Getting Better Acquainted

In GBA 219 we get better acquainted with Anna Sulan Masing. She talks about how food, performance and post colonial feminism are bound up together in her in her life and work, discusses cultural practice and appropriation and considers her feelings and thoughts around identity, race, gender and home. We also discuss her new play "Don't sing in the kitchen or you'll marry an old man", my solo show...

In GBA 218 we get better acquainted with Shaun Atwood. He talks about being "the Walter White of the Ecstasy market in Arizona", struggling to survive in maximum and medium security prisons, starting a blog from the inside jail, playing chess with the Mafia, racism within criminal justice systems, teaching creative writing to prisoners, the Prison Industrial Complex, prohibition, the War on Drugs...

In GBA 216 we get better acquainted with Tiernan Douieb. He talks making comedy for kids and adults, checking his privilege, the landscape of TV comedy, making politics funny, Arts Emergency and more. Tiernan plugs: This Isn't For You: http://www.tiernandouieb.co.uk/ 2.30pm - PBH Free Fringe - Liquid Room Annex - The World is Full of Idiots Let's Live in Space: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-o...

In GBA 215 we get better acquainted with Cameryn Moore. She talks about her shows Phone Whore, Smut Slam Caberet and Slut (R)evolution, the ethics around making art about difficult subjects; responsibility, accountability and authenticity, balancing doing phone sex work and being a touring artist, fat acceptance, authentic sexuality, "bigot comedy bingo" and more. Cameryn plugs: Phone Whore and Sl...

In GBA 214 we get better acquainted with Paul. He talks about drawing portraits for Arts Emergency, his experience of bipolar, how he relates to the idea of being an artist, growing up in Stafford and lots more. Paul plugs: Arts Emergency: http://www.arts-emergency.org/ @PaulWilliamsArt: https://twitter.com/paulwilliamsart I plug: GBA and SUT in Edinburgh: http://www.facebook.com/events/1378858509...

In GBA 213 we get better acquainted with Bisha. We talk about feeling like frauds, the prison industrial complex and restorative justice, kindness, empathy, hierarchical systems, turning difficult subjects into comedy, insecurity, creativity, privilege and so much more. Bisha plugs: The Turtle Bookclub: http://www.turtlebookclub.com/ Bisha website: http://www.bishakali.com/ Bisha fringe show: http...

In GBA 212 we get better acquainted with Ian. He talks about finding growing up and looking back, accidentally getting into computing, playing chess against adults as a boy, and we chart his experience of living for over a decade as someone with a long term illness, how ME was for him and his journey of recovery. Ian plugs: Believing ME sufferers when they express their experiences. ME Story: http...

In GBA 211 we get better acquainted with Lizanne. She talks van driving, assembly lines, office jobs, corporate catering, what it's like being a woman working in male dominated industries, her love of cars, vans and other driving machines and turning her life and thoughts into stories and comedy. Lizanne plugs: YouTube/ Shepherd1964 Twitter: https://twitter.com/lizanne_davies I plug: Tragic Summer...

In GBA 210 we get better acquainted with Stephen. As we sit on London Fields in the sunshine he tells me about growing up: childhood in Middlesborough, early adulthood in Uganda and London, working in the mental health system, losing anger and finding perspective. The conversation features stories of risk taking, danger, violence and car crashes told openly and with humour. Content Note: Mental He...

In GBA 209 we get better acquainted with Juliet Jacques. She talks about football, comment and opinion journalism, the differences and tensions between writing non fiction and writing fiction, marginal art and voices, the material reality of being a writer and so much more. Juliet plugs: Her memoir Trans will be out on 22nd September: http://www.versobooks.com/books/1975-trans At Home She's A Tour...

In GBA 208 we get better acquainted with Jude Cowan Montague. She talks about her show The News Agents on Resonance FM, turning the Reuters newsfeeds into art, improvised singing and the relationship between journalism and the arts. Jude plugs: The Leidenfrost Effect: http://folkwit.com/artists/jude-cowan-and-wim-oudijk The News Agents on Resonance FM - 2.30-3.30 Saturday: http://resonancefm.com/l...

In GBA 207 we get better acquainted with Simon. He talks about dealing with the death of both his parents at a young age and how that, and the lives and values his parents had, has shaped his own life and world view. It's a conversation about bereavement, life, mental health and perspectives but most of all it's a conversation about stories, about the narratives and fictions we create and refine....

