The Toast

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I Miss My Man: Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026

Explore episode Jun 23, 2026

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Story 3: Ina Garten's 7-Figure Podcast Deal

At 25:35 · chapter starts 25:00

This is the story the hosts teased from the top of the show, and it delivers. Ina Garten — previously resistant to social media — has entered a bidding war won by Vox Media for a 7-figure sum for her new podcast, 'Happy Hour with Ina Garten,' launching in September with TV show-style celebrity interviews filmed at her NYC apartment. She told the New York Times she wanted to be in the 'younger, cooler' podcast stream and is chasing the 'messiness of real life' that traditional TV lacks. Claudia's enthusiasm is tempered by a genuine concern: she watched Garten's previous interview series 'Be My Guest' on Barefoot Contessa and found it shockingly bad — Ina dominated every conversation, asked questions without letting guests answer, and fumbled through interviews with the likes of Jennifer Garner and Stanley Tucci. Jackie smartly reframes the naming strategy: calling it a 'podcast' rather than a cooking show generates buzz and sidesteps union constraints. The hosts also explore how the podcast label is becoming a Hollywood workaround, citing Pete Davidson's Netflix 'podcast' as a parallel.

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