Mag Heroes

By Dan Rowden

What's Mag Heroes about?

A podcast about magazines and the people who make them. Every fortnight we hear from an indie magazine maker about why they started, how they put together new issues and the trials and challenges of producing a printed publication. Hosted by Dan Rowden of Magpile.com, Subsail.com and @dansmags.

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Mag Heroes episodes:

02.12.2020
28 — Ben Mervis (Fare)
Ben is the founder and editor of Fare, a magazine that explores cities via their food culture. We talked about the process of creating a first issue, travelling to new cities for each issue and using a reliable team of...
01.29.2020
27 — Cam Held & Christine Reighley (Maine The Way)
Cam Held and Christine Reighley are th founders of Maine The Way, a magazine about the state of Maine. After two years and eight issues, Christine and Cam have built a loyal readership via crowdfunding and Subsail-powered subscriptions, and we...
01.17.2020
26 — Kai Brach (Offscreen)
Kai publishes Offscreen, a magazine about the “human side of technology.” Now 22 issues in, Offscreen has grown from a title covering tech companies into a publication that challenges how we as humans think about technology. We talked about this...
11.27.2019
25 — Danny Giacopelli (Courier)
Danny Giacopelli is the editor of Courier magazine, a title that covers business and startups from around the world. We had a great conversation about Danny's start in magazines at Monocle, his move across London to Courier and the magazine's...
11.20.2019
24 — Indhira Rojas (Anxy)
Indhi Rojas is the founder and creative director of Anxy, a magazine about mental health and our “inner worlds.” Last month Indhi announced she has stopped publishing this multi award-winning magazine so I thought it would be great to hear...
11.01.2019
23 — Alice Pomfret (Akin)
Alice is founder and editor of Akin, a bi-annual magazine which looks in depth at a single person each issue. Alongside the magazine, Alice has started hosting events for the creative community in her native Norwich, England, and selling indie...
10.18.2019
22 — Sam Diss (Mundial)
Sam is the Commissioning editor of Mundial, a football culture magazine from London. In our chat, Sam explains how Mundial came about as “a group chat that kind of got out of hand”, Sam's trip to New York for the...
08.10.2017
21 — Robbie Russell (Assistant editor of PUSH)
Robbie is the assistant editor and commercial manager of PUSH, a new magazine focusing on youth culture. Robbie launched the magazine after university and has big plans. We also delve deep into PUSH's successful free distribution model.
08.01.2017
20 — Felicia Pennant (Editor of SEASON)
Felicia is editor of SEASON, a football magazine for and about women. We chatted about the magazine's position in giving female football fans a voice, a final-year thesis that sparked the idea for SEASON, and the unique way the magazine...
07.27.2017
19 — Kai Brach (Editor of Offscreen)
Kai is the Editor of Offscreen, a magazine that looks at the human side of technology. We talk about the magazine's custom subscription and ordering system, problems Kai had with the magazine's new binding method, and Heftwerk, a Berlin-based collective...
07.18.2017
18 — Bethany Thompson & Sam Bradley (Editors of Counterpoint)
Sam and Bethany are the editors of Counterpoint, a magazine full of illustrations and writing on a different theme each issue. We had a nice chat about Counterpoint's hand-bound and risograph production processes, moving from online to a very specific...
07.06.2017
17 — Christi Barnes (Managing editor of Woven)
Christi is the managing editor of Woven, a Seattle-based magazine that interviews artists, creatives and entrepreneurs. We talked about the magazine's journey from a digital platform to a printed publication, personally interviewing for each feature, and a potential to grow...
06.30.2017
16 — Wendy Huynh (Editor of Arcades)
Wendy is the editor of Arcades, a magazine which buries itself in a city's suburbs for each issue. In our chat we talked about the magazine's origins as a student project, how the cities she features affect each issue and...
06.23.2017
15 — Lucy Chesters (Editor of Ethos)
Lucy is the editor of Ethos, a magazine reporting on ethical and progressive businesses and business people. We chat about Ethos' crowdfunding campaign from last year, their collaborative publishing projects, and the balance between their print and digital efforts.
06.14.2017
14 — Matthew Porter (Editor of DOG)
Matthew is an editor of DOG, a "modern lifestyle magazine exploring the presence and influence of dogs and their owners in society.” It was great to hear from Matt about the magazine’s origins, how they go about selecting a different...
06.09.2017
13 — Johnny Crisp (Deputy editor of Perdiz)
Johnny is Deputy editor and Translator at Barcelona-based Perdiz, a magazine "about people and the things that make them happy." We talk about some of the interesting stories unearthed for issue 8, how the team go about sourcing their content,...
06.01.2017
12 — Sean Dagan Wood (Editor-in-chief of Positive News)
Sean is the Editor-in-chief of Positive News, a publication focused on good journalism about the good things that are happening. We chat about the magazine's history, starting as newsprint in 1993, and its smart, ethical and positive publishing outlook.
02.03.2017
11 — Lene Haugerud (Editor of Brygg)
Lene is the editor of Brygg, a magazine about "conversation and coffee." We discuss Brygg's past as a Norwegian-language coffee magazine, it's change to an English-language cultural title, and what's coming up in the next issue.
01.23.2017
10 — Steven Watson (Founder of Stack Magazines)
Steve is the founder of Stack Magazines, a magazine subscription service that sends you a different independent magazine every month. Steve is slowly building a magazine-focused empire; in this episode we touch on a few of his latest projects, the...
03.30.2015
9 — Elliot and Samantha Stocks (Lagom)
Elliot and Samantha Stocks are the husband and wife team behind Lagom, a new magazine which looks at creativity, and the balance between work and play. In the episode, they talk through the new issue (released last week), how they...
03.14.2015
8 — Gail Bichler (Design Director, The New York Times Magazine)
Gail Bichler has the envious job of Design Director at The New York Times Magazine, a publication setting trends in cover design, read by millions each week, and with a big relaunch just a few weeks ago. Gail explains how...
03.02.2015
7 — Rosa Park (Editor of Cereal)
Rosa Park is the Editor of “travel and style” magazine, Cereal, which is on the cusp of a relaunch, with a new design and a slight change in content scope. Rosa talks about starting a magazine with little experience in...
02.12.2015
6 — Ryan Essmaker (Creative Director of The Great Discontent)
Ryan Essmaker is half of the husband-wife team that started The Great Discontent as an online interview series in 2011. Launching a print edition in spring 2014, TGD has recently gone quarterly. I talked with Ryan about TGD's beginnings, current...
01.19.2015
5 — Kai Brach (Editor of Offscreen)
Kai Brach is the man behind Offscreen, a magazine about people who work on the web and with apps. We talk about Kai's transition from web designer to independent magazine publisher and discuss the importance of social media in today's...
02.13.2014
4 — Alec Dudson (Editor of Intern)
Alec is Editor of Intern, a new magazine highlighting work by interns and sparking the debate about intern culture. We discuss the genesis of his publication, his work as an intern for other independent mags, and how Kickstarter has become...
01.16.2014
3 — Philip Diprose (Editor of The Ride Journal)
Philip is the Editor of The Ride Journal, an illustration-filled, storytelling biking magazine from the UK. We discuss Philip's passion for biking (and his bike collection) and how this fuelled the creation of this beautiful magazine, now on its 8th...
12.16.2013
2 — Ibrahim Nehme (Editor of The Outpost)
Ibrahim is the Editor-in-Chief of The Outpost, a Beirut-based “magazine of possibilities.” We discuss The Outpost's origins in a region of flux and the current publishing climate in the Middle East.
11.25.2013
1 — Luke Tonge (Art Director of Boat)
Luke is the Art Director of Boat Magazine, a magazine that travels to and reports from a different city each issue. We talk about how Luke got into design, what he does in his day job and how he manages...
11.21.2013
0 — Intro
This first episode introduces Mag Heroes and lays out my thoughts behind starting this show.

