WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.679 Imagine working a job where society basically 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:06.960 treats you like a literal arcade machine. Right. 00:00:07.129 --> 00:00:08.789 You know, they drop a quarter in the slot, they 00:00:08.789 --> 00:00:10.509 get the service they want, and then they pretend 00:00:10.509 --> 00:00:12.949 you just completely cease to exist the very second 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:14.730 they walk away. Like you just power down or something. 00:00:14.949 --> 00:00:16.750 Exactly. Like you don't have a physical body 00:00:16.750 --> 00:00:18.609 that gets tired, you don't have rent to pay, 00:00:18.629 --> 00:00:20.870 and you definitely don't have a voice. Yeah, 00:00:20.870 --> 00:00:24.050 it's total erasure. It really is. So today we 00:00:24.050 --> 00:00:27.530 are looking at how a marginalized community built 00:00:27.530 --> 00:00:31.350 a groundbreaking publication to basically smash 00:00:31.350 --> 00:00:35.270 that arcade machine to pieces. Welcome to today's 00:00:35.270 --> 00:00:37.399 Deep Dive. Glad to be here for this one. Our 00:00:37.399 --> 00:00:40.140 mission today for you, the listener, is to explore 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:43.939 a single dense Wikipedia article about an independent 00:00:43.939 --> 00:00:47.039 quarterly magazine called Spread. And we're going 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:49.979 to examine how this specific group bypassed all 00:00:49.979 --> 00:00:52.140 the traditional media gatekeepers to build their 00:00:52.140 --> 00:00:54.420 own platform. And it wasn't just about sharing, 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:56.799 you know, practical survival knowledge, though 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:59.439 they did do that. It was also to spark these 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:03.119 really complex ideological debates and ultimately 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:06.239 demand to be seen as actual human beings. It's 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.599 just a phenomenal piece of media history. It 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:11.379 really is. Because typically, when we consume 00:01:11.379 --> 00:01:14.260 stories about marginalized communities, those 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:17.540 stories are being told about them, not by them. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.640 Yeah, like they're just subjects. Exactly. The 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:22.379 people with the lived experience are treated 00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:27.019 as mere case studies or statistics, while the 00:01:27.019 --> 00:01:28.819 people holding the microphones get to control 00:01:28.819 --> 00:01:31.079 the narrative. They frame the whole debate. Yeah, 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.579 and they ultimately dictate how the rest of society 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:37.140 views that community. But spread is the documentation 00:01:37.140 --> 00:01:40.840 of a moment where a specific group decided they 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:43.400 were entirely done waiting for a seat at the 00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:45.260 table. They just built their own table. They 00:01:45.260 --> 00:01:47.359 absolutely did. OK, let's unpack this. Because 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:49.519 when I first dug into these sources, I kind of 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:54.560 expected to find this tiny underground zine photocopied 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:56.480 in someone's basement or something. A lot of 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.180 people assume that. Right. But look at the scale 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:01.329 of what we're actually dealing with here. Spread 00:02:01.329 --> 00:02:04.329 Magazine was launched on March 15th, 2005. It 00:02:04.329 --> 00:02:06.090 was based in New York City, and it was founded 00:02:06.090 --> 00:02:08.770 by Rachel Amy, Rebecca Lynn, and Raven Striega. 00:02:08.909 --> 00:02:11.150 And importantly, published by the Feminist Press. 00:02:11.610 --> 00:02:14.990 Yes. Which is actually... a crucial piece of 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:18.330 context. Because as we'll see a bit later, the 00:02:18.330 --> 00:02:20.349 relationship between mainstream feminism and 00:02:20.349 --> 00:02:23.129 this specific workforce was, and I mean still 00:02:23.129 --> 00:02:25.530 is, incredibly fraught. Very fraught, yeah. But 00:02:25.530 --> 00:02:27.349 what really stood out to me was who this was 00:02:27.349 --> 00:02:30.169 actually for and who was doing the writing. It 00:02:30.169 --> 00:02:33.050 was a magazine by and for sex workers and those 00:02:33.050 --> 00:02:35.310 who supported their rights. And that scale you 00:02:35.310 --> 00:02:37.129 mentioned, that's what makes this so revolutionary. 