Getting Better Acquainted

In GBA 262 we get better acquainted with Miranda Kane. We recorded this conversation at the Audible studios in London during the recording of her new audio sitcom Slaving Away which is a comedy about a cheerful and happy-go-lucky single girl who just happens to be a dominatrix that will be hitting your earways this August. We talk about making comedy about sex work and sex worker rights, why it to...

In GBA 261 we get better acquainted with Rita. She talks about why she came to the UK, how it feels to be a Polish person in London during Brexit, her play Girl Fag, performing stand-up, writing poetry, being othered, being a freelance artist, the difference between prolific and productive and lots more. Rita Plugs: Her featured slot at Rhymes with Orange on 28th July: http://orangesrhyme.com/ Sam...

In GBA 260 we get better acquainted with Tom. Tom is a listener and podcaster who contacted me to meet up when he was in town. We talk about why he became interested in War Studies, how he ended up in journalism and why he makes The Muckheap podcast which offers an irreverent look at farming and countryside communities. We also discuss podcasting, language evolution, UK politics, free speech and l...

In GBA 259 we get even better acquainted with Zoe and Gary. They aren't the only people who are part of this conversation, one of their daughters and my partner Jen both make significant contributions. Zoe and Gary talk about how parenthood has impacted their domestic lives, their personal lives and their working lives, both in positive and negative ways. We discuss their different reactions to be...

In GBA 258 we get better acquainted with Felix Trench. He talks about Wooden Overcoats, Radioman, acting, writing, growing up in Brussels and studying at a European School, how he feels about the term expat, and what it was like being in the UK when terrorist attacks were taking place in the city he grew up in. This conversation was recorded before the referendum, I'm sure we would have had a very...

In GBA 257 we get better acquainted with Tom Crowley. He talks about Wooden Overcoats, Sad Faces, producing, acting and the difference between seriousness and solemnity amongst many other things. Tom plugs: Wooden Overcoats: http://www.woodenovercoats.com/ Wooden Overcoasts Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1667942170/wooden-overcoats-season-2 The Night: 23rd June https://www.faceb...

In GBA 256 we get better acquainted with Maggy Whitehouse. She talks about becoming an ordained catholic priest, becoming a comedian, combining teaching from different spiritual traditions and scholarships, interpretations of faith and the bible, her views on bereavement and healing, love and forgiveness and so much more, including an argument for why god is a woman and a lesser known definition o...

In GBA 255 we get better acquainted with James Ross. He talks about the differences between stand up and improv, the process of crafting comedy and developing as a performer, why he created Quantum Leopard, the relationship between audiences and performers, organising a tour of people's front rooms and more. James plugs: Quantum Leopard: https://www.facebook.com/groups/166172153722808/?fref=ts Rus...

In GBA 254 we get better acquainted with Kirby. She talks volunteering to help with crisis management during Hurricane Sandy and in the current refugee crisis, Mommy Blogging, growing up within the counter culture, being a parent and activist during Occupy Wall Street, true storytelling and more. This conversation takes place on a walk around a historic cemetery on a lovely sunny spring day. Kirby...

In GBA 253 we get better acquainted with Lee. He talks about echoes, resonance, the odd and the peculiar, class, out-liars, refrigeration, grammar and so much more. And framing and infusing all parts of this conversion are words, music, art, ideas, performance and a passionate assessment and defense of the possibilities of education. Lee plugs: His two books which can be purchased from him at gigs...

In GBA 252 we get better acquainted with Girl on the Net. I talk to her about sex, anonymity, blogging, masculinity, porn, feminism, anxiety and more. She discusses why she started sex blogging, the realities of your blog becoming your job, how her politics and feelings around sex, sexuality and gender have changed and expanded as a result of talking sex online, and how laws around porn and intern...

In GBA 251 we get better acquainted with David Lee Morgan. He talks science, love, revolution, violence, art, history, activism, politics and so much more. In the conversation we trace his creative and political development over the course of his life, how he became an American revolutionary communist who spits words in the UK, and how that relates to where he has come from, the places, people and...

