Beginnings

On today's episode I talk to writer and performer Sarah Pappalardo. Based in New York City, Sarah is an improviser, playwright, and documentation whose short Reverence will be featured during IFC's DOC NYC Festival later this year. She's also one of the founders and editors of the satirical women's magazine Reductress. In the three short years since its inception, Reductress has become it's own cottage industry. Besides the online magazine, it's also spawned a wonderful podcast called Mouth Time, and on October 25th, their first book, How to Win at Feminism, will be released by HarperCollins. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer Beth Newell. Originally from Lynnfield, MA, Beth has been writing, performing and teaching sketch at The Magnet Theater for many years. She's also one of the founders and editors of the satirical women's magazine Reductress. In the three short years since its inception, Reductress has become it's own cottage industry. Besides the online magazine, it's also spawned a wonderful podcast called Mouth Time, and on October 25th, their first book, How to Win at Feminism, will be released by HarperCollins. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to the founder of Jacobin Magazine Bhaskar Sunkara. Bhaskar is the son of immigrants from Trinidad and Tobago, and has written for a number of publications including Vice magazine, the Washington Post and The Nation. However, he is most well-known for being the founder, editor and publisher of Jacobin Magazine, which in its six short years of existence has become one of the leading publications of the left, drawing praise from everyone from Noam Chomsky to Chris Hayes. Bhaskar also started a book imprint called Jacobin Books in partnership with Verso Books and Random House. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer, stand-up and union organizer Nato Green. Nato lives and was raised in San Francisco, and the city's progressive atmosphere pervades everything he does. Nato wrote for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell on FX and toured nationally with Kamau & Janine Brito as "Laughter Against the Machine". He's the creator of Iron Comic, the Iron Chef-spoofing comedy game show, and was named San Francisco's Best Comedian by the SF Weekly, Huffington Post, and CBS. He also hosts a comedy segment on NPR's All Things Considered, and his first comedy album, The Nato Green Party, was released by Rooftop Comedy, and can be found online wherever comedy albums are sold! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Elaiza Santos. Originally from Queens, Elaiza is the lead singer of the amazing chiptunes pop band Crying, who have two EPs out on Run For Cover Records, both of which are very much worth your time. Elaiza also records music on her own - originally under the name Whatever, Dad - and currently as 100%, which is wonderful bedroom pop in the K records tradition. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to playwright and TV writer Sofia Alvarez. Originally from Baltimore, Sofia graduated from Juilliard for playwriting. She is a member of the Ars Nova Playgroup and Primary Stages Dorothy Streslin New American Writer's Group, and her work has been seen everywhere from Primary Stages to Ars Nova to The Rattlestick. As a TV writer, Sofia has written for USA's Sirens, and currently, she writes for the FX comedy Man Seeking Woman. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Suki Kim, a novelist, investigative journalist and the only writer ever to go live undercover in North Korea to investigate and write a book from the inside. In 2002, she travelled to North Korea, where she witnessed both Kim Jong-il's 60th Birthday celebrations as well as his death, and she later wrote a number of pieces for Harper's about the country. Suki is a recipient of a Guggenheim, a Fulbright, and a George Soros Foundation Open Society fellowship. As well, her first novel, The Interpreter, was a finalist for a PEN Hemingway Prize, and her aforementioned book of investigative literary nonfiction, Without You, There Is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea's Elite is a New York Times bestseller. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Barbara Manning. Barbara is prolific songwriter originally from California, where she spent part of her childhood on a commune. While attending Chico State University in 1983, Manning played bass with the seminal jangle-pop band 28th Day, and since then she's recorded a number of albums under her own name and has played with and fronted a number of amazing bands including World of Pooh, SF Seals, The Go-Luckys!. She's collaborated with everyone from Jon Langford of The Mekons to The Magnetic Fields' Stephen Merritt, and her albums have been released by some of the best indie labels around including SubPop, K Records, Matador and Teenbeat. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Cole Escola. Cole is a comedian, actor, and writer; one of the 2014 OUT 100; as well as one of Time Out New York's Top Ten Downtown Cabaret Performers. He was the co-creator, writer, and star of the lo-fi cult-hit TV show Jeffery & Cole Casserole, which ran on Logo for two seasons, and also originated the role of Bridget Everett's fetus in Rock Bottom. Cole currently plays Billy Eichner's nemesis Matthew on Hulu's Difficult People, which is now in it's second season! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to storyteller Adam Wade. For the past thirteen years, Adam has been a fixture in both the New York City storytelling and comedy scenes. He is the winner of 20 SLAMS at The Moth, including two GrandSLAM Championships, and has toured across North America with The Moth Main Stage. In addition, Adam's Time Out Critic's pick solo show The Adam Wade from NH Show has been running since 2010, and his first album Adam Wade: The Human Comedy was just released last year! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer/directors Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss. Charles and SV broke out with their film Fort Tilden, a satire of Millennial Brooklyn, which won the Grand Jury Award at SXSW 2014. Since then, they've written on the first season of Netflix's Wet Hot American Summer revival, and are the co-creators of the forthcoming TBS series Search Party starring Alia Shawkat. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

I used to do bonus episodes of the show somewhat regularly called "Field Guides" where I'd talk to people about the actual steps they took to create a project or about a specific topic around the theme of creating things for a living. Like, I talked to Abbi and Ilana about how they actually made the Broad City webseries (back before it was even a TV show!) - and the idea is to try and demystify making TV, videos and other creative things on a professional level. Today on the show I talk to Terence Gray, the founder and executive director of the New York Television Festival, and Ian Thake, the director of programming for the festival. Founded in 2005, The NYTVF is a pioneer of the independent television movement, connecting its community of artists with leading networks, studios, agencies, production companies, and brands. Terence, Ian and I get in deep about the origins of the festival, how somebody starts a festival in the first place, as well as thoughts and tips on indie TV and the television development process! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Wes Miles of the indie rock band Ra Ra Riot. Originally from New Jersey, Wes has been playing music for most of his life. Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and venues around the Syracuse University campus. After recording a demo, they started to attract attention, eventually getting signed to Barsuk Records, who's released all four of their albums The Rhumb Line, The Orchard, Beta Love, and their latest Need Your Light (all are very worth your time!). On the side, Wes has released an album with former-Vampire Weekend-er Rostam Batmanglij under the name Discovery. It is also awesome! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to avant-garde violin duo String Noise. For over half a decade, Conrad Harris and Pauline Kim, the husband/wife violin duo comprising String Noise, have built a reputation as relentless contemporary music advocates with a punk sensibility. They've done this through their covers of bands like Deerhoof, Bad Brains, Black Flag and Minutemen and through their classical performances, the two having premiered works by composers like Christian Wolff, John King, Phill Niblock, and John Zorn. String Noise has released an EP on Northern Spy Records called The Book of Strange Positions and are currently recording a full-length album. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Oli Chang. Originally from Australia, Oli is one-half, along with Jack Milas, of the celebrated ambient dream-pop band High Highs. Since 2011, they've released a self-titled EP and two albums Open Season and Cascades. All of them are wonderful. In addition, Oli also has his own solo project called Animal Feelings! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comic and TV writer Christopher McCullough AKA Jackson Publick. Chris began his comics career after a superhero spoof of his caught the eye of The Tick creator Ben Edlund, who asked Chris to write a spin-off, which then led to writing for the animated and live-action series. In 2003, Chris and his writing partner created the fantastic animated series The Venture Bros. for Adult Swim, which is currently their longest running original series. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to actor and writer Will Sharpe. Will grew up in Tokyo and London and went to university at Cambridge, where he was president of the Footlights Revue. After graduating, he began his acting career, first with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later on a number of TV shows including Casualty, Sherlock and Dirk Gently. As a writer, Will's written for Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and his first feature film Black Pond was nominated for a BAFTA award. Most recently, he wrote and directed the show Flowers (which can be seen in the States on Seeso) starring Julian Barrett of The Mighty Boosh and Olivia Colman from Broadchurch. