Overlooking MacArthur Park Lake, Jesse Thorn is recording tracks for his latest “Bullseye” podcast episode inside a recording booth that he bought off Craigslist for $3,500.On Monday, Thorn — who has co-owned Maximum Fun with his wife since it was incorporated 2011 — announced his company would become a workers cooperative, a novel business model in the podcast industry, but one that has been tried by many small businesses including bakeries and pizza places.
Several companies expressed interest in buying Maximum Fun — a big radio firm, a medium-sized media business and a TV company — but Thorn declined to name them. “In the end, this is the way to do it that won’t ruin everything and allows the company to be owned and operated by people who I trust who are doing it for the same reasons that I was,” Thorn said.
On “Bullseye With Jesse Thorn,” Thorn interviews creators and cultural icons including actor Eugene Levy, rap group Little Brother and music artist “Weird Al” Yankovic. The tone of the interviews is conversational and personal, sort of like a millennial version of “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross.