Skip to Content
Podcast

RacketCast, Ep. 25: How to Launch a Writer-Owned News/Arts/Culture Publication

Preferably in a way that doesn't directly compete with ours!

Racket’s staff, left to right: Em Cassel, Jay Boller, Keith Harris, Jessica Armbruster

|Pop! Studio

It's a Very Special Episode of RacketCast!

No guests this week. Instead, three of Racket's four co-owner/editors—Jay Boller, Em Cassel, and Keith Harris—will share the origin story of our local news, arts, and culture publication, which'll turn four this summer.

All it takes? Four laid-off schmucks with a combined $4,000, plenty of Covid-era unemployment insurance, a dash of good luck, thousands of supportive readers, and the dream of keeping an alt-weekly-style news org alive in the Twin Cities. We think it'll be an entertaining listen for local news junkies, and, selfishly, we hope it'll help juice sales in the final moments of our prize-packed Spring Member Drive.

But first! Here are the stories we gabbed about during What I Learned In Racket...

Subscribe to RacketCast wherever you get your podcasts—Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, etc. Wanna advertise on RacketCast? Email us at advertise@racketmn.com. Have a food/drink, event, or show recommendation? How about a civic hot take? Call 619-RACKTIP (619-722-5847) with your first name + city + 1-min.-maximum voicemail, and we might play it on our next episode. Special thanks to local band Van Stee for supplying our podcast music!

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Racket

Report: 74% of Working-Age Minnesotans Don’t Mess Around With AI

Plus Klobes picks a running mate, both parties throw parties, and buy our damn T-shirt in today's Flyover news roundup.

RacketCast, Ep. 53: Fighting Google’s Data Center Feat. Pine Island Residents Aubree Derksen & Nicole Mills

Google pissed off Pine Island, and now the rural Minnesota community is punching back hard.

May 29, 2026

Vroom! Tell Us What Car You Drive in This Week’s Open Thread.

As we do every Friday, we're turning Racket over to you, the readers.

Freeloader Friday: 113 Free Things To Do This Weekend

Pop-up book sales and bars, outdoor theater, and parties for dogs, crows, and turtles (not all at once).

Report: Multiple UFOs Spotted Above Already-Spooky ‘Halloween Capital of the World’—Anoka!

Plus more O'Hara deets, burnout also busting beer bubbles, and One Minute Tours guy needs our views in today's Flyover news roundup.

See all posts