00:02:37.689 --> 00:02:40.849 The history. outlined in our source here, shows 00:02:40.849 --> 00:02:44.069 a profound example of a marginalized group reclaiming 00:02:44.069 --> 00:02:46.710 its own narrative on a national level. Not just 00:02:46.710 --> 00:02:48.710 a local newsletter? No, it was sold throughout 00:02:48.710 --> 00:02:51.090 the United States and Canada. They were stocked 00:02:51.090 --> 00:02:53.409 at independent bookstores, yes, but they also 00:02:53.409 --> 00:02:55.919 secure national distributors. Wow. They were 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:58.580 placing themselves right on the newsstand, literally 00:02:58.580 --> 00:03:01.120 shoulder to shoulder with mainstream lifestyle 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:03.219 and political publications. They did not hide. 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:06.240 Which is such a bold, almost aggressive move. 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.560 And it completely reframes the question of why 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:11.060 this specific publication needed to exist in 00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:13.060 the first place. Absolutely. Like when I was 00:03:13.060 --> 00:03:15.000 looking through the types of articles they publish, 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:17.819 the best analogy I could come up with is that 00:03:17.819 --> 00:03:20.500 spread reads like this strange, brilliant hybrid 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:24.400 between a professional trade journal and like 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.900 a grassroots advocacy zine. That is a highly 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:29.860 effective way to conceptualize it, actually, 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:32.180 because if you think about a standard trade journal, 00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:35.219 they're usually entirely functional. Right, like 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:37.340 a magazine for dentists or something. Exactly. 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:39.719 If you read a journal for plumbers or electricians, 00:03:40.020 --> 00:03:42.159 it tells you how to do your job door, tells you 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.020 how to navigate new industry regulations, what 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:46.620 tools were on the market, that sort of thing. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.979 Very nuts and bolts. Very. But zines, on the 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:53.099 other hand, are historically rooted in pure ideology. 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:56.199 They're manifestos. They basically say, here's 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:58.159 what is wrong with the world, and here's how 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:01.719 we change it. And spread merge those two completely 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:04.650 distinct formats. because the articles were written 00:04:04.650 --> 00:04:07.409 by readers, by figures from academic, cultural, 00:04:07.569 --> 00:04:10.729 and literary backgrounds. But the crucial, undeniable 00:04:10.729 --> 00:04:12.889 point is that the vast majority of contributors 00:04:12.889 --> 00:04:15.270 were current or former sex workers. They're the 00:04:15.270 --> 00:04:17.230 ones holding the pen. Yeah, and there's this 00:04:17.230 --> 00:04:19.730 one powerful quote from a co -editor in the source 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:22.550 material that just perfectly captures the underlying 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:35.019 mission. They said, into a slot. What's fascinating 00:04:35.019 --> 00:04:39.139 here is how that specific metaphor, you know, 00:04:39.180 --> 00:04:41.220 the mythical beast and the quarter in the slot 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:45.259 perfectly captures the exact dehumanization that 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:47.639 the magazine was systematically fighting against. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:50.360 Yeah, that transactional nature. Right. It highlights 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:54.480 how society often views this workforce as purely 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:58.009 transactional objects. You insert money, a service 00:04:58.009 --> 00:05:00.189 is performed, and then the person effectively 00:05:00.189 --> 00:05:02.230 ceases to exist in the mind of the consumer. 