# Marco Arment

> Marco Arment is an independent iOS developer, podcaster, and blogger best known for building Overcast (a leading podcast app), co-founding Tumblr, and creating Instapaper. He co-hosts the Accidental Tech Podcast (ATP) with John Siracusa and Casey Liss, and writes at marco.org. His career is defined by principled solo craftsmanship - he operates Overcast entirely alone with no investors or employees, maintains a fierce privacy stance in his apps, and is famous for once pulling a #1 App Store app (Peace) after 36 hours on ethical grounds.

- **Role:** Independent Developer at Overcast Radio, LLC
- **Organizations:** Overcast Radio, LLC, Relay FM, ATP (Accidental Tech Podcast)
- **From:** Columbus, Ohio, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Allegheny College
- **Known for:** Co-developed Tumblr from the ground up, growing it to tens of millions of users, Built and ran Instapaper as a profitable solo operation for 5+ years before selling, Created Overcast - one of the most respected podcast apps, entirely solo since 2014

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Graduated from Allegheny College with a BS in Computer Science
- **2006** — Joined David Karp to co-develop Tumblr; launched marco.org blog
- **2007** — Tumblr publicly launches in February; Marco serves as Lead Developer / de facto CTO
- **2008** — Launched Instapaper on January 28 - a solo-built 'read later' service for web articles
- **2010** — Left Tumblr in September to focus full-time on Instapaper; started Build and Analyze podcast with Dan Benjamin
- **2012** — Launched The Magazine, a biweekly iOS digital magazine; began prototyping Overcast
- **2013** — Co-launched Accidental Tech Podcast (ATP) with John Siracusa and Casey Liss; sold controlling interest in Instapaper to Betaworks; sold The Magazine to Glenn Fleishman; invested $50,000 in Gimlet Media
- **2014** — Launched Overcast on July 16; invested in Gimlet Media podcast company
- **2015** — Published viral 'Apple has lost the functional high ground' post; launched and then pulled Peace content blocker from App Store after 36 hours on ethical grounds
- **2016** — Co-launched Under the Radar podcast on Relay FM with David Smith; Instapaper acquired by Pinterest
- **2019** — Spotify acquired Gimlet Media for ~$230 million, yielding strong returns on his early investment
- **2021** — Published tribute post on tenth anniversary of Steve Jobs's death
- **2024** — Overcast's 10th anniversary - announced complete rewrite in Swift and SwiftUI
- **2026** — Overcast v2026.4.1 with full transcript support; wrote open letter to new Apple CEO John Ternus on Apple's 50th anniversary

## Achievements

- Co-developed Tumblr from the ground up, growing it to tens of millions of users
- Built and ran Instapaper as a profitable solo operation for 5+ years before selling
- Created Overcast - one of the most respected podcast apps, entirely solo since 2014
- App Store Editors' Choice Award for Overcast
- ATP has run for 688+ weekly episodes (as of April 2026), one of the most durable Apple/tech podcasts
- $50,000 Gimlet Media investment returned multiples when Spotify acquired Gimlet for ~$230 million in 2019
- Marco.org post on Apple software quality in 2015 generated mainstream media coverage (CNN, CNBC, Business Insider)
- FCModel GitHub library reached 1,600+ stars and was widely used in iOS development
- Peace reached #1 in the US App Store paid apps chart within hours of launch (2015)

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Overcast v2026.4.1 released with full transcript support and transcript alignment improvements
- **2026-04** — Published open letter to new Apple CEO John Ternus on Apple's 50th anniversary, urging preservation of computing as enhancing human capability
- **2026-04** — ATP Episode 688 covered Apple CEO transition - John Ternus replacing Tim Cook as CEO
- **2025-05** — Wrote post criticizing Apple's decision to end the decade-long WWDC Talk Show interview tradition
- **2024-07** — Announced complete Overcast rewrite in modern Swift and SwiftUI on app's 10th anniversary

## Links

- Website: https://marco.org
- GitHub: https://github.com/marcoarment

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marco-arment
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-25