Stack Magazines

This week we're speaking with Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, editor of Vestoj, a fashion magazine unlike any other. The latest issue is dedicated to 'masculinities', and she speaks about the fascinating history of beards, her dislike for fashion shoots, and her fondness for a pre-historic David Shrigley.

Recorded live at The Book Club in London on 24 January 2017, with Liv Siddall, editor of Rough Trade magazine, Jack Self, editor and founder of Real Review, and Steven Gregor, the man behind Gym Class magazine. Listen in and hear them speaking about why small magazines make more sense for them than a big, heavy, expensive luxury print product.

This week we're joined by Eddy, the founder, editor and art director of Water Journal, a photo-driven magazine that dedicates its pages to exploring water in all its forms. I love it when magazines plumb the depths of a niche, and as you'll hear this title is driven by Eddy's own personal obsession, as well as his desire to do things differently. Inspiring stuff for any aspiring independent publishers out there...

This week we paid a visit to Rabbits Road Press, the new community risograph print studio and publishing press based in Newham, East London. There we spoke to founders Sofia Niazi, Rose Nordin and Heiba Lamara about their aims for the press, and how it fits in with their feminist magazine OOMK.

We're back for our first proper podcast episode of 2017, chatting with Tom Armstrong, editor of London-based music magazine The Move. Hear him speaking about the transformative power of music, the excitement he feels when he gets to share something, and the fear that set in when his first copies of the new magazine arrived.

On our second podcast trip to New York we go back to Small City in Brooklyn for a panel discussion recorded in front of a live audience on 20 October 2016. We were joined by some of the city's most exciting independent food magazine makers, with Claudia Wu from Cherry Bombe, Walter Green from Lucky Peach and Michele Outland and Fiorella Valdesolo from Gather Journal speaking about what they do.

Recorded on 18 October 2016 in front of an audience at the School of Visual Arts in New York, this panel discussion features three of the city's most exciting independent publishers speaking about their magazines. Featuring Ben Yarling from American Chordata, Christopher Isenberg from Victory Journal and Sarah Forbes Keough from Put A Egg On It.

This week I caught up with Jack Self, editor of Real Review, to speak to him about his magazine that won Launch of the Year at our awards ceremony last month. He has a fantastic talent for exploring the structures and forces that shape the way we live, and he spoke about the infrastructures of architecture, politics, publishing and much more. It was a really inspiring meeting, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll do in 2017.

This week Supermundane dropped in on the Stack office, so we whipped out the microphone and took the opportunity to record an interview with him. The renowned illustrator and artist was making magazines before Stack even existed, and it was brilliant to hear him reflecting on his work for Anorak and Fire & Knives, and very exciting to discover that he's planning a new print magazine for next year. Listen to our interview, then Google the talk he did earlier this year for It's Nice That. You won't be disappointed...

This week we slip back in time to early September, for a conversation with Danny Miller, publisher of Weapons of Reason and co-founder of creative agency Human After All. The serial magazine maker speaks about the mixture of altruism and pragmatism that runs through his projects, including the Publishing Playbook, a free online resource for anyone who wants to make their own magazine, and of course Weapons of Reason, a magazine that wants to inspire positive action in its readers.

Charlotte Roberts and Bertie Brandes, the two women behind Mushpit magazine, drop in on the Stack office at Somerset House to talk about the making of the crisis issue, and the anxieties that come from doing the thing you set out to achieve.

This week's episode begins on a train to Nottingham, jets off to New York, then ends up back here in my living room in London. And in the middle of it I speak with Mackenzie Peck, editor and founder of Math magazine, the progressive porn quarterly. You won't be surprised to hear that there is a fair amount of adult material in this one, so you might not want to listen along with the kids.

This week we're zipping back across the Atlantic for an interview with Nadia Saccardo from Pallet magazine. We met while I was in New York last month, and I was fascinated by her thoughts on independent publishing and the passion that sees her currently working across craft beer (Pallet) dogs (Four & Sons) and sports (Good Sport). They're all fine magazines, and Nadia is brilliantly eloquent on what makes them so special.

Reporting from the Mod Mag conference in London, we speak with organiser and magCulture founder Jeremy Leslie about what independent means today, and why on earth he takes on the stress and hassle of organising an international magazine event.

This week's episode comes from New York, where I dropped in on Noelle Roth and Matthew Schnipper, art director and managing editor of The Pitchfork Review.

This week's episode comes direct from my kitchen table, as I'm joined by Kitty Drake, Sadhbh O'Sullivan and Scarlet Evans from Ladybeard magazine. As you'll hear, this is my second attempt at featuring Ladybeard on the podcast, and the three don't disappoint, with tales from the front line of independent publishing.

With the new issue of Flaneur magazine hitting newsstands around the world, we speak to publisher Ricarda Messner about her new project, Sofa magazine. Smaller, cheaper and potentially much more profitable, could it help lead the way for a new breed of independent magazines?

Steven Gregor, editor, publisher and creative director of Gym Class magazine, speaks about the current state of independent magazine publishing, and why he decided to make this issue his last.

This week we're rescued from a small audio disaster by Rob Orchard, editor of Delayed Gratification magazine. Their latest issue is hitting shelves right now, and Rob talks us through the making of his ingenious magazine that is always proud to be last to breaking news.

We catch Agnese Kleina, fresh from the stage at Indiecon, to speak about her upcoming Benji Dinner project, and the community-building power of independent magazines.