On today's episode I talk to writer and podcaster Andrew Ti . Originally from Michigan, Andrew is the creator and host of the Yo, Is This Racist blog and podcast, which has been part of Earwolf for many years. In both forms, Andrew takes fan-submitted questions about whether certain cultural phenomena are racist or not. Besides Yo, Is This Racist, Andrew's also a writer, and has worked on a number of projects including Problematic with Moshe Kasher. This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe...
Sep 21, 2017•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 332
On today's episode I talk to cartoonist Eli Valley . Eli's work has been featured in The Nation, The New Republic, The Village Voice, The Nib, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Gawker among other places, and from 2011 to 2013, he was the Artist in Residence at The Forward, a progressive Jewish newspaper based in New York. His critically-acclaimed anthology Diaspora Boy: Comics on Crisis in America and Israel is available now from OR Books. This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on iTunes , ...
Sep 14, 2017•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 331
On today's episode I talk to rapper Latasha Alcindor AKA LA. Originally from Flatbush, Brooklyn, Latasha made her way into hip hop in a unique way: through performance art. In only six short years, she's put out a number of great albums including The Presentation and The LA Riots in 2011, Spark in 2014, Loosies and Blunts a year later, and two this year B(LA)K and Teen Nite at Empire. All are worth your time! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on iTunes , follow me on Twitter ....
Sep 07, 2017•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 330
On today's episode I talk to writer Jill Eisenstadt . Jill is the author of the novels From Rockaway, Kiss Out and Swell and with her sister, director Debra Eisenstadt, the co- writer and co-producer of the feature film, The Limbo Room. In the 1980s, she was part of the 'Literary Brat Pack' whose members included Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney, and Tama Janowitz. Other work of Jill's has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, New York Magazine, Vogue, Elle, The Boston Review, as ...
Aug 31, 2017•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 329
On today's episode I talk to Emmy-award winning writer and performer Zhubin Parang . Before coming to comedy, Zhubin graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and was a practicing lawyer in New York City. During this time, he studied at and eventually became a performer at UCB. In 2011, he joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a writer, and eventually Zhubin became the head writer when the show transitioned to Trevor Noah. This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on iTunes , foll...
Aug 24, 2017•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 328
On today's episode I talk to Peabody Award–winning writer-director-producer Miles Kahn . Miles got his start in entertainment as a writer and director, and in 2008 joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart . He worked his way up to Senior Producer, and during his time there, also produced a number of specials for stand-ups like Wyatt Cenac and D.L. Hughley. In 2015, Miles left the Daily Show to serve as executive producer for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee , where he's been since. This is the websi...
Aug 17, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 327
On today's episode I talk to Queens-based cartoonist and illustrator Mattie Lubchansky . Mattie is the Associate Editor of the Nib, a daily political comics site under the First Look Media umbrella, which also houses the brilliant left-wing news site The Intercept. Mattie's work has appeared in VICE, Eater, Mad Magazine, Gothamist, The Toast, The Hairpin, Brooklyn Magazine, as well as their long-running webcomic Please Listen to Me . Additionally, they are the co-author with their wife of the bo...
Aug 10, 2017•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 326
On today's episode I talk to screenwriter and activist Jeremy Pikser . Originally on his way to be a teacher, Jeremy instead became a screenwriter after a series of events led him to be a "special consultant" and uncredited writer on the film Reds , which was nominated for an Academy Award for screenplay. He's written a number of other films as well, including The Lemon Sisters with Diane Keaton and Elliott Gould, War, Inc. with John Cusack and Bulworth with Warren Beatty. The screenplay for Bul...
Aug 03, 2017•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 325
On today's episode I talk to policy analyst and data scientist Sam Sinyangwe . Sam grew up in Orlando, FL, and has been involved in organizing and advocacy since he was in high school. He's worked at PolicyLink helping to support a national network of 61 "Promise Neighborhoods" with the goal of building cradle-to-career systems of support for low-income families. He created the "Mapping Police Violence" project, which collects and uses data as a tool for fighting police violence. And most recent...
Jul 27, 2017•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 324
On today's episode I talk to award-winning playwright, author, and performer Isaac Oliver . His debut collection of essays, Intimacy Idiot , was named one of NPR's Best Books of 2015. His plays include Electra in a One-Piece , and the ten-minute plays “3, 2, 1,” “Film Forum,” and “Come Here”, which won the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Original Short Script. Additionally, he's written for The New York Times, W Magazine, Time Out New York, Out , and HBO's High Maintenance . Th...
