Bar Talk Series

“You spend all this time and energy and thought on these things that are so ephemeral, right? It’s just like, oh, a film, cool, we loved it, boom. Maybe it’ll change something, maybe it won’t. Maybe you’ll laugh, maybe you’ll cry. Maybe that’s the joy of it, the Buddhist… what’re the things called? The sand paintings? It’s about that.” Meet Samah and Brandon, two programmers for Doc NYC, New York...

“When I was nineteen, fresh in the company, I was doing everything. You know, look at me. I’ve kinda calmed down from that, and I think there’s so much beauty in being a true corps de ballet… I never actually know if I get to come back to something. So I dance…” “Like it’s your last time.” Meet Jovani and Gilbert, two dancers at the New York City Ballet, founded in 1948 by the legendary choreograp...

“Honestly, I am not looking for the American dream. I’m looking to solve something in my country, with my family and my children. Because the American dream does not exist for me.” In NYC, the arrival of over 100,000 migrants seeking asylum in the last 12 months has pushed the city's shelter system to the breaking point. In the midst of this scramble for resources, too often the voices of thes...

“There’s this psychic geography of the city. Any time you’re walking, you take notes of the things you see, the spots you can hit. And you build this psychological map in your head of everywhere you’ve been, places you’ve painted… Your senses get heightened. I can tell a cop car from three blocks down just based on the temperature of the light.” Meet Modus and James, two friends at the heart of th...

"There's a moment when you're creating a dish, where you can just feel it, It's coming. It's almost perfect.' That excitement..." "It's what I live for." Meet Neal and Dalia, two big-time chefs who live at the cutting edge of the cooking world. Whether it's private chefing, pioneering plant-based cuisine at some of the best restaurants in NYC, or coa...

Whatever happened to the transatlantic accent? How do you stay sane as a comedian on social media? How exactly do studios exploit the writers who keep them running? Meet Dan and Mack, two writers and comedic partners in crime who just might be the Seinfelds of tomorrow. Whether it's stand-up, quickfire, or just committing to the bit, these two guys are ready to take you on a journey through ti...

"The young people in Mumbai, they're basically the same as us. They do the same things." Meet Vick and Jay, two free-styling, culture-mashing artists, each with a foot in two worlds. From rap, acting, and stand-up, to TikTok, Spotify, and network television, these friends share powerful aspirations. Do you have what it takes to be heard in the big city? "Whatever your idea or me...

"If aliens came and they're like, what's a specimen of a human being that we should study to make sure that our next planet, after we obliterate all of you, ends up good? It'd be like, yeah yeah, take that one." "So you're saying it's not you?" "Well, no, I'd be there, I'd just be the, like, red pepper flakes." Meet Kiersten and Kate, two m...

In 1962, a 19-year-old New Yorker by the name of Howard Lotsof was addicted to heroin and on the market for his next fix when he tasted an exotic alkaloid in the freezer of a chemist friend. On the other side of a very profound trip, he woke up to realize the state of fear and catatonia which had marked the edges of his world had vanished. So had his desire for heroin, it turns out, without any si...

“If ever you’re in conversation or someone asks you, what is it that you do? You’re kinda like, I don’t know, my job description is look hot, don’t fall.” “You paid $80 for a ticket at the door to come have the best night of your life.” Meet BB and Peter, two dazzling performers at Bushwick nightclub House of Yes, the world-famous creative collective and circus theatre. These two do it all—acting,...

Hey folks! We wanted to do a quick intro video about the show and its origins. And of course you can find us on YouTube, IG and TikTok with the handle @bartalkseries .

What do you have to do to get kicked out of a museum, like, forever ever? Meet Ki Smith, a gallery owner and NYC lifer who was slapped with a lifetime ban from the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2016. Along with his brother Sei and their art collective Base 12, Ki coordinated a guerrilla exhibition in the Whitney. The paintings hung in the museum stairwell, flanked by sweeping views of the Huds...

“I had a client who hates having his feet touched. So I did bondage on his feet. I tied him down. Apparently he likes to escape. I tied him down. He did not escape. I bound his toes. Then I put socks on him, but only halfway. And then I blasted AC on his feet and left the room. He did not enjoy that.” Meet Mistress Vicki and Miss Orion, two pro dommes who spend their nights in dungeons of their ow...

What’s it like to bring your fists to a knife fight? Meet Ro and Clint, two mixed martial arts experts who make their living teaching others how to master their fear and step into the ring. That is, when they’re not putting ‘em up themselves. Clint hasn’t lost a fight in ten years. But it’s not all blood and uppercuts. Both Ro and Clint understand, on a very personal level, that at the heart of se...

“It started like all good ideas do. Like, we were at a bar. And we were talking about sex. We were talking about losing our virginity, or what it’s like to be a person who wants to lose their virginity.” “Simply not being able to give it away fast enough.” “Losing my virginity was like walking into a rake and then like, bam, it smacks you in the face, and then you walk into another rake, and then...

"The biggest issue is that she wants to possess me. I don't want to... I just don't want to be possessed." Meet Ben and Trena, two longtime friends who met doing sex-ed performances and workshops for CUNY's Creative Arts Team. Their lives have since diverged: when he isn't making moves, Ben teaches film at Brooklyn College, and Trena is a licensed social worker for the NYC Department of Education....

“Recently I did a Zoom bris. The whole time… I was like, Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” “So my sister’s second kid… She had a little boy. We had a bris… And it’s a raining morning, at my sister’s house, and the mohel, it’s called—the mohel is the person that comes in and does the snipping.” “Ok, got it.” “The guy comes in without a thumb. He’s missing a thumb!” Meet Dave and Shea, two former ne...

“Really I’m just directing this tool that’s in front of me. I’m telling it exactly what to do. And that’s why I say photography is very therapeutic... You’re not thinking about, like, your mortgage that’s due.” “It all drops to the back.” Meet Gary and Deb, two photographers who view their art not just as therapy but also a powerful tool of community and social progress. After meeting one another...

Did you know you can go blind making moonshine? Ever wonder why it’s called a Hemingway Daiquiri? What’s the best condiment and why is it mustard? Meet Benjamin and Raymond, a sommelier and restauranteur who have spent their careers serving up some of the best food and drink in the world. Both veterans of the elite Manhattan food scene, the two have known each other so long they can’t quite rememb...

Meet Nick and Ivana, two up-and-coming musicians who perform under the name Hard Heaven. A few years ago, after bonding over a mutual love for karaoke, love poetry, and 90s alt rock, the two became close companions and, at the encouragement of their mutual friend Stanley, a local pharmacist and DJ, started making music. When Stanley passed in late 2021, his loss left a deep impression; for a brief...

Meet Eun Hee (right) and Cat (left), two non-American friends who met in a very New York way, at a random housewarming party in the Lower East Side. Eun Hee is a Korean-Mexican who just became a Sommelier after becoming certified through the Court of Master Sommeliers. She does freelance on the side as a graphic designer while training with the opening team for an anticipated restaurant opening in...

Tehran, 1979. You’ve spent the day teaching workshops to Iranian theater troupes, but now you’re all at a local bar, sipping strong brew and trading war stories. Do they ever perform Shakespeare here, you wonder aloud. Nobody responds. Did you say something wrong? “You see, brother,” one of them finally answers. “We can’t do plays,” he says, “about the death of kings.” You walk home a few hours la...

"You know my mission is to push boundaries and fuck around, but right now I just wanna make a perfect after-cycling-in-the-French-Mountains white beer, so that we can all just sit around and just fuckin' talk again." Meet Augie and Jesse, two beer masters who have made a name for themselves crafting strong brew--the kind that brings people together. A mutual love for De La Soul and A Tribe Called...

"It is what it is." "Whaddaya gonna do." Born and raised in the great borough of Brooklyn, Paulie Gee and his friend Jimmy C. go way, way back. Lifelong friends, business partners, ski buddies, live music lovers, the two have a hearty rapport that stretches back decades of meals, concerts, and good cheer. As Paulie put it, "Back in 1970, Jimmy and I used to buy low and sell high." Folks, if you th...