Aggressively Human: Online Business in the Age of AI, Algorithms & Automations

• Our Aggressively Human 1-Year Retrospective

  It’s the one-year anniversary of Aggressively Human! In this milestone episode, we look back at the first fifty-two episodes of the show—what surprised us, how the podcast has performed (and what does performance even mean?), and how podcasting has shaped both our friendship and our businesses.We talk about what makes co-hosting work: shared accountability, complementary energy cycles, and overlapping but distinct guest networks. We talk about how the Aggressively Human podcast served our business goals that we set out for a year ago. We share the behind-the-scenes lessons of running a human-centered podcast—everything from scheduling and editing to scouting guests and showing up with curiosity and authenticity.The conversation also explores how both of our businesses have evolved over the past year—Jessica closing out her first five-year arc with Leaving the Casino and Meg deepening her work in AIO, and how we’re thinking about AI, automations, and algorithms today in 2025.* What makes a co-hosted podcast sustainable for a full year* How mutual accountability keeps the rhythm (even when energy dips)* The hidden work behind guest curation, editing, and show notes* Why we feel more energized after an hour podcast than a 15 minute YouTube* Why we avoid “pitch-me” guests and only invite people they know or admire* What we’ve learned about informal promotion, reciprocity, and trust* How podcasting has strengthened our friendship and creative shorthand* What’s changed in both of our businesses since the show began* How automation and AI can serve memory, not replace humanity* What year two will explore: ethics, curiosity, and using the tools without being used by them“Now that we know what the tools are, we’re seeing what’s starting to be possible, how are we looking at curious ways to bring it into our business models to use these tools, not at arm’s length, but to say, these have a place in the tool belt.” - JessicaConnect with UsListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsMeg CaseboltJessica Lackey This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aggressivelyhuman.substack.com

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• Gratitude to go along with your turkey and gravy

  It’s our first US Thanksgiving episode!And while many podcasts are paused today, we wanted to bring some Aggressively Human to you while you’re cooking, carving, or just getting out of the house in between football games.We want to say thank you to our listeners. Thank you to anyone that has rated the podcast on your preferred podcast player! Thank you to our commenters, the ones who tell us what they loved or have questions about in the episodes. Thank you to our guests, who make time to come hang with us and showcase what’s aggressively human in your lives and businesses.And, from Jessica and Meg to each other, hear us say thank you to our co-host.It’s so much more fun with friends.Plus, hear a fun fact about when each of us met our husbands!Ok - now go back and finish eating pie, if that’s on the to-do list for today.(P.S. - my favorite is pecan, I am from the mid-atlantic. Meg’s favorite is pumpkin).Connect with UsListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsMeg CaseboltJessica Lackey This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aggressivelyhuman.substack.com

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• Retainers, Courses, and How Solos Scale with Nick Bennett and Erica Schneider

  What if the most human decision in your business is your offer structure?In this episode, Jessica and Meg are joined by Nick Bennett and Erica Schneider, the duo behind Duo Consulting, for a conversation about business models, burnout, and what’s really behind scale. They trace their journey from the course boom and “productized” advice back toward deeply human, high-touch service work—and the freedom that came with doing less, but better.They talk about what happens when you stop selling one-time solutions and solve recurring problems, how to rethink retainers, and why “selling like a human” is still the most powerful business strategy. The group also digs into the false hierarchy between consulting, coaching, and implementation—and how being hands-on can actually create more impact, more fulfillment, and better outcomes for clients.Tired of the “retainers” vs. “courses” vs. “productized services” debates on LinkedIn about the best business model? Learn how we’re all building the kind of business that fits our energy, our brains, and our lives.* Nick and Erica’s evolution from solo operators to partners at Duo Consulting* Why they retired their successful course and community in favor of 1:1 work* Why most “passive income” models still require constant marketing* How to match recurring problems with recurring offers* The debate between retainers, projects, and sprints—and why none are one-size-fits-all* How to sell like a human instead of hiding behind funnels and scripts* Why client success—not volume—is the real measure of scale* The false hierarchy between coaching, consulting, and done-for-you work* How standardization, automation, and selective delegation create sustainable growthThe reason we’re so passionate about helping our clients move to solving an ongoing problem is that in that retainer model you get to drag your clients to glory. Because then you can say, “look at all of this awesome success that my clients have working with me”. I would rather my clients work with five people a year and have those five people be massively successful than work with 50 people a year and have no clue or help them achieve nothing.” - Nick BennettAbout our GuestsDuo ConsultingNick BennettErica SchneiderHow Solos ScaleThe Recognition GapConnect with UsListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsMeg CaseboltJessica Lackey This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aggressivelyhuman.substack.com

