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Alex Cooper Interview Highlights: How She Built Call Her Daddy
Alex Cooper on starting Call Her Daddy, owning her show, the Spotify and SiriusXM deals and building Unwell, drawn from her public interviews and dated.
Alex Cooper says she built Call Her Daddy by spotting a gap for women in podcasting and fighting to own it. She stayed at Barstool Sports an extra year to win the show’s rights, turned down more Spotify money for more episodes to protect quality, and moved to SiriusXM in 2024 for room to grow. She says the show had to grow up with its audience, and she now runs Unwell, a company she says shouldn’t depend on her.
Alex Cooper started Call Her Daddy in 2018 as a raunchy dating show with a co-host. She now hosts it alone, has signed two of the biggest deals in podcasting, and runs a media company with its own shows, live events and creative agency. She has also been unusually specific in interviews about how she negotiated each step.
This post is for podcasters who want to understand ownership and leverage, for marketers weighing a podcast partnership, and for listeners curious how the show changed.
Every answer is dated, because her show and her views have changed a lot since 2018. Where her account is disputed, we say so.
Who is Alex Cooper?
Alex Cooper is an American podcaster who created and hosts Call Her Daddy, one of the most popular podcasts in the world, and who co-founded the media company Unwell with her husband, film producer Matt Kaplan.
She worked in advertising sales in New York before launching the show with her roommate, Sofia Franklyn, in 2018. In December 2025 Call Her Daddy was one of six nominees for the first Golden Globe for best podcast, according to Variety.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Alexandra Cooper, born August 21, 1994 |
| Background | Raised in Newtown, Pennsylvania, by a TV sports producer and a psychologist; Division I soccer player at Boston University |
| Platforms | Call Her Daddy in audio and video, distributed by SiriusXM and still available on Spotify and YouTube; Unwell series on YouTube |
| Started | Launched Call Her Daddy with Sofia Franklyn in 2018; picked up by Barstool Sports a month later |
| Known for | Turning a sex and dating show into a long-form celebrity interview show; an October 2024 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris |
| Deals | Spotify exclusive, 2021, reported at $60 million; SiriusXM, 2024, reported at up to $125 million |
| Businesses | Unwell, co-founded with Matt Kaplan: the Unwell Network of podcasts, YouTube and TV productions, live events and the Unwell Creative Agency |
| Audience | Spotify’s second-most-popular podcast worldwide in 2024, behind The Joe Rogan Experience (Wikipedia); Unwell says 70 million women a month tune in to its content (company statement, August 2026) |
How did Alex Cooper get started?
“I decided, Okay, there’s clearly a huge hole in the market. There’s Howard Stern, and then there’s no one for women … I know it was salacious, and I know it was out there, but I also am a marketer at heart”
— Alex Cooper, DealBook Summit, aired on The Daily (transcript), December 2024
She told Andrew Ross Sorkin that she grew up in her father’s TV production truck, made short films as a kid, and was fired from a sales job after college, which she called the best thing that ever happened to her. Barstool Sports picked up the show about a month after the first episode, and Fortune reported that downloads went from 12,000 to 2 million in two months.
The useful part is the order of operations. She didn’t start with a format. She started with an audience nobody was serving and a one-line pitch for it: a show for women that talked the way they talked in private. If you can’t name your gap that plainly, the format won’t save you.
How did Alex Cooper win ownership of Call Her Daddy and land her big deals?
When Barstool signed the co-hosts, it took ownership of the show’s intellectual property, Fortune reported. In spring 2020 the pair were locked in a public contract dispute with Barstool; Franklyn left, and Cooper continued alone. Each has given her own account of the split. Cooper’s, as she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024, is that founder Dave Portnoy offered them the rights with little extra money if they stayed one more year, she took the deal, and Franklyn didn’t want another year at Barstool.
“I’m so happy that I trusted myself and fought for this IP. … I had put so much sweat equity into this — marketing, editing, writing, all of it.”
— Alex Cooper, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2024
She had already pushed Barstool to put the hosts’ faces on the show’s artwork, rather than the emoji characters it used for other shows, so listeners would tie the show to them.
Ownership made the next deals possible. In June 2021 Spotify signed an exclusive deal that Variety valued at more than $60 million (The Wall Street Journal had reported $20 million), according to Tubefilter. When the three-year term ended, Spotify chose not to renew, and in August 2024 she signed with SiriusXM. TheWrap reported that deal at $125 million; Tubefilter, citing Variety, said it could be worth up to $125 million over three years, with another source putting it at $100 million. SiriusXM got exclusive advertising and distribution rights, while episodes stayed on Spotify.
