Fritter Hollow

Derek and Dan start out talking about where Derek sees himself fitting into Fritter Hollow, and quickly end up somewhere much bigger: interesting people, story mining, the Josh Project, collaboration, and why trying to do everything yourself might be killing some of the magic. Along the way they talk about meeting strangers through Facebook Marketplace, the idea behind Rabbit Hole Chats, the value...

Derek and Dan start with a simple question about whether it’s fair to speculate about the deeper reasons behind someone’s behaviour, and end up somewhere much bigger. Using a hypothetical guy who buys a donut every morning, they explore hidden motivations, storytelling, curiosity, and why the most ordinary habits can sometimes lead to the most interesting questions. Chapters: (00:00) - Intro (00:1...

Derek and Dan start out wondering what Fritter Hollow might look like five years from now, and somehow end up in a dark parking lot listening to AM radio at three in the morning. Along the way they talk about recording ordinary people, preserving voices, loneliness, storytelling, and why audio can sometimes create an experience that pictures actually get in the way of. Eventually the conversation...

Derek and Dan bounce around questions of identity, creativity, standards, and what actually counts as doing the work. Along the way, Derek talks about makers who don't make, musicians who maybe aren't quite ready for the stage, and a conversation with a beginner that unexpectedly turns into advice he probably needed to hear himself. Somewhere in there, Danny makes an appearance too, as the guys ke...

Derek and Dan talk about being busy without necessarily getting the important stuff done, why having fewer creative gatekeepers still doesn’t mean people actually make things, and the strange power of simply deciding to start. Along the way, they kick around short-form audio stories, note-taking, underdogs, failure, and a possible new way of thinking about who Fritter Hollow should be talking to....

Dan and Derek dig into the messy business of making things, from shitty first drafts and old school typewriters to limited series podcasts, interviewing, and the temptation to explain too much. Along the way, Derek starts zeroing in on the kind of storyteller he wants to become, someone willing to follow people into their inner worlds and keep feeling around for the next string to tug. They also t...

Derek and Dan start out talking about showing up, doing the work, and figuring things out as they go, then somehow end up poking around inside the stories people usually leave hidden. There's a typewritten life mantra, fishing instead of mining, bloody noses, fathers watching from the sidelines, and the surprisingly tricky question of whether any of us really experience the world the same way. Som...

Derek and Dan start with a disagreement about Facebook and end up somewhere much broader: how past experiences shape the opportunities we notice, the risks we avoid, and the things we’re willing to let back into our lives. Along the way they get into social media, AI, storytelling, old work habits, multitasking, creative momentum, and the difference between wanting to move forward and actually doi...

Derek and Dan talk AI, creativity, gear, podcasting, and the strange ways people build identities around the things they know. What starts as a conversation about technology and creative tools turns into something more personal: why comfort can become its own kind of trap, why making things can feel so vulnerable, and why creating something meaningful may matter more than chasing attention or succ...

Derek and Dan take a closer look at what Fritter Hollow is becoming now that they are no longer just searching for ideas, but actually making things. They talk about editing, creative tangents, the evolving Josh project, and whether the messy process behind a finished story might be part of the story itself. Along the way, Derek explains why collecting material can feel a little like finding a mys...

Derek and Dan talk about what happens when you stop waiting for clarity and start making things anyway. Along the way, they get into fear, creative exposure, mentorship, the evolving Josh project, and the strange way direction can emerge only after you’ve already begun. It’s an episode about taking action before you feel ready, letting the work teach you what it wants to become, and discovering th...

This week, Derek and Dan try to solve a familiar creative problem: how do you stop chasing every interesting idea without becoming boring? They talk about a developing interview project, the strange ways memory reshapes the past, the difference between what happened and what it felt like, and whether everything really needs to be called a story. There are the usual detours, emotional truths, talk...

Dan and Derek consider possibly leaving the studio and begin wondering how much of the stuff inside it needs to come along. That leads to a larger conversation about creative constraints, the slow and largely invisible work of producing GIDS, and whether Fritter Hollow needs another project or simply needs to finish the one already underway. They also settle for now on " Inner Worlds" as an upcomi...

