My Views Are My Own

Stream Queens with Brenna Coates and Jessica Steen

In this episode, I am joined by actresses Brenna Coates and Jessica Steen to discuss the art of audio drama and their new audio drama podcast Stream Queen. They are kind enough to lend their voices to some exciting improv scenes that are likely to change the trajectory of the film industry forever. They weigh in on what is hot and what is not. Tune in to find out if frosted tips are back in style. Spoiler alert: they never went out of style.  

Frank Herbert’s ”Dune” and the Emergence of Fascism in Science Fiction Fandoms

Jordan Carroll joins me on the podcast today to discuss the emergence of fascism in science fiction fandoms and specifically how Frank Herbert's 1965 novel "Dune" has been co-opted and used for white supremacist propaganda and recruitment. We talk about the alt-right's obsession with transhumanism and genetic engineering, why they advocate for space exploration, and why they hate Star Trek. Jordan explains to me how reactionary extremists like Richard Spencer repurpose the the texts of popular science fiction to create alt-right narratives for his followers as well as the dismal white supremacist fantasy lore surrounding Warhammer.

Jordan S. Carroll is a writer and educator who received his PhD in English from the University of California, Davis. His first book, Reading the Obscene: Transgressive Editors and the Class Politics of US Literature (Stanford 2021), won the Modern Language Association's Prize for Independent Scholars. He is currently working on another book titled Speculative Whiteness: Race, Science Fiction, and the Alt-Right, which is forthcoming from the University of Minnesota Press Forerunners series. Speculative Whiteness examines the long history of connections between science fiction and white nationalism to show that fascists have often interpreted speculative narratives to argue that only white men have the capacity to imagine the future. His other work has appeared in venues including American Literature, Post*45, The Nation, Polygon, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

https://t.co/krfOGlbPU5 https://t.co/44QZVTIMok 

Music City...More Like Uhhh...More Like Not Enough Arts Funding City!

Nashville arts advocate and artist Christine Hall was kind enough to invite me to a Metro Council arts meeting that I was unable to attend. So we're doing our own town hall right here on the podcast to discuss arts equity, community building, and disruptive urban planning. We also discuss the downtown Nashville area slowly becoming a food court with cowboy boots painted on it and why developers have no taste and think Chipotle is Mexican food. And we have a very special edition of "Is it Art or Is it Trash?" The answers might not surprise you.

Poo-Anon

Open-source researcher, writer, and founder of the Did Nothing Wrong newsletter and podcast Jay McKenzie joins me to talk about what's been going on in the wacky world of right wing extremists. We talk about: Tucker Carlson getting fired from Fox News being one of the most significant blows to the white supremacist agenda in recent times; Ron DeSantis failing miserably in his culture war against Disney; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. running for president on the Democratic ticket backed by Steve Bannon, mainly on a platform of anti-vaccination; the talented Mr. George Santos finally being indicted; and Elon Musk continuing to slowly kill Twitter while trying to recoup 44 billion dollars eight dollars at a time. He also explains to me how he manages to sift through the hate-filled cesspools of Steven Crowder and Tim Pool's podcasts to get an idea of how these stories will be spun.

Rage Hamsters 2 This Time It’s Personal: With Sasha Srbulj

Sasha Srbulj is recording a new comedy special in New York, so he decided to drop by the podcast on the way to tell me why rich people came out of their pandemic bubbles crazier than everyone else. We get into a little bit of the backstory of why the right wing extremists that run the government in my home state are attacking drag shows and eliminating abortion rights. We also learn why Fox News is pushing a distorted reality on their impressionable viewers and how they use the dweeb personas of Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro to make white supremacy more palatable to a mass audience. We discuss a brief history of gerrymandering and why mediocre rich people aren't content with their wealth and how fame is a currency. 

The Power of Ritual with Casper ter Kuile

Casper ter Kuile joins me on the podcast today to discuss the power of ritual, the need for creating and experiencing sacred time, sacred reading, and how something as simple as watching an old movie can have a deep ritual importance. We examine how religion is changing and what that means for society, spirituality, and our experience of life. We also talk about ways to build community and connections in a world that feels progressively designed to be more isolating. And we explore how people can find ways to break free from the mechanized capitalized grind of modern life and develop a spiritual connection to nature.

Wired for Music with Adriana Barton

Adriana Barton is a journalist and author of Wired for Music: A Search for Health and Joy Through the Science of Sound (Greystone Books, 2022). A former staff health reporter at Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, she has written about medical research, neuroscience, visual arts, music and pop culture for publications including the Boston Globe, Reader’s Digest, Utne, Azure, Western Living and San Francisco Bay Guardian. She studied the cello for 17 years with teachers including international solo artist Antonio Lysy and former Cleveland Orchestra principal cellist Stephen Geber. Research projects have taken her to Syria, Jordan, India, Cuba, Zimbabwe and Brazil. 

She joined me on the podcast today to discuss the neurological effects of music on the human brain, innate musicality, the effects of playing an instrument on brain development, the role of music in healthy aging, music therapy, the potential for music to harm as well as heal, my gripe about Hollywood not producing enough musicals, and developing a theory about the psychology of punk drummers.

The Enduring Relevance of Philip K. Dick

Matt McManus is a lecturer at the University of Michigan and the author of The Emergence of Postmodernity amongst other books and he joins me on the podcast today to discuss the enduring relevance of Philip K. Dick one of the most creative and imaginative American authors of the 20th century.

To all of the listeners who are not familiar with Philip K. Dick, you might not recognize his name but would definitely recognize some of the films and television shows that have been based on his work over the last few decades after his death in 1982 such as Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, and The Man in the High Castle.

Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 - March 2, 1982) wrote 44 novels and 121 short stories during his lifetime. His often prophetic and deeply philosophical fiction remains relevant to this day. 

State Mandated Friendship Award

In this episode, I am joined by comedian Kevin Heisinger to discuss some of the most pressing current events: Vladimir Putin bestowing a friendship award on actor Steven Seagal, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador posting photos of what he claims to be an elf, and New York City thieves stealing Apple headphones off of victims' heads. We easily solve all of these mysteries and then get down to brass tacks about which B-movies from the 90s are worth rewatching. 

Ayahuasca and Art Therapy with Holly Patterson

Holly Paterson has a background in national security and is a former member of the intelligence community. She holds a Bachelor of Politics and International Relations.
She has suffered from depression and suicidal ideation her whole life, and since 2017, complex post traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). Holly is also autistic and has ADHD.
After a suicide attempt in 2018, Holly travelled to South America seeking alternative treatment at a traditional shamanic plant medicine retreat in Peru.
Holly’s experiences were profound and life changing. After her ceremonies her nightmares had lessened significantly, suicidal ideation had disappeared, and she no longer felt scared and anxious.
After returning from Peru, Holly discovered art therapy. She is now an enthusiastic fluid artist and psychedelic therapy advocate, helping veterans and first responders access psychedelic therapy overseas and teaching the value of art therapy.

Living Long and Prospering with Stephanie Czajkowski

I'm joined on the podcast today by Stephanie Czajkowski (pronounced check-house-key) currently Vulcan Lt. T’Veen in STAR TREK: PICARD she is also best known for her roles as the bald badass alter-ego Hammerhead on HBO Max’s Doom Patrol, and stone-cold killer Bex Dawson on the reboot of McGruber on NBC Peacock, her guest starring role as Chyna on the NBC comedy, Young Rock, starring Dwayne Johnson and the Postmaster in 20th Century Studios feature film, The Call of the Wild. 

Czajkowski has proven an inspiration and advocate for breast cancer awareness, having personally battled with not one but three types of unrelated cancer. A cancer “long hauler,” she has endured through a thyroid removal, six chemo sessions, a double mastectomy and 25 sessions of radiation for she what she calls her “cancer trifecta”. To deal with her roller-coaster reality, Czajkowski and her husband chronicled her health journey on their humorous yet honest podcast, ChemoSkinny, which they are turning into a movie.

We talk about her actor's hat trick of having major roles with DC, WWE, and Star Trek back to back. And then we get philosophical.

Lights, Camera, Solar Panels, Action!

Tor Valenza is the author and narrator of the Probably True Solar Stories podcast and founder of UnThink Solar PR and Communications. Before representing top installers and manufacturers in the solar industry Tor was a television writer for several shows including Stargate, Dharma and Greg, and The Dead Zone. He joined me on the podcast today to talk about the lack of visibility of solar power in film and TV. We discuss why we should change that and how we could change that. We also take a look at an op-ed written by Senator Barrasso of Wyoming criticizing solar energy that has been repeatedly quoted on news outlets such as Fox News. But using a little bit of facts and logic we were able to break down the article into it's component parts of fibs and untruths. And we take a few blockbuster films and add a line of dialogue or additional camera angle to show how to potentially promote clean energy with minimal effort. 

Making Sense of the World with Papp Johnson

Sometimes it seems like the world is completely spinning out of control and there's no way to make sense of it. And that's why I called Papp Johnson, a man of many talents and citizen of the world, to figure out what the heck is going on. We get to the bottom of several mysteries such as a German ballet director behind a premeditated feces attack on a harsh ballet critic, Ben Affleck writing a Michael Jordan movie directed by Ben Affleck and starring Ben Affleck, and a Florida school suspending a 7 year old boy because the principal was just too darned obsessed with his mom's OnlyFans content. We even start a new rumor about Michael Jordan and write Ben Affleck's next movie using a MadLib.

At Home on an Unruly Planet with Madeline Ostrander

Madeline Ostrander is a science journalist and author of At Home on an Unruly Planet, which tells the stories of four American communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. We discuss how individuals and communities are learning to adapt and adjust to mega fires in the Pacific Northwest, rising sea levels in Florida, melting permafrost in Alaska, and a town transitioning away from dependence on an oil refinery in California. And we even discuss the possibility of a Captain Planet reboot where he's willing to work outside of the law to serve a higher form of planetary justice. 

Paranormal Investigations with Danny Moss

Danny Moss is a paranormal investigator and TV host from the U.K. best known for his hit TV shows "Paranormal Captured" and "The Haunted Hunts." Danny joins me to talk about his journey from skeptic to a believer in the paranormal through his many experiences as a paranormal investigator. We talk about several of the locations he has visited with his team and paranormal activity he has witnessed or interacted with firsthand. He explains the gear and technology he uses to detect paranormal activity as well as how to decompress and have a good time after spending days studying and observing a haunted doll. 

The Environmental Voter Project with Nathaniel Stinnett

Nathaniel Stinnett is the Founder and Executive Director of the Environmental Voter Project, a non-partisan nonprofit that uses data analytics and behavioral science to mobilize environmentalists to vote. He joins me on the podcast today to discuss how the project was created, why some environmentalists don't vote, and why some people consider the environment to be a partisan issue. We also identify some of the largest obstacles to environmental protection, most notably billions of dollars spent by Citizens United and the fossil fuel industry to influence elections and hinder regulations. However this is one of the most optimistic conversations I've had on climate action and environmental conservation in a very long time. The Environmental Voter Project has mobilized millions of non-voting environmentalists to vote over the last few years. And environmentalists are on track to become an increasingly powerful and influential voter block that will be impossible to ignore in future elections.

The 100th Episode: Professional Pirates

Is Muppet Treasure Island the greatest book-to-film adaptation in cinema history? For the 100th episode Zach returns as a special cohost and we use the most sophisticated research methods ever devised to answer this question once and for all. 

Dude, Where’s My Ship of Theseus?

One of my favorite sci-fi authors Edward Ashton takes a break from doing cancer research, teaching quantum physics, and writing novels to drop by the podcast and solve the Ship of Theseus thought experiment once and for all. We get in depth about his novel "Mickey 7," soon to be a major motion picture directed by Bong Joon-ho and starring Robert Pattinson and Mark Ruffalo. We also talk about his upcoming book "Antimatter Blues," whether extraterrestrial arboreal cephalopods would like us, and could unfettered capitalism possibly have some negative consequences for society?

Doug and Colleen Review Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shobbs

In this very special bonus episode, Doug and Co-Producer Colleen review the beloved action film "Hobbs and Shobbs" of the Fast & Furious franchise. Notably absent Vin Diesel, this romp still packs a mighty punch with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason "The Bloke" Statham. There's even a girl in the movie! Join us as we learn the true meaning of friendship from Hobbs and Shobbs as these wise-cracking foes put their differences aside to save the world from Idris Elba and the evil tech start-up he works for. 

The New Iranian Revolution with Neda Toloui-Semnani

In this episode Emmy award winning journalist and author Neda Toloui-Semnani joins me to talk about the women led protests in Iran. She tells the story of escaping the Iranian regime with her mother when she was a child and and the profound impact the Iranian Revolution had on her family. We discuss how the methods and tactics of oppression have changed over the last four decades of the regime. And she explains why the protests in Iran have the power and momentum to become a successful revolution.