00:05:02.470 --> 00:05:03.889 Right, you don't think about where the arcade 00:05:03.889 --> 00:05:05.790 machine goes to sleep at night. Or if the arcade 00:05:05.790 --> 00:05:07.790 machine has access to affordable healthcare. 00:05:08.110 --> 00:05:10.649 Exactly. But once you establish that these workers 00:05:10.649 --> 00:05:13.529 are, in fact, human beings with physical bodies, 00:05:14.050 --> 00:05:16.490 you suddenly have to address the immediate physical 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:18.329 realities of their lives. You can't separate 00:05:18.329 --> 00:05:20.990 the two. No, you can't talk about humanizing 00:05:20.990 --> 00:05:22.829 someone without talking about their material 00:05:22.829 --> 00:05:25.889 needs. In the source notes, they published news, 00:05:26.209 --> 00:05:28.430 features, health columns, and resources specifically 00:05:28.430 --> 00:05:31.089 related to the sex industry. And by focusing 00:05:31.089 --> 00:05:33.389 on the mechanics of physical working conditions, 00:05:33.829 --> 00:05:36.250 health care, and housing needs, they essentially 00:05:36.250 --> 00:05:39.529 forced society to confront the human reality 00:05:39.529 --> 00:05:42.279 behind the industry. Because it makes it real 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:44.660 it makes it undeniably real when you publish 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:47.180 a health column or an article about navigating 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:50.360 dangerous labor environments You are inherently 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:53.379 demanding that the reader recognizes the physical 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:55.910 body and the psychological well -being of the 00:05:55.910 --> 00:05:57.949 worker. Right, it strips away the fantasy. It 00:05:57.949 --> 00:06:00.389 strips away the fantasy, it strips away the moralizing, 00:06:00.589 --> 00:06:02.790 and it leaves you with the worker who is just 00:06:02.790 --> 00:06:05.089 navigating labor conditions. Which naturally 00:06:05.089 --> 00:06:07.589 leads us to how they actually operated on the 00:06:07.589 --> 00:06:10.149 ground, because having grand philosophical goals 00:06:10.149 --> 00:06:12.850 is one thing, right? But Spread was actively 00:06:12.850 --> 00:06:15.189 implementing change. Here's where it gets really 00:06:15.189 --> 00:06:17.089 interesting. Yeah, their operations were unique. 00:06:17.269 --> 00:06:21.089 They had this highly specific and frankly astonishing 00:06:21.089 --> 00:06:24.279 philanthropic model. They didn't just sell magazines 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.779 to raise awareness. They donated 15 % of each 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:30.620 print run directly to the workplaces and outreach 00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:33.199 organizations that sex workers actually utilize. 00:06:33.379 --> 00:06:35.500 Just consider the logistics of that for a moment. 00:06:35.660 --> 00:06:39.360 Print margins for independent magazines are notoriously 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:41.500 razor -thin. Oh yeah, simply keeping the lights 00:06:41.500 --> 00:06:44.740 on is a massive struggle. So to commit 15 % of 00:06:44.740 --> 00:06:46.720 your physical product, your actual inventory, 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.480 to be distributed as a free resource within the 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:52.600 community, it shows a deep structural dedication 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:56.040 to practical impact over pure profit. They were 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.600 physically moving boxes of knowledge into the 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:00.540 underground spaces where they were needed most. 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:03.120 Exactly. But okay, the detail in the source that 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:04.879 I really want to push back on, or at least have 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:07.459 us dissect a bit is the tax outreach program. 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:10.420 The source mentions this program run by Audacia 00:07:10.420 --> 00:07:13.139 Ray, who was an executive editor at the magazine. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:15.579 Now, wait, I have to stop you there, listener, 00:07:15.740 --> 00:07:18.180 because you might be feeling some cognitive dissonance. 