Jul 20, 2017•1 hr 32 min
On today's episode I talk to Jade Payne and Mars Ganito of the indie rock band Aye Nako . Formed in 2010, Aye Nako is a New York-based queer punk band who make dissonant and melodic punk music. In 2013, they self-released their first album Unleash Yourself, and in 2015, Don Giovanni Records released their EP THe Blackest Eye. The album saw the band explore personal themes such as abuse and racism, and it garnered a great deal of critical acclaim, ending up on several "best of" lists including bo...
Jul 13, 2017•1 hr 23 min
I'm moving to LA this week, so I wanted to take a break from producing an episode to settle into the new digs and recover from having to take two cats on a cross-country flight. And while I was getting ready for the move, I was cleaning up my hard drive and found some of the music from when Beginnings was a monthly live show at UCB East (every month we'd have a musical guest perform and then be interviewed). These performances are really fantastic, and I don't know how many people have heard the...
Jul 06, 2017•1 hr 8 min
On today's episode I talk to musician Jen Goma . Based in New York City, Jen writes and produces music, comedy and videos. She is a member of the bands A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Roman à Clef and has collaborated with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Jherek Bischoff. Her first solo album Smiley Face, recorded under the name Showtime Goma was just released, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on iTunes , follow me on Twitter ....
Jun 29, 2017•1 hr 32 min
On today's episode I talk to writer Joseph Kertes . Joe was born in Hungary but escaped with his family to Canada after the revolution of 1956. He studied English at York University and the University of Toronto and founded Humber College's distinguished creative writing and comedy programs. As an author, he's written a number of books including Winter Tulips and Boardwalk. His third book Gratitude won the Canadian National Jewish Book Award and the U.S. National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, a...
Jun 22, 2017•1 hr 18 min
On today's episode I talk to novelist, columnist, and Emmy-nominated television writer Bill Scheft . Bill started his career as a sportswriter and as a stand-up. After twelve years touring, he was hired as a monologue writer for L ate Night with David Letterman where he remained for 24 years until the show's conclusion in 2015. In addition to writing for Letterman , Bill also wrote for the Oscars, ESPYs and almost every other major awards show, and he also contributed a popular weekly humor colu...
Jun 15, 2017•1 hr 30 min
On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Stephen Falk . Born in Berkeley, CA, Stephen has been working in television for a number of years, starting off on the Showtime series Weeds. He then created the NBC show Next Caller, and went on to write for Orange is the New Black. In 2014, he created the wonderful FX series You're the Worst, whose 4th season will air sometime later this year. This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on iTunes , follow me on Twitter ....
Jun 08, 2017•1 hr
On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Joel Church-Cooper . Born in Sacramento, Joel grew up in Santa Cruz, and eventually made his way down to LA where he started taking classes and performing at UCB and IO West. As a TV writer, he started on shows like The Onion SportsDome, as well as Up All Night, Ground Floor and Undateable, among many others. Most recently, he created and showruns Brockmire on IFC, which is based on a Funny or Die webseries he made. This is the website for Begin...
Jun 01, 2017•1 hr 26 min
On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Damon Lindelof. Originally from Teaneck, NJ, Damon has been a successful television and screenwriter for almost two decades. He started on shows like MTV's Undressed and Nash Bridges, and in 2004 co-created Lost, the show that revitalized the possibility that network TV could be weird and labyrinthine. He's written many of the best studio sci-fi films of the last decade including World War Z, Prometheus and Star Trek Into Darkness, and most rece...
May 25, 2017•1 hr 15 min
On today's episode I talk to songwriter, arranger and record producer Patrick Adams . Originally from Harlem, Patrick has applied his magic touch to more than four decades of music, earning thousands of credits for contributions to disco, boogie, soul and hip-hop releases both genre-defining and criminally underrated. In addition to mentoring Leroy Burgess and his seminal soul group Black Ivory, Patrick was a key contributor to innumerable disco LPs and hits like Musique’s “In The Bush,” and Inn...
May 18, 2017•1 hr 37 min
On today's episode I talk to musician Chris Leo . Originally from New Jersey, Chris started playing music in the early 1990s with his brother Danny in the groundbreaking hardcore band Native Nod. When they broke up, Chris formed the post-rock band The Van Pelt, whose two albums - Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves and Sultans Of Sentiment - were released by NJ indie record label Gern Blandsten. Chris then formed The Lapse with Van Pelt member Toko Yasuda (also of Enon and Blonde Redhead) and the...
