The Messy Parts Paper Magazine’s Kim Hastreiter Wasn’t Satisfied. So She Built Her Own Amazing World.
This is the world Kim Hastreiter built: Paper Magazine. Stuff. Joey Arias. Salvador Dali. Barbara Streisand. Nora Ephron. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Andy Warhol. Keith Haring. Bill Cunningham. Soho Weekly News. Michael Musto. Sex Pistols. Michael Stipe. Larry Kramer. And on and on. She is one of one, a cultural trailblazer in New York City and beyond. In this enlightening conversation, Kim gets honest with Maryam about the moments that shaped her — the art world that wouldn't let her in, the investors who didn't get it, the cultural earthquakes she lived through and refused to be flattened by. She talks about what it really means to find your gift, why she's never once let money make a decision for her, and how surrounding yourself with the right people can change the entire trajectory of your life. Funny, fearless, and full of hard-won wisdom — this is the conversation every creative needs to hear right now.
Key Moments
"If You Won't Help Me, I'll Do It Myself" 🎨
Kim's entire philosophy in one unfiltered opening minute.
The Suburban Kid Who Became an Artist 🌱
How a normal New Jersey childhood with an extraordinary mother quietly planted every seed that followed.
Dropping Everything and Traveling the World Alone ✈️
Before Paper, before New York — Kim had a rail pass, a pickup truck, and a belief in herself
"Money Was Never My Motivator — Find Your Gift Instead"
The exchange every 25-year-old chasing the wrong thing needs to hear.
The Art World Shut the Door on Her — So She Kicked It Down 🚪
Kim arrived with credentials, supporters, and a vision — and still got shut out because she wasn't one of the boys.
How Paper Magazine Started With $1,000 and a Poster 🗞️
The scrappy, accidental origin story of one of the most iconic independent magazines ever made.
Why the People You Surround Yourself With Are Everything 🤝
No assholes, no transactional relationships — Kim on the art of collecting the right people.
Living Through the AIDS Crisis — and What Community Really Means 🎗️
A moving reflection on loss, showing up, and what humans owe each other in impossible times.
"AI Is a Slow-Motion Car Crash" — And She Saw It Coming 🤖
Kim has always read the room early — and she's not optimistic about this one.
The Week She Sold Paper and Lost Her Mother 📦
Two enormous endings in the same week — and what it really feels like to let go of something you built.
She Wants to Teach — But Nobody Will Let Her In 🎓
Every school has rejected Kim — because they still can't figure out what shelf to put her on.
The One Thing She'd Tell Anyone Under 35 🌟
Practical, specific, and a little surprising — Kim’s best rapid-fire answer of the episode.
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