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:20.819 Teaching tax compliance sounds great in theory, 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:23.300 but we're talking about a heavily stigmatized, 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:26.100 often criminalized industry. It definitely raises 00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:28.829 some eyebrows. Right. The assumption is usually 00:07:28.829 --> 00:07:31.689 that if you operate in a shadow economy, your 00:07:31.689 --> 00:07:34.589 primary goal is to stay entirely off the government's 00:07:34.589 --> 00:07:37.829 radar. You deal in cash, you fly low, and you 00:07:37.829 --> 00:07:40.370 absolutely avoid the IRS. Keep your head down. 00:07:40.689 --> 00:07:43.990 Exactly. So why would a magazine for sex workers 00:07:43.990 --> 00:07:46.769 run an outreach program explicitly encouraging 00:07:46.769 --> 00:07:49.790 them to run toward the IRS? Isn't telling these 00:07:49.790 --> 00:07:52.410 workers to voluntarily put their names on federal 00:07:52.410 --> 00:07:55.029 tax documents incredibly dangerous? It sounds 00:07:55.029 --> 00:07:56.829 like a brilliant paradox, doesn't it? It really 00:07:56.829 --> 00:07:59.149 does. But it actually reveals a deep misunderstanding 00:07:59.149 --> 00:08:02.689 of how federal systems operate. The IRS fundamentally 00:08:02.689 --> 00:08:05.769 does not care about the moral or legal status 00:08:05.769 --> 00:08:07.589 of how you make your money. They just want their 00:08:07.589 --> 00:08:10.769 cut. They simply want their cut. The tax outreach 00:08:10.769 --> 00:08:13.290 program taught workers the actual mechanics of 00:08:13.290 --> 00:08:16.629 filing as independent contractors without triggering 00:08:16.629 --> 00:08:19.750 legal self -incrimination. Oh, wow. So they found 00:08:19.750 --> 00:08:22.430 a workaround. Basically, they taught them how 00:08:22.430 --> 00:08:25.560 to legally categorize their income Perhaps under 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:28.180 umbrella terms like consulting or entertainment, 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:31.720 effectively using the tax code as a shield rather 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:33.720 than letting it be used as a weapon against them. 00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:36.139 So they were teaching them the mechanics of everyday 00:08:36.139 --> 00:08:39.100 survival in a modern economy. Because if you 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:41.639 operate entirely in a shadow economy, I mean, 00:08:41.779 --> 00:08:43.639 sure, you might successfully avoid paying taxes, 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:46.580 but you also completely cut yourself off from 00:08:46.580 --> 00:08:49.220 the basic scaffolding of civic life. Think about 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:51.200 what it takes to function in modern society. 00:08:51.470 --> 00:08:54.129 Try renting a legitimate apartment without a 00:08:54.129 --> 00:08:56.830 W -2 or a tax return. Yeah, good luck. Try getting 00:08:56.830 --> 00:08:59.450 a car loan or mortgage or simply applying for 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:02.269 a basic credit card. Without a verifiable financial 00:09:02.269 --> 00:09:04.870 history, you are structurally locked out of upward 00:09:04.870 --> 00:09:07.230 mobility and stability. You remain vulnerable. 00:09:07.590 --> 00:09:10.950 Entirely vulnerable. By advocating for and teaching 00:09:10.950 --> 00:09:13.549 the mechanics of tax compliance, Spread wasn't 00:09:13.549 --> 00:09:16.009 just preaching a mundane civic duty. They were 00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:18.629 giving workers the tangible tools to integrate 00:09:18.629 --> 00:09:20.970 into the formal economy. It's essentially them 00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:23.330 planting a flag and saying, you are a worker, 00:09:23.610 --> 00:09:25.970 you are generating income, and you have the absolute 00:09:25.970 --> 00:09:28.409 right to exist in the formal economy, just like 00:09:28.409 --> 00:09:30.750 a freelance graphic designer or an independent 00:09:30.750 --> 00:09:33.070 contractor. It connects directly to the broader 00:09:33.070 --> 00:09:35.289 picture of labor rights and civic integration, 00:09:35.950 --> 00:09:38.250 because knowledge is most valuable when it is 00:09:38.250 --> 00:09:40.110 applied practically. Right. Theory only goes 00:09:40.110 --> 00:09:43.269 so far. Exactly. A high level philosophical argument 00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:46.139 about human rights is important. But showing 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:49.080 someone exactly how to fill out a 1099 tax form 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:51.820 so they can finally sign a lease on a safe, secure 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:54.379 apartment, that is life -altering. It shifts 00:09:54.379 --> 00:09:57.460 the entire paradigm. It shifts it from criminal 00:09:57.460 --> 00:10:00.769 evading the system to citizen participating in 00:10:00.769 --> 00:10:03.269 the system. So we have this publication doing 00:10:03.269 --> 00:10:06.429 incredible practical good. They're providing 00:10:06.429 --> 00:10:09.350 tangible health resources, housing information, 00:10:09.929 --> 00:10:12.570 tax help, and giving a marginalized community 00:10:12.570 --> 00:10:15.250 a national