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Near the end of 2004, Thorn began to make his show, ''The Sound of Young America'', available as a podcast. A few months later, Thorn received a call from the director of programming at PRI, who had heard one of the podcasts and expressed interest in distributing the show.<ref name="UCSCR" /> In 2006 [[WNYC-FM]], a [[public radio]] station in [[New York City]], picked up the show, and PRI decided to distribute it.<ref name="wedding" /> By September 2008 the show was carried on 18 public radio stations, in addition to the podcast.<ref name="list"/><ref name="wedding" /> This was the beginning of [[Maximum Fun]], which Thorn owned until 2023, when it became a worker-owned co-op.<ref name="j035">{{cite web | last=Silberling | first=Amanda | title=Podcast network Maximum Fun is becoming a worker-owned co-op | website=TechCrunch | date=March 20, 2023 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/20/maximum-fun-podcast-co-op-worker-owned/ | access-date=October 31, 2024}}</ref>
 
Thorn and the show were mentioned in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', ''[[Time Magazine]]'' and ''[[Salon.com]]'',<ref name="UCSCR" /><ref>{{cite news|first=Keith|last=Huang|title=Blog Watch: "The Sound of Young America"|newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]]|date=July 24, 2006|url=http://www.maximumfun.org/blog/2006/07/todays-wall-street-journal.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1189268,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620155756/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1189268,00.html | archive-date=2006-06-20|title=The Pick of the Podcasts|magazine=[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]]|date=May 2, 2006}}</ref> with ''Salon'' describing Thorn's interviewing style as combining "the civility and preparedness of [[Terry Gross|[Terry] Gross]] leavened with the good humor of [[Conan O'Brien|[Conan] O'Brien]]."<ref>{{cite web|first=Ira|last=Boudway|url=http://archive.salon.com/ent/audiofile/2005/11/14/listens/index.html|title=Longer listens: Peter Guralnick, Art Spiegelman and some lost Van Morrison tracks on the 'Sound of Young America'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705135639/http://archive.salon.com/ent/audiofile/2005/11/14/listens/index.html|archive-date=July 5, 2009|website=Salon|date=November 14, 2005}}</ref>
 
In 2006, Thorn and former Sound of Young America co-host Jordan Morris launched another podcast, ''[[Jordan, Jesse, Go!]]''<ref name="wedding" /> Thorn has also produced several other podcasts for MaximumFun.org, including Elizabeth Gilbert's ''Magic Lessons'', the scripted comedy series ''Bubble, Coyle & [[Mal Sharpe|Sharpe]]: The Imposters''<ref name="l531">{{cite web | last=Whiting | first=Sam | title=Mal Sharpe, ‘The Man on the Street’ radio gag man, dies at 83 | website=Datebook | date=March 12, 2020 | url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/comedy/mal-sharpe-the-man-on-the-street-radio-gag-man-dies-at-83 | access-date=October 31, 2024}}</ref> and ''The Kasper Hauser Comedy Podcast''.<ref>[http://www.pri.org/jesse-thorn-bio.html "Jesse Thorn Bio"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517032102/http://www.pri.org/jesse-thorn-bio.html |date=May 17, 2009 }} at PRI website.</ref> He was also a part of sketch comedy group Prank the Dean,<ref name="Gothamist">Ben Kharakh, [http://gothamist.com/2006/11/02/jesse_thorn_ame.php "Jesse Thorn, America's Radio Sweetheart"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929115220/http://gothamist.com/2006/11/02/jesse_thorn_ame.php |date=September 29, 2008 }} in [[Gothamist]], posted November 2, 2006.</ref> along with Morris, Lauren Pasternak and Jim Real.
 
