Hey, this is Alex. I'm appearing on the top of the show in what would be an ad slot to tell you about the Radiotopia annual fund drive. And look, I know this is a little weird

because for one, I'm already asking you for money.

I'm asking you to become a hyper-fixed member

at the end of every episode.

And two, my show just started.

And now I've asked you for money two different ways.

I'm very sensitive to that.

But let me explain why I am doing this. Just getting this show off the ground has taken

almost two years, and it has been frustrating and sometimes exhausting. At my lowest point, I was

applying for communications and public relations jobs at tech companies. Can you imagine? I am like

way too unhinged for that.

But a huge part of actually getting the show in production was Radiotopia.

And being a member of the slate of shows on Radiotopia means a lot to me.

It's not like I just say, this show's a proud member of Radiotopia in the credits because they tell me to.

I mean, they do tell me to, but it's also true.

I am on a network with ear hustle, song exploder, the Memory Palace, the Kitchen Sisters,

shows that I have always looked up to as inspiration.

And even though I remain independent and the owner of Hyperfixed, Radiotopia helps me

with things that I absolutely couldn't do on my own. Ad sales, marketing, tech stuff. The other day,

Radiotopia executive producer Audrey Martovich helped me find an engineer to mix the first couple of

episodes of Hyperfix. It's not even really her job. She was just being cool.

What I'm trying to say is that this show would not function without Radiotopia.

...