onefjef

In which I ramble about Icelandic grocery stores, job search fatigue, generational swearing, Hurricane Sandy, social media burnout, and the origin of my crayon costume collection. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/onefjef Instagram: @onefjefpod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onefjefpod X: @on...

I talk to Gary Clarke, who is currently in Huaraz, Peru—cold mountains, thin air, and 7,500 kilometers left before he reaches Tierra del Fuego. We talk about bad Spanish classes, hot air balloons, oil rig sunrises, why most people don’t chase the life they want, and why the best way to see the world is on the seat of a bicycle. You can follow Gary's travels on Instagram @gary_clarke Please show so...

I sit down (virtually) with my old friend — actor, musician, writer, and unapologetic decaf drinker — Nicholas Webber. Nicholas and I have made a lot of things together over the years, and this time the thing we made is a conversation about fatherhood, faith, AI, and why technology might be the new religion. We get into logic and mystery, and the strange comfort of the small rituals that hold a li...

In which I ramble about overwhelming media, disappointing plants, mind-bending mushrooms, Trader Joe's, and which hand Vishnu would hold a microphone with. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/onefjef Instagram: @onefjefpod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onefjefpod X: @onefjef TikTok: @onefjefpo...

A solo episode from a quick trip to Colorado: Garden of the Gods, a hot tub under the stars, a guy at a bar who says he was kidnapped by the cartel, and an unsuccessful hunt for Crestone’s outdoor funeral pyre. Mostly me sorting through middle age, altitude, and a string of strange detours. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon...

In this semi-milestone episode, I enter the onefjef multiverse and sit down with… Jef Taylor. We talk about the odd intimacy of sharing an identity, the pretension & justification behind dropping the superfluous f, and what happens when you realize another version of you is out there working at a zoo, documenting Hot Wheels jousting, and looking for little pockets of joy wherever he can find t...

This week I talk with writer and former Capitol Hill staffer — and my old co-worker — Evelyn Quartz about the strange afterlife of political work: how two people who once believed in “hope and change” ended up disillusioned with the system they helped run. We trade stories about burnout, ideology, and how a job that’s supposed to “change the world” can quietly drain your sense of meaning. Evelyn t...

This week I sit down with my first teenage guest, Millie Matyjasik. We talk about driving lessons, ballet, cold plunges in the Pacific, social media brainrot, situationships, and what teenagers wish adults would understand. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/onefjef Instagram: @onefjefpod Facebook...

In this bonus episode of onefjef , I welcome back my dear friend Chris Casey—the very first listener to email the show, thereby winning the infamous email contest. Chris shares a heartfelt “acceptance speech,” a story about proving his mother wrong, and a perspective on seizing one's destiny (with AirPods and a $6 coffee in hand). We play his original voice memo, talk about prizes, party-crashing...

In my first post-road trip interview, I talk to Anastasia Katsina, who grew up in post-Soviet Lithuania, immigrated to Columbus, Ohio as a teen, and eventually found her path as a yoga teacher and somatic therapist. We talk about resilience, Lithuania's spiritual traditions, living in Switzerland and Norway, and how the pandemic unexpectedly brought her back to Columbus. And also how it's hard to...

In the seventh and final episode of my road trip, or at least this road trip, I visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park in the rain, experience the weirdness of Branson, get pulled over in Santa Fe, and get the hell out of Dodge City. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/onefjef Instagram: @onefjef...

In this, the penultimate episode of my road trip saga, I experience the horrors of California's Central Valley, the solitary magic of Joshua Tree, and the disturbing thing called Las Vegas. Here's a link to my film COVERAGE , which I mention in the episode: https://vimeo.com/13490966 Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: h...

I took a break from my road trip last week so I'm releasing an interview with my friend, filmmaker Alex Mallis, whose feature film The Travel Companion is now in theaters. We talk about the highs and lows of getting a first feature into a major festival, what happens after Tribeca, politics in New York, the joy of creating something for its own sake, and (yes) selling fart sounds as NFTs during CO...

In the fifth part of my road trip I fly to Bogotá, Colombia where I chew coca leaves, discuss Ohio tourism with a Mexican woman, wander around an underground salt cathedral, and spend 8-10 hours in traffic. Here's the website for the salt cathedral: https://www.catedraldesal.gov.co/en/ Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page:...

In the fourth (and ironically static) episode of my road trip across the USA and beyond, I watch the fog roll into Muir Woods, contemplate the nature of friendship and forgetting, describe the San Jose experience, and dip my feet into the Pacific Ocean. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/onefjef I...

In this, the third episode of my road trip across the USA and beyond, I head into The Sierra Nevada and off the grid where I record from a kayak, talk to some young humans, and sink into the feeling of being separated from society just before having to return to it. Check out Adela's Substack "silly-string and other musings" here: https://tamyrin.substack.com And check out Savvy and Adela's music...

This is a very short bonus episode to announce the onefjef Patreon page. If you're interested in supporting the podcast in ways that don't involve your ears or your ratings and reviews, you can now make a monthly donation in exchange for some additional content and perks. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: http://www.pa...

I continue the road trip from the wide-open emptiness of Wyoming to the neon chaos of Reno, Nevada. Along the way I visit Devil’s Tower, meet a cowboy named Sam, and discover just how disorienting a hotel parking garage can be at midnight. It’s me, my neurosis, long stretches of highway, and a confused stumble through a casino city that feels like a bad idea made permanent. Please show some suppor...

I kick off a cross-country road trip from Ohio to South Dakota, stopping at the Gateway Arch, passing enormous roadside crosses, and wondering what the hell American Christianity is doing with Jesus. Somewhere between the interstate and a tiny motel, the bottom literally falls off my car, and I tell the long, messy story of how my film ended up at Sundance. It’s rambling, roadside audio about trav...

I talk with my friend Danny Eakins — a former Army Major who led more than 300 combat missions in Iraq and now works with Veterans Services helping soldiers and their families. We get into what combat actually does to a person, how PTSD shows up years later, the strange afterlife of military service, dating as a veteran, personal growth, and even Napster. It’s a grounded conversation about war, re...

In the first bonus episode of onefjef, I talk about where I’m headed next, what’s been pulling at my mind lately, and a few stories from the past that still shape the present. I also announce the winner of the email contest. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/onefjef Instagram: @onefjefpod Faceboo...

I talk with Matt Farley — the wildly prolific musician behind Motern Media, known for recording thousands of songs on Spotify (including the infamous poop tracks). We get into how he built a creative life out of volume, discipline, and weirdness; the reality of DIY filmmaking; why niche art survives in a homogenized America; and what happens when you commit to your own strange corner of the world...

I sit down with yoga teacher and energy worker Andi Wesley to talk about sobriety, family patterns, emotional maturity, and the weird space between being introverted and extroverted. We get into micro-dosing, boundaries, healing work, and what it takes to actually change your relationship with yourself. It’s a conversation about clarity, self-awareness, and the long, unglamorous work of growing up...

This episode is a story I performed at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City in 2014 about my first 24 hours in Mexico — a chaotic trip, a lot of bad decisions, and the moment travel stopped feeling theoretical and became real. While I’m away in Ireland, Bing Bong steps in as guest host. Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon p...

I sit down with Chen Chen — an engineering professor at The Ohio State University — to talk about the future of artificial intelligence, the strange world of esoteric math, and how our brains actually perceive time. We get into the joy of understanding things deeply, why some problems feel impossible until they suddenly click, and what AI might change about how humans think. It’s a conversation ab...