The Profile: The highest-paid woman in podcasting & the NFL star navigating stardom

This edition of The Profile features Travis Kelce, Alex Cooper, Matthew Pietras, and more.

Good morning, friends.

I turn 34 today!

There’s no question that 2025 has been a transformative year for me — both personally and professionally. For the first time in a long time, I stopped chasing what wasn’t working and started doing what I genuinely love: writing longform profiles of people I find fascinating.

So far this year, I have published:

— The Immortal Anthony Scaramucci

— Ryan Serhant Won’t Stop Until He’s No. 1

— A new one will be published in the next two weeks —> become a premium member to receive it first

As many of you know, I've been doing annual reflections for the last six years (check out 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, and 28), and I really enjoy this tradition of revisiting the lessons of prior years and seeing just how much I’ve changed and just how much more there is to learn. As Dan Gilbert once said, “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.”

I’m very much a work in progress. Thank you for being part of the journey. I’m more excited than ever for what’s to come.

I hope these reflections resonate with you, and I’d love to hear what you’re learning, too.

(Below is an excerpt, but you can read the full article here).

Understand the nuance between ‘playing to win’ and ‘playing not to lose’

I’ve been writing The Profile since 2017, yet I myself hadn’t published a single longform profile until this year. The question is why?

It wasn’t until my husband told me casually, “I really think you could be the greatest at what you do. But I also think part of you is scared of that.” That was the contradiction that revealed the truth. I wasn’t writing profiles. I was circling around them — interviewing people, writing Q&As, curating others’ work. I enjoyed all of it, but it wasn’t the thing I enjoyed the most.

Here’s what I’ve learned: High-achievers don’t self-sabotage because they lack ambition. They do it because they’re terrified of going all-in and still falling short. Writing original profiles meant risking judgment, being seen. It forced me to shift from “protective mode” to “creative mode.”

Now I ask myself one question: Am I playing to win, or playing not to lose?

For years, I was playing not to lose. Always on defense. Avoiding the leap. Skirting around the risk. Now I’m playing to win — and it’s changed everything.

Remember that success is a double-edged sword

The thing that lifts you up is often the same thing that threatens to destroy you. I was reminded of this after working on my Ryan Serhant profile. At the very end of our time together, he said something I haven’t been able to forget: “I'm definitely the kind of person who needs the adrenaline so I can use it as fuel. But if you're not careful, that fuel will also burn your house down.”

Success is a double-edged sword. It doesn’t guarantee happiness, fulfillment, or peace. It’s shaped by what you bring to it, and what you’re willing to give up along the way.

Make sure you don’t live to regret ‘failures of kindness’

Looking back, the regrets that linger longest aren’t usually about what we did, but what we didn’t do. The words we didn’t say. The help we didn’t offer. The kindness we withheld out of fear, indifference, or convenience.

As George Saunders said in his commencement speech, what he regrets most are “failures of kindness” — the times he responded mildly when someone in front of him was hurting. I’ve felt this too. As a foreign kid trying to fit in, I remember how deeply a single act of kindness stood out amidst a sea of indifference.

And now, years later, I’ve come to cherish the people who choose kindness over and over again, even when it’s inconvenient. Friends who go out of their way, ask how you really are, and show up without being asked.

As Mister Rogers once said, “I hope you're proud of yourself for the times you've said 'yes,' when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to somebody else.”

PROFILES.

— The NFL star on life after football [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The most generous man in New York
— The highest-paid woman in podcasting
— The media exec leading a life of grift
— The private sorority rush consultant

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The NFL star navigating stardom: Travis Kelce has three Super Bowl rings, a $100 million podcast deal, and a life in the spotlight with Taylor Swift — but this offseason, he’s back in a gritty Fort Lauderdale gym chasing one goal: another championship. Between swamp photo shoots, charity events, and training sessions that push his body to its limits, Kelce is also reflecting on his roots, his parents’ work ethic, and how fame has made him more intentional about the life he’s building. He talks about love, legacy, and the art of staying the happiest guy in the world, all while plotting what comes after football. (GQ)

“I’m a guy who doesn’t want anyone to say anything negative about me. Some people don’t give a fuck. I’m someone who does care.”

The most generous man in New York: Matthew Pietras dazzled New York’s cultural elite with his generosity, charm, and apparent fortune, gifting millions to institutions like the Met Opera and the Frick. But behind the $25,000 coats, chartered jets, and black AmEx charges was a carefully constructed illusion — one funded by theft, deception, and access to the private lives of billionaires. He claimed to run family offices, but in reality, he was a personal assistant who forged documents, rerouted fraud alerts, and hoarded luxury goods in a tiny studio. When a $15 million donation failed to go through, Pietras was found dead — leaving behind an empty opera box, a grieving “chosen family,” and the haunting question: Who was he really? (New York Magazine; alternate link)

“The craziest part about all of this is that Matthew never wanted to take anything from anybody.”

The highest-paid woman in podcasting: Alex Cooper went from broke ex-soccer player to the highest-paid woman in podcasting, building a $125M media empire by making herself the brand. Known for fearless oversharing and sharp marketing instincts, she’s evolved Call Her Daddy from raunchy sex talk to must-hear interviews with A-listers and political heavyweights, without losing her devoted “Daddy Gang.” Now running her Unwell Network, she’s using her platform to push boundaries, spark conversations, and speak on larger, more important issues. (Vogue)

“I love to make people uncomfortable.”

The media exec leading a life of grift: Shannon Muldoon, a media executive at Food52, lived an Instagram-perfect life of designer clothes, luxury travel, and elite workouts — all allegedly funded by more than $270,000 in fraudulent charges on the company credit card. Between 2021 and 2023, she allegedly disguised personal splurges as business expenses, from Net-a-Porter shopping sprees to tropical getaways, while flaunting her lifestyle to colleagues. The scheme unraveled after a new manager spotted suspicious charges, leading to her firing, indictment, and a plea deal for five years’ probation. (New York Magazine; alternate link)

“She should’ve fled the country when she had the chance.”

The private sorority rush consultant: Wealthy Northern families are hiring “rush coaches” — at up to $5,500 a pop — to help their daughters secure spots in elite Southern sororities. Trisha Addicks, the industry’s pioneer, offers personalized “rush bibles,” outfit curation, mock interviews, and social-media audits to help clients project the perfect image. The process is costly, competitive, and emotionally grueling, with strict rules on appearance, conversation, and behavior. (New York Magazine; alternate link)

“You may have to wake up at 5:30 a.m., and baggy eyes don’t match well with cute outfits.”

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