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to rapper and podcaster Open Mike Eagle. Originally from Chicago, Mike moved to LA where his hip hop career began, first as part of the collective Project Blowed and the trio Thirsty Fish, and later as a solo artist. He's released five albums: Unapologetic Art Rap, Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes, 4NML HSPTL, Dark Comedy, and his latest Hella Personal Film Festival. As a podcaster, he hosts two great shows: an interview one called Secret Skin and an Adventure Time show with John Moe called Conversation Parade! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Ohal Grietzer. Born and raised in Ashkelon, Israel, Ohal moved to New York in 2001, where she began collaborating on a number of musical projects with people like Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio, Tyondai Braxton, and Kyp Malone's Rain Machine. Her latest album Acid Park is out this month on Styles Upon Styles Records. Separate from her work as a musician, Ohal is also a Palestinian-rights activist, a member of Anarchists Against the Wall, and is involved in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, having recently written an article with Brian Eno urging musicians to support the movement. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Todd Goldstein. Originally from Boston, Todd started ARMS as a musical outlet for himself when he first moved to Brooklyn. ARMS was put on the backburner though when in 2006 he joined the indie rock band Harlem Shakes. They released one album on Gigantic Music before disbanding three years later, at which time, ARMS became Todd's primary musical focus. He's recorded a number of EPs under the moniker, as well as three albums: Kids Aflame, Summer Skills, and Patterns, his latest, which will be released in June on Paper Garden Records. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

I used to do bonus episodes of the show somewhat regularly called "Field Guides" where I'd talk to people about the actual steps they took to create a project or about a specific topic around the theme of creating things for a living. Like, I talked to Abbi and Ilana about how they actually made the Broad City webseries (back before it was even a TV show!) - and the idea is to try and demystify making TV, videos and other creative things on a professional level. Today on the show I talk to Indian American author Karan Bajaj about how he overcomes writer's block through world travel. Karan is the author of three contemporary Indian novels, Keep Off the Grass (a semi-finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award), Johnny Gone Down, and The Seeker, and a super-interesting guy. And we talk about everything from growing up in a small, remote village in India to what it was like to live on an ashram and meditate all day. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to stand-up and writer Bonnie McFarlane. Bonnie hails from Canada, where she grew up on a small farm in Alberta. An accomplished stand-up, she's appeared on everything from The Tonight Show to Letterman to Last Comic Standing and has her own HBO One Night Stand and Comedy Central Presents. In addition to being the director of the wonderful documentary Women Aren't Funny, Bonnie is also an author, and her memoir You're Better Than Me was recently published by Anthony Bourdain's Ecco imprint. (And it's quite fantastic!)This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to Peabody Award-winning and Emmy nominated stand-up and writer Josh Gondelman. Originally from Boston, Josh is currently based in New York where he previously wrote for Billy on the Street and currently writes for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. In addition, Josh is the co-author (along with Joe Berkowitz) of the book You Blew It, and his latest comedy album Physical Whisper was released just last month. (And heck is it wonderful!)This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to writer and actor Dylan Marron. Dylan is a Drama Desk-nominated writer & performer based in New York City. He is the voice of Carlos on the hit podcast Welcome to Night Vale and the co-creator and performer of Ridgefield Middle School Talent Nite, a 17-character middle school talent show, in which he and Jo Firestone play every role. Dylan's also an ensemble member of the New York Neo-Futurists, as well as the creator of Every Single Word, a video series that edits down popular films to only feature the words spoken by people of color.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Larkin Grimm. A descendent of the Brothers Grimm themselves, Larkin grew up in a monastic order called The Holy Order of MANS. Spending her childhood in rural Georgia, Larkin eventually earned a scholarship to Yale, which she attended on and off for many years, using the intervening sabbaticals to travel all over the world. At Yale, she met Dave Longstreth and became a member of Dirty Projectors for a time, and after began recording music on her own, which includes four albums: Harpoon, The Last Tree, Parplar and Soul Retrieval.