My Views Are My Own

The Coyote Episode

Documentary filmmaker Julie Marron joins me on the podcast this week to discuss coyotes and her upcoming documentary film American Bolshevik, detailing the century-long attempt to eradicate this intelligent and often misunderstood predator and how communities of people are learning to coexist with these animals while learning to appreciate the role they play in supporting a diverse and balanced ecosystem. She explains why coyotes seem to be popping up in new territories and urban areas and why coyotes have been so resilient while many other North American predator species have not been able to survive human encroachment.    

Building Bikeable Cities with Dr. Natalia Barbour

In this episode I'm joined by Dr. Natalia Barbour to discuss building and redesigning cities to be bikeable, walkable, and skateable. Dr. Barbour specializes in transportation and travel technologies and we talk about methods for restructuring and the positive effects of transitioning to bikeable and walkable cities. She explains why cities have evolved to be so dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians and some of the obstacles for greener cities such as lobbying by the fossil fuel and automotive industries. We point out some of the cities and countries that are currently well designed for bikeabilty and how the culture shift toward cycling in the United States will help create positive design changes in American cities.

Is it Lit? Or Should They Be Ashamed of Themselves?

Sometimes changes in technology and culture seem to be happening so fast it can be hard to tell if people are doing something totally lit or if they should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. That's why writer, comedian, former psychotherapist, and host of The Shame Spiral podcast Ely Kreimendahl brought over her level headedness and rational thinking skills to help me figure out what the heck is going on with society's modern mysteries. We fully and unequivocally get to the bottom of AI generated art, perineum sunning, the Supreme Court, Dolly Parton, the Balenciaga scandal, Avatar 2, and more.

Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV. Podcast.

In this episode, I am joined by co-founder of The Lincoln Project Reed Galen to discuss Citizens United, the MAGA movement, QAnon, the Oathkeepers, the Proud Boys, and whether or not Trump as an individual still has momentum. Reed shares some stories from his time as a campaign manager for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator John McCain and why the extremist trend in the Republican Party led him to become an Independent. And we play a short game of Would You Rather with the U.S. Constitution. 

Human-Wildlife Conflict Solutions with Petros Chrysafis

Petros Chrysafis is an independent human-wildlife conflict specialist working in California's central valley. We discuss creating coexistence between ranchers and predatory animals, innovations in nonlethal deterrents, wildlife conservation, ethical hunting, and why bears hate podcasts. Can you affect some predatory animal behavior with a carton of cigarettes with roughly the same efficiency as a $10,000 drone? Listen and find out.  

The Big Rock Candy Mountains Real Estate Agency LLC Inc. & Co

In this episode, comedian Dinah Leffert joins me as I obsess over the 1928 folk song "The Big Rock Candy Mountains" by Harry McClintock about a hobo's idea of paradise. Together we learn how to sell real estate in an imaginary place, how to spell Albuquerque, and how long you can survive in a lake of whiskey. And you can too! 

The (Adjective) Mystery of the (Noun)

In this episode, I am joined by author Avanti Centrae to discuss weaponized propaganda in the time of Cleopatra and Octavian leading to present day. We discuss military grade deepfakes, AI-generated news stories, and how to turn a classic kid's word puzzle into an action thriller.

Halloween Spooktacular 3

You'll never believe it, but I got trapped in a haunted mansion with evil spirits. Again! But this time, my only connection to the outside world was the four Zoom calls that I had previously scheduled. Plot twist! Every Zoom call was a terrifying tale. It was a miracle that I even escaped alive... or did I?? 

Featuring Sasha Srbulj, Shannon Hardy, Brandon Case, and Co-Producers Bill and Colleen. 

Goddess of Everything

In this episode I'm joined by author and depth psychologist Paul DeBlassie III Ph.D. to discuss the mythos of Aztlan, the contention between nature based spirituality and corporatized religion, the concept of soul loss, animal symbolism, and awareness of synchronistic events. Also which fad diets might be gateways to cults? Probably a lot of them. I don't typically use the term "tour de force" to describe anything. And I'm not about to start now. But I definitely gained some very interesting new insights recording this episode. Please enjoy the show.

Crafting Fantasy Worlds

In this episode I discuss the art of crafting fantasy worlds with journalist, author, and filmmaker Benjamin Reeves. We also get into the process of creating fantasy lore, writing fantasy as a collaborative project, human art vs. A.I. art, and why we love the genre. And Benjamin shares a couple of adventures from his time as a Vice News reporter in Latin America. Then we get into a debate so intense it makes the Kennedy vs. Nixon debate seem like nothing. A debate so gnarly it makes those guys over at WrestleMania look like a bunch of bozos. All that. And more.

Screenshotting Your Dreams With Divya Gunasekaran

The night before we recorded this episode I had a dream that the wise and amazing standup comedian Divya Gunasekaran had accidentally cut off her hand with a butcher knife and had to get it replaced with a robot hand. But despite her injury she was going to do the podcast anyway. But it turned out that my dream was only mostly prophetic. Although she still had both her original hands she did also show up to the podcast. So please join us as we revolutionize the world of competitive eating.  

We Are Nihilists. We Care About Nothing.

In this episode, I am joined by author Jack Moody to discuss inebriated nihilism, violence, blackouts, psych ward stints, dangerous sexual encounters, and tons of other fun stuff! And although we don't agree on whether it's fun to get drunk at Applebee's, we both agree that J.R.R. Tolkien could beat up George R.R. Martin in a fight.

Radical Agriculture

In this episode, I am joined by Leah Wambui, founder of Hekima for the Future and regenerative agriculture specialist. We discuss the 1972 essay "Radical Agriculture" written by American social theorist and pioneer in the environmental movement Murray Bookchin. Leah helps break down concepts such as food sovereignty and exploitative capitalist agriculture to explain how returning to agricultural methods practiced by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years is key to ensuring a healthy and sustainable future for our planet.

Pinky and the Dwayne

From Animaniacs to sitting on the Advisory Board for Second City, Dwayne Colbert is the people's champ. We discuss writing for Nickelodeon, winning an Emmy with Funny Or Die, and working on Whose Line Is It Anyway. We finally unify the players of Fantasy Football and Dungeons and Dragons because it's basically the same thing anyway. And we finally decide what weather is best and what the wind should do. So toss out your Old Farmer's Almanac because this podcast has it all!

Dead Poets Society 2: The Rise of Vanja Renee

From pre-teen rapper to East Coast slam poet to West Coast comic, Vanja Renee takes us on an epic journey. It's a tale as old as time. But also brand new. And we learn many valuable lessons along the way. For instance, did you know that if you are a 10 but you are rude to servers you reduce your numerical attractiveness to zero? But if you fart when you cum it barely affects your score at all. All this and more awaits you in this episode.

 

Wild at Heart with Stacy Gold

I just read my first romance novel. And Stacy wrote it! And even though Stacy spent years being a hardcore wilderness survival expert and backcountry ranger while I was over here being a smooth talking city slicker, we can agree on two things. We love love. And we believe the more disconnected humans become from the natural world, the more disconnected we become from humanity. 

The Thing vs. The Thing

It's a monster movie mystery mash-up, man! In this episode, I'm joined by very special co-host Brandon Case for an epic head-to-head movie showdown. John Carpenter's 1982 classic horror film "The Thing," starring Kurt Russell, is matched up against the 2011 prequel/remake "The Thing," directed by Matthijs van Heijningen and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Remote, Antarctic research stations are under siege by a shape-shifting alien force. And the only thing to do about it is a flamethrower battle. The question is: Is it cooler when it happens to the Norwegian base camp or the American base camp? That's what we're here to find out.

A Shipping Container Named Desire (aka Cat on a Hot Tin Shipping Container)

In this episode, I am joined by author and journalist Amy Fusselman to discuss the religion of money. Is it ethical for a cognitive behavioral therapist to sell real estate to their clients? Why are so many people who work in high finance so attracted to mysticism? What is Eco-Marxism? Can a shipping container house be haunted? Is my dog talking to me? All these questions and more get answered on this week's episode. Prepare to develop a healthy relationship with money! OR ELSE!

Evangelical A.I. Robots

In this episode, I am joined by science fiction and horror writer Matt Adcock to talk about his theological sci-fi book "Complete Darkness." We discuss far-future tech, religious A.I. systems, mapping dark matter, and battling Satan in a mech suit. So come live, laugh, love along with us in this dystopian romp we call life. 

Rage Hamsters with Sasha Srbulj

Much like anacondas in the Everglades, we have found that Florida Man is also an invasive species in the otherwise beautiful and verdant state of Florida. Sex robots might be the key to pacifying right-wing extremists. And stockpiling assault rifles in your house may be a sign of depression. All this and more in this episode with comedian Sasha Srbulj.