Here it is! A very special episode of MikeyPod, recorded live at the Kraine Theater for the Queerly Festival on June 26, 2017. It was tempting to edit the imperfections out of this recording, but I resisted the urge and decided to leave it as is. I hope you enjoy these “live” moments like I do! Thanks …
This week’s guest is my pal Andy Tabar, founder of the vegan fashion brand Compassion Co. and co-host of the fantastic podcast, The Bearded Vegans. Andy and I have been internet friends for longer than I can remember, but I became especially interested in his life when I realized that he is living out of …
I met Eban Crawford back in the early EARLY days of podcasting. We’re talking, like, 2005 or so. Since then we have found so many more interests in common, producing electronic music with Ableton Live, growing beards, and veganism, among other things. I’ll be working with Eban in a few weeks at Moogfest presenting his …
Walker Lukens is an Austin-based musician who Free Press Houston called “one of the best songwriters in Texas.” Walker has long inspired me with his commitment and perseverance as an indie musician. He just released a new EP and it, like all of his music, is simply fantastic. I’ve been wanting to bring him onto the podcast …
Jeff McIlwain’s music has been providing a buoyant soundtrack for my life (and long runs!) for a number of years now. In my excitement about his latest release as Lusine, I reached out to his label, Ghostly International, to set up an interview and they kindly obliged. Jeff and I chat here about the path that …
Lisa Ebersole is the writer, director and star of 37 Problems, a raunchy new comedy series about fertility and growing up. Ebersole plays a struggling 37 year-old screenwriter who finds out she has one egg left. Suddenly she has to get a guy to fertilize the egg, freeze the egg, or do nothing and live a different life than …
There are few artists who inspire and thrill me like Christopher Willits. His oceanic, shimmering music is a perfect representation of the kind and open human he proves himself to be each time I talk with him. We chat here about his soundtrack work on the new film The Art of Listening, in which he is also a subject. …
Emmett Jack Lundberg is the creator of the fantastic Brothers, the first narrative series about a group of transgender masculine friends. Emmett and I talked about the history of the show, and then dug deeper into a discussion about gender roles and how we are each affected by them. I really enjoyed discussing our shared experiences as transgender and …
Ben Rimalower‘s solo show, Bad With Money, made such a big impact on me when I saw it at The Duplex that I tracked him down on Facebook the moment I got home to send him the greatest fan letter of all time. Ben’s work hits the perfect combination of poignant, hilarious, and courageous in way that makes for perfect …
Daaimah Mubashshir and I first met in Houston in the mid-nineties. An always-present friend, we ran in the same circles, worked together as servers at a popular restaurant, and even explored spirituality together as angsty yet passionate twenty-year-olds. More than that, though, Daaimah was (and remains) a tremendous influence on my creative life. She was the first to introduce …
I met Ariel Hyatt soon after I started this podcast in 2006. She was one of the first publicists to realize the potential that podcasting had for independent artists, so she was quick to start promoting her artists to music podcasters like me. Ariel has been a fierce entrepreneur for 20 years and runs Cyber PR, a …
Steven Fales and I have been talking forever about chatting on the podcast, and we finally got around to it this week. A well established playwright and solo performer, I met Steven when I was just on the verge of summoning the courage to start creating my own solo work. Discovering his successful Mormon Boy Trilogy and passion …
Eliot Glazer first hit my radar with his Shit New Yorkers Say video which went viral back in 2012. He’s an LA-based writer and performer who currently serves as an Executive Story Editor on New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel. He has served as creative consultant and recurring character on Comedy Central’s Broad City, and has contributed to …
This is Joi Ito’s third visit to the podcast and each time I interview him, I am perfectly charmed and inspired. Joi’s bio is pretty awe-inspiring, most recently as the Director of the MIT Media Lab and co-author of the book Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future. Joi suggested we live stream our interview on Facebook, so …
I’ve got two great guests for you on the podcast this week! First I talk with longtime vegan and social justice advocate Christopher Sebastian. Christopher and I talk about intersectionality and two of his articles: A Seven-point Plan to Disrupt White Supremacy and U.S. American Exceptionalism, and A Guide for Confronting White Fragility When Having Discussions About Race. …
