nick andersen

@nicktheandersen.com

9175 Followers 333 Following

writer, thinker, amateur cheesemonger. host of @pilotprincesstrash.bsky.social | senior producer for ministry of ideas | former npr, gbh, wbur, wxyc, dth. https://nicktheandersen.com

a truly ransom note style typewritten page shot reading back by popular de mand (and also by my cheese hours) it’s porch drinks A F T E R D A R K 20h — ??? friday, 24 july dirty martini dip, weird cheese, snacks, etc bring yourselves, friends, drinks and snacks to share eat dinner beforehand and come ready to keep going
a shot of a plump tomato sandwich — two uneven slices of homemade wheat sourdough bread, several hastily cut bright red heirloom tomatoes, and a dab of kewpie japanese mayonnaise — on a forest green fiestaware plate. the plate is on a wooden table, and in the background are a series of glass windows and chipped white paint. it is summer. let us feast.
screenshot of a newsletter text reading 'Why do you think Trina's Starlite Lounge is worth the schlep for someone in, say, Dorchester or Milton? It's such a neighborhood spot, but I do think that people should come from farther away. The thing that we love about Trina's is that juxtaposition between low-brow — really simple, easy hot dogs — and then higher-brow, super fun cocktails. Not that the cocktails are like high brow; I think the one that I drank last time I was there had Yoo-hoo in it! I don't think there are that many of these mid-price neighborhoody spots anymore. Not as many as we'd like to see. So something about Trina's just has that magic.'
a bloomberg info graphic showing four different dramatically declining types of spaces in order 'Bars and Nightclubs' 'Bowling Alleys' 'Marinas' and 'Movie Theaters' from 2001 to 2025 text on top reading 'Fewer Places to Relax and Socalize' 'US establiments per 100,000 people' 'Note: movie theaters includes dirve-ins.' 2025 population data based on US Census. Sources US Bureau of Labor Statistics, World Bank, US Census'
an ios .5 image of milo, a very handsome orange and white creamsicle house cat, sitting perfect on a yellow love seat near a red black and white afghan throw blanket. behind him, a blue and white carpet is on the floor, and a distant green long couch and red brown leather recliner are visible. to the left, a built in bookshelf overflowing with books, and in the center, a samsung frame TV. a gallery wall is to the far right, and a plush tunnel rests on the floor, which is milo’s zoom tunnel for fun mischief. milo’s yellow green eyes are wide open and void of thought. he is himbo cat, personified.
an aerial overhead shot of a stone labyrinth, surrounded by neatly mown grass lawns and a ring of bushes and trees. one of the inner walls of the labyrinth is red, and has a hard to see stone statue of some kind. a curved end of a different passage has another hard to see statue in it as well.
a ransom note looking typewritten invite reading “yet, again porch drinks friday, 19 june 17h - 19h30 our porch as always, bring yourselves, friends and a drink or snack to pass bonus points this week if you visit me @ the MAIN shop, on huron ave, between 9h and 16h *it has been brought to my attention that SOME of you do not read 24h time and as such you are not site when porch drinks begins one, open the schools, two, five pm
blurry close up shot of milo, a handsome white and orange creamsicle house cat, shoving his tiny little face into the camera lens from an awkward position on top of the unseen poster’s chest. his ears are back but not in an angry way and his pea green eyes are angled and content. a three season porch is visible in the background, with two red doors, a photo collage and a door wall leading into a kitchen as well.
