1000 w/ Ron Placone

Angeline Mirenda is a Sex Educator. I saw her Hollywood Fringe Show, AP Sex Education. Not only was it entertaining, but also incredibly informative. She draws the connection between sex ed in the US and imperialism, racism, and capitalism. Ready to talk about sex?

Jason Freeman is a musician. He plays bass for the hardcore punk band, Zeke. Zeke’s been a legendary Seattle institution since the early 90s, setting their own bar, fitting in nowhere and everywhere all at once. We talk about him joining the band, how he discovered music, and the phenomenon that was the Seattle music scene of the 1990s.

Walker Bragman is a journalist. He covered Electoral Politics, particularly during Bernie’s first run in 2016, and now his main focus is public health. Right now, literal eugenics is on the rise in the United States, and this isn’t limited to some 4Chan space, this is an actual positions of power. We dive deep in this one. 

If you know me, you know Municipal Broadband, also known as Public Broadband, is an important issue to me. Matthew Rantanen is one of the founders of Tribal Broadband Bootcamp. It’s an extensive that teaches the development and maintenance of public broadband systems on tribal lands. I got to attend one. It was life-changing. Matt’s also a crazy interesting guy. He’s a soccer player, a graphic des...

Kelly Spillman is a psychology professor and comedian. She’s also a friend of mine. In 2020, she was diagnosed with stage 4 Colon Cancer. She has a show currently running at the Hollywood Fringe Festival called “I Blame Florida”. The show documents her cancer battle, as well as how she finds meaning and hope in this incredibly difficult struggle. This is an emotional one y’all...

Giovannie Espiritu is an actress, filmmaker, and educator. She’s escaped from a cult, an abusive marriage, she’s overcome extensive loss and grief, all while maintaining a family and a career. To say her story is inspirational is an understatement. 

Robin Waite is an author, mentor, and coach. I came across Robin’s book, “Take Your Shot”, and I absolutely loved it. It used story to teach the principles of turning your passion project into a sustainable living. Robin narrated the audiobook himself. I couldn’t stop listening to it. It used golf as a back drop, best part, I don’t even like golf! I decided I needed to learn more about Robin and h...

Peter Joseph is a filmmaker, author, musician, and activist. Years ago, he released the Zeitgeist documentary for free online. He went viral before there was a term for such a thing. He spawned a movement that had chapters all over the world. He’s released other films and books since. I was fortunate enough to cross paths with him a few times over the years, and we've kept in touch. He’s a fai...

Satori Shakoor is a storyteller, singer, actress, and comedian. She’s lived multiple lives in multiple places but she’s always found her way back to the Motor City. She’s worked with legends in comedy and film, and she toured with Parliament-Funkadelic. Yes, you heard that right.

Caroline O’Riordan is a writer, filmmaker, and healthcare activist. She founded the group Hollywood4CalCare, an organization dedicated to making health care a human right in California. That’s how I met her, and she was at the Termination Fee preview. We get to know her origin story, and of course we go off on some policy talk.

Brian Kiley is a comedic force. He’s a stand-up and writer. He wrote for Conan for nearly 30 years, he’s won Emmys, and he’s among the most respected comedy writers in the game. He’s the type of comic where when you’re on a bill with him, you never want to miss his set. I was stoked when he agreed to do the show.

Joslyn Sky is a singer, musician, and speaker. She has Retinitis Pigmentosa, or RP for short. This is a disease that causes progressive damage to the retina and often leads to limited vision or blindness. I saw Joslyn perform, and wanted to know her story. She uses her condition to educate others, and to create. We get into everything from religion to philosophy to politics, we have different poin...

Gary Arndt is a podcaster, blogger, photographer, and world traveler. Gary was, among other things, an entrepreneur in Minnesota. Then one day he decided he was going to trade it all in and go travel the world. He sold his house and he was off. He started doing photography, he started a blog, and he started a podcast. He quickly built his own universe. His podcast, Everything Everywhere Daily, has...

