No Agenda - History

History

No Agenda first aired in October 2007. Its premise was a simple one: the co-founder (Curry) and then vice-president (Dvorak) of mevio (until Oct. 2012) have an unfiltered dialogue. The impetus for starting the show, according to Adam Curry, was a 4-minute phone call made to Dvorak saying that they "should do a show together." Little thought was given to what the show would be about, in fact only the name was agreed upon before the first show was recorded. The original tagline of No Agenda was that it would be the show with "no sponsors, jingles, and of course no agenda." The show's only sound effect would come during the closing minute, where a sedate jazz number would play as the hosts signed off. Topics included the news of the day, restaurant reviews, and family. The song played at the end of the show is "On the Seventh Day" by the Mariott Jazz Quintet.

No Agenda continued to evolve over time with Adam and John cultivating a more consistent structure to the show, as well as gradually moving the show more in the direction of news and political commentary. Jingles have been introduced, and have evolved into catch phrases the listeners (called producers) promote to the benefit of the show. The show is dedicated to discussing Current news and conspiracy theories, with the hosts de-constructing topics in response to their belief that the mainstream media glosses over what they see as the real facts. Celebrity-type gossip and other soft news stories are brought up for ironic effect, with the one that has garnered the most attention often being named "Distraction of the week". Special numbers have been central to the show, both in the de-construction of the media stories, and press releases. Some of the most common number-related themes are; 33 is the "magic" number, "double nickels on the dime" (55.10) as the amount to become a No Agenda Minuteman, and $999.99 being the amount of donation to become a No Agenda "Knight". Episode #250 introduced the "Quad Niner" donation level: Whenever someone donates $99.99, Curry is obligated to bark: "niner, niner, niner, niner!" -- a reference to his use of "niner" for "nine" in show openings.

The podcast does not accept any advertising and is solely supported by the listeners. In January 2012, No Agenda producer's project, No Agenda Number$, conservatively calculated the show is grossing approximately $1,275,000 USD per year, solely from listener donations.