We’re closing in on two decades since calls to reorient American journalism around a more nonprofit and publicly based funding model started to become widespread. And a shift has certainly taken place since then, as a glance at the hundreds of nonprofit news organizations that have sprung up would indicate. But has that funding shift been able to do much to offset the hemorrhage of jobs from commercial news organizations during that time? And have they actually produced a meaningful change in the historic commercial orientation of journalism in the U.S.? Powers’ new study suggests that the answers to those questions may actually be yes. Powers, a professor at the University of Washington, examined the makeup of newsroom employment in one U.S. city, Seattle. He built a comprehensive database of all full-time local journalists in the city in 2015, then updated it 10 years later. He classified those journalists in two related ways. The first was by ownership — public, nonprofit, private (owned by individuals, families, or small groups of investors), and market (publicly traded, or owned by private equity or hedge funds). The second was by funding — market, philanthropic, or government.
photo of a wooden table and blue backed chair on a three season porch with chipped paint windows. vines are seen and leaves, from trees and a background green lawn. a green smith corona typewriter in a tan suitcase carrier is open, with a paper curled through the feed, and a pile of handwritten letters sit around a stationary paper box, an open ipad and christopher castellani’s novel LEADING MEN. a large empty wooden bowl sits beyond the typewriter. it’s an offensively twee image bc the poster is offensively twee.
screenshot from an ios browser text reads (under Podcast the Newsletter Subscribe Sign In) “✨I have always been a bit embarrassed how much my work defines me, or that when I meet someone at a party I ask them, not because I don’t know what else to say but because I’m actually curious, “what do you do?” But like, it’s interesting. pilot. princess. trash collector. is proving that to be so. Host Nick Andersen asks people three questions: what is the first job you wanted to do? What do you do now? What happened? I love following this trajectory but that’s not the only reason I’m excited about this show. Nick is one of the guys behind Ministry of Ideas and Hub & Spoke. He cares about exceptional storytelling and sound. Episode one, where Nick answers the questions himself, combines both of those things gorgeously. It’s not about just the answers to these questions. It’s about how we tell stories about what we do, and who we are. I love how Nick says, in episode one, “I want to ask these people the questions and see what happens.” I think it’s going to be good. Listen to pilot. princess. trash collector. here.”
a zoomed in shot of milo, a long and adorable orange and white creamsicle house cat, lounging on the wooden slat floor of a three season porch. he is unconcerned with life and its various responsibilities, and two red doors are behind and to the left of his body. his face is simple and has few thoughts. he is pure. he is milo.
out of focus iphone shot of an ominous-looking type written sheet reading ‘friends! porch drinks returns, again, weekly friday, 5 june 17h — ?? our porch full bar, non-alch options, deviled eggs, cheese swing by the shop until 19h and get bonus points if you buy something to pa —ass bring yourself, friends, drinks or snacks to pass remember, whether this is your destination or a mere stop on your PRIDE weekend journey, all are welcome to porch drinks’ the outline of the poster’s smart phone shadow is clearly visible towards the bottom right of the image. good work, poster.
an ios portrait mode shot of milo, an orange and white creamsicle house cat, curled up asleep on a blue carpet material covered chair. the angle of the shot is such that the edge of a wooden table is visible to the right and in the background, the rear wheel of a green bicycle and a bright red door beyond a wooden floor. milo is probably not actually asleep but he does look very cute pretending.
a close up .5 ios camera shot of milo, an adorable young creamsicle orange and white house cat, cuddled up on the mostly unseen poster’s blue denim clad legs, on a yellow sofa in a big bay window. tree leaves are viewable beyond and a red white and black afghan is folded just beyond the poster’s partially visible bare feet.
screenshot of an imessage text thread reading Today 11:28 just leaving this here so you both know it — the little tartlets on the fiestaware plates in the fridge are VERY slip slidey. please do NOT move them. like, at all thank you!
the cover of martha stewart’s 1982 debut book, ‘entertaining, showing the author, a mid 40s cis white woman in a high necked fluffy white dress, sitting at a long white table clothed table covered in white and blue china plates, cerulean glass goblets and several vases of blooming flowers. behind her, a winter yard full of dead trees and to her right, stacks of oranges and pears in bowls. it does not look like a very fun party to be quite honest but martha is slaying the house down boots etc. her divorce from her husband was only five years away.
a zoomed in screenshot of a faded out pdf of martha stewart’s debut book, ‘entertaining,’ showing a bowl of hearty mismatched eggs on a table cloth near what appears to be creamed leeks and also some kale maybe? it was the 80s you can’t imagine the substances the photographer was on to take this image.
an ios portrait mode shot of a small wooden picture frame, with a gradient of brown pink and orange slanting lines. the text of three small text lines in the frame reads: pilot. princess. trash collector. WHY WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: The biggest reason? Nick Andersen. in the background, a large blue bowl and a small bright orange fiestaware divided appetizer latter sit in view.
a photo of the poster, a mid30s cis white man wearing a green sweatshirt and blue jeans, holding a large costco shopping cart and looking off to the side. in the cart is a large bag of lemons and two huge cases of eggs, 120 in total. in the background a variety of people sort through comically large bins of produce. a sign above reads ‘kirkland signature DELI.’ it’s costco on a sunday, everyone is chaos.
a shot of the items in the post: a wooden foldable theatre bench chair with circle wooden holes, on the left seat is a big yellow fiestaware plate on the right seat is a red fiestaware plate and in the middle is a glass bowl in primary colors. behind to the back is a green bicycle and to the right is a blue cushioned chair.
an ios portrait mode photo of the poster, a mid30s cis white man, looking directly at the camera on a vague idea of a porch, wearing a knit yellow tanktop. he has brown shaggy hair swept to the side and he looks skeptical. this is from the porch of a coffee farm in upisland maui.
the poster and his husband, two white cis men, in suits, overlooking the golden gate bridge on a balcony with the norwegian flag in the background. luke is on the right, a tall blonde white cis man in a black suit with a white shirt and a blue tie. nick is on the left, a white cis man with brown hair in a green checked suit with a blue shirt a striped white green and blue tie and a blue pocket square. they look cute.
screenshot of text reading ‘pilot. princess. trash collector ABOUT THE SHOW: pilot. princess. trash collector. is a show about work — the jobs we do, the jobs we wanted to do, and all the jobs that did or didn’t happen between point A and point B. Hosted by audio producer Nick Andersen, this show explores Dr. Seuss, Studs Terkel and Richard Scary, but not necessarily all in the same breath. WHY WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: The biggest reason? Nick Andersen. He’s behind Ministry of Ideas and Hub & Spoke Audio Collective. The prompts in this show are fun… we want to hear everyone’s answers to them. Plus, look at the cover art. Curious! A lot of career podcasts feel very businessy and advicey. This show takes a storytelling approach we’re hungry for.’
an ios portrait mode shot of milo, an orange and white creamsicle house cat, resting half awake on the poster’s chest and lap. the poster is wearing a striped blue and white t shirt and red slacks, and he sits on a blue leather couch. in the background, a white and blue carpet, brown leather arm chair and low slung brown wooden coffee table with various blurry objects are all visible. milo is purring, but in the photo that’s not clear. his eyes are half closed and his paws are extended out.
a distant shot of milo, a furry sweet orange and white creamsicle house cat, curled up in a tiny ball on a yellow couch in a living room’s bay window. a red throw pillow and red white and black afghan blanket frame the couch on either end, and milo’s desperate face covering surely cannot be doing much blockage of the light bright mid-morning sun. he is very cute and very desperate.
selfie of the posters, a mid30s cis white man with stringy brown hair, staring directly in to the camera wearing a multicolor patchwork coat
a blurry distant ios photo of mika, a gorgeous tall white sweaty cis man, wearing tight bright pink trousers and a close fit white tank top, standing with one foot on a white piano bench and the other on a white grand piano, holding a white megaphone and speaking to an unseen crowd. the curtain behind him is mauve and a drumset is to his left. he is, i repeat, gorgeous. buy tickets already. he’s gorgeous.
a screen shot of an ios imessage exchange Today 08:35 Lisa Tacoronte PHOTO OF A FLORAL TREE OUT A WINDOW, A BRANCH WITH RED AND WHITE BUDS DOWN THE BRANCH It’s starting! oh my godddd Luke Massa Yessssss
a blurry concert photo of florence welch, a tall radiant cis white woman with flowy red hair wearing a transcendent flowing wispy green gown, crouching on the edge of a black stage holding a black microphone and gesturing out to an unseen crowd of thousands in boston’s ted garden. a person’s head is just above.