“Spotify offered more money if I would do more episodes. I always said no because I didn’t want to sacrifice the main product. You see creators take on too much, and then they’re like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this anymore’ and burn out.”
— Alex Cooper, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2024
She said she chose SiriusXM because it offered the most room to try new formats while staying true to the main show. The lesson is that she treated output as something to protect, not something to sell.
How does Alex Cooper choose guests and topics?
“But then there’s the relevant zeitgeist conversation that I feel I’m very good at jumping on. I’m chronically online — that’s all I’m doing all day. I’m just scribbling, scrolling, taking notes.”
— Alex Cooper, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2024
She told THR that her direct messages drive some bookings: when listeners beg for a guest, a Love Island contestant can draw numbers similar to Hailey Bieber’s, because a conversation may only be relevant for 24 hours. She also says she listens to her audience closely, which she knows many creators avoid.
That filter shaped her best-known political episode, an October 2024 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris a month before the election.
“Politics is something I’ve been very in-between on, and I’m aware people come to my show for reprieve and relief from the day-to-day, and I don’t want to use my platform as a campaign tool. … I was looking forward to a conversation surrounding women’s rights.”
— Alex Cooper, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2024
THR reported that she offered equal time to Donald Trump, who declined, and that the episode climbed to No. 2 on the podcast charts. At DealBook she said both campaigns had reached out and she kept the conversation on women’s rights: “I’m going to talk about what’s helpful to my audience.” She picks the topic her listeners care about, not the one a news anchor would.
How does Alex Cooper run an interview?
“I am giving them all of my attention, and I’m actually listening to what they’re saying because I genuinely care, because I know the community that I have built cares.”
— Alex Cooper, DealBook Summit, aired on The Daily (transcript), December 2024
She credits being raised by a therapist for why guests open up to her, and told Sorkin she usually spends about two hours with a guest. The Harris interview ran 45 to 50 minutes, which she found uncomfortable because she was on someone else’s clock.
She told THR she writes bullet points on note cards but throws out about half of them when a guest still seems nervous, especially around sexual trauma. She tells guests on press tours that they have to talk about their personal lives, not just their project, and she once shelved an interview with an actor who gave nothing. At Barstool, she says, she wrote, edited and produced the show herself. The practical version: over-prepare, follow the guest rather than the list, and be willing not to publish.
What does Alex Cooper say works in podcasting now?
“I knew I needed to grow with my audience, as scary as that was — to transition from talking about really salacious things to having more intimate conversations about mental health and insecurities and vulnerabilities.”
— Alex Cooper, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2024
After Franklyn left, Cooper turned the show into an interview format where guests supply the second voice. At Cannes Lions in 2023 she said she shifted toward mental health during the pandemic after starting therapy, though admitting it felt risky, Jezebel reported. Guests have since ranged from Miley Cyrus in 2020 to Jane Fonda and, in January 2026, Michelle Obama. She told THR that creators who start with 14-year-old fans and are still talking to 14-year-olds when those fans are 30 burn out, and their audiences feel it.
“YouTube is where we can move fast, experiment, get feedback from our audience in real time, and build something we own.”
— Alex Cooper, YouTube Official Blog, May 2026
Video is now part of the product. SiriusXM’s deal includes ad sales for the show’s video and audio editions, and when she signed it she told THR the show would also be on YouTube, “which everyone has been begging for.” Unwell’s reality competition, Unwell Winter Games, premiered on YouTube in April 2026, and YouTube announced four more Unwell series at its Brandcast event in May. Notice the end of her quote: even on someone else’s platform, she wants to build something she owns.
What mistakes does Alex Cooper say she made early on?
“In my early days podcasting, there was so much I was saying that in the moment I truly believed was funny or I was doing to get numbers or clicks. I never put something out with the intention of, ‘I’m going to hurt someone.’”
— Alex Cooper, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2024
She said she wouldn’t take anything back but would handle things differently, and has used episodes to tell listeners she no longer agrees with advice she once gave about how to react to men. She would also like to interview Miley Cyrus again, because in 2020 she felt she had no idea what she was doing.
If your opinions change as you grow, say so on the show. Listeners can follow an evolution; they notice when you quietly pretend you always thought this.
How did Alex Cooper build Unwell, and how does she work with brands?
“Nobody was building for Gen Z women. Not really. … I’m not interested in Unwell being about me or any one specific show. Companies outlive personalities.”
