Something (rather than nothing) - podcast cover

Something (rather than nothing)

Why is there something rather than nothing? This podcast is a philosophical and psychological exploration into the act of creation (poets, musicians, writers, painters, thinkers, all of us) by: Ken Volante
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Episodes

Shannon Robinson

The Ill-Fitting Skin is layered with surreal storytelling but remains an extraordinarily realistic read, in the sense that even the most solid realities of life—and death—tend to blur and shimmer at their raw edges. The talkative bird that nests in a woman’s womb is as real as the “previous tenant.” The love of a mother for her uncontrollable son is as real as the wildness that is in her too. The women of The Ill-Fitting Skin are real women—who work and grieve and create and destroy, who love an...

Jun 04, 202448 minSeason 1Ep. 268

Morgan Parker

Morgan Parker is a poet, essayist, and novelist. She is the author of the young adult novel Who Put This Song On? ; and the poetry collections Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night , There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé , and Magical Negro , which won the 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, winner of a Pushcart Prize, and has been hailed by The New York Times as “a dynamic craftsperson” of “consid...

May 30, 202431 minSeason 1Ep. 267

Ruby Roth

Ruby Roth ’s work is defined by the female form and depicts the inner lives of women through emotionally visceral representations of the bodies they inhabit. For the past several years, amidst a radical transition from a decade of familial life as a best-selling children’s book author-illustrator to self-determined independence as a single female artist, Roth has explored the deep end of the feminine spectrum and its archetypes. Roth’s work often features solitary women navigating inner and oute...

May 21, 202445 minSeason 1Ep. 266

Mark Ostler

Mark Ostler joins the show to kick around comic books - specifically his work Ivar the Boxer and Waltzing Carpet Juliette We also talked about Warning: Danger! Mark Ostler is a comic book writer and publisher. In 2023, he wrapped up a 4 issue mini-series titled, “Waltzing Carpet Juliette” about the dangers of consumerism. In 2024, he began a new self-published comic book series titled, “Ivar The Boxer”. Mark Ostler can’t draw comics. Thankfully, he’s got talented friends who are skilled artists....

May 14, 202452 minSeason 1Ep. 265

Jim LaBelle

This episode is very different than others. Jim LaBelle, this episode's featured guest, passed away recently. I wish, hope and pray that our conversation gives tribute to Jim's contributions and advocacy. Thank you and farewell Jim. Host Ken Volante "There are certain individuals that go under the radar their entire lives despite being one of the most resilient people in the room, and that is without question Jim LaBelle. A father, world traveler, lawyer, disability advocate and professor, Jim’s...

May 06, 202457 minSeason 1Ep. 264

Kathleen Stuart

Blend a background in fast-paced PR, political campaigns, and a lot of roll-up-your-sleeves energy, and you've Stuart Collective f ounder and CEO K athleen Stuart. Kathleen founded Stuart Collective in 2017. With a crystal-clear mission to support changemakers in securing progressive wins, Kathleen works every day to win campaigns, pass high-profile legislation, and influence public opinion. Kathleen brings over a decade of on-the-ground political work in campaigns and leading PR strategies. As ...

May 01, 202450 minSeason 1Ep. 263

Ivana Yellowback

Ivana Yellowback is a member of Manto Sipi Cree Nation – God’s River (maternal family) and a relative to Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (paternal family). She is both Asiniskow Ithinew ekwa Muskego Ininew (High Rock and Muskeg Cree). Ivana an Associate Producer, Writer, Cree host, and English co-host of Eagle Vision’s and APTN’s 7TH GEN Home (7thgen.ca) \ Cree Webisodes | 7TH GEN (2022/2023/2024). She has also acted as principal characters in “DJ Burnt Bannock” (2021) The Team — DJ Burnt Bannock , a...

Apr 24, 202449 minSeason 1Ep. 262

Mel and Teghan Hammond

Teghan Hammond and Mel Hammond are sisters who grew up punching each other whenever they saw a P.T. Cruiser, dying their hair blue together, and fabricating a fake band in which their middle brother was (allegedly) the lead singer. Writing Lucy, Uncensored was their first time co-writing. Unless you count the summer they spent scribbling down recipes for the strangest sandwiches you’ve ever heard of, like the Tax Exemption Wrap (Teghan) and the Nail Gun Sandwich (Mel). Today, Teghan lives in nor...

Apr 18, 202443 minSeason 1Ep. 261

NYC Fringe Festival with Jude Treder-Wolff, Lauren O'Brien and Suzanne Bachner

Special Spring 2024 NYC Fringe Festival episode with three dynamic creators! Lauren O'Brien presents Lolo’s Boyfriend Show - a new comedic solo show, the writer is also the performer; Suzanne Bachner presents Conversations with My Divorce Attorney - the playwright also directs the two hander play which she started writing many years ago when she was getting a divorce. Her current husband stars as her divorce attorney; Jude Treder-Wolff presents FASTER - real life therapist and playwright wrote a...

Apr 08, 202456 minSeason 1Ep. 260

Page Stephenson

From Page Stephenson : "Sometimes my life feels as though I am both the director and the directed. As I attempt to navigate the vast ocean of choices, I often find myself adrift. It's in these moments that inspiration often bubbles to the surface. My creative adventures have enabled me to collaborate with giants like Google, Red Bull, Patagonia, and Netflix. These projects have sent me around the globe, expanding my perspective beyond my wildest dreams. I have been fortunate enough to play with ...

Apr 02, 202450 minSeason 1Ep. 259

M.J. Bassett

M.J. Bassett is an English director, writer, and producer of film and television. She began her career directing the cult horror films Deathwatch and Wilderness, the dark fantasy Solomon Kane , and the video game adaptation Silent Hill: Revelation. Since 2012, she has worked as a director and writer on high-profile television series like Strike Back, Ash vs Evil Dead, Power and Altered Carbon. Check out ROGUE with Megan Fox and the upcoming RED SONJA movie! SRTN Website...

Mar 25, 202454 minSeason 1Ep. 258

Ben Tanzer

Ben Tanzer 's work includes the short story collection UPSTATE, the science fiction novel Orphans and the essay collections Lost in Space and Be Cool. Tanzer is a storySouth and Pushcart nominee, a finalist for the Annual National Indie Excellence and Eric Hoffer Book Awards, a winner of the Devil's Kitchen Literary Festival Nonfiction Prose Award and a Midwest Book Award, and has received an Honorable Mention at the Chicago Writers Association Book Awards for Traditional Non-Fiction and a Bronz...

Mar 20, 20241 hr 14 minSeason 1Ep. 257

Philip Barasch

Philip Barasch has maintained a lifelong interest in sequential art. He is the creator of HandHewn, a magazine designed to explore the Graphic Short Story art form. His years in Portland, Oregon included involvement with The Stumptown Comic Book Convention, Sequential Art Gallery and Talisman Gallery. Philip and his wife, Charis, relocated to Astoria, Oregon in 2018. Charis departed this world in 2022, radically altering Philip's art form. He is now creatively consumed by this forced, revolution...

Mar 13, 20241 hr 6 minSeason 1Ep. 256

Nicholas Tamagna

Guest host Kinneret Ely interviews opera star Nicholas Tamagna Nicholas Tamagna’s meteoric rise in recent years has made him one of the world’s most fascinating alto voices. Highlights of the last few seasons were undoubtedly his interpretation of Ermano in the award-winning CD recording of Gismondo, re di Polonia (Leonardo Vinci) on the Parnassus label and its extensive concert tour, his MET debut in March 2020 in Sir David’s McVicar’s re-visited production of Händel’s Agrippina as Narciso, at ...