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• Why We’re Blogging Again (and You Should Too)

  After years of focusing on podcasts, teaching, and newsletters, Meg just released her first blog in three years. In this episode, Meg and Jessica talk about why it’s time to come (back) to blogging—and why it matters more than ever in a world of shifting platforms and AI-driven search results.They share the practical and philosophical reasons behind the shift: protecting your intellectual property, proving you got there first, and creating a timestamped body of work that can be found, cited, and built upon. It’s how you build a business on rock instead of the sand of social media and shifting algorithms. From domain authority and discoverability to Substack cross-posting and AI parsing, they look at what it means to write for durability, not trends. They also explore how written assets double as onboarding tools, teaching material, and long-lasting content that can be reused across your ecosystem—bricks in a foundation that lasts.(Plus, hear Meg sing a song that totally relates!).* Why Meg is returning to blogging after three years focused on other platforms* The “sandy land” metaphor and what it means to build your house on a rock* How blogging establishes topical authority and protects your IP* Why timestamps matter: AI can’t cite a TikTok, but it can cite a post with a publication date* The danger of building on rented land (Substack, LinkedIn, social media)* How written work creates a paper trail for your thought leadership* Blogging as both visibility strategy and proof of ownership* How AI and search engines reward structured, linked, human-written content* Turning blog posts into reusable assets for onboarding and education* Why a durable body of work outlasts any short-form content trend“If you build your house on sand, you’ll have to build it twice.” - MegResourcesLove at First Search BlogConnect with UsListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsMeg CaseboltJessica Lackey This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aggressivelyhuman.substack.com

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• Ensh*ttification is by design (and what to do about it)

  The platforms we built our businesses on are breaking down—and not by accident. In this episode, Jessica and Meg take on ensh*ttification, the term coined by Cory Doctorow to describe how digital platforms inevitably decay over time. From Facebook and LinkedIn to Substack and AI, they discuss the predictable four-phase cycle that turns once-useful tools into algorithmic wastelands.Book released October 2025Jessica walks through what that cycle looks like for LinkedIn and Substack, while Meg connects it to the decay of creative platforms like Medium and Kindle publishing. Together, they explore what creators and experts can do when every channel feels rigged—and what it means to build on digital “rented land.”It’s part diagnosis, part “what now”: a conversation about recognizing when the rules have changed, when to adjust your strategy, and how to build resilient foundations that outlast the next platform crash.* The origin of the term “enshittification” and how Cory Doctorow describes the four-stage cycle* What Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Substack teach us about platform decay* How AI tools are repeating the same subsidized-growth pattern as social media* The false nostalgia for “when it worked” and how fast cycles now move* What to do when the strategy you learned in phase one stops working in phase three* How to spot market arbitrage opportunities before they close* Why foundations, relationships, and your body of work are the only real insurance* How to keep your business discoverable without chasing every new trendAdditional ResourcesPodcast | The Gray AreaWhy is the Internet bad now? | Evan Armstrong/The LeverageConnect with UsListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsMeg CaseboltJessica Lackey This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aggressivelyhuman.substack.com

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