Beginnings

On today's episode I talk to author Affinity Konar . Affinity studied writing at SFSU and received her MFA from Columbia, and is the author of two books, The Illustrated Version of Things , which was published by Fiction Collective 2 in 2009, and her latest Mischling , which was published by the Hachette imprint Lee Boudreaux Books earlier this year. Mischling is the story of twins, Dr. Mengele, a...

On today's episode I talk to comedian and actor Anthony Atamanuik . Over the last year, Tony has received a great deal of deserved acclaim for his accurately debauched Donald Trump impression, travelling the world with James Adomian in the Trump vs. Bernie Debate Tour. The two appeared on a special @Midnight episode and had two specials on Fusion. But before that, Tony was a house performer at UCB...

On today's episode I talk to actor and comedian Sasheer Zamata . Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Sasheer moved to New York after college and began taking classes at UCB, eventually becoming a house sketch actor and improviser at the theatre. She was a cast-member of the short-lived MTV sketch show Hey Girl,  and she created the webseries Pursuit of Sexiness with Nicole Byer. In 2014, Sashee...

On today's episode I talk to musician Paul Hammer. Paul is main singer/songwriter of the indie pop band Savoir Adore . Originally a duo with Deidre Muro - who left the band in 2014 - Savoir Adore began playing sometime in the mid-2000s. They released their first EP T he Adventures of Mr. Pumpernickel and the Girl with Animals in her Throat in 2008, and since then have released three other albums:...

On today's episode I talk to comedy writer Jen Spyra . Originally from Pittsburgh, Jen was a senior writer for The Onion  for many years. There she also headed the editorial video department as a writer, director and producer. Beyond The Onion , her humor writing has appeared in numerous places including The New Yorker and McSweeney's , and currently, she is a staff writer on The Late Show with St...

On today's episode I talk to writer and performer Sarah Pappalardo . Based in New York City, Sarah is an improviser, playwright, and documentation whose short Reverence will be featured during IFC's DOC NYC Festival later this year. She's also one of the founders and editors of the satirical women's magazine Reductress . In the three short years since its inception, Reductress has become it's own...

On today's episode I talk to writer Beth Newell . Originally from Lynnfield, MA, Beth has been writing, performing and teaching sketch at The Magnet Theater for many years. She's also one of the founders and editors of the satirical women's magazine Reductress . In the three short years since its inception, Reductress has become it's own cottage industry. Besides the online magazine, it's also spa...

On today's episode I talk to the founder of Jacobin Magazine Bhaskar Sunkara . Bhaskar is the son of immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, and has written for a number of publications including Vice magazine, the Washington Post and The Nation. However, he is most well-known for being the founder, editor and publisher of Jacobin Magazine , which in its six short years of existence has become one of...

On today's episode I talk to writer, stand-up and union organizer Nato Green . Nato lives and was raised in San Francisco, and the city's progressive atmosphere pervades everything he does. Nato wrote for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell on FX and toured nationally with Kamau & Janine Brito as "Laughter Against the Machine". He's the creator of Iron Comic , the Iron Chef -spoofing comedy game sho...

On today's episode I talk to musician Elaiza Santos . Originally from Queens, Elaiza is the lead singer of the amazing chiptunes pop band Crying , who have two EPs out on Run For Cover Records, both of which are very much worth your time. Elaiza also records music on her own - originally under the name Whatever, Dad -  and currently as 100% , which is wonderful bedroom pop in the K records traditi...

On today's episode I talk to playwright and TV writer Sofia Alvarez . Originally from Baltimore, Sofia graduated from Juilliard for playwriting. She is a member of the Ars Nova Playgroup and Primary Stages Dorothy Streslin New American Writer's Group, and her work has been seen everywhere from Primary Stages to Ars Nova to The Rattlestick. As a TV writer, Sofia has written for USA's Sirens, and cu...

On today's episode I talk to Suki Kim , a novelist, investigative journalist and the only writer ever to go live undercover in North Korea to investigate and write a book from the inside. In 2002, she travelled to North Korea, where she witnessed both Kim Jong-il's 60th Birthday celebrations as well as his death, and she later wrote a number of pieces for Harper's about the country. Suki is a reci...

On today's episode I talk to musician Barbara Manning . Barbara is prolific songwriter originally from California, where she spent part of her childhood on a commune. While attending Chico State University in 1983, Manning played bass with the seminal jangle-pop band 28th Day, and since then she's recorded a number of albums under her own name and has played with and fronted a number of amazing ba...

On today's episode I talk to Cole Escola . Cole is a comedian, actor, and writer; one of the 2014 OUT 100; as well as one of Time Out New York 's Top Ten Downtown Cabaret Performers. He was the co-creator, writer, and star of the lo-fi cult-hit TV show Jeffery & Cole Casserole , which ran on Logo for two seasons, and also originated the role of Bridget Everett's fetus in Rock Bottom . Cole current...

On today's episode I talk to storyteller Adam Wade . For the past thirteen years, Adam has been a fixture in both the New York City storytelling and comedy scenes. He is the winner of 20 SLAMS at The Moth, including two GrandSLAM Championships, and has toured across North America with The Moth Main Stage. In addition, Adam's Time Out Critic's pick solo show The Adam Wade from NH Show has been runn...

On today's episode I talk to writer/directors Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss . Charles and SV broke out with their film Fort Tilden , a satire of Millennial Brooklyn, which won the Grand Jury Award at SXSW 2014. Since then, they've written on the first season of Netflix's Wet Hot American Summer revival, and are the co-creators of the forthcoming TBS series Search Party starring Alia Shawka...

I used to do bonus episodes of the show somewhat regularly called "Field Guides" where I'd talk to people about the actual steps they took to create a project or about a specific topic around the theme of creating things for a living. Like, I talked to Abbi and Ilana about how they actually made the Broad City webseries (back before it was even a TV show!) - and the idea is to try and demystify ma...

On today's episode I talk to Wes Miles of the indie rock band Ra Ra Riot . Originally from New Jersey, Wes has been playing music for most of his life. Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and venues around the Syracuse University campus. After recording a demo, they started to attract attention, eventually getting signed to Barsuk Records, who's released all four of their albums T...

On today's episode I talk to avant-garde violin duo String Noise . For over half a decade, Conrad Harris and Pauline Kim, the husband/wife violin duo comprising String Noise, have built a reputation as relentless contemporary music advocates with a punk sensibility. They've done this through their covers of bands like Deerhoof, Bad Brains, Black Flag and Minutemen and through their classical perfo...

On today's episode I talk to musician Oli Chang. Originally from Australia, Oli is one-half, along with Jack Milas, of the celebrated ambient dream-pop band High Highs . Since 2011, they've released a self-titled EP and two albums Open Season and Cascades . All of them are wonderful. In addition, Oli also has his own solo project called Animal Feelings! This is  the website  for  Beginnings ,  sub...

On today's episode I talk to comic and TV writer Christopher McCullough AKA Jackson Publick. Chris began his comics career after a superhero spoof of his caught the eye of The Tick creator Ben Edlund, who asked Chris to write a spin-off, which then led to writing for the animated and live-action series. In 2003, Chris and his writing partner created the fantastic animated series The Venture Bros....

On today's episode I talk to actor and writer Will Sharpe . Will grew up in Tokyo and London and went to university at Cambridge, where he was president of the Footlights Revue. After graduating, he began his acting career, first with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later on a number of TV shows including Casualty , Sherlock and Dirk Gently . As a writer, Will's written for Never Mind the Buzzco...

On today's episode I talk to rapper and podcaster Open Mike Eagle . Originally from Chicago, Mike moved to LA where his hip hop career began, first as part of the collective Project Blowed and the trio Thirsty Fish, and later as a solo artist. He's released five albums: Unapologetic Art Rap ,  Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes ,  4NML HSPTL ,  Dark Comedy , and his latest Hella Personal Film Fest...

On today's episode I talk to musician Ohal Grietzer . Born and raised in Ashkelon, Israel, Ohal moved to New York in 2001, where she began collaborating on a number of musical projects with people like Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio, Tyondai Braxton, and Kyp Malone's Rain Machine. Her latest album Acid Park is out this month on Styles Upon Styles Records. Separate from her work as a musician, O...

On today's episode I talk to musician Todd Goldstein . Originally from Boston, Todd started ARMS as a musical outlet for himself when he first moved to Brooklyn. ARMS was put on the backburner though when in 2006 he joined the indie rock band Harlem Shakes. They released one album on Gigantic Music before disbanding three years later, at which time, ARMS became Todd's primary musical focus. He's r...