Over time, ''The Sound of Young America'' (now ''Bullseye),'' which had had a variety talk show, became more focused on interviews. Thorn has interviewed many notable personalities on his show, including Dolly Parton, Greta Gerwig, Jay Leno, Antonio Banderas, Jeff Goldblum and E-40. Thorn also interviewed [[Stephen Colbert]] as a part of [[iTunes]]'s ''Meet the Author'' series.<ref name="UCSCR" />
 
Thorn has become notably identified with a philosophy he calls "[[New Sincerity]]." A ''[[USA Weekend]]'' article cited the "New Sincerity" segment of the show as a listeners' favorite, and quoted Thorn's explanation of the concept as "a rejection of irony."<ref>Dennis McCafferty, [http://www.usaweekend.com/07_issues/070114/070114tech.html "Top podcast picks: Favorites from experts in their category,"]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} [[USA Weekend]], January 14, 2007. (Thorn's program was the in-print "podcast pick" of comedian [[Patton Oswalt]].)</ref> Thorn has promoted New Sincerity on his program, in his blog<ref>Jesse Thorn, [http://www.maximumfun.org/blog/2006/02/manifesto-for-new-sincerity.html "A Manifesto for The New Sincerity,"] February 17, 2006.</ref> and in interviews,<ref name="Gothamist" /><ref name="MerilnShow019">{{cite podcast | url=http://www.themerlinshow.com/ep/019-interview-jesse-thorn-part-1 | title=Interview: Jesse Thorn, Part 1 | work=The Merlin Show | date=June 4, 2007 | access-date=August 21, 2014 | host=[[Merlin Mann|Mann, Merlin]] | number=19 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913050840/http://www.themerlinshow.com/ep/019-interview-jesse-thorn-part-1 | archive-date=September 13, 2017 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Dan Brodnitz, [http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2008/09/an-interview-with-the-sound-of.html "An Interview with The Sound of Young America's Jesse Thorn,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019134825/http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2008/09/an-interview-with-the-sound-of.html |date=October 19, 2008 }} ''[[O'Reilly Media|O'Reilly Digital Media]]'', posted September 15, 2008.</ref>
<ref>''But see'' Bill Forman, [http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/03.08.06/muz-0610.html "Müz: The New Ambiguity,"] ''[[Metro Santa Cruz]]'', March 8–15, 2006 (opining that New Sincerity is "just another ironic hoax").</ref><ref>Tycho ([[Jerry Holkins]]), [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2010/3/1/ "The Valley Of The Shadow of Death"] at ''[[Penny Arcade (webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'', March 1, 2010 (accessed March 2, 2010) ("The New Sincerity is simply The Old Irony, with better PR.")</ref> and was named as a popularizer of New Sincerity in a scholarly work discussing the similar ''novaia iskrennost' '' concept in Russian post-Soviet aesthetic theory.<ref name="Yurchak n3">[[Alexei Yurchak]], "Post-Post-Communist Sincerity: Pioneers, Cosmonauts, and Other Soviet Heroes Born Today," in Thomas Lahusen and Peter H. Solomon, ''What Is Soviet Now?: Identities, Legacies, Memories'' (LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster, 2008), {{ISBN|978-3-8258-0640-8}}, p.258 n.3, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3GonhERyzwEC&pg=PA258 excerpt] available at [[Google Books]]. Andrew W.K.(Noting that "the turn to post-postmodern sincerity . . .is associated with the events of 9/11" and "'new sincerity' has been popularized since 9/11 by some youth media (for example, by Jesse Thorn, the host of a popular music program ''Sound of Young America,'' on New York's National Public Radio station WNYC).</ref>
 
Thorn has been an important leader in the podcast business. Fast Company called him "the most important person in entertainment you've never heard of" and "the Zelig of modern culture."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3049373/meet-the-most-important-person-in-entertainment-youve-never-heard-of|title=Meet The Most Important Person In Entertainment You've Never Heard Of|last=Rabin|first=Nathan|date=August 6, 2015|website=Fast Company|language=en-US|access-date=February 12, 2020}}</ref> In 2011, the magazine chose him as one of the 100 most creative people in business.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/person/jesse-thorn|title=Meet Jesse Thorn, one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People 2011|website=Fast Company|language=en-US|access-date=February 12, 2020}}</ref> In 2009, Jesse helped comedian and podcaster [[Marc Maron]] to set up the microphones and software necessary to produce his ''[[WTF with Marc Maron]]'' podcast from his garage. Maron thanked Jesse again for this on the podcast's 300th episode.<ref>WTF with Marc Maron - Episode 300 http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_300</ref> Jesse is also the coproducer of the public radio broadcast version of Maron's podcast.
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