I am so excited about this new connection I have with South African musician Nate Maingard. I came across him sort of peripherally via this video from Patreon, and then we had a mini-conversation in the comments of a Patreon post which then led me to his Patreon page where I fell in love with …
I am so grateful and proud to know a spectacularly glittery person like Micah Bucey. He’s Associate Minister at historic Judson Memorial Church here in New York City where he has shepherded many artists (like me!) into the performing world. His kindness and insight seems unlimited, and I am just so pleased to have him as …
When I got obsessed with watching Vine videos a few years ago, Jason Nash was one of the first people I started to follow. There are a ton of brilliant creators on Vine, each crafting great stories in these little 6 second looping videos. Jason’s humor and self-awareness about being an old guy famous on an app populated …
Sawyer Nunes is a 14 year old musical powerhouse. Not only does he hold two Broadway credits for Matilda and Finding Neverland, but just last week he released his first EP, “Songs I Wrote In My Room.” Sawyer wrote and arranged all the music, played all the instruments, engineered the recording, and mixed and mastered the …
Thanks to my diligent sister, I found my way to Joe’s Pub a couple of months ago to see Adrienne Truscott’s Asking For It: A One Lady Rape About Comedy. It was a fantastic thought provoking show that also inspired me pretty deeply in terms of how I approached some of the material in my recent …
I ran across the new web series Everything’s Okay last week (via Shark Party Media) and fell immediately in love with it. The very next day I found myself conducting an interview with its creator, Ace Salisbury, which I share here for your listening pleasure. EVERYTHING’S OK is an episodic series best described as a ‘post-apocalyptic cardboard …
This week, I was thrilled to talk with legendary drag icon, Lady Bunny, about her new show, Trans-Jester, which is running now at the (also legendary) Stonewall Inn. It was so much fun to talk with Bunny about her work, and our currently somewhat sensitive culture. Bunny’s long history as a drag queen gives her a unique perspective on …
In celebration of the 11th anniversary of this here podcast, I present to you the first ever MikeyPod Live! I had a blast putting this together for The Queerly Festival at The Kraine Theater. This podcast was the thing that got me off my ass and up to New York City, it’s given me an excuse …
Joshua D. Fischer joins me on the podcast this week to discuss his book, Meet the Regulars, which features stores and portraits of the everyday and famous people who frequent Brooklyn’s hottest (or most underrated) hangouts. Joshua and I talk about his work with the book, gentrification, and one of my favorite topics: how to …
I’m a long time fan of Joy Askew, both as a musician and as a person. She’s a fantastic musician, a tireless activist, and a great friend. Joy has performed with some brilliant artists as well: Laurie Anderson, Peter Gabriel, and Joe Jackson, to name only a few. We talked about the current climate for …
Will Shishmanian is a fantastic singer/songwriter and one of my guests for the upcoming MikeyPod Live! event that I am producing for the Queerly Festival here in NYC. I just ran across Will’s music recently and am so proud to have him as my guest both at the Queerly Festival and here on the podcast. We …
Duncan Pflaster is an award winning playwright and creator of The Naughty Jewish Boys calendar. He has appeared as a musician in several shows, and will be seen this July composing music for “The Social Avenger” by Lenny Schwartz in the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. We have been internet friends since the LiveJournal days of old, and …
Four days ago my pal Jill Strominger at New Amsterdam Records sent me Finnegan Shanahan’s new album, The Two Halves. She knew I would love and it she was right. I am fascinated by the fact that it is inspired by a map, and in love with the spirit and buoyancy of the music in this song cycle. …
I came across Harris Markowitz on Snapchat some time ago. Though I don’t remember exactly how I discovered him, I do remember becoming an immediate fan. His snaps are ridiculously creative and compelling and, with his company A Cereal Production, he has created content for companies like Coca-Cola and Jolly Rancher. Whenever people tell me they …
Rae Spoon is a musician, author, and speaker whose book, First Spring Grass Fire, was just named one of 10 best books by transgender authors featuring trans characters by The Guardian. Rae’s 8th album, Armor, was just released last month and it’s fantastic! I first met Rae a few years ago when I got to perform with them …