an ios portrait mode shot of milo, a soft small orange and white creamsicle house cat, perched tail tucked legs hidden like a loaf of bread on top of the unseen poster’s legs. the legs in question are in blue jeans, and the bottom of a white t shirt is visible just toward the bottom of the image. the poster sits on a yellow couch in a room visible with blue and white carpet and some vague blurry furniture in the background. milo is perfect and cute.
a hastily made meme image of actor steve buscemi in the SNL sketch in which he plays an aged version of himself pretending to be a young person, despite that being clearly false. in the image, buscemi is wearing a red hoodie, a grey t shirt reading MUSIC (lightning bolt) BAND, carrying a skateboard and leaning to the right, but in this meme, the poster, a mid30s cis white man with sweaty brown hair, has his face hastily photoshopped over buscemi's face with his tongue out (it is from his 2025 chicago marathon run). a set of grey lockers is to the left and several anonymous teenagers are walking behind. the poster's husband, luke, wants credit for making this image to mock him but here we are online with all of our friends.
a gravel path on the right is divided by a series of brick pavers, and a string of green shoots burst from a soil berth. in the middle, a couple of purple white flowers are proud and new — it’s spring time!
a v old school gridded agenda with late evening and early morning friday may 29 and saturday may 30 blocked off with the words ‘Midnight Omelette’ in blue pen
a screenshot of a substack email section reading: 'Many people are listening to fewer podcasts than they were a year ago. However, How Long Gone, Nymphet Alumni, and Odd Lots remain on many download lists. I’m not convinced a good podcast needs a video component – a lot of people aren’t watching. Notable response: “I listen to three podcasts religiously and almost never add something new into my rotation unless something hyper specific sparks my interest. Always audio, mostly when I’m commuting/running errands. Never video, can’t be convinced to switch.”
a screenshot of a page from martha stewart's 'entertaining' (1982) showing a spread of fruit, assorted flowers, spoons, and the text 'Midnight Omelette Supper for Thirty A LATE-NIGHT PARTY HAS A special elegance and drama. It might follow the performance of a play or concert; at holiday time, when late hours seem magical, or in summertime, when days are long and evenings warm and ex-pansive, it can be an event on its own. There are a few particular considerations for nocturnal entertaining: be prompt serving sup-per, for social energy can wane with the hour. Invite guests for 10:00 P.M. (or directly following a performance) and start cooking omelettes at 11:00; serve undersized rolls, because they are lighter and daintier at night. Likewise, serve finger-size desserts to avoid the necessity of another plate. Keep music going—rock, classical guitar, or flute concertos according to the mood of the party—for it is particularly important during late hours to provide a gracious background to fortify an event. MENU e Cheese Tray with Fruits and Assorted Breads and Crackers Creamed Spinach Omelettes Swiss Cheese Omelettes Red Caviar and Sour Cream Omelettes Curried Chicken Omelettes Creamed Leek Omelettes Tiny Croissants and Brioches Herb Butter Homemade Jams Lemon Curd Tartlets Chocolate Victoria Tartlets Chocolate Mousse Alexis's Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies Fresh Strawberries Espresso, Decaffeinated Coffee, Teas '
a screenshot of the wikipedia page for the upcoming hungarian parliamentary election, showing all four main party leaders, clockwise from top left, VIKTOR ORBAN, PETER MAGYAR, LASZLO TOROCZKAI, KLARA DOBREV. orbán, who is the current PM, is admittedly a touch older than his rival candidates, but his default photo here makes him look especially toadish (all four candidates are cis white folks, orban has white hair and is wearing a blue suit and pink tie, magyar looks studly and heroic in a blue military type jacket and red white and blue ribbon on his label, toroczkai has a blue suit and grey tie and kind of looks like tom from 'succession', dobrev has curly short brown hair and is wearing a taupe blazer and cream v-neck blouse). like truly this i have thought about this contrast every day since i first visited this wikipedia page.