What's Mag Heroes about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Mag Heroes episodes:

28 — Ben Mervis (Fare)

27 — Cam Held & Christine Reighley (Maine The Way)

26 — Kai Brach (Offscreen)

25 — Danny Giacopelli (Courier)

24 — Indhira Rojas (Anxy)

23 — Alice Pomfret (Akin)

22 — Sam Diss (Mundial)

21 — Robbie Russell (Assistant editor of PUSH)

20 — Felicia Pennant (Editor of SEASON)

19 — Kai Brach (Editor of Offscreen)

18 — Bethany Thompson & Sam Bradley (Editors of Counterpoint)

17 — Christi Barnes (Managing editor of Woven)

16 — Wendy Huynh (Editor of Arcades)

15 — Lucy Chesters (Editor of Ethos)

14 — Matthew Porter (Editor of DOG)

13 — Johnny Crisp (Deputy editor of Perdiz)

12 — Sean Dagan Wood (Editor-in-chief of Positive News)

11 — Lene Haugerud (Editor of Brygg)

10 — Steven Watson (Founder of Stack Magazines)

9 — Elliot and Samantha Stocks (Lagom)

8 — Gail Bichler (Design Director, The New York Times Magazine)

7 — Rosa Park (Editor of Cereal)

6 — Ryan Essmaker (Creative Director of The Great Discontent)

5 — Kai Brach (Editor of Offscreen)

4 — Alec Dudson (Editor of Intern)

3 — Philip Diprose (Editor of The Ride Journal)

2 — Ibrahim Nehme (Editor of The Outpost)

1 — Luke Tonge (Art Director of Boat)

0 — Intro