When most people consider the concept of being “targeted,” they often think of a famous person falling victim to such actions. However, in the new podcast “Targeted,” host Zach Abramowitz demonstrates that even individuals not in the public eye can become victims. This is especially true when they expose dark secrets about those powerful enough to seek retribution.
Recently, we sat down with Zach, the former mergers and acquisitions attorney turned media host and entrepreneur to talk about his new Podcast and how it came about. So, let’s welcome Zach Abramowitz to GVN Interview. (This is an edited version. You can watch or listen to the full interview from a link at the end).
From Stand-Up to Business Law
GVN: Thanks for sharing some of your time, Zach. Before we delve into your new Podcast Targeted, let us start with some of your background, which is interesting on its own. You have had a career in law, under the mergers and acquisitions umbrella, but early on, you performed as a stand-up comedian in Manhattan. How did you go from Stand-Up to corporate law?
ZACH: Yeah, that’s a great question. I think my life and my career sort of reflect this, as someone who sort of can’t decide between art and business, and maybe constantly tries to merge those two. Not quite a theater kid, but in my senior year at university, I’d never actually been to a comedy club. So I went, and I heard a couple of routines. And I think this is an experience that some people have going to comedy clubs, which is, I thought I’m funnier than they are. I think a lot of people sort of think it and then never do anything more with it. But I became sort of obsessed with it. I went to some local comedy clubs in New York City and said, hey, I think I’m really funny, so, how do I do this?
Like there wasn’t a manual for how to become a stand-up comic, but I, I did perform for about a year and a half regularly in clubs across New York City. I really did consider it as a career. But, I’ll tell you that when I went on job interviews, when I ultimately, signed up and started working at a big law firm. I interviewed with 40 different firms, and that was the thing they all wanted to talk with me about. They all wanted to know, “why did you leave stand-up comedy and come to law.” I thought it was like pretty obvious. I’m like, “well, it’s clearly the money, right?” I don’t know why we are asking this, like it’s some major question here. But there were some other drawbacks.
I performed right before and following some of the biggest comics that you’ll see today, where I performed right before Jim Gaffigan, and I was very much in it. But that was not true of Jim. What I found of other comics when they would come off the stage and I would want to pick their brain for their experience, their expertise, how do they do this? I just found they were typically speaking, like the saddest, most depressed people going.
My sort of image of the stand-up comedian had been Jerry Seinfeld, the kind of clean, PG-13 comic who seemed like he had it all. He seemed like he had it all together. I kind of stopped that phase and said, you know what, this is not the kind of lifestyle that I want to live. But I’d be lying to you if I said I don’t think about it quite often and sort of wonder, you know, do I still have it? Could I still put it together? What I found is it’s a completely immersive process. If you are not a stand-up comedian 24 hours a day, you’re not going to succeed. And I think that’s like anything. To be great, you’ve got to be completely in it. Creating a stand-up brand is very much like starting a new company. It is not a work-life balance play.
TARGETED
GVN: So, all of your experiences have led you to your latest endeavor, Targeted, a podcast that explores and discusses those who had the courage to challenge those in authority when they recognized corruption and how it has impacted their lives. How did this premise come about, and did you have an idea of those whose stories you wanted to focus on?
ZACH: What’s unique about like the targeted podcast and the concept that we’ve that we’ve developed is most people think about targeting is something that only happens to famous people, people in in public positions, people who sort of ask for it by virtue of being out there in the public spotlight. You’ve sort of opened yourself up to targeting.
I think the way we in society think of this, whether it’s so culture or anything else. We sort of have this I we’ve come to terms with the idea that for famous and glamorous, this is just something that sometimes comes with the territory. What this show explores is what happens when unchecked power goes off the rails, and ordinary people end up in the crosshairs. So not everyone that we’re talking to on this show is famous or someone you’ve necessarily heard of.
Even the some of the famous people like Nathan Law, who’s podcast just dropped today. On the one hand, he was a Nobel Prize nominee, but most people haven’t heard of Nathan Law. They are unaware and he leads or tries to lead a fairly normal life. But he still has to sort of live with the kind of long-term effects of being targeted. So, this was really the premise for the story and from a content perspective, I think it’s something that’s not been explored.
I think it’s an area, when you listen to some of these episodes, you listen to some of these stories. You start to think, oh my gosh, could this happen to me? And, and I think that is what’s really frightening to me as an attorney and as someone who’s lived in multiple countries. I understand that not every country’s rule of law standards is equal. What happens in so many of these episodes is that disparity and rule of law can often lead to results that are quite frankly disastrous. Seeing how, in some cases being targeted by people really crushed their spirit and for other people, they came out on the other side stronger. I and I think that there’s no judgment for whichever one people have reacted.
But I think it’s a very meaningful topic to me, and I’m glad we’re getting to shed some light on these circumstances. One of the people that we interview later in the season, and I won’t spoil it now, is someone who I knew previously. And I had said to him at some point, “this story is madness. I’ve never heard of something like this. This should be optioned for a movie.” “Targeted” was finally an opportunity to sort of showcase some of these stories, but not just one person. But to really show that this is something that, with today’s tools, with today’s media landscape, with today’s global economy, if there’s someone you want to crush, it’s doable and that’s a frightening thought.
Finding the TARGETED Podcast
Targeted is produced by Next Chapter Podcasts, a top tier agency specializing in creating impactful media that challenges perspectives and elevates meaningful conversations. You can catch the Targeted Podcast here.
Here are the links for the complete interview with Zach Abramowitz.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