an ipad photo of the poster's left leg, just a white quad, being casually gripped by milo, an orange and white creamsicle house cat, who is eyes closed asleep. they both are seated on a heavily distressed brown leather arm chair, and beyond is a blue and white ikea rug on a wooden floor. the edge of a green chaise lounge is visible beyond the rug. milo is a bully. don't doubt this -- b u l l y.
a shot of the end of a dark wood dining room table, with a construction block toy set on the end (they are smaller and less colorful than traditional legos). it’s a series of tan ducklings in a row behind a large tan mother duck, on a green ‘grass’ spread with white and pink flowers along. it’s the ‘make way for ducklings’ gang by the children’s book by robert mccluskey.
a shot of the poster, a mid 30s cis white man, singing karaoke in a mid lit bar, wearing a floral romper, and also a cardio boot. the lyrics on the screen behind him read ‘CAUSE I’M JUST A TEENAGE DIRTBAG, BABY // YEAH I’M JUST A TEENAGE DIRTBAG BABY // LISTEN TO IRON MAIDEN BABY WITH ME OOOOH’
an image of the poster, an unseen mid30s cis white man, sitting on a yellow loveseat in a pair of short blue running shorts of alternating blue shades, with a red, black and white knit afghan blanket on the left leg and no blanket on his right leg. in his crotch sits milo, an orange and white creamsicle house cat, curled up in a circle asleep with his paws draped over his face. a grey orthopedic boot sits on the floor to the right, on the poster's right foot, because he broke his ankle during a low blood sugar blackout three weeks back. a black cardboard box is visible just beyond, open on its side with white and yellow writing on it.
a wide angle shot of a tray of brown cupcakes on a tray, each with a green zombie hand reaching out of the surface of the cupcake like a dead teamsters president who was evidently NOT buried in suburban milford, michigan's ample fields. in the background, a white cis woman sits holding a small child in a white onesie, and in the foreground, the torso and legs of a person in a green button up and blue denim jeans seems to pay for a pastry of some variety at the counter via an unseen bakery employee.
a screen shot of the poster, a mid30s white cis man with short shaggy brown hair, in a rectangle google meet screen, staring directly at the scren, with milo, an orange and white creamsicle house cat, in front of his face and on his lap, looking to the right and seeming dumb. the background is blurry owing to user choice, and white text reads 'Nick Andersen' (the poster) in the bottom left of the post.
a photo of a late20s bald cis white man breaking through a finish line tape with his hands held high, his mouth open and his eyes closed. he is wearing a neon yellow tank top reading 'newton elite' and a bib reading '26.2 556' along with black running shorts. a person to his left holds the side of the race bip, reading 'detroit free press / talmer bank international marathon.' a clock above his left hand reads '2:24' which means he finished (and won!) this marathon in the stupid fast time of two hours and twenty four minutes which is frankly rude of him. for reference, this is the poster's older brother, and if you squint you can see the resemblance i guess.
a blurry tablet photo of the poster, a mid 30s cis white man, from midchest down, wearing a grey vneck and v short black running shorts showing a large part of his large thigh. most of the photo is milo, an orange and white creamsicle house cat, curled up and sleeping on the poster's lap.
a zoomed in shot of a bay window, the space in front of which is filled by a yellow love seat (floyd’s of detroit). milo, a svelte orange and white creamsicle house cat, is sitting on the right rear cushion, riveted by whatever is happening outside in the barely viewable parking lot. the left and right side of two different parked cars are viewable through a half open window, with a screen in place. a red pillow rests on the right side of the couch and a red white and black pattern knit afghan blanket sits on the left.
a photo of the poster, a mid30s cis white man with close cut brown hair, looking down at his chest while seated in a brick courtyard full of flowers. a set of stairs leads up to an unseen second floor to the right rear, and a pair of houses sits to the left. he is wearing a floral romper with several real flowers popping out of the left chest pocket, and a pair of brown sunglasses hangs from the center button row.