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg. Scott grew up in Stockton, California where he met his childhood friend and future bandmate Stephen Malkmus. Along with drummer Gary Young, the two formed Pavement in 1989, and went on to release five albums and a number of EPs, eventually becoming one of the biggest indie rock bands of the time. After the band broke up in 1999, Scott went on to record two albums as The Preston School of Industry and one album under his own name. He is currently finishing up his latest as-yet unnamed record, which is his first in seven years.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to TV writer Curtis Gwinn. Originally from Chicago, Curtis grew up in the suburbs outside of New York City, eventually finding his way to UCB. There he became a teacher and performer, and co-founded the team Death by Roo Roo, one of the best improv groups to come out of the theatre. His first professional jobs included writing for The Man Show and Human Giant, and from there he went on to co-create the Adult Swim show Fat Guy Stuck in Internet. Since moving to Los Angeles, he's written for NTSF:SD:SUV, The Walking Dead, The Leftovers, The Bastard Executioner and the forthcoming NTSF spin-off Filthy Preppy Teen$.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to comedian Gareth Reynolds. Gareth's parents originally hail from the UK, but Gareth was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He's co-created The Travel Channel show Mancations and the MTV show Failosophy, he's written for the Comedy Central show Idiotsitter, and nearest and dearest to my heart, he's the co-host of one of the best podcasts around The Dollop, an American history podcast he does with stand-up and Maron-writer Dave Anthony.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to stand-up and writer Jacqueline Novak. Easily one of the best and most creative stand-ups in New York, Jacqueline has been performing for over a decade. She has her own comedy album Quality Notions, she's appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, and recently Three Rivers Press published her first book How to Weep In Public, a part-memoir/part-comedic guide to dealing with depression.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to the creators of the new HBO show Animals Phil Matarese and Mike Luciano. Phil and Mike are from New Jersey and Long Island respectively, and while working at an advertising agency together, the two created the webseries Animals, which was then shown at Channel 101 and garnered the "Best Comedy Pilot" award at the 2013 New York Television Festival. After a manager introduce the pair to the Duplass brothers, Mike and Phil moved to LA where the Duplasses helped them independently produce a season of the show, which then got sold to HBO (where you can now see it!).This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to Tony-nominated actor Geneva Carr. Geneva is a film, theater and television actor originally from Jackson, Mississippi. After studying French at Mount Holyoke, she moved to Paris and began a career in the world of business. Banking proved to be a lackluster life though, and a chance rekindling of her childhood love of acting led to her pursuing it professionally. This has obviously paid off, as Geneva just ended a run on Broadway in the fantastic play Hand to God, playing the role of the newly-widowed Margery, a performance which earned Geneva a Tony nomination for "Best Performance by a Leading Actress".This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to comedian and writer Streeter Seidell. Streeter first gained popularity as part of the cast of CollegeHumor's online videos, including the viral series Prank Wars. This led to an MTV series with his fellow CollegeHumor colleague Amir Blumenfeld called Pranked. In 2013, Streeter wrote for the ABC sitcom Trophy Wife and a year later joined the writing staff Saturday Night Live.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to filmmaker Alex Ross Perry. Alex was raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and attended NYU, where he graduated from their film program. In 2009, he made his first feature film Imipolex on a shoestring budget, and since then, he's made three other films: The Color Wheel in 2011, Listen Up Philip in 2014 (which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival) and his most recent film Queen of Earth starring Elisabeth Moss, which had its world premiere last year at the Berlin Film Festival..This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode - the sixth anniversary of Beginnings - I talk to writer Rick Moody. Rick was born in New York City, and attended Brown and Columbia universities. His first novel, Garden State, was the winner of the 1991 Editor’s Choice Award from the Pushcart Press and his next novel, The Ice Storm, was published in May 1994 by Little, Brown and Company. The film version, directed by Ang Lee, was released by Fox Searchlight in 1997 and won best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, ten more of his novels have been published, including his memoir The Black Veil and two collections of short stories. Rick has been the recipient of many awards for his writing including the Paris Review Aga Khan Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and his latest novel, Hotels of North America, was published in 2015.