— Alex Cooper, YouTube Official Blog, May 2026
Unwell began in August 2023 as the Unwell Network, a production label under Trending, the company she founded with Kaplan, with the creators Alix Earle and Madeline Argy as its first signings, Variety reported. Earle’s podcast left the network in early 2025. Unwell has since added sold-out tours, TV and YouTube productions and, in October 2025, the Unwell Creative Agency, which launched with a multiyear Google partnership and an ad for the Pixel 10, according to Google. In the 2025 Hulu docuseries Call Her Alex she says, “I want to create something bigger than just myself.”
“I have never put my face next to a product that I do not own. I have been very intentional about being very meticulous about everything I put my name on.”
— Alex Cooper, at the DealBook Summit, as quoted by Adweek, December 2024
That was the launch of Unwell Hydration, an electrolyte drink developed with Nestlé and sold at Target from January 2025. TheWrap reported in August 2026 that the beverage business had shut down after less than two years. Compare our Huda Kattan interview on building a product from an audience, and our MrBeast interview, in which he describes wanting to own the companies he promotes.
Her agency work runs the other way, making campaigns for clients such as Google. When a creator owns products and also makes ads for clients, clear labeling matters; our guide to disclosing sponsorships covers how. Brands weighing a deal with any creator-led network should also run through our checklist on how to vet a creator.
Building a company has also brought scrutiny. In June 2026, Vanity Fair published an exposé in which more than 40 sources, at least 30 of them current or former Unwell employees, alleged a toxic work environment under Cooper and Kaplan, the company’s co-founder and co-CEO. Cooper disputed the allegations in a Wall Street Journal interview at Cannes, saying she was “extremely proud of what we have built at Unwell,” according to TheWrap.
What advice does Alex Cooper give new creators?
“Stop chasing clicks. I feel like content has become so calculated. … The risk I wish more people would take is being actually honest. Not ‘relatable’ honest.”
— Alex Cooper, YouTube Official Blog, May 2026
In the same interview she said creators no longer have to convince gatekeepers, and that a TV network would have killed Call Her Daddy by trying to help it, with an executive asking her to clean things up. Her test for new Unwell shows is whether an idea could live anywhere else. If it could, it isn’t for them.
For a new podcaster, that adds up to a simple routine. Before you record, write down the opinion you’d only share with a close friend, and ask whether this episode could only have come from you.
What is Alex Cooper working on now?
As of October 2026, her focus is Unwell as a company. In August it was valued at $500 million after an undisclosed investment from WTSL, the firm led by WME co-founder Patrick Whitesell, Tubefilter reported. In a statement, Cooper said, “Trust has become the ultimate distribution channel and seventy million women a month tune into Unwell.”
“Obviously, when we started the company we put in our own money to start it – and we’ve been profitable since day one. So, this decision wasn’t about needing cash infusion.”
— Alex Cooper, on CNBC, as quoted by TheWrap, August 2026
On YouTube, Unwell has a new season of its reality competition, a Thanksgiving miniseries called Pot Stirrers, a holiday microdrama and a Met Gala docuseries, according to TheWrap. Unwell has also produced Let’s Marry Harry for Netflix and Love Overboard for Hulu, and Cooper plays herself in the 2026 film Verity, her acting debut, TheWrap reported.
The 2025 Hulu docuseries Call Her Alex added a personal chapter. In it, Cooper alleged that her Boston University soccer coach sexually harassed her while she played on the team from 2013 to 2015, and said her complaint was ignored; the coach could not immediately be reached for comment, and the university said it has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment without addressing her claims directly, NBC News reported. Call Her Daddy remains her flagship, and its Golden Globe nomination put a show she started while on unemployment alongside SmartLess and Amy Poehler’s Good Hang.
What creators can learn from Alex Cooper
| Lesson | What Alex Cooper said | How to apply it |
|---|---|---|
| Start with a gap, not a format | She saw no show for women talking the way they talked in private (2024) | Write one sentence naming the audience nobody serves and what they’re missing |
| Own your IP | She took one more year at Barstool in exchange for the show’s rights, and fought to put the hosts’ faces on the artwork (2024) | Read every contract for who owns the name, archive and trademarks before you sign |
| Protect the main product | She turned down extra Spotify money for more episodes to avoid burning out (2024) | Add volume only when the core show is consistent and you have the help to sustain it |
| Grow with your audience | She moved from salacious topics to mental health as her listeners aged (2023–2024) | Every year, ask who your listeners are now, not who they were when you started |
| Book for relevance | She watches what her audience is asking about and moves fast (2024) | Keep a running list of guest requests from comments and DMs, and act on the ones that peak |
| Be honest, not relatable | Stop chasing clicks and say what you’d tell a best friend (2026) | Before recording, write down the opinion you’d only share privately and decide whether to use it |
| Build past yourself | Companies outlive personalities (2026) | Document how your show is made so someone else could run part of it |
Sources
- Spotify signs reported $60 million exclusivity deal for Call Her Daddy, Tubefilter, June 2021
- 40 Under 40: Alex Cooper, Fortune, 2022
- Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy’s evolution, Jezebel, June 2023
- Alex Cooper launches The Unwell Network, Variety, August 2023
- Alex Cooper sets $125 million deal with SiriusXM, TheWrap, August 2024
- SiriusXM paying up to $125 million for Alex Cooper pact, Tubefilter, August 2024
- Alex Cooper Is Blowing Up, The Hollywood Reporter, October 2024
- From DealBook: Alex Cooper on Building a Media Brand, The Daily, December 2024 (transcript via HappyScribe)
- Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper launches her first product, Adweek, December 2024
- Alex Cooper: ‘I’m coming for all of you’, NBC News, June 2025
- Alex Cooper turned her raunchy podcast into an empire, Yahoo Entertainment, June 2025
- Our new partnership with Alex Cooper and Unwell, Google, October 2025
- Golden Globes best podcast nominees, Variety, December 2025
- Alex Cooper’s reality competition series, Tubefilter, March 2026
- Behind the scenes: Alex Cooper’s next era, YouTube Official Blog, May 2026
- YouTube upfronts: 4 Alex Cooper projects, TheWrap, May 2026
- Alex Cooper’s Unwell leaders accused of toxic work environment in Vanity Fair exposé, TheWrap, June 2026
- Alex Cooper denies toxic workplace allegations, TheWrap, June 2026
- Unwell valued at $500 million, Tubefilter, August 2026
- Alex Cooper on CNBC, TheWrap, August 2026
- Why Alex Cooper left UTA for CAA, TheWrap, August 2026
- Alex Cooper (podcaster) and Call Her Daddy, Wikipedia, October 2026
What to do next
If Alex Cooper’s story makes you rethink your own show, start with the contract and the audience: who owns what you’re building, and who you’re building it for now. For another creator who runs a podcast alongside a consumer brand, compare our Emma Chamberlain interview.
For more answers to the same questions from other creators, browse the series on the Topfluencers blog, and read our methodology to see how we judge creators on recent work rather than headline numbers.
Frequently asked questions
- How did Alex Cooper get famous?
- Alex Cooper launched Call Her Daddy in 2018 with her roommate, Sofia Franklyn, after being fired from a sales job. She says she saw a gap: Howard Stern for men, and no one for women. Barstool Sports picked the show up a month later, and Fortune reported downloads went from 12,000 to 2 million in two months. She kept the show after a 2020 split and took it to Spotify in 2021.
- How much is Alex Cooper’s SiriusXM deal worth?
- Alex Cooper signed a multiyear deal with SiriusXM in August 2024. TheWrap reported it at $125 million, and Tubefilter, citing Variety, said it could be worth as much as $125 million over three years, with another source putting it at $100 million. SiriusXM got exclusive advertising and distribution rights to Call Her Daddy and Unwell’s shows, while episodes stayed on Spotify.
- Does Alex Cooper own Call Her Daddy?
- Yes. Barstool Sports originally owned the show’s intellectual property. Cooper told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 that Dave Portnoy offered her the rights if she stayed one more year for little extra money, and she accepted while her co-host left. Owning the name, archive and trademarks let her license the show to Spotify in 2021 and to SiriusXM in 2024.
- What is Alex Cooper’s advice for new podcasters?
- Alex Cooper tells new creators to stop chasing clicks and to be actually honest rather than merely relatable, which she says is where the real audience is. She also says to grow with your audience as it ages, and to protect your main show: she turned down extra Spotify money for more episodes because she didn’t want to burn out or sacrifice quality.
- What is Unwell, Alex Cooper’s company?
- Unwell is the media company Alex Cooper co-founded with her husband, Matt Kaplan. It began in 2023 as the Unwell Network of podcasts and is now home to Call Her Daddy, YouTube and TV productions, live events and the Unwell Creative Agency, which launched in 2025 with Google as a client. Its Unwell Hydration drink business closed in 2026 after less than two years.
- What is Alex Cooper doing in 2026?
- As of October 2026, Alex Cooper is expanding Unwell, which was valued at $500 million in August after an investment from WTSL, according to Tubefilter. Unwell has new YouTube series, including a reality competition, a microdrama and a Met Gala docuseries. Cooper still hosts Call Her Daddy, which was nominated for the first Golden Globe for best podcast, and plays herself in the film Verity.
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Written by Joanna Finch, editor of Topfluencers. Spot a mistake? Email corrections@topfluencers.co and we’ll fix it within 48 hours.