Erin McCarthy
VP & Editor-in-Chief, Mental Floss
The intellectual trivia brand – which has reached over 1 billion “curious people”
Erin McCarthy is editor-in-chief of Mental Floss. Founded in a university dorm room in 2001, the intellectual trivia brand for “curious people” blurs the lines between entertainment and education, and its “smart, quirky content” has reached over 1 billion people across multiple platforms including print, online, YouTube and podcasting. Joining in 2012, Erin hosts many of their most popular YouTube shows, and edited their book ‘The Curious Reader;’ as well as creating, producing, and hosting the ‘History Vs.’ podcast – which discusses “how historical figures faced off against their greatest foes.” In this in-depth interview, Erin discusses the growth of their YouTube channel which now has more than 1 million subscribers – covering a mammoth range of topics, from archaeology to mashed potato; explains why podcast episodes are her favourite part of the job – offering her the chance to provide in-depth analysis of a fascinating topic; and given the niche and eclectic nature of their work, delves into the detailed process fact-checking to make sure they get everything right – consulting with an array of independent fact-checkers, cross-referencing all their content before sharing it with the world.