voice. You would naturally think that 00:10:15.250 --> 00:10:17.250 anyone advocating for women's rights and empowerment 00:10:17.250 --> 00:10:19.389 would just champion this project. You would think 00:10:19.389 --> 00:10:22.529 so. But of course, history is rarely that simple, 00:10:23.129 --> 00:10:26.090 which brings us to the intense ideological backlash 00:10:26.090 --> 00:10:28.950 the publication faced, specifically from outside 00:10:28.950 --> 00:10:31.769 its own immediate community. And it is vital 00:10:31.769 --> 00:10:35.019 here that we look at exactly how our source outlines 00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:37.879 this conflict. Focusing purely on the mechanics 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:40.220 of the debate as it was recorded, we need to 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:42.980 explore the specific friction between this publication 00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:45.919 and broader feminist movements. Absolutely. And 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:48.100 just to be totally clear to you listening, we 00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:50.539 are not here to take a side or endorse a specific 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:52.679 viewpoint. We just need to impartially report 00:10:52.679 --> 00:10:54.980 on this clash because it was a massive defining 00:10:54.980 --> 00:10:57.820 part of the magazine's existence. It was unavoidable 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:01.259 for them. Yeah. And the core criticism detailed 00:11:01.259 --> 00:11:03.929 in the Wikipedia article is that Because spread 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:06.309 was fundamentally rooted in the sex workers rights 00:11:06.309 --> 00:11:09.250 movement, it faced heavy sustained criticism 00:11:09.250 --> 00:11:11.509 from branches of feminism that hold the belief 00:11:11.509 --> 00:11:14.190 that sex work is inherently degrading. If we 00:11:14.190 --> 00:11:16.990 connect this to the bigger picture, the source 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:19.789 describes the perceptions within feminist circles 00:11:19.789 --> 00:11:23.629 as being incredibly polarized. It essentially 00:11:23.629 --> 00:11:27.269 presents two highly distinct, practically immovable 00:11:27.269 --> 00:11:30.029 paradigms. OK, let's break those down. On one 00:11:30.029 --> 00:11:32.370 side of the ideological divide, you have the 00:11:32.370 --> 00:11:35.009 frame framework that views sex workers as fully 00:11:35.009 --> 00:11:38.409 empowered agents, individuals who are using their 00:11:38.409 --> 00:11:41.429 sexuality and their labor in positive, unassailable 00:11:41.429 --> 00:11:43.929 ways. Right. And other side of that divide. On 00:11:43.929 --> 00:11:45.809 the other side, you have the framework that views 00:11:45.809 --> 00:11:48.909 sex workers as inherently victims of a job that 00:11:48.909 --> 00:11:51.690 degrades them by its very nature, regardless 00:11:51.690 --> 00:11:53.830 of the individual worker's personal feelings 00:11:53.830 --> 00:11:56.409 of agency or empowerment. So they're just two 00:11:56.409 --> 00:11:58.750 completely incompatible frameworks for viewing 00:11:58.750 --> 00:12:00.990 the exact same industry. Fundamentally incompatible, 00:12:01.129 --> 00:12:03.610 yeah. And the source material highlights the 00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:05.809 friction between these two cams with some incredibly 00:12:05.809 --> 00:12:09.509 sharp language. It notes that most feminist dialogues 00:12:09.509 --> 00:12:11.570 about sex work during this time sounded more 00:12:11.570 --> 00:12:14.289 like monologues. Monologues? Yeah, that's a very 00:12:14.289 --> 00:12:17.590 specific word choice. It is. It explicitly points 00:12:17.590 --> 00:12:20.330 out that defensiveness, mischaracterizations, 00:12:20.590 --> 00:12:23.750 and willful ignorance abounded. And this is a 00:12:23.750 --> 00:12:26.090 phrase that really sticks out to me, making casualties 00:12:26.090 --> 00:12:29.490 of complexity and nuance. Casualties of complexity 00:12:29.490 --> 00:12:32.899 and nuance. That is a devastatingly accurate 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:35.860 way to describe what happens when rigid theoretical 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:38.379 debates collide with messy lived reality. You're 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:40.360 right, because nobody is listening. Exactly. 00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:43.059 A monologue isn't designed to understand or to 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:45.840 synthesize new information. A monologue is only 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:47.980 designed to broadcast a pre -existing belief. 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:50.980 It's like a group of architects aggressively 00:12:50.980 --> 00:12:53.440 debating the theoretical load -bearing math of 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:56.419 a bridge in a conference room, completely ignoring 00:12:56.419 --> 00:12:58.360 the construction workers who are currently standing 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:01.279 on that actual bridge, pointing out giant crack 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:03.659 in the concrete. That's a great analogy. You 00:13:03.659 --> 00:13:06.500 have people engaged in high -level theoretical 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:10.799 ideology and the actual lived practical experiences 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:13.360 of the workers. You know, the people writing 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:15.940 for Spread, they end up getting completely drowned 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:18.399 out by the noise of the debate about them. Which 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:21.000 brings into focus why the sheer existence of 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:24.259 the magazine was so disruptive. Spread forced 00:13:24.259 --> 00:13:26.019 an interruption of those monologues. It made 00:13:26.019 --> 00:13:28.860 them look at the bridge. Exactly. It presented 00:13:28.860 --> 00:13:31.879 the messy, nuanced, complex reality of the workers 00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:34.710 themselves. The writers in the magazine didn't 00:13:34.710 --> 00:13:37.789 fit neatly into either the perfectly empowered 00:13:37.789 --> 00:13:41.090 flawless agent box, nor did they fit into the 00:13:41.090 --> 00:13:43.870 helpless tragic victim box. They were just people. 00:13:44.090 --> 00:13:47.350 It just presented human beings navigating a complex, 00:13:47.610 --> 00:13:49.830 often dangerous labor environment. But navigating 00:13:49.830 --> 00:13:52.129 that labor environment while simultaneously fighting 00:13:52.129 --> 00:13:54.669 those intense ideological battles and doing the 00:13:54.669 --> 00:13:56.490 physical heavy lifting of running an independent 00:13:56.490 --> 00:13:58.710 print magazine. I mean, that takes a monumental 00:13:58.710 --> 00:14:01.029 toll on a human being. It's entirely unsustainable 00:14:01.029 --> 00:14:03.610 for most. So what does this all mean for the 00:14:03.610 --> 00:14:06.370 ultimate fate of the publication? Well, the source 00:14:06.370 --> 00:14:10.389 tells us that on August 30th, 2010, spread officially 00:14:10.389 --> 00:14:13.399 ceased printed publication. which is unfortunately 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:16.480 a pretty common trajectory for independent grassroots 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:19.659 media. But the specific reasons cited for its 00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:21.840 closure are quite revealing, and they diverge 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:24.269 from the standard narrative a bit. Yes, and this 00:14:24.269 --> 00:14:27.669 was a truly surprising fact to uncover. You always 00:14:27.669 --> 00:14:29.990 assume indie magazines fold simply because they 00:14:29.990 --> 00:14:32.129 run out of money, right? That's usually the culprit. 00:14:32.230 --> 00:14:35.110 And yes, the source does cite financial issues, 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:37.509 but the article explicitly notes that it wasn't 00:14:37.509 --> 00:14:40.210 just a lack of capital that killed spread. They 00:14:40.210 --> 00:14:42.090 stated that they simply didn't have enough people 00:14:42.090 --> 00:14:44.990 to keep the operation running. The manpower just 00:14:44.990 --> 00:14:47.450 wasn't there. Right. The source includes a direct 00:14:47.450 --> 00:14:49.210 quote from their closure announcement, stating 00:14:49.210 --> 00:14:51.669 that even if there was a hundred K made available, 00:14:51.789 --> 00:14:53.779 they still couldn't have kept the magazine alive. 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:57.720 $100 ,000. Right, which is huge for an indyzine. 00:14:58.059 --> 00:15:00.340 This raises an important question about the nature 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:03.379 of grassroots organizing and the reality of activist 00:15:03.379 --> 00:15:06.460 burnout. When an organization publicly states, 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:09.679 even if you handed us a check for $100 ,000 right 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.200 now, we still couldn't keep going, that points 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.960 to a profound systemic depletion of human capital. 