Today’s Flop Story!

It’s the MAX FUN DRIVE! The time when the network pulls out all the stops, we put out extra shows and fun doodads, we celebrate our listeners, AND we ask you for your support. Because, quite frankly, this is how we survive as both a show and a network. So if you’re interested in becoming a member or boosting your membership, head over to Maximumfun.org/join (and if you’re only a Flop House listener and want a streamlined checkout, we’ve got that too, at Maximumfun.org/joinflop)!

A Few Words About Creator-Owned Media

We’re very fortunate to own our show. Way back when The Flop House started, with three of us huddled around a single old PlayStation “Rock Band” microphone, directly fed into Dan’s laptop, it didn’t seem possible that it could matter, but now? With media consolidation and the decimation of traditional creative careers, it means everything.

We know you come to us for silly takes about… I dunno… The Cocoa Puffs Movie or something (we’re sure that’s coming sometime in 2027) so I won’t stay serious for too long or puff our dumb show up too much, but I’m gonna briefly get Marxist and say it’s never been more important for the workers to control the means of production. Big media companies keep consolidating and consolidating like some kind of billionaire controlled-Borg, all with the goal of somehow making more money by creating less — and meanwhile firing as many people as possible to replace with AI slop, or employing folks as permanent “freelancers,” while capitulating or actively cozying up to a government that wants to control what gets said or made.

The Max Fun model allows us to be creator-owners who can profit from our own work, made the way WE want to make it. There’s that old saw, “There’s no ethical consumption under capitalism.” Well, I honestly think this might be the closest we’ll get.

We don’t make ANYONE pay for our work. We put it out there for free, with the blind faith that, if people find it valuable, they will choose to support it. Meanwhile, we’ve partnered with Max Fun in a handshake deal (they don’t own any piece of our show; we’re here because we like like their artist-and-worker-friendly ethos) wherein they get a portion of revenue in return for finding us advertisers, lending production support, and creating a community where we all share the risks and rewards. And they, in turn, are a worker-owned collective, who make key management decisions via the input of the group and share in the company’s successes.

So. Yet again, we’re asking non-members to consider becoming supporting members, and current members to boost if they’re feeling able. We know it’s a particularly hard time right now, so if your dollars need to go elsewhere, either as charitable giving or because you need to tighten your belt, we understand! Do what’s smart for you, and then think about what else is possible. But if you have the means to, say, buy a fancy coffee once a month, consider supporting the shows you love, at maximumfun.org/join.

MFD Mythbusters!

MYTH: Maximum Fun does a drive every year, accruing more and more members, so that the hosts can fall asleep atop a giant pile of listener money.

FACT: Every subscription-based service goes through something called “churn,” where previous subscribers let their subscriptions lapse, for any number of perfectly understandable reasons, on top of any baseline audience loss that’s natural for any long-running enterprise.

We try to mitigate uncertainty by encouraging year-long subscriptions, but this truth is why we need to make a big yearly push, hat in hand, for listeners to support the shows that have become an important part of their lives — because, once you figure in member fall-off due to churn and other factors? What on paper might look like gains, actually end up just sustaining the status quo, or (thanks to the state of the world, inflation, etc.) actually being losses over time. Thus, even a successful drive can be like running to stand still (or even slip backward).

Quite frankly — with the state of the world as it is? We’ll take running to stand still any day. We are SO grateful that people care enough about our work to support it. But if you’ve ever wondered why we have to push the drive so hard year after year? That’s the reason!

Next on the Podcast

4/25 - In our second drive episode, Dan takes us back to 2002, to discuss FEARDOTCOM, one of the most notorious of the "THE INTERNET’S GONNA KILL YOU” horror films.

5/2 - Elliott wraps up Max Fun Drive 2026 with another 2002 movie pick — this one specifically designed to hurt Stuart! We discuss the movie he’s frequently cited as his least favorite of all time, 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS!

Plugging Away - All MFD Edition

Just as we strip away all external ads in the shows during Max Fun Drive, this plugs section is just about all the stuff going on during MFD!

UPCOMING LIVESTREAMS:

On the day you’re getting this, Friday, 4/24, at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET, we’ll be doing an AMA over on Stu’s Twitch. That stands for Ask Me Anything, so ask us anything. We may not ANSWER, but you can ask! (We’ll try to answer, unless y’all get wild.)

Then, on Tuesday, 4/28, at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET, Stu and Dan will be doing their cooking stream, THE SLOP HOUSE, also on Stu’s Twitch. Come by and watch Dan cook and Stu make cocktails, and hang out in the chat!

ALSO, we’re gonna be taking part in a series of streams on Friday, 5/1, leading up to the big official Max Fun HQ drive-ending streamtacular! We’ll be in the 4 pm PT/7 pm ET hour, over on the Max Fun YouTube channel!

THINGS TO WATCH OR LISTEN TO:

As of now all of FLOP TV SEASON 2 IS FREE over on our YouTube channel! Thank you for your support!

Dan joined Jesse for a Jordan, Jesse, Go! stream discussing niche subreddits, and you can watch the video here!

We kicked off the drive with CASTERS ON CASTERS, a little “Actors on Actors” interview show about the “art” of podcasting, where Dan and Stu talked to John Hodgman and Jesse Thorn, from the Judge John Hodgman podcast!

ALL-NEW MEMBER BOCO:

If you’re already a Max Fun member, check your bonus feed! Our discussion of TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE (1986) is available on the Flop House feed. We had a lot of fun trying to understand the frenetic animated madness. Plus, over at the bonus feed for Feeling Seen, another great Max Fun show, you can hear Dan talk to host Jordan Crucchiola about Wonder Boys and the curse (and joy) of nostalgia

You Made it to the End!

Dan made a very silly video to promote the new ad-free feed you have the option of using, if you are or become a member at $10/month or more. Even if you’re not interested, check it out and have a laugh.