Nate Golon is a filmmaker, producer, educator, and world traveler. I saw him speak on a panel at WonderCon and he mentioned that he sold a series to Hulu and then decided to walk away from all of it and go live in Japan. Ok, I got to get this guy’s story! Creativity, passion, life’s journey, this is what 1000 is all about!

Comics! The print kind! Barbra Dillon is a comic book publisher and creator. She’s the co-founder of Fanbase Press, a comic book publisher and “geek culture” website. I saw her speak at a panel at WonderCon and wanted to know more about the publishing niche that she and her husband built. Upon meeting her, I found out we both grew up in Pittsburgh around the same time.

Jeremy Fury is a musician, producer, and he lives it. He’s based in Brooklyn via Detroit area, Toledo to be exact. I first became aware of him when I discovered his band, Jeremy and the Harlequins. I became an instant fan. Jeremy’s been recording and touring for over 20 years, Jeremy and the Harlequins are just one of his many accomplishments. From Pasadena to Marina Del Ray, from Brooklyn all the...

Esteban Gast is a comedian, content creator, and educator. He’s the comedian in residence at Generation 180 where he created the Climate Comedy Cohort. I saw him recently at an event hosted by Adam McKay’s company. This is my first time talking to him and it’s almost eerie how much we have in common. This is a chatty episode, couldn’t help it.

Calling All Writers! Mike Royce is a writer and producer. His list of credits is not short. One Day at a Time, Men of a Certain Age, Everybody Loves Raymond,  and that’s just scratching the surface. Additionally, during the recent writer and actor strikes, Mike was very vocal advocating for creatives and Unions.

Alonzo Bodden is a comedian and actor. He won Last Comic Standing (Season 3), he’s a regular on the NPR show “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” and that’s barely touching his resume. I’ve known Alonzo for a long time and always loved crossing paths with him. I get to know a bit more about the man behind the content in this episode, though we definitely dive into the weeds of the current state of affairs...

Lee Camp is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and show host. He hosted the teeth-as-sharp-nails political comedy show, Redacted Tonight, which tragically got axed as the result of years of misdirected nationwide hysteria. I’ve known Lee for a long time, given the theme of the show, I’d originally planned for him to be a December episode, but he’s got a new show out, so the time is now!

Eddy MacKenzie is an actor, musician, and comedian. I first met Eddy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023. The fest was in its last week, many performers were understandably tired. Eddy was a constant force of positive energy. The way he speaks, it’s hard to describe, but it’s almost like constant laughter. He’s the type of guy where when you’re around him, you can’t help but be in a good mood...

Eleanor Goldfield is a journalist, filmmaker, and, more than anything, she’s a creative radical. She co-hosts Common Censored and Project Censored. Also, I hope she doesn’t mind my saying so, she put out some killer music a few years back. I’ve been following her for years now, and figured now was a perfect time for us to dive into the world.

A few years before Colin Kaepernick, there was Chris Kluwe. Chris Kluwe is a former NFL punter, writer, musician, and activist. During his time with the Minnesota Vikings, he got in trouble for his decision to be outspoken in support of marriage equality. I became aware of him around that time and have followed him ever since. He published a piece recently about how he was essentially blacklisted...

Jess Pettitt is a speaker, author, and researcher. Recently, she did a deep dive into Project 2025. Somebody had to. I first met Jess on the NACA circuit, basically the college performance circuit, many years ago. I’ve always enjoyed hearing her take on things, and was curious, especially after her 2025 project, to know her assessment right about now.

Sam Richard is a writer, editor, and publisher. He is the orginal editor and current operator of Weirdpunk Books, a publisher in Minneapolis, MN. I found out about him online. Wait, a punk rock horror publisher that’s unapologetically leftist, queer, and DIY? In the Twin Cities no less? Yes, I’m in. Sam runs a great publishing house and he’s got quite the story. Please welcome to the show, Sam Ric...