Paid Substack

Vico's also been busy with more Today in Gay News! May 22 / May 21 / May 20

Source: Today In Gay Podcast Substack

= Ruibo Qian =

Ruibo knows that we can't resist cat content, look at that fluffy belly!

Source: Ruibo's IG Stories

= Anapela Polata'ivao =

Guess what? Tinā won BEST FILM at the Seattle International Film Festival this year! CONGRATS AUNTIE!

Source: Tinā The Film IG

In addition, an absolutely stunning new mural was added in Ōtautahi!

And just a little behind the scenes of Anapela <3

Source: Tinā The Film's IG Stories

= Bronson Pinchot =

Our dastardly Ned Low was being Interviewed by Still Here Hollywood Podcast, and he had a pretty fun story regarding the late Space Mom aka Carrie Fisher I thought would be fun to share. I miss you Space Mom! You were one of a kind and everyone remembers you fondly!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Still Here Hollywood (@stillherehwood)

Source: Bronson's IG

= Andrew DeYoung and Andy Rydzewski =

Absolutely amazing reviews have been coming in for Andrew (OFMD Director) and Andy's (OFMD Cinematographer) new movie Friendship! They were kind enough to also share some BTS of the two of them on set!

Source: Andy and Andrew's IG Stories

= Gypsy Taylor =

Gypsy designed a really cute tattoo for a friend!

Source: Gypsy's IG Stories

= Cohen Holloway =

Pop pop has blessed us with a throwback to lock down and more goofy comedy, this time with Sam Neill.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SamNeillTheProp (@samneilltheprop)

Source: Cohen's IG

= Articles =

As always, our dear friends over @adoptourcrew are keeping us up to date with articles that mention OFMD! Thanks Crew!

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Bsky

= Tiny Crew Big Raffle 2 =

The Tiny Crew Big Raffle 2 winners were announced! Check out who won the awesome prizes below!

Baby Monkey Draw from Megan Vertelle!

Ed's Necklace from Harlams Emporium

Gentlebeard Pop Up Zine by @lumiilys!

Fixed up Tiny Boat

Ed v Snake Embroidery by Owl Trousers!

David Jenkins Signature

Also, thank you so much to the wonderful folks behind Tiny Crew Big Raffle @tinycrewbigraffle , I know all that was a lot of work and coordination and you really are stellar keeping up with all of it! Thank you for continuing to let us have a chance at winning wonderful pieces of OFMD History!

== Fan Spotlight ==

So tonight's spotlight is on the wonderful BrainBowie aka Petrichor aka GheyandWoke aka Chloe and the Our Flag Means Fanfiction group! Chloe set out on a mission to get her flagged signed by several of our beloved Cast & Crewmates including Dominic Burgess, Damien Gerard, Samba Schutte, Lindsey Cantrell, and Christopher Corbin! Thank you so much for sharing these with us Chloe, they are amazing!!!

Source: Petrichor's Bsky

Source: Brain Bowie's IG

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

During this awesome excursion, Chloe and the OFMDD team asked the cast & crew some very important questions! Thank you so much to the Our Flag Means Fanfiction team for getting these questions answered! So fantastic! First up Samba gave some ideas he'd love to see come to life with Roach!

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A post shared by Our Flag Means Fanfiction (@ourflagmeansfanfiction)

Source: OFMFF IG

Next up was Damien Gerard, aka Father Teach -- with the question: What would you like to see your character do in fanfiction?

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A post shared by Our Flag Means Fanfiction (@ourflagmeansfanfiction)

Source: OFMFF IG

Dominic, Jeffrey Fettering, got the same question!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Our Flag Means Fanfiction (@ourflagmeansfanfiction)

Source: OFMFF IG

In addition, Christopher Corbin, aka Magic Man answered "What would you envision your character doing in fanfiction?"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Our Flag Means Fanfiction (@ourflagmeansfanfiction)

Source: OFMFF IG

= Harold's Haunt Calypso's Birthday =

Our friends over at Our Flag Means Fanfiction went live with @ringasunn for Calypso's Birthday over at Harold's Haunt in PA! Did any of you get to go?

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A post shared by Our Flag Means Fanfiction (@ourflagmeansfanfiction)

Source: OFMFF IG

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies! Back again tonight. I swear I'm going to at least get caught up to June tonight if I can! There's so much going on right now with the end of May and the start of pride month.

This is a short one, but I did want to share this love note with you because I think it means a lot, especially during pride month. But please remember, if you don't feel safe, do what you need to feel that way okay? We're here celebrating pride with you in, or out of the closet-- but your safety is the absolute most important thing <3 Love you crew!

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A post shared by Steph Jones | Self Care Visuals 🌈 (@selfcarevisuals)

Source: SelfCareVisuals