In this special GBA Live recorded at the Old Red Lion Theatre as part of Radioman Lates I get better acquainted with James Hamilton. http://www.jameshamiltoncomedy.co.uk/ http://www.casualviolencecomedy.co.uk/ We talk comedy, writing, Casual Violence!, Hector Vs. The Future, Truncated Nightmare Hour, drama, darkness and lots more in what is half a conversation and half an existential Kafkaesque tr...

In GBA 250 we get better acquainted with Natalie. She shares some of her personal story and talks about her faith and her feminism, we compare notes on patriarchy and masculinity and discuss some areas we disagree on. Content note: Discussion of child sexual abuse, rape, violence against women, self-harm, PTSD and domestic violence. Natalie plugs: Emailing her if you want to have a conversation wi...

In GBA 249 we get better acquainted with Mark Dean Quinn. He talks about trying not to make people laugh, making people laugh, the art of flyering, having a complicated relationship with audiences, how being in recovery from gambling addiction and going fly fishing with his father have both influenced him to make to the kind of comedy he makes and feeling truly himself inside the transitory space...

In GBA 248 we get better acquainted with James. He talks about learning languages, writing and reading stories, telling jokes, the balance between optimism and pessimism, the relationship between suffering and hope, the process of growing up, seeing Berlin through the eyes of an outsider among many other things. James plugs: Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesharrisnow Blog: https://shoeleatherexpr...

GBA 247 is a Getting Better Acquainted special where I'm joined by my partner Jen to discuss an intense and short-lived friendship that we experienced on our recent 15-year-anniversary. If you like dogs then this episode is probably for you, if you aren't keen on dogs then maybe this episode will help you understand something about the experiences of dog lovers, or at least neurotic ones who over...

In GBA 246 we get better acquainted with Lauren. We talk telling stories, cultivating awkward moments, living in the grey areas, the cracks in things, running away to join the circus band, calling yourself a comedian, attempting to make a living from making art, the poetics of failure and being excited among many other things. You also get to hear her singing a really lovely song. Lauren plugs: 4t...

In GBA 245 I talk to Jonathan Chapman about his concept Emotionally Durable Design. This conversation is a departure from the usual format and tone of the show and was recorded as part of the development of Episode 9 of The Restart Project Podcast. Jonathan Chapman: https://twitter.com/iamjchapman Emotionally Durable Design: http://emotionallydurabledesign.com/ The Restart Project: http://restartp...

In GBA 244 we get better acquainted with Alison Phipps. She talks about her roundabout route to becoming an academic, how her politics have changed and grown over time, researching lad culture, sexual violence and reproductive rights, the dialectics of feminism, including sex worker and trans rights within feminism, how institutions work and the way that music and singing have framed and shaped he...

In GBA 243 we get better acquainted with Azariah. He talks about being a father, a husband, a priest, a runner and a storyteller. We talk about race, religion, podcasts, comics, questions and how sharing true stories can bring people together. The conversation ranges from Ecclesiastes to The Incredible Hulk, from Aesop's Fables to personal recollections, as we investigate stories, communication an...

In GBA 242 we get better acquainted with Maco. He describes a life spent with sound, from free parties, to roadying, to speech radio, to music; from hiding with the music equipment at school to listening to his voice in an Anechoic Chamber. We also cover being a father, how travelling and background influences your accent and the importance of wilderness years. This conversation was recorded in St...

In GBA 241 we get better acquainted with Vera Chok. We struggle through a little bit of social awkwardness to get into a great conversation about acting, writing, performance, identity, race and sex. The conversation grapples with perception, the self, image, shame and the body which makes it sound a bit worthy and pretentious which it very much is not! Vera plugs: The Good Immigrant: https://unbo...

In GBA 240 we get better acquainted with Michael Brunstrom. As we walk between Angel Islington and Victoria Park we improvise a conversation that pulls at the strands of what drives Michael to make the kind of comedy he does. We talk fringe theatre, enthusiasms, generalisations, milieus, breaking up with improv, the truth behind the surreal and so much more. I plug: Stand Up Tragedy Presents on Th...

In GBA 239 we get better acquainted with Njambi McGrath. She talks about how the sudden death of her father forced her to confront a past she'd left behind and begin a journey of discovery into personal and cultural history she knew little about. We talk about making comedy out of dark topics, the effects of colonialism on the continent of Africa (particularly on Kenya where Njambi is from) and ho...