Project Brazen, the podcast-focused banner set up by former Wall Street Journal reporters and Billion Dollar Whale authors Bradley Hope and Tom Wright, has launched a new content platform.
Brazen, unveiled Wednesday, is a direct-to-consumer podcast network for what the company describes as “fearless storytelling and captivating journalism from a wide range of creators and production companies.”
The new platform will include high-end narrative storytelling and ongoing podcasts from journalists, creators and production companies across the globe, with a special focus on journalism that reveals hidden aspects of the world around us, immersive narrative non-fiction, content that connects with younger audiences and helps listeners understand business and the economy in a fresh way.
Brazen will be the home to Project Brazen’s original podcasts, including 2021’s acclaimed Fat Leonard (which, like Billion Dollar Whale, was optioned by Crazy Rich Asians producers SK Global to adapt it for TV), the Peabody-nominated Kabul Falling and the more recent Corinna and the King. It will also welcome shows from other production companies and partners that are seeking an alternative distribution strategy that allows them to have greater participation in the success of their work.
“Brazen is the product of two years of brainstorming about how to deliver the best content and journalism to an international audience through collaboration with our favorite journalists and creators,” said Project Brazen co-founder Hope. “In today’s fractured media environment, like-minded journalists and creators need new ways to join together without losing control of what matters to them to find sustainable revenue opportunities.”
Hope added: “The mainstream podcast networks — just like reigning streamers in video content — fundamentally misunderstand the creator economy era, which is about aligning interests and sharing risk. Brazen is designed to grow audiences and increase the viability of entrepreneurial journalists and creators.”
Producers in the Brazen network will have the opportunity to gain access to a larger audience, marketing support, and the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded journalists and creators.
Brazen, located online at Brazen.fm and on a dedicated Apple Podcast channel, will act as a hub for a growing network of content that also includes short-form documentaries, animation and newsletters, including Project Brazen’s popular Whale Hunting franchise (which regularly gives updates about the whereabouts of Jho Low, the Malaysian fugitive accused of being instrumental to the 1MDB corruption scandal and who helped finance The Wolf of Wall Street).
Alongside Project Brazen’s podcasts, two new sister brands will be launched to live on Brazen and all major podcast platforms – Sirocco, a Gen Z-focused destination for international content and unfiltered conversations, and Ritually, a new franchise for deeper connection to wellbeing, reflection and spirituality hosted by journalist Nelufar Hedayat.
Sirocco’s debut project is the video series Now What?, hosted by actress Salber Lee Williams (Ghost Island, The Queen’s Gambit), that features interviews with people responding to the current climate and environmental problems with their own solutions, whether through art, fashion, innovative startups or activism.
Ritually’s debut project is its eponymous cornerstone podcast series hosted by Hedayat. Born out of Hedayat’s personal journey to find meaning and inspiration during difficult times, the Ritually podcast chronicles her own quest to discover rituals and practices to gratify and enrich her life.