In GBA 206 we get better acquainted with Dawn Foster. She talks journalism, class, the housing crisis, the cuts, the election, writing a blog about receiving street harassment when cycling, the way that the media presents poverty and so much more. Dawn plugs: Her book "Lean Out" that is coming in November. You can find her here: https://twitter.com/DawnHFoster We mention: Focus e15: http://focuse1...

In GBA 205 we get better acquainted with Suraya. She talks about creating an erotica magazine for women, moving between cultures, countries and cities, the therapeutic and social value of storytelling, singing, writing, mental health and more. Suraya plugs: Tragic Spring at the Hackney Attic 25th April: http://www.facebook.com/events/588668424609848/ We mention: Risk! : http://risk-show.com/ The M...

In GBA 204 we get better acquainted with Jim. He talks about being an accidental archaeologist, running a mobile disco for 30 years, volunteering in the opening ceremony of the Olympics, growing giant pumpkins and more. Also we talk about making Forty Hall by Candlelight 2014 and he gives me a parsnip. Jim plugs: The investigation he is currently involved in. I plug: Tragic Spring at the Hackney A...

In GBA 203 we get better acquainted with Sajeela Kershi. She talks about making comedy and her show Immigrant Diaries where people share their true life stories, and we move from these topics into wider discussions of Islamophobia, racism, belonging, social responsibility as well as into personal recollections of Sajeela's childhood. Sajeela plugs: Changing Britain Festival: Immigrant Diaries: 24t...

In GBA 202 we get better acquainted with Tom Humberstone. He talks about turning the news into comics for the New Statesman, looking for nuance in political discourses, the landscape of the comics industry and how the internet effects argument and a lot more. Also we get into the comic he drew in response to the response to the Charlie Hebdo killings and how people responded to this response Tom p...

In GBA 201 we get better acquainted with Mel Jones. She talks about so many things both personal and political; sex, depression, therapy, age, forgiveness, family, performing, community, discrimination, news, songwriting and speaking words are just a few of the topics and tangents we cover. Content Note: This episode deals with mental health issues and therapy. The conversation also covers issues...

This is GBA 200 pt 5 with guest host Charley Harrison. The #GBA200 season will celebrate 200 episodes of Getting Better Acquainted with a week of daily episodes where the script is switched and the people I know interview me. It's taking place from the 16th-20th of March. The guest hosts are Helen Zaltzman, Chella Quint, Sophia Walker and James McKay, Jen Adamthwaite and Charley Harrison. During t...

This is GBA 200 pt 4 with guest host Jen Adamthwaite. The #GBA200 season will celebrate 200 episodes of Getting Better Acquainted with a week of daily episodes where the script is switched and the people I know interview me. It's taking place from the 16th-20th of March. The guest hosts are Helen Zaltzman, Chella Quint, Sophia Walker and James McKay, Jen Adamthwaite and Charley Harrison. During th...

This is GBA 200 pt 3 with guest hosts Sophia Walker and James McKay. The #GBA200 season will celebrate 200 episodes of Getting Better Acquainted with a week of daily episodes where the script is switched and the people I know interview me. It's taking place from the 16th-20th of March. The guest hosts are Helen Zaltzman, Chella Quint, Sophia Walker and James McKay, Jen Adamthwaite and Charley Harr...

This is GBA 200 pt 2 with guest host Chella Quint. The #GBA200 season will celebrate 200 episodes of Getting Better Acquainted with a week of daily episodes where the script is switched and the people I know interview me. It's taking place from the 16th-20th of March. The guest hosts are Helen Zaltzman, Chella Quint, Sophia Walker and James McKay, Jen Adamthwaite and Charley Harrison. During this...

This is GBA 200 pt 1 with guest host Helen Zaltzman. The #GBA200 season will celebrate 200 episodes of Getting Better Acquainted with a week of daily episodes where the script is switched and the people I know interview me. It's taking place from the 16th-20th of March. The guest hosts are Helen Zaltzman, Chella Quint, Sophia Walker and James McKay, Jen Adamthwaite and Charley Harrison. During thi...

In GBA 199 we get better acquainted with Adele Hampton. She talks spoken word, journalism, finding her voice, navigating the intersections of class, race, gender and sexuality, her specific experiences of growing up biracial, moving to London from America and so much more. Adele plugs: Her video production work: Contact her at Adele Hampton on facebook. Check out her previous video work: http://ad...

In GBA 198 we get better acquainted with Jack Rooke. He talks about co-writing a show about the death of his dad with his Nan, the barriers to education and the arts that people from working class backgrounds have to deal with, how suicide is presented in the media, watching daytime TV and so much more. He *is* crowdfunding his show: http://t.co/TWiOZCoU3K Here he is in a video telling you about i...