Derek and Dan continue refining the vision for Fritter Hollow, moving from endless ideation toward actually building. They revisit their mission, values, and long-term direction, discuss why every creative project should lead naturally to the next, and explore what it means to build a company around emotionally honest stories rather than simply producing podcasts. Along the way, they talk about cu...

In this episode, the conversation turns to focus, curiosity, and what Fritter Hollow might actually grow into. Derek considers building a ten year plan to help decide which projects deserve his attention, while Dan looks back at years of abandoned podcast ideas and realizes they may have been leading toward the same thing all along. From there, the conversation turns to inner lives, compounding in...

In this episode, Derek and Dan talk about the “podcast industrial complex,” how advertising and standardized formats can flatten creative work, and why audiences can usually sense when someone is holding back. That leads into a larger conversation about honesty, memoir, people’s inner worlds, and the strange appeal of getting a glimpse inside someone else’s life. They also discuss the gap between...

This week on Fritter Hollow, Derek and Dan catch up on the progress they’ve been making, from organizing ideas in Obsidian to recording music, finishing creative projects, and why actually making things matters more than endlessly planning them. Along the way they revisit the idea of promoting local creators, wonder if mailing lists are due for a comeback, explore ways to make podcasts and stories...

This week on Fritter Hollow, Derek and Dan try to answer a deceptively simple question: are we building a bunker or planning a journey? What starts as a conversation about podcast guests quickly spirals into creativity, long-term projects, old photographs, bookmaking, cardboard collections, memoirs, local art, and the difference between pleasure and fulfillment. Along the way they explore why some...

Our first guest episode didn’t quite happen, but the conversation did. This week, Derek and Dan use a last-minute cancellation to talk through what Fritter Hollow actually is becoming: a weekly creative anchor, a place to mine for ideas, and maybe something a little like church, if church meant showing up, talking honestly, and leaving with something new to think about. Along the way, they get int...

This week, Derek and Dan wander through a conversation about creativity, community, AI, live experiences, and the kinds of ideas that keep pulling people back to the table. Along the way they explore interview techniques, local identity, jazz, volunteer-driven organizations, and the challenge of building meaningful things in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms and automation. Somewhere in th...

This week, Derek and Dan celebrate getting Fritter Hollow out into the world. Fresh off launching the website and podcast, they talk about vibe-coding, AI, learning new skills, and what happens when decades of experience collide with rapidly changing technology. Along the way, the conversation drifts into memoir writing, documenting your life, letting go of old projects and archives, and the stran...

Episode 4 of Fritter Hollow starts with a numbering problem and somehow ends up in documentary ethics, privacy, AI, release forms, jazz improvisation, story mining, podcast music, prairie winters, homesteaders, and homelessness. Derek and Dan talk through what happened when their surprise guest plan did not quite land, what it means to record people honestly, and why the Hollow might be less of a...

Episode 3 of Fritter Hollow was not supposed to happen, which is probably why it feels useful. Derek and Dan meet again the day after the last episode and start poking at the actual room, where the gear goes, where a performer might stand, what microphones make sense, whether the HVAC is a villain, and how much polish a scrappy little production needs before it stops being honest. They also wander...

Episode 2 of Fritter Hollow finds Derek and Dan realizing the website exists, the podcast exists, and now they have to figure out what the thing actually is. They talk work, third places, churches, small business headaches, insurance, flaky people, local weirdos, podcast hosting, AI content, mini shows, live events, and the strange value of recording the idea while it is still half built. It’s par...

Fritter Hollow begins with two guys in a small room trying to figure out whether they accidentally started a podcast, a promotions company, a community arts thing, or some weird little machine for getting unfinished ideas moving. Derek and Dan talk through fly on the wall recordings, local events, weird speakers, singer songwriters, websites, podcast hosting, AI slop, liability, legacy, and the wi...