Talks at Google Map Men | Jay Foreman & Mark Cooper-Jones
Apr 14, 2026
Mark Cooper-Jones, comedian and former geography teacher, and Jay Foreman, comedian and creator of the Map Men series, chat about their book This Way Up. They trace the origins of Map Men and turning short videos into a playful book. They debate audiobook vs written form, recreate podcast moments, and explore how maps shape perception and storytelling.
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How Map Men Formed From Comedy Circuits
- Mark and Jay met on the UK comedy circuit and combined Jay's YouTube experience with Mark's geography-teacher background to pitch a map-focused show called Map Men.
- Mark pitched the idea after seeing Jay's Unfinished London videos and wanting a bigger audience than pub gigs, leading to their long-running collaboration.
Making A Visual YouTube Show Read Like A Book
- Translating a visual YouTube format into a long-form book required inventing book-specific playful devices to preserve variety and humor.
- They used footnotes, spoofed legal pages, redaction gags, and a Spotify playlist to recreate Map Men’s visual silliness on the page.
Use Medium-Specific Tricks When Adapting Content
- When converting a format, exploit the medium’s unique strengths instead of merely translating content.
- The Map Men book leans into book-specific tricks like layered footnotes and playful front-matter to keep readers engaged.