00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:18.419 Think about the last time you felt totally burned 00:15:18.419 --> 00:15:21.279 out at your job, listener. Just completely exhausted 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:24.679 by the daily grind. Now imagine your job also 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:27.860 requires you to constantly publicly justify your 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:30.340 basic human rights to the rest of society. While 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:33.000 also running an underground tax outreach program. 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:35.779 Right, while also physically distributing magazines 00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:38.659 out of boxes. You can see why a check for a hundred 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:40.919 grand wouldn't magically fix the exhaustion. 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:43.379 Running a national print publication is exhausting 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:45.659 in the best of circumstances. But when you're 00:15:45.610 --> 00:15:48.450 Staff is also deeply embedded in the grassroots 00:15:48.450 --> 00:15:50.929 activism required to defend their very right 00:15:50.929 --> 00:15:53.870 to exist. The physical and emotional bandwidth 00:15:53.870 --> 00:15:56.509 required is just staggering. It's beyond a full 00:15:56.509 --> 00:15:59.769 -time job. Way beyond. The source actually gives 00:15:59.769 --> 00:16:02.669 us a glimpse into this intense, multifaceted 00:16:02.669 --> 00:16:05.190 level of engagement by mentioning one of the 00:16:05.190 --> 00:16:07.779 former editors, Emily O 'Hara. who wrote under 00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:10.000 the pseudonym Merry Christmas. Yes, the article 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:11.919 points out she wasn't just sitting behind a desk 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:14.220 editing a magazine, she was an active organizer. 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:16.840 It specifically mentions she was involved in 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:18.820 something called the Radical Cheerleaders. Which 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:21.720 the source describes as a group of leftist activists 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:24.700 who would cheer in organized squads at protests. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.559 That's such a wild, amazing visual. It is a fantastic 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.279 detail because it illustrates the physical reality 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:33.840 of their activism. They were fighting the battles 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:36.360 in print, yes, but they were also out in the 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:39.100 streets, physically putting their bodies on the 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:42.220 line at protests, using performance art and direct 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:44.980 action to demand visibility. They were basically 00:16:44.980 --> 00:16:48.059 fighting on every conceivable front. In print, 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:50.360 with the magazine, in the community, with attacks 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:52.899 and health outreach, and physically in the streets 00:16:52.899 --> 00:16:56.159 at protests. It's really no wonder that by 2010, 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:58.360 the human engine running the machine simply ran 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:00.480 out of fuel. You can't run on fumes forever. 00:17:00.669 --> 00:17:03.490 No, you can print more issues or raise more money, 00:17:03.750 --> 00:17:06.410 but you cannot magically print more human energy 00:17:06.410 --> 00:17:09.109 when the well completely runs dry. Which makes 00:17:09.109 --> 00:17:11.029 their achievements during that five -year run 00:17:11.029 --> 00:17:13.849 all the more remarkable, honestly. They sustained 00:17:13.849 --> 00:17:17.069 a high -level publication, distributed it internationally, 00:17:17.589 --> 00:17:20.210 dealt with intense ideological pushback, and 00:17:20.210 --> 00:17:22.990 simultaneously acted as a central node for community 00:17:22.990 --> 00:17:25.690 support and political advocacy. And thankfully, 00:17:25.990 --> 00:17:28.170 all of that immense labor wasn't simply lost 00:17:28.170 --> 00:17:30.690 to history when the magazine folded. The source 00:17:30.690 --> 00:17:33.930 provides one final triumphant detail to wrap 00:17:33.930 --> 00:17:36.130 up their historical timeline. A very fitting 00:17:36.130 --> 00:17:39.970 coda. Yeah. On March 15th, 2015, which was exactly 00:17:39.970 --> 00:17:41.970 10 years to the day after the magazine first 00:17:41.970 --> 00:17:45.829 launched, the feminist press released a 368 -page 00:17:45.829 --> 00:17:48.720 book. It was a curated collection of the best 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.720 articles and essays from the original issues, 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:53.759 effectively solidifying Spread's role in starting 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.559 a media revolution and illuminating the reality 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:59.039 of the industry. It ensured that the vital dialogues 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:01.579 they started and the practical wisdom they gathered 00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:03.859 wouldn't just fade away into old out -of -print 00:18:03.859 --> 00:18:05.920 issues decaying in basements somewhere. Right, 00:18:06.019 --> 00:18:08.920 it preserved it. It codified their work, their 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:11.880 voices, and their humanity into the permanent 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:14.380 historical record. So for you listening right 00:18:14.380 --> 00:18:17.900 now... Why should this specific piece of media 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:21.599 history matter? Why does a deep dive into a defunct 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:25.519 mid -2000s magazine hold weight today? Because 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:29.059 spread is an absolute master class in how a marginalized 00:18:29.059 --> 00:18:31.559 community can stop asking for permission. They 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:33.700 didn't wait around for anyone. They bypassed 00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:35.759 the traditional gatekeepers to reclaim their 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:37.900 own narrative. They didn't just ask for better 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:40.420 treatment from society, they built the practical, 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:43.099 tangible support systems like tax outreach and 00:18:43.099 --> 00:18:45.900 health resources to manifest that treatment themselves. 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:48.839 Right. And most importantly, they demanded complexity. 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:51.599 They refused to be reduced to mythical beasts 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:53.960 waiting for a quarter in a slot and instead demanded 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:57.140 to be seen as full, nuanced human beings. They 00:18:57.140 --> 00:18:59.180 proved that when marginalized voices control 00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:01.839 the printing press, the resulting narrative is 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.700 inevitably richer, more practical, and far more 00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:07.019 human than anything an outside observer could 00:19:07.019 --> 00:19:10.500 ever produce. It is an incredible legacy. But 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.220 it also leaves us with a lingering, somewhat 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:15.759 heavier thought to chew on as we wrap up today. 00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:18.799 We noted that spread ultimately folded not just 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.119 for financial reasons, but because they physically 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:23.619 and emotionally lacked the manpower to sustain 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:26.980 it. The creators were simply fundamentally burned 00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:29.720 out. The human cost was just too high. Exactly. 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.240 So consider this as you look around at the media 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.980 landscape today, how many other vital grassroots 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:38.849 platforms platforms that are doing the grueling 00:19:38.849 --> 00:19:40.930 necessary work of giving voice to the voiceless 00:19:40.930 --> 00:19:44.029 are currently teetering on the edge of collapse 00:19:44.029 --> 00:19:47.150 simply because the immense emotional and physical 00:19:47.150 --> 00:19:49.849 labor required of their creators is completely 00:19:49.849 --> 00:19:52.230 unsustainable in the long term. It is a sobering 00:19:52.230 --> 00:19:54.130 reminder that while raising our voices might 00:19:54.130 --> 00:19:56.450 be free, sustaining those voices over the long 00:19:56.450 --> 00:19:58.920 haul always comes at a significant human cost. 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:01.180 Something to mull over as you explore the media 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:03.579 you rely on today. Thank you so much for joining 00:20:03.579 --> 00:20:05.579 us on this deep dive. Keep asking questions, 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:07.619 keep looking beyond the monologues, and always 00:20:07.619 --> 00:20:09.220 keep seeking out multiple perspectives.