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Andrew Keoghan. Originally from New Zealand, Andrew is a Brooklyn-based indie pop/folk artist. His first album Arctic Tales Divide was released in 2011, and was short-listed for a Taite Music Prize, which is an annual prize awarded for the best album from New Zealand. His latest album Every Orchid Offering will be out later this year.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to New York-based country music artist Laura Cantrell. Born in Nashville, TN, she came to New York to attend Columbia, and found that her abiding interest in country music helped her stay connected with her family roots. That interest was the motivation behind her long-running radio program The Radio Thrift Shop, which was on WFMU for thirteen years. She began her career as a recording artist as part of one of Mac McCaughan's first groups Bricks, and she even sings on TMBG's Apollo 18. Her first album of her own Not the Tremblin' Kind was released in 2000, and John Peel said of it: "[It is] my favourite record of the last ten years and possibly my life". Five more albums of hers have been released since then, and her latest is 2014's No Way There From Here, which is simply brilliant.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to Brooklyn-based singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist Xenia Rubinos. Originally from Hartford, CT, Xenia was raised in a multicultural household by a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother. And bits and pieces of her heritage show up in her music, along with everything from Deerhoof-inspired riffs to Caribbean rhythms to math rock like Hella and everything in-between. This is all showcased on her debut album Magic Trix, which is amazing and available on Ba Da Bing! Records.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

Happy New Year's Eve, friends! Instead of a new guest this week - I didn't want them to get lost in the holiday shuffle - I thought I'd try something I haven't done in a few years. I used to do bonus episodes of the show called "Field Guides" where I'd talk to people about the actual steps they took to create a project. Like, I talked to Abbi and Ilana about how they actually made the Broad City webseries (back before it was even a TV show!) - and the idea is to try and demystify making TV, videos and other creative things on a professional level. So, my almost-wife Naomi Ekperigin and I are currently in the middle of creating a pilot presentation that could possibly become a TV series, so I thought we'd spend a little time talking about that, about how one gets the opportunity in the first place to make a TV show, about what does it mean to executive produce something and much more. Hope you enjoy it, and we'll see you next week for a new episode!This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Gabby Smith, the woman behind the band Eskimeaux. As Gabby puts it in an interview with Stereogum, Eskimeaux began slightly to spite an ex-boyfriend that accused her of not doing anything. So overnight in 2007, she recorded her first album. Since then she's released a number of records, and her latest is the beautiful Two Mountains, which is available from Yellow K Records. Gabby is also a founding member of The Epoch, a Brooklyn-based songwriting and art collective.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to comedy writer Daniel Kibblesmith. Originally from Chicago, Daniel has has done many cool comedy things in his career. This includes being a contributing writer for The Onion News Network, writing for Buzzfeed and ClickHole, producing exclusive videos for Funny or Die and The Best Show, co-authoring the humor book How to Win at Everything, and writing the amazing Twitter feed GOPTeens. And that's just a selection! Currently, Daniel is a writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to painter and singer-songwriter Ed Askew. Born in Stamford, Connecticut in 1940, Ed left in the early '60s to attend Yale Art School. In 1967, he moved to New York in the middle of the burgeoning Greenwich Village folk scene, and met Bernard Stollman, the founder of the ESP-Disk label, which was dedicated to releasing uncommercial acts, which included Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman and Ed's own folk album Ask the Unicorn. With no organized tours however, and hardly any press support from ESP, Ed’s album soon descended into hardly-seen-or-heard obscurity status, before finally finding re-release in the mid-2000s on De Stijl Records. Since being rediscovered, Ed's past and current work has been celebrated with Pitchfork and many other high-profile music media praised his work, labeling him as a NY legend. His latest albums can be found on Spinning Gold Records, Tin Angel Records as well as Drag City.