a gif of actor aidan turner, a tall buff cis white man with long luscious curly black hair, wearing baggy work pants and no shirt, standing up in a field sweaty and holding a bottle of water, glancing roguishly at the camera.
a screenshot of a green tiled shower nook, with alternating green tiles and two built in nooks. text reads: ‘Vary Tile Sizes: This Heath Ceramics tile is a riff on the Arts and Crafts–era Pewabic tile in the Green Lobby at the Cranbrook Educational Community, designed by Eliel Saarinen. In this bathroom, “the tile-lined, curvy niche offers a cocoon-like immersion for the client, who loves a good soak,” says Doug Jack of Nidify Studio, an architecture and interior design firm in Boston.’
a long glamor shot of a tiled bathroom, with alternating green shaded tile leading to a curved shower nook with all dark green tile. various plants sit on a window seat toward the front of the image.
screen shot of an instagram dm reading ‘Your biceps are gonna get HUGE though 😂’
an ios portrait mode shot of a squat mid-century modern cocktail tumbler, bedecked with quirky black and gold diamond shapes and lines. the drink inside, a vieux carré, is rich and amber colored, and a spiral lemon peel juts off to the left from the rim of the glass. the glass sits on a white square coaster with visible tiger feet and tail just peeking out from under the glass. all rest on a brown wooden coffee table, with blurry green and brown couches and sitting chairs in the fuzzed out background beyond.
a wide angle shot of a long long table COVERED in various cheeses, meats, crackers, fresh and dried fruits. (if you care: barber’s sweet red cheddar, barber’s 1833 cheddar, fourme d’ambert and a 30-month comte, plus danielle soppressata) wit boatish shaped paper containers in five piles nearest to the camera. a variety of people are walking around the table, which is slightly cut off from traffic in the fluorescent lit dining hall around it via a black vip rope. it looks absurd and delicious.
a screenshot of an instagram post with the same blue background reading ‘What aspect of being a cheesemonger keeps you on your toes?’ ‘The expertise and knowhow of our customer base! I try and keep tabs on the cheeses in our case and in our wall, but sometimes a customer will hurry in and know EXACTLY what they want and have detailed information about the process of cheesemaking that I have never heard of. I love learning from our customers and helping bring cheese into their lives — but I can't pretend to not be a little embarrassed by my own knowledge gaps when compared to their enthusiastic expertise.’
a screenshot of an instagram post with the same blue background reading ‘What your favorite cheese at the moment and why?’ ‘My favorite cheese right now is the Extra Grand Cru Comté — for one, because it’s such a unique and gorgeous iteration of a cheese we all know and love, and for two, because we’re the only store in the country to carry this age Comté and that’s a fun brag that really helps convince customers it is absolutely worth it, which it is of course already is by itself’ above a wedge of gorgeous comté cheese
a screenshot of an instagram post showing the poster, a white mid30s cis man, smiling awkwardly in a yellow knit polo shirt and a dirty blue apron reading FORMAGGIO KITCHEN. he is framed by a sky blue border with the words ‘Get to know our cheesemongers’ above and ‘NICK ANDERSEN CHEESEMONGER <1 AT FORMAGGIO KITCHEN’ below. his apron has assorted buttons on it.
a dusty small gold trophy affixed to a white faux marble base with the all caps words ‘LIPSYNC #1’ is shown on a dusty wooden coffee table. a blue leather couch with a purple pillow is just out of view behind
a clumsily made mbta themed ecard showing a poorly photoshopped silver line bus and the word ‘happy valentine’s day at silver line way, you will hear my love shut off just for a moment while it converts to electric power’
a clumsily made mbta themed ecard showing a poorly photoshopped red line train and the words ‘happy valentines day just like the new mbta redline cars i’ll get there eventually but i’m running shuttle service from harvard to alewife until further notice’
an ios portrait mode shot of the poster, a mid30s cis white man, wearing a striped blue and white shirt, a burgundy knit cardigan and a blue and red block scarf. he got a haircut recently but the quality thereof is still up to you, anonymous internet reader of this alt text. compliment him! drag him! make him feel good / bad / confused.