Getting Better Acquainted

In GBA 95 we get better acquainted with Sofia. She talks about writing screenplays and being interested in film making, going from Sweden to Texas, back to Sweden, then to LA, then to London, with some stop offs in Malaysia, surviving on a low wage in London, the etiquette of working as a barista in a coffee chain, not wanting children but wanting a relationship and more! Sofia plugs: Her photogra...

In GBA 94 we get better acquainted with Andy. He talks about sex, suicide, evolution, Countdown, cocaine addiction, true storytelling and more. It's very open & honest conversation. A substantial amount of this episode covers issues around sexuality, feminism, evolutionary psychology/biology, sex work and we even touch on "nice guys" (although the conversation was recorded before the Nice Guys of...

In GBA 93 we get better acquainted with Alastair. He talks about putting on shows, creativity, filmmaking, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, Doctor Who, activism, hugging and more. This episode was recorded at the Hackney Attic (where he works), just before the last Spark London Hackney Open Mic of 2012 (which I run.) The episode will also feature two Spark London true stories recorded at the attic...

In GBA 92 we get better acquainted with Ben Target. He talks about being enigmatic, stand up comedy, creativity, family history, observing from the outside and more. http://vimeo.com/49831059 The conversation takes place upstairs in a central London pub as a comedy gig (a London showing of Lou Sanders http://lousanders.com/ Edinburgh show) is set up around us and features cameos from Lou and other...

In GBA 91 we get better acquainted with Christmas (again). It's the 2012 Christmas Special: A festive curiosity once again full of intimacy, doubt, shared history, music & cheer. This year though it's much more NSFW. It's a longform true story of the trip I took to Amsterdam with my mum in 2005. It features a man in a Gorilla suit wearing a strap on, my mum teaching me how to look at art, a sex wo...

In GBA 90 we get better acquainted with Kevin Allison. We link up between London and New York via Skype and talk storytelling, comedy, BDSM, what to do when expecting a hurricane, where sexuality and religion meet, The State, polyamory, being recognised in the street, how making his podcast Risk! has transformed his life and more! http://risk-show.com/ https://twitter.com/RISKshow Kevin Plugs: The...

In GBA 89 we get better acquainted with Laraby. She talks about how storytelling and class have shaped her life, of her journey from poverty in the Lower East Side of New York to relative comfort in South London. This journey has taken her from an unstable home in the ghetto, Children’s Homes, running away at 14 to find a new life, the music industry, an Ivy League University, writing, immigration...

In GBA 88 we get better acquainted with Alex. He talks about his childhood in Bahrain and Jordan, friendship, philosophy, being a "stay at home dad" & lots more! We knew each other at university but were estranged for quite some years. We reconnect with each other and check in with where each other have got to, and address some of our similarities and differences, finally racing against time to ge...

This is the Questions and Answers conversation that I had with the audience at the talk I did for In the Dark at the Invisible Picture Palace on "In Conversation" podcasting. You can hear that talk here: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-87-in-conversation Original Blurb: Independent podcaster Dave Pickering presents a discussion of the “in conversation” podcast genre, focusing on...

This is the talk I did for In the Dark at the Invisible Picture Palace on "In Conversation" podcasting. Showcasing clips that give an idea of the range, style and content of the shows that are out there + a history and analysis of the genre. Original Blurb: Independent podcaster Dave Pickering presents a discussion of the “in conversation” podcast genre, focusing on what makes these conversations...

In GBA 86 we get better acquainted with Reuben in his art studio in Bristol. He talks about chasing the summer in Australia, growing up in many places, art in a time of Internet, trying to travel the world in a van & lots more! We didn't know each other very well when we started the conversation but during it we realise we had parallel teenage years in Cardiff. Since this episode was recorded he h...

In GBA 85 we get better acquainted with Abbie. She talks health and fitness, the dying days of DJ culture, earning the nickname Satan, the social and emotion aspects of losing weight through a "booty camp", finding your way through your twenties and lots more! I met up with Abbie on a recent trip back to Cardiff. We hadn't see each other since school. Ironically I'm struggling through a hangover a...