Mar 08, 20241 hr 55 minSeason 1Ep. 255

Chimen Georgette Kouri

Chimen Kouri is a writer based in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey. Her work has been featured in Goat’s Milk Magazine, Blood Moon Poetry, Up the Staircase Quarterly, and more. She fell in love with storytelling one Christmas morning during a power outage when she and her parents laid in bed while her father told stories about his life in Lebanon. She is currently writing two full-length poetry and prose collections, What Haunts Me the Most and The Old Dutchburn House, and her first novel, Miss Ameri...

Mar 05, 202452 minSeason 1Ep. 254

TJ McGowan

TJ McGowan aka The Everyday Bite is a Bronx based writer, poet, and spoken word artist who has performed all over the Tri-State. His written work has been published in Flash Fiction Mag, Collective Unrest, 35MM, Mojave Heart, Vamp Cat, United: Red, BX Writers, to name a few. His body-autonomy poem, I Am Not Her Bones, and its incendiary performance was recipient of the 2019 Poem of the Year at the Word Masters Poetry Gala. The written version can be found in Wide Eyes Publishing's anthology, War...

Mar 01, 20241 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 253

Olivia Britz-Wheat

Mortal Emblem owner Olivia Britz-Wheat is a multimedia artist who has been tattooing for over 15 years in Portland. She hails originally from Colorado, attended college in Missoula, Montana until learning how to tattoo under Phil Roberson and Jed Dillon. Enjoy this wide-ranging conversation and regale in thoughts about art, Depeche Mode, Portland, The Lloyd Center mystique and VHS love. SRTN Website...

Feb 26, 202449 minSeason 1Ep. 252

Cheeky Fun with Baroque B*tches Podcast

ART FUN with the hosts of the Baroque B**ches Podcast ! How much fun can you have on a podcast? I dunno but this was hella fun. Join this wildly ranging art, life, and raunch conversation to discover what you did not want to know but, really, c'mon, you actually really did want to know. Art Scholarship for the People!!! BB Website up in here SRTN Website...

Feb 22, 20242 hr 4 minSeason 1Ep. 251

Elizabeth Coplan

Death is the high cost of living. The weight of that knowledge can feel crippling but is it there we find the deepest and most important knowledge of how to live? After tragedy struck in 2013, Elizabeth Coplan turned to writing to express her personal grief. She wrote many published essays, and later, after experiencing three losses in less than a year, she turned to writing plays focused on this global experience known as death. In 2016, Elizabeth developed the groundbreaking play, Grief Dialog...

Feb 14, 202446 minSeason 1Ep. 250

Allyson McCabe

ALLYSON MCCABE is a journalist whose work is heard on NPR’s newsmagazines, public radio stations and programs, and podcasts. Also appearing in publications such as the New York Times, New York Magazine/Vulture, BBC Culture, Wired, and Bandcamp, McCabe is also the author of WHY SINEAD O’CONNOR MATTERS , UT Press, 2023. SRTN Podcast

Feb 07, 20241 hr 10 minSeason 1Ep. 249

Katherine Yeske Taylor

Katherine Yeske Taylor began her career as a rock critic in Atlanta in the 1990s, interviewing Georgia musical royalty such as the Indigo Girls, R.E.M., and the Black Crowes while still a teenager. Since then, she has conducted several hundred interviews and contributes regularly to Billboard , Flood , Spin , and American Songwriter , among others. She is a longtime New York City resident and is extremely active in the downtown rock scene. SRTN Website...

Jan 29, 202455 minSeason 1Ep. 248

Kola Shippentower

Shippentower signs with the Oregon Ravens Kola Shippentower is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. She has co-founded and is the Director of The Wisáwca Project - Enough Iz Enough, a non-profit organization working together for change, for better communication and involvement. Kola has developed a Safety Plan to be utilized by anyone in identifying safety methods, contacts, and procedures to keep one safe whether in an abusive relationship or a plan ...

