Beginnings

On today's episode I talk to musician Matt Pryor. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Matt has been playing music professionally for over two decades. First with The Get Up Kids, who are generally thought of as one of the quintessential bands of the second-wave emo movement. They've toured the world and released five critically and commercially successful albums over their career: Four Minute Mile, Something to Write Home About, On a Wire, Guilt Show and There Are Rules. Matt has also released seven albums as The New Amsterdams, which began as his solo project before blossoming into a full band of its own, and two albums for kids as The Terrible Twos. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Liz Stokes. Based in New Zealand, Liz is the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band The Beths. While a relatively new group - their debut EP Warm Blood was released in 2016 - they have a sense of self and chemistry that is utterly apparent from even a casual listen. Their first album Future Me Hates Me will be released on August 10th on Carpark Records, and it is truly delightful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musicians Colin Newman and Malka Spigel. Married since 1986, Colin and Malka are a post-punk power couple. Colin is a member of the seminal post-punk band Wire, whose early albums Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154 were the blueprints for decades of music. And Colin continues to be a vibrant creative voice with his solo albums, and his work with his wife Malka in Githead and Immersion. Before her collaborations with Colin, Malka was a member of the influential European rock band Minimal Compact, who released numerous albums in the 1980s on Crammed Discs. Immersion's latest album Sleepless was just released, and it is wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

This week my new podcast Couples Therapy debuts, so I thought I'd give y'all a taste of that! If you like it, subscribe and follow us on social media! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer Glen David Gold. Glen is the author of the bestselling novels Sunnyside and Carter Beats the Devil, and his essays, memoir, journalism and short fiction have appeared in McSweeney's, Playboy, Wired, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the Guardian UK and London Independent. He has written The Spirit for DC comics and The Escapist for Dark Horse and recently he has co-written episodes of The Thrilling Adventure Hour and Welcome to Nightvale. His three-part memoir I Will Be Complete is available now! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Nora Singh. Originally from Texas, Nora nee Anna Barie started playing music over a decade ago with the Brooklyn experimental noise band These Are Powers. They released a number of albums on HOSS Records and Dead Oceans. In 2012, Nora moved to France and started the electronic duo DUBAI, and eventually ended up in LA, where she founded the "queencore" band Hit Bargain. Their debut album Potential Maximizer was released on Buzz Records back in May, and it's wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to TV writer Adam Zwar. Originally from Cairns, Queensland, Adam is an award-winning Australian actor, voice artist, and writer. He is best known for co-creating the Australian comedy series Squinters, Lowdown, Wilfred and creating the popular factual series Agony Aunts, Agony Uncles, The Agony of Life, The Agony of Modern Manners and Agony. In addition to all this, he was a writer and actor on the sketch series The Wedge, acted in the wonderful series Top of the Lake, and co-wrote and co-starred in the movie Rats and Cats, which premiered to sell-out audiences and critical acclaim at the Melbourne International Film Festival and later SXSW. And all this is just a small sampling of his credits! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer and podcaster Kara Brown. Kara started out writing for magazines and websites like Glamour, Vanity Fair, Billboard and The Cut, and was a senior writer for Jezebel. She's written for the Black-ish spin-off grown-ish, contributes to Shondaland.com, is the co-host of Crooked Media's pop culture podcast Keep It, and this year, was named one of the "30 under 30 in Hollywood and Entertainment" by Forbes Magazine. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Colleen Green. Based in Los Angeles (where she was voted best solo artist by LA Weekly), Colleen has recorded three albums in the last seven years, her first, Milo Goes to Compton, in 2011, and two subsequent albums Sock It To Me and I Want to Grow Up, which were both released by Hardly Art. She has toured all over the world, and this summer is playing all around the US. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Cecil Castellucci. Based in Los Angeles, Cecil is the author of books and graphic novels for young adults including Boy Proof, The Plain Janes, Soupy Leaves Home, The Year of the Beasts, Tin Star, and the Eisner nominated Odd Duck. In 2015, she co-authored Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure, and currently is writing Shade, The Changing Woman (formerly Shade, The Changing Girl), an ongoing comic on Gerard Way's Young Animal imprint at DC Comics. Cecil's short stories and short comics have been published in Strange Horizons, Tor.com, Womanthology, Star Trek: Waypoint, among others, and she is the Children's Correspondence Coordinator for The Rumpus, a two-time MacDowell Fellow and the founding YA Editor at the LA Review of Books. Her latest book, Don't Cosplay With My Heart, is out now! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to James McCall AKA Nocando. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nocando got his start rap battling in Leimert Park in the Crenshaw District of South Central, and In 2007, he won the MC Battle at Scribble Jam, the largest hip-hop festival in the nation. Since 2004, he's released a ton of EPs, mixtapes and featured on dozens of songs, as well as a number of collaborations including 2010's Flash Bang Grenada with Busdriver. In 2011, he founded the label Hellfyre Club, which has released albums by Milo, Busdriver and Open Mike Eagle among many others, and James has released three albums: Jimmy the Lock in 2010, Jimmy the Burnout in 2014, and Severed in 2017. His latest album Coyote will be released on June 13th! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Amy Aniobi. Amy is a TV writer originally hailing from North Texas. She is a co-executive producer on HBO's groundbreaking comedy, Insecure starring Issa Rae, and she also served as head writer/EP for the 2 Dope Queens stand-up specials on HBO. In addition, Amy has written for Silicon Valley, The Michael J. Fox Show and Trial and Error. Amy has a number of projects in development, including Homecoming Queen, a pilot at Amazon starring comedian Phoebe Robinson, Brown Girls, a pilot she's supervising for HBO, and an untitled comedy project produced by Reese Witherspoon. Amy also co-created, co-directed and starred in the web series, Lisa and Amy Are Black, created the web series, The Slutty Years, and wrote for both seasons of Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to actor D'Arcy Carden. Originally from Danville, CA, D'Arcy got her comedy start at UCB where she was on a number of house sketch and improv teams. She's appeared on shows like Comedy Bang Bang, Veep, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Broad CIty, and currently, she is one of the members of the acting class on the incredible HBO show Barry and one of the stars of the fantastic NBC show The Good Place. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Julia Wertz. Julia is a professional cartoonist, amateur historian and part time urban explorer/photographer. She made the comic books The Fart Party vol 1 and vol 2 (collected in Museum of Mistakes) and the graphic novels Drinking at the Movies, and The Infinite Wait and Other Stories, both of which were nominated for Eisner Awards. Her newest book, Tenements, Towers & Trash: An Unconventional, Illustrated History of New York City, was published by Black Dog & Leventhal/Hachette in Oct 2017, for which she won the 2018 Brendan Gill Prize. Julia currently does monthly comics and illustration for the New Yorker and her work appears semi-regularly in publications such as the New York Times, Harper's Magazine, the Believer, and Medium. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Dan Gregor. Dan is a TV and film writer and director, who got his comedy start as one of the founding members of the (now) long-running NYU sketch group Hammerkatz and as a performer at UCB. He's written feature films for Disney, Paramount Studios, Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment; for shows like How I Met Your Mother, The Comedians, and NTSF:SD:SUV; and he currently writes for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on the CW. This year at SXSW, Dan's film Most Likely to Murder, which he co-wrote and directed, debuted. Starring Adam Pally and his wife Rachel Bloom, the film is now available online to rent or buy! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Aisling Bea. Originally from County Kildare, Ireland, Aisling has been acting and performing stand-up for over a decade. She's appeared on almost every TV panel show in the UK including 8 Out Of 10 Cats (where she was the first ever female team captain), Taskmaster, Qi, @Midnight and many others. As an actor, Aisling has been in many shows, both drama and comedy, including The Fall, Hard Sun, Damned, The Delivery Man, Dead Boss and many others, and her new show Happy, which she created with Sharon Horgan, was just ordered to series. And finally, as a stand-up, she's appeared on numerous shows and festivals. Her debut solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe, C'est La Bea, was nominated for the Foster's Best Newcomer Award and a year later, she won the British Comedy Award for Best Female TV Comedian. Her Netflix 15-minute special will be released later this year. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Wayne White. Born and raised in Chattanooga, Wayne is an artist, art director, illustrator, puppeteer, and much, much more. After graduating from Middle Tennessee State University, Wayne traveled to New York City where he worked as an illustrator for the East Village Eye, New York Times, Raw Magazine, and the Village Voice. In 1986, Wayne became a designer for the hit television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and his work was awarded with three Emmys. After traveling to Los Angeles, Wayne continued to work in television and designed sets and characters for shows such as Shining Time Station, Beakman's World, Riders In The Sky, and Bill & Willis. He also worked in the music video industry, winning Billboard and MTV Music Video Awards as an art director for seminal music videos including The Smashing Pumpkins' 'Tonight, Tonight' and Peter Gabriel's 'Big Time.' More recently, Wayne has had great success as a fine artist and has created paintings and public works that have been shown all over the world, and in 2009, Wayne's life and career were chronicled in an incredible 382-page monograph, edited by Todd Oldham. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Carson Mell. Originally from Arizona, Carson is a writer based in Los Angeles, who's worked on a number of shows including Eastbound & Down, Room 104, Silicon Valley and many others. Carson also created the webseries Tarantula, and in 2017, the first season of a show based on the webseries debuted on TBS. (It's great!) In addition to his TV writing, Carson is also an author having penned books like Field Notes from Dimension X and Saguaro: The Life & Adventures of Bobby Allen Bird, and he's also one-half of the band CAS'L, with Foxygen's Jon Rado. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Anna Waronker. Anna is a singer/songwriter, composer, and producer originally from Los Angeles. After graduating from high school, Anna formed the band that would eventually become That Dog. While the band was only active for six years, they released three great albums on DGC Records (That Dog, Totally Crushed Out and Retreat from The Sun) and toured with everyone from Beck to Weezer to Blur. The band reunited in 2011 and recorded a new album to be released in the future. As a solo artist, Anna has released two albums, Anna and California Fade, and scores music for film and TV, which includes shows like Clueless, Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Castle. Anna also now works in theater. Her last production was Lovelace: A Rock Musical, a collaboration with her sister-in-law Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Josh Ruben. Josh is a 5-time Webby award winning actor, writer, and director, best known for appearing in and/or directing thousands of shorts for comedy megasite, CollegeHumor. Josh's podcast, The Mindhouse, is a part of fellow CollegeHumor alums Jake & Amir's HeadGum network, and as an actor, he appeared opposite Adam Devine in Season 3 of "Adam Devine's House Party" on Comedy Central, as the son of Chris Elliott and Amy Sedaris in Go90's "Thanksgiving" and co-stars in feature indie, "What Children Do", an official selection of the 2017 Cinequest Film Festival. Josh is also one of the founding producers of The Woodstock Comedy Festival, a non-profit event in his home town of Woodstock, New York, which donates all proceeds to the fight against domestic violence and human trafficking. Most recently, Josh directed the Netflix action/comedy series, "The Green Beret's Guide To Surviving: The Apocalypse" executive produced by Matt Damon & Peter Berg. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to artist Ian Davis. Born in Indianapolis in 1972, Ian now lives in Los Angeles, after a long stint in New York. He has participated in exhibitions at museums and galleries throughout the U.S. including a solo exhibition in 2010 at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. Ian's works are in the collections of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas; the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri; the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, Nebraska; the Saatchi Gallery in London, and many distinguished private collections in the U.S. and Europe. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Rachel Browne. Rachel is a musician, writer and visual artist living in Philadelphia, PA. She earned a Bachelor of Music with a concentration in studio composition from Purchase College and has been writing and performing in the band Field Mouse since its formation in 2009. The band self-released their first album You Are Here in 2010, and Topshelf Records released their next two - Hold Still Life in 2014 and Episodic in 2016. Rachel also writes and performs solo under the name Anomie. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to actress DeWanda Wise. Originally from Maryland, DeWanda graduated from the Tisch School at NYU in 2006, and began her professional acting career soon after with small roles on shows like Law and Order: SVU and The Good Wife. This led to larger parts on Underground and Shots Fired, and in 2017, she was the lead in Spike Lee's Netflix remake of his seminal film She's Gotta Have It. Currently, she's been cast opposite Brie Larson in the Captain Marvel film in an unspecified role. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Dean Wareham. Originally from Wellington, New Zealand, Dean's family moved to New York in 1977 when he was a teenager. In college at Harvard, he formed the seminal indie rock band Galaxie 500 with Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang. They recorded three albums - Today, On Fire and This Is Our Music, which were released on Rough Trade - but broke up in 1991, when he formed Luna. Luna was one of the biggest indie rock bands of the 1990s, and Elektra released many of their iconic albums including Lunapark, Bewitched, Penthouse, and Pup Tent. Currently, Dean writes music under his own name and with his wife Britta Phillips as Dean & Britta. The two have recorded a number of albums and scored a handful of Noah Baumbach films like The Squid and the Whale and Mistress America. In addition to all of this, Dean wrote a memoir of about his years in indie rock called Black Postcards. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comedian and writer Jo Firestone. Originally from St. Louis, Jