Talk Ain't Cheap

Podcast superstar ALEX COOPER built a media empire in the streaming economy. In August, she inked a $125 million deal with legacy radio service SiriusXM to bring a new generation of fans to the aging satellite network. Now she has to deliver.

-  Alexandra York

It's 9 p.m. in Los Angeles' Peacock Theatre when five performers take the stage. Eminem's "Shake That" blasts from the speakers, and the male dancers start to tear off their clothes. As they strip down to their last layer, an energized Alexandra Cooper appears behind them in her signature pink sweat set.

"Welcome to the Unwell Tour!" Cooper, 30, shouts to the 5,000 screaming young women who have packed the house.

After the burlesque show, Cooper talks about growing up in Newtown, Pennsylvania, playing Division I soccer at Boston University and her rollercoaster sex life. Multiple dance numbers and outfit changes later, pop star Camila Cabello and comedian Heather McMahan join her for onstage interviews before a performance by "Man Eater" singer Nelly Furtado closes out the show.

It's the seventh and final date of Cooper's personal revue, based on her hit podcast, Call Her Daddy, which regularly attracts more than 13.5 million monthly listeners. The live shows are a celebratory end to Cooper's massive year: In August, she signed a $125 million three-year deal with SiriusXM to bring her Unwell Network of five podcasts to the 34 million subscriberstrong radio giant. Unwell is a branch of Cooper's self-described "Gen Z media company," Trending, which she cofounded in April 2023 with her film producer husband, Matt Kaplan. In addition to Call Her Daddy, Unwell also oversees other popular influencer-hosted shows such as Hot Mess with Alix Earle (an estimated 1 million monthly listeners) and Pretty Lonesome with Madeline Argy (an estimated 330,000). Both Earle and Argy, like Cooper, are Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnae.