The Active Voice: Alison Roman is bored of Instagram

Alison Roman is enjoying being an “elder millennial” and not feeling the pressure of being on TikTok or even doing all that much on Instagram, the platform that helped make her reputation (although she did meet her boyfriend when he slid into her DMs). “I do furniture shopping on Instagram,” she says, describing what she calls her fraught relationship with the app. “That’s what I use it for.”

The queen of viral recipes is no longer as known for #TheCookies or #TheStew as she is for simply being a food and media personality. She has just published her third book, Sweet Enough (already a bestseller), she has a thriving YouTube channel, her A Newsletter boasts more than 220,000 subscribers, and she very almost had a CNN show that ultimately hasn’t seen the light of day because of the network’s fickle business strategy. 

But there’s also that other thing: the cancellation. In a May 2020 interview with a small newsletter, Alison criticized Marie Kondo and Chrissy Teigen’s business empires, which led to critics—and then a Twitter mob—accusing her of anti-Asian racism. Alison apologized and self-criticized, profusely, but she lost her New York Times column and some friends along the way. Three years on, she’s feeling a lot better about her career and position, but it still smarts. “To have the entire world, what feels like the entire world, wanting you dead and telling you what a bad person you are and how horrible you are, and just wild stuff—I wouldn’t wish that upon anybody.”

This conversation is packed with Alison’s insight and wit, and a steady dose of self-reflection. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/  

Show notes 

* Subscribe to A Newsletter on Substack

* Find Alison on Instagram, YouTube, and her personal website

* Alison’s books: Dining In, Nothing Fancy, and, published this week, Sweet Enough

* Alison’s New York Times column

* The milk girl meme mentioned

* [02:39] Using Instagram as a tool

* [06:32] A writer rather than a creator

* [09:23] Trying journalism 

* [11:08] Starting the newsletter 

* [17:14] Alison’s fraught relationship with social media 

* [20:54] Reaching “visual success” 

* [28:00] Becoming a pastry chef 

* [31:03] Writing tips from Bon Appétit 

* [37:01] Striving for longevity 

* [40:16] Sweet Enough 

* [43:25] The exorcism of writing 

* [46:48] On speaking out 

* [49:49] Being canceled in 2020

* [54:49] On resilience

* [1:03:31] Future Alison

The Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hanne Winarsky, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, content production by Hannah Ray, and production support from Bailey Richardson. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit read.substack.com