![Background show artwork for Casting Call](https://gimlet.spotifycdn.com/hero/7813b822-00f9-4797-bad7-6847ffa710bd/fallback.jpg)
In 2018 Anna Ladd won Gimlet’s Casting Call competition - a search for the “next great podcast host.” Her prize for winning was that Gimlet would help her make a podcast mini-series. But when she moved to New York and started to make the show she realized the dark secret of reality show success: Just because you win a contest doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing. Making the show was overwhelming until Anna started a self-help program (a couple, actually) and got some advice from Alex and PJ.