May 11, 2017•1 hr 20 min
On today's episode I talk to comedian Ronny Chieng . Born in Malaysia, Ronny was raised in New Hampshire and Singapore and graduated from the University of Melbourne in Australia with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce. That same year, he started performing stand-up, and since then he has toured four sold out global stand up comedy theater tours in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Canada and London and recorded four award winning comedy specials. In Austr...
May 04, 2017•1 hr 21 min
On today's episode I talk to Grammy Award winning cabaret artist and actor Nathan Lee Graham . Originally from St. Louis, Nathan's notable film roles include Todd in Zoolander and Zoolander 2, Frederick Montana in Sweet Home Alabama and Geoff in Hitch and on TV has appeared as Peter in The Comeback, and had guest starring roles on Scrubs, Absolutely Fabulous and Law & Order SVU. His stage appearances include Phil D'Armano in the original Broadway cast of the Tony and Grammy Award nominated T...
Apr 27, 2017•1 hr 19 min
On today's episode I talk to writer, comedian and podcast host Negin Farsad . Originally from Palm Springs by-way-of Virginia, Negin is highly accomplished in many domains. She's the director, writer and star of the romantic comedy 3rd Street Blackout , which starred Janeane Garofalo, Ed Weeks, and John Hodgman, as well as the director and producer of the feature film The Muslims Are Coming! which starred Jon Stewart and David Cross. Negin is also the host of a political comedy round-table podca...
Apr 20, 2017•1 hr 34 min
On today's episode I talk to Emmy nominated comedy writer Caissie St. Onge . Originally from Fitchberg, MA, Caissie is a prolific comedy writer. She’s worked for The Late Show with David Letterman , The Rosie O’Donnell Show , VH1’s Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins , The Grammy Awards, The Tony Awards, and regularly wrote material for Joan Rivers. She's also a YA author having penned the novel Jane Jones: Worst. Vampire. Ever. and is currently a Supervising Producer on Bravo's Watch What Happ...
Apr 13, 2017•1 hr 14 min
On today's episode I talk to actor and comedian Amy Hoggart . Amy grew up in the suburbs of London, and though she received an advanced degree in clinical psychology, she ended up pursuing a career in comedy. She started in the famous Cambridge sketch group The Footlights and the London stand-up scene, and in 2014 was cast in the BBC America show Almost Royal . And in 2016, Amy became a correspondent on the weekly late night show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee . This is the website for Beginning...
Apr 06, 2017•1 hr 19 min
Every so often I do these "bonus episodes" where I talk to a showbiz professional about the actual nuts and bolts of different topics in the Entertainment Industry in an attempt to demystify these things. And on today's episode, I talk to the love of my life Naomi Ekperigin (former writer for Broad City, you may have heard her on 2 Dope Queens or on her own Comedy Central Half Hour), and we talk today about a topic that's been bothering me for a while: The Myth of the Meritocracy. I pose the que...
Mar 30, 2017•32 min
On today's episode I talk to musician Tim Kasher . Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Tim has been playing music since he was young. One of Tim's first bands, Slowdown Virginia was shortlived though they inspired other bands to form like The Faint and Bright Eyes, and Lumberjack Records, the record label that put out their one album, became Saddle Creek, one of the biggest indie labels around. In 1995, Tim formed Cursive, which in their 20 years together have released numerous EPs and seven albums...
Mar 23, 2017•1 hr 17 min
On today's episode I talk to Jason Balla and Mikey Wells of the indie rock band NE-HI . Based in Chicago, NE-HI originally formed in 2013 to score a friend's film. But when the four of them realized they had a lot of chemistry together, they decided to make the band official. Their first self-titled album was released on Manic Static in 2014 and their latest album Offers was released earlier this year on Grand Jury Music. This is the website for Beginnings , subscribe on iTunes , follow me on Tw...
Mar 20, 2017•1 hr 14 min
On today's episode I talk to musician Jason Narducy . Jason began his rock career at the age of ten when he co-founded the band Verböten – one of the seminal acts in the Chicago punk scene. He then went on to become frontman/songwriter/guitarist for Verbow, another beloved Windy City outfit who signed a major-label deal with Epic/Sony during the ‘90s alt-rock bubble and followed that up with an ongoing, nearly decade-long run as indie-rock’s secret weapon – serving as bassist and backing vocalis...
Mar 16, 2017•1 hr 11 min
On today's episode I talk to violinist David Harrington . Originally from Seattle, David is the founder of the renowned contemporary classical group Kronos Quartet. The group was established in 1973, and since then, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 50 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, collaborating with many of the world's most intriguing and accomplished composers an...
Mar 09, 2017•1 hr 8 min