Jan 22, 202457 minSeason 1Ep. 247

Katy Tessman

Minnesota musician, Katy Tessman is an optimistic and approachable singer-songwriter with a voice full of the wisdom she’s gained through cancer survival, heartbreak, and motherhood. Her powerful vocals and rhythmic approach to guitar (or mandolin) express a straight-from-the-heart songwriting style that moves passionately over diverse emotional and musical terrain. SRTN Podcast...

Jan 15, 202436 minSeason 1Ep. 246

Meghan Lamb

Meghan Lamb is the author of COWARD (Spuyten Duyvil, 2022), Failure to Thrive (Apocalypse Party, 2021), All of Your Most Private Places (Spork Press, 2020), and Silk Flowers (Birds of Lace, 2017). She served as the Philip Roth Writer-in-Residence at Bucknell University, and teaches creative writing through the University of Chicago, Story Studio, and GrubStreet. Her work has appeared in Quarterly West, DIAGRAM, Redivider, and Passages North, among other publications. She runs the shadow text rea...

Jan 10, 20241 hr 16 minSeason 1Ep. 245

Kate Brody

Kate Brody lives in Los Angeles, California. Her work has previously appeared in Lit Hub, The Rumpus, Noema, and The Literary Review, among other publications. She holds an MFA from NYU. Rabbit Hole is her debut novel. Released January 2, 2024. SRTN Podcast

Jan 03, 202447 minSeason 1Ep. 244

GLÜME

GLÜME is an art phenomenon. Whether she was plucked from the astral planes or the near-dream world she occupies a unique space in the heart. Her album MAIN CHARACTER is a subtle and attractive dark-pop trance. HEAVEN makes you bounce as you slightly weep and pray your rosary. Dream of your car floating in the clouds as you listen to THE QUEEN OF L.A. Philosophy, artist-blue-balls, Marilyn Monroe, goddesses, dream-worlds, OnlyFans and the redirection of music revenue as a radical body-act are inc...

Dec 25, 20231 hr 37 minSeason 1Ep. 243

Stephen Pellnat

Stephen Pellnat "I have been making comics for as long as I can remember understanding the written language. I received my formal education at the School of Visual Arts in New York City from 2005 to 2009, graduating with a Bachelor’s of the Fine Arts. I have self published comics for years, including Kitty of the Dead, Ma, Heaven and now, Upstate. I have been featured in a number of promotional campaigns in the northeast, including the tours of Klezwoods and Cocek Brass Band. I provided album ar...

Dec 20, 202352 minSeason 1Ep. 242

Zora von Pavonine

Surrounded by animals, held most dear was the peacock family that allowed her to follow them around, telling stories, inventing all kinds of life. Zora von Pavonine spent her teenage chapter foreshadowing her eventual participation in burlesque with another solo activity crafted beautifully from the mind and body, performing as a decorated cross country and track athlete, breaking records and holding others to this day. Her deep appreciation for this output, mental tenacity, just the self and th...

Dec 13, 20231 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 241

Salo Panto

Salo Panto is: Joe Garwig, Max Doyle, Ed Beach, and David Kudelka Since 2015, Salo Panto has been exploring and bending every corner of the rock genre. Rooted in psychedelia with a stage presence that will blow your hair back, commonly being described as “a sight to behold”. Their technical skill and original hooks play homage to the legends of rock while transforming the genre into something new entirely. These chameleons can be found anywhere from the alternative radio waves to a doom show lin...

Dec 07, 202339 minSeason 1Ep. 240

Salisha Old Bull

Salisha Old Bull (Salish/Crow) is an Indigenous artist based in Montana. She creates a diverse array of art genres but has an affinity to beadwork. "I am motivated by the Salish history and Indigenous place-based knowledge. I have learned that place gives a sense of self and allows a person to grow intellectually and continue to explore their possibilities in life. I feel that cultural preservation is a strong influence in my life, and I enjoy combining imagery that reflects cultural values. I u...

Dec 02, 202344 minSeason 1Ep. 239
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