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to comedian Mehran Khaghani. Born in London to Iranian parents, Mehran grew up partly in Iran and mostly in the suburbs of Boston. In 2007, he began pursuing stand-up as a career and quickly became a Boston favorite, prompting his move to New York. And not only was Mehran on the latest season of Last Comic Standing, but he can now be seen performing regularly at the city's best stand-up club The Comedy Cellar.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Kevin Barker. From 1995 to 2002, Kevin was a member of the wonderful indie rock band Aden, whose four albums were released on the fantastic label TeenBeat. At the same time, Kevin had his own solo-ish project called Currituck Co. In addition to these groups, he's played with Antony and the Johnsons, The Essex Green, Hercules and Love Affair, The Ladybug Transistor, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver and as part of Joanna Newsom's Ys Street Band.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to actor Aya Cash. The daughter of a poet and a Buddhist teacher, Aya grew up in San Francisco. After moving to New York, she was cast in a number of plays, films and TV shows, including Zoe Kazan's play Trudy and Max In Love, Law and Order: SVU, and The Good Wife. Currently Aya plays Gretchen, one of the lead roles, in the fantastic FX series You're the Worst.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Kurt Heasley. A Floridian by birth, Kurt spent his early years in Hopatcong, NJ and in Virginia Beach. In 1988, he recorded a demo tape which he gave to Slumberland Records boss Mike Schulman. Schulman was so impressed with the demo that he released Kurt's first records, which were recorded under the name The Lilys. Between 1992 and 2006, Kurt would go on to record eight albums as The Lilys including A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns, Eccsame the Photon Band, and Everything Wrong Is Imaginary, which span genres from shoegaze to psych-rock to mod revival. Although Kurt stopped making music full time to concentrate on other pursuits, he plays every now and then, including some recent shows in Philly and New York.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Anika Pyle. Originally from Monument, Colorado, Anika moved to New York with some friends to play music. And in 2012, she, along with Drew Johnson, Doug McKeever, and Dan Frelly, formed the Superchunk-esque band Chumped. In 2013 and 2014, Anchorless Records released two of their EPs, one self-titled and the other named That's The Thing Is Like..., and then later that year, they released their first full-length Teenage Retirement. All are well worth your time.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to stand-up and activist Ted Alexandro. A New York native, Ted has been performing comedy for over 20 years and was called one of the linchpins of New York comedy by Time Out. He's performed on Letterman, Conan, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, The View, and he has two half-hour specials on Comedy Central. Ted is also heavily involved in activism, including the Occupy Wall Street movement. He was also one of the founders of The New York Comedians Coalition, which helped organize New York stand-ups to fight for better pay.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Briana Marela. A Seattle native, Briana knew she wanted to be a musician from a young age. In 2010 she released her first album Water Ocean Lake, and two years later Bicycle Records put out her next one Speak From the Heart (which is wonderful). Her first album on a larger indie label All Around Us was recorded in late 2013 in Reykjavik, Iceland with some of the dudes from Sigur Rós and múm, and it was released in August on Jagjaguwar!This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to stand-up and writer Marina Franklin. Originally from Chicago, she moved to New York in 1997 after getting her Master's degree in theater. Two short years later, she made the decision to pursue comedy as a career and since then has appeared in numerous shows including Chappelle's Show, Inside Amy Schumer, and The Nightly Show. Marina's performed stand-up on Last Comic Standing, John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show, the Showtime special Women Who Kill, and most recently killed it on Conan, as well as internationally at festivals like the Melbourne Comedy Festival, Montreal’s Just For Laughs, and Ireland’s Kilkenny Comedy Festival. Most recently, Marina has been working as a writer on the new Sharon Horgan HBO show Divorce!This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode, I talk to writer and director Leslye Headland. Leslye began her career in showbiz as an assistant to film producer Harvey Weinstein. But her career as a professional filmmaker began in 2012 when her film Bachelorette with Lizzy Caplan and Rebel Wilson debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Leslye is also a playwright and screenwriter - Bachelorette is based on one of the plays in her Seven Deadly Sins cycle, and she penned the screenplay for the Kevin Hart remake of About Last Night. This year, Leslye's second movie Sleeping with Other People premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and in September had a theatrical release by IFC Films.This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.