In this spur of the moment GBA Extra we get even better acquainted Jen. This summer after dinner Jen was talking about some research she was doing about sleep paralysis which sparked a childhood memory in me. We decided to turn the mic on and share the conversation with the show. We talk about strange sleep states, dreams, memories and writing. We have a false ending and then we come back with som...

In GBA 84 we get better acquainted with my writing group. It's a 7 way conversation focused on our shared interest of writing. Half the group are making their second appearance. For the other half this is a teaser for upcoming episodes focuses on them. We sit down for tea and cake in the dining room of a Camber Sands holiday house during our first trip away together. We tell the story of how the g...

In GBA 82 we get better acquainted with Russell. He talks oceanography, improvementism, embarrassing stories, teaching science, making art, punk bands and more! Plus we share experiences of times when our mutual friend Richard who we know each other through has led us into "interesting" situations! This is Richard's GBA: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-57-richard Russell plugs: C...

In GBA 81 we get better acquainted with... Dave. The tables are turned as Alex who was my guest in GBA 80 takes the reins and interviews me in his own unique style. His approach to hosting is very different from mine. We go on lots of interesting tangents produced by his crowd sourcing approach to coming up with questions. Personal, political, surreal, it's all there. This is the conversation I ha...

In GBA 80 we get better acquainted Alex. He is probably my best friend but we don't have an uncomplicated friendship. He talks computer games, prehistory, technology, television, friendship, song writing and more. The episode features some rarities from our musical back catalogue. More of which you can find in these places: http://soundcloud.com/themiddleclassbastards http://soundcloud.com/themana...

In GBA 79 we get better acquainted with Michael Fenton Stevens. He talks talks about the life as a working actor, being a familiar face, how playing vicars can impact your life, death, friendship, ageing and much, much more. We get into some the behind the scenes stuff of television and radio. We take a tour through the history of UK comedy from someone who has seen it from the inside. But we also...

In GBA 78 we get better acquainted with Louise. A different Louise this time! She talks mostly about dance! But that doesn't mean the conversation is limited. We cover the experience of dancing, following and leading, the politics of dancing, a potted history of blues music, the relationship between types of dance, the connection between social struggle and dance, the etiquette of dance, the socia...

In GBA 77 we get better acquainted with... Dave. In this special edition of GBA guest host Zoe talks to the man writing this blurb about "The Coventry Years". Prompted by the way that I've hinted at and touched on this time in my life previously in the series but have never fully covered it, I decided to invite one of my closest friends along to host a conversation about it. In this frank and cand...

In GBA 76 we get better acquainted with Liam. He talks industrial tuna fishing, what Marxism means in the modern world, hope, perception, environmentalism and smoking, while sitting in my back garden on a sunny day last year. This episode is closer to a debating style than most episodes as we get into the what divides and what unites the red and the black, divisions in left-leaning activism and th...

In GBA 75 we get better acquainted with Katy Darby. She talks co-creating Liars' League, life before and after publication, the importance of editors, short stories, teaching and studying creative writing, how the Internet and eBooks are changing writing and more. Katy Plugs: Her Novel: The Whore's Asylum / The Unpierced Heart http://www.penguinrights.co.uk/Penguin/276809 http://lane7.wordpress.co...

In GBA 74 we get better acquainted with Mervyn who is still technically my Step Dad. He talks about growing up in Belfast during "The Troubles", working in factories, teaching Physics in Dubai, teaching English in China, living in a tent on a roundabout and lots more. This was a complicated conversation for me, for many reasons, and it moves from personal history to social and political analysis a...

In GBA 73 we get better acquainted with the third Lucy of the series. She talks about her 30 years in the Library service in a personal and political account of a life spent in public service. It traces changes in government policy and administrations, windows of opportunity for funding opening and closing and the integration and evolution of children's services into libraries. She paints a portra...

GBA Edinburgh Festival 2012 Season: Three weeks of episodes related to the Edinburgh Festival 2012 In GBA 72 we get better acquainted with Alison Thea-Skot. She talks about character comedy, audience participation, acting, writing, singing and why she does what she does. This is the fourth episode of the 2012 GBA Edinburgh Festival Season (http://goosefat101twitterspills.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/aro...