John Wenzel has worked for the Denver Post for 16 years. That’s a long time to be in any one job, and fairly extraordinary in terms of writing for one newspaper. As is standard practice with most journalists, you can find him with bylines at Esquire, Splitsider, Vice, Rolling Stone, and a ton of other publications as well.

John has written about entertainment for about 20 years, which is something of a dream job. On this week’s show, he talks about writing a tribute to David Bowie, getting paid to go to concerts and comedy shows, and reaching a personal pinnacle when he had the Denver Post’s starred review of The Force Awakens. It sounds like something of a dream job – I mean, who wouldn’t want to get paid to do all the stuff you pay for when you want to escape your daily or weekly grind?

What I know, thanks especially to my brief stint reviewing HBO for the now-defunct Examiner.com, is that it’s impossible not to get burnt out on pop culture. You start to either dread, or at least fret, about the things that previously brought you joy. So we talk about how to overcome that. Related: Is it easier or harder to write about the things you love most? I have my answer, but you’ll just have to listen to this week’s show to find out John’s.

Additionally, and this is a topic I care very much about, we talk about the future of journalism. What does it look like? Can the core of what journalism is ever be destroyed? And how do we protect and embolden it as an institution?

All in all, it’s a fantastic chat with a great dude. You’ll get a lot out of this episode as we delve into the creative process, learning to love deadlines, how we cobble a life together as a nation of more and more freelancers, and more.

Be sure to follow John Wenzel on Twitter, which is a good way to stay up on his articles.

And then download the show on iTunes, stream it on Stitcher, or listen at the Jon of All Trades homepage.

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