Former Junkee Media colleagues Alice Griffin and Jannah Anderson have launched Coping, a new podcast and studio aimed at creatives, thinkers and chronically online audiences trying to make sense of modern life.
The project combines a podcast about culture, wellness, self-improvement and the pressures of modern life with a studio designed for creative events, workshops, panels, shoots, filming and podcast production.
Anderson said Coping grew out of conversations the pair had been having for some time.
“Alice and I did work together in a previous business and in that context naturally found ourselves having conversations about the pressures we all face in modern life,” she said.
“We are so excited to be bringing those conversations to life in the Coping podcast through a cultural lens as well as coming together with our broader podcast community and broader creative network in our new Coping studio, where we are now in Surry Hills, Sydney on Gadigal land.”
Coping describes itself as an independent project for “creatives, thinkers, and anyone wondering why life feels like this”. Its stated aim is to create accessible, inclusive spaces where people can think out loud, make things, stay curious and feel “a little less overwhelmed”.
The podcast is billed as “the podcast about why life feels like this”, with weekly conversations about the stories people have been sold and the ones they tell themselves. It will also feature deeper dives into ideas that have shaped how people think about “living well”.
Both founders bring transferable skills to the venture.
Alice Griffin
Griffin was Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief at Junkee and previously worked as Editor of MTV.com.au, where her role included content strategy, audience growth, tone of voice and talent opportunities.
Anderson was Acting Managing Director at Junkee, as well as Marketing and Partnerships Director, Executive Producer and Brand Partnerships Lead. Her previous roles include partnerships, sponsorship and events positions at Carriageworks and Moonlight Cinema.
Anderson said their previous careers had given them useful skills for the launch, but also a clear view of the pressures facing the audience Coping hopes to serve.
“Audience pressures, loneliness, a sense of overwhelm at the optimisation culture and the need for creativity and getting offline,” Anderson said when asked what pressures creative workers were dealing with.
That offline element is central to the studio. Coping is based in Surry Hills’ historic Marlborough House and is available for photography, film, podcasts and artistic projects. It features a flexible layout, professional-grade equipment, backdrops and a ready-to-record podcast setup.
But Anderson said the space has been designed as more than a production facility.
“At Coping, we run creative clubs, panels, guided sessions and workshops to come together and have thoughtful conversations, learn something new, make something with our hands and hopefully on a good day feel a little bit less overwhelmed,” she said.
“We’ve really designed the space in the studio here in Surry Hills with that programming in mind, with a very welcoming, living room-esque energy that does remain super flexible with zones that are intended to facilitate connection, making things and making content.”
Coping’s website describes the studio as “solo-friendly and socially driven”, and as “a levelled-up version of your living room”. For Griffin, Coping is aimed at people who are online constantly but increasingly feel disconnected from each other.
“Across Coping, we’re speaking to chronically online audiences that are feeling increasingly disconnected,” she said.
“Those who want honesty over performance, real conversation over jargon and community away from the algorithm.”
That positioning gives Coping a broader remit than studio hire and podcasting. The project is also conscious of the mental-health pressures affecting creative workers, particularly as many deal with burnout, unstable work, online visibility demands, and an increasingly blurry line between career, identity and personal brand.
Anderson said creatives are central to the project.
“Our studio space is designed with creatives in mind, and we’re really happy to also be growing a relationship with Support Act as we find different ways to further support the creative industry that we’ve worked in for so long and love so much,” she said. Support Act provides crisis relief, mental-health and wellbeing support to creative-industry workers.
Anderson said the studio could support a wide range of commercial and creative uses.
“Across the studio, we’re excited to support such a big range of unique projects – panels, workshops, shoots, filming, other podcasts, we can do it all.”
Coping’s commercial offering appears to centre on studio and venue hire, creative events, workshops, shoots, filming and podcast production, with the space also open to like-minded brands seeking an intentional creative event.
For Griffin and Anderson, however, success is not simply about booking up their studio or growing their podcast audience.
“Success is not about one key metric, but looks like cultivating real connection with our audience, both online and offline,” Griffin said.
“We want people to feel seen and heard because truly we’re all coping with the same pressures. Follow along with us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify as we continue to grow the podcast, introducing incredible guests and bringing our conversations into the studio space.”