MikeyPod

Jill Carnegie serves as Campaign Strategist for the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos , and as a participant in the group’s efforts for a number of years, I have worked closely with Jill in many different capacities. This last year was my first to focus on triage for rescued birds, which gave me a more complete picture of the tremendous amount of work that goes into this rescue year after...

Like many of us, Eric Obenauf found himself weighing his options after the 2016 election here in the United States. Was it time to leave the country, or was it more important to stay and create the type of community he believed in? He and his wife Eliza settled on the latter and the result was Two Dollar Radio Headquarters in Columbus, OH, an indie bookstore and vegan cafe that serves as the...

I had such a great time chatting with theater, film, and television producer Marie Cisco on this week’s podcast. In addition to her incredible creative output, Marie is the originator of a public Google document entitled “ Theaters Not Speaking Out ,” a remarkably thorough list of theaters who did not speak out against injustices toward black people after the murder of George Flo...

In what might be the most unique path toward inviting a guest to be on the podcast, I first ran across Maneetpaul Singh ‘s tech YouTube channel while I was researching a new office chair at the beginning of the pandemic. His review convinced me of my new chair ( Autonomous Ergo Chair 2 , if you’re curious) and to subscribe to his channel. When I heard about his new podcast, The Sikh In...

Sabrina Chap ‘s brilliant new album,   Postcards from the Rearview Mirror , is a coming-of-age radio musical. Weaving prophetic monologues, theatrical soundscapes, and 10 songs, it tells the story of two queer teens who escape the violence of their homes for the bright lights of Hollywood. I sat down with Sabrina to talk about her process, her passion, and how she used an unfamilia...

Kiirstin Marilyn has a new album coming out, There Are No Cats in America , and I couldn’t wait to have her back on the podcast to talk about it! She fills us in on the new album, and we got really deep into the idea that there is always something we can do as individuals to make the world a better place, even when it feels like the world is falling apart. This was a really fun interview tha...

Aseloka Smith and I crossed paths at a virtual meeting of the NYC Podcast Meetup , where I learned about her absolutely gorgeous podcast, The Colored Girl Beautiful , a narrative podcast exploring the beautiful juxtapositions of black womanhood. I was fascinated by Aseloka’s unique narrative style, so I was really excited to discuss her process on the show. We cover everything from the...

I knew I would relate to this week’s guest Soul Eubanks when I came across his social media accounts and invited him to be on the show. After all, he’s an artist who uses many different mediums to communicate his passion for veganism. I love the way he talks about how he creates work for the love of creating it, as that’s an an energy I would love to more fully embody with my own...

Among Halle Morse’s vast list of credits is her role as founder and CEO of Broadway for Biden , an inclusive community of industry professionals and theater enthusiasts united to elect Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. She filled me in on the great work that Broadway for Biden is accomplishing, and we chatted about the dual roles she plays in her life as business person a...

Given the current state of the world, and social media’s role in dividing people further apart than ever, I sure welcomed this invigorating conversation with animal advocate and social media influencer John Oberg . John has advocated for animals on college campuses, with international animal protection organizations, and now he has launched his own  independent, patron-funded project&nb...

When Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2016, he started researching how lifestyle change might help his condition. He discovered the work of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn , among others, and was quickly convinced to begin a plant-based whole foods lifestyle. Within months, his symptoms were gone! Since then, Mr. Adams has been a staunch advocate for plant-based e...

On the occasion of this, the 300th episode of MikeyPod, I thought I would go back to my roots of 15 years in podcasting and just turn on the mic and start talking. That’s how we did it in those days, and if you have been listening to this podcast since it started in 2005. . . you know. So, this episode is a reflection on the last 15 years of making this podcast with some visits from long tim...

I’ve been a big fan of Peter Michael Marino for quite a few years, but recently I’ve been especially fascinated with his seemingly instantaneous move from live to online performances when theaters closed back in March of 2020. We chatted about that transition, his momentum toward helping others with his work, and how the theater landscape might evolve as we adapt to this COVID-19 world...

Karl Saint Lucy and I have traveled in many of the same NYC creative circles (and been friends – HELLO!) for long enough that it’s downright silly that Karl hasn’t been a guest on the podcast yet. The premiere of their brilliant song cycle, Different Stars , inspired me to correct that! We talk about the work itself, the challenges of producing a piece with multiple performers wh...

Izzy Jacobus is a powerhouse activist with whom I have marched, rescued, advocated, and, most recently, collaborated on music together. He is the founder of Animals First on the Second (AFOTS), a vegan advocacy campaign that promotes the abolition of animal exploitation through fasting and an enigmatic mark on the hand. Izzy and I talk about his music, the story behind AFOTS, and his plans for the...

I have been deeply moved and shifted by Britt East ‘s A Gay Man’s Guide to Life , and I am so grateful to have had the chance to chat with him here. I’m especially happy that I get to share that conversation with you. This book is the instruction manual for living life as a gay man I wish I had been handed when I was an adolescent, but I’m so glad it’s in the world no...

Mr. Hip is BACK! Donald Vincent returns to talk about his new poetry collection, Convenient Amnesia . It’s always a blast chatting with Hip, and this conversation ranks as one of our best. We discuss his work, its inspiration, and he leans a bit on his experience in emergency management to share some tips about how to navigate these times of COVID. Donald Vincent received his BA in&nbsp...

I saw Molly Joyce perform her music back in 2017 in an art gallery in the Lower East Side and I have been following her work ever since. Her choice of instrument (a toy chord organ from the 1970s) is intriguing, but that is only a part of what her work is about. Molly’s latest album, Breaking and Entering , is a highly personal album through which she explores disability as a creative source...

I met Jaklin Romine at the Booklyn AB/Z Fair where we were both showing our work. I loved the zines she was showing there, and was completely intrigued when she told me about her performance work and how she uses it to confront inaccessible art spaces in Los Angeles by documenting her body sitting outside for an entire art opening or closing. I knew she would be a perfect guest for the podcast, an...

I fell in love with the Pixar Animation Studios animated short, Float , the first moment I watched it. My pal Jeremy suggested it on social media, and I could not be more grateful to have seen this film. I was so moved by its story, that I reached out to Pixar in hopes of scoring an interview the film’s writer and director, Bobby Rubio . To my delight, I was quickly granted the interview! Th...

Everyone’s favorite ex-nun genderqueer cat-loving nerd nurse comic  Kelli Dunham joins me on this episode of the podcast. We talk about her unique blend of stand-up comedy with storytelling, grief, and her album, Not The Gym Teacher which is available wherever you stream or purchase music. In other news, the world is still a bit of a shit show, but we’re all adapting, right? I hope so....

I met Ryan Patey some 10 years ago in the East Village where he was distributing free copies of his magazine, T.O.F.U . Since then we have remained in touch and had many moments of connection and inspiration as independent creators of stuff. His most recent release is his e-book, This Job is Sh ? t or How I Became A Full-Time House Sitter to Travel the World . We dig into his experience in Vietnam...

I am so proud to welcome Seth Tibbott to this week’s podcast! Seth is the founder and chairman of Tofurky , perhaps the most recognized name in plant based meats. We talk about his company and the path that took him from a treehouse-dwelling, tempeh-loving hippie to who he is today, a tempeh-loving hippie CEO! Also in this episode, I give the rundown on my next big project: I have been commi...

When I last spoke to Raquel Cion, it was 2015 and she was in the early years of her long running, ever-evolving solo performance, Me and Mr Jones: My Intimate Relationship with David Bowie . Since then, he has continued to perform the show in NYC and beyond through Bowie’s death, and Cion’s own life changing cancer diagnosis. We talk about the show, where it’s going, where it&#82...

ES Wex is a queer musician, songwriter, teacher, activist based here in Brooklyn, NYC. I knew I liked her music and her thoughtful social media presence, but I was not prepared for the absolutely joyful and spiritual journey our conversation would take! We talked about her work, building community with art, and the decidedly unique path she took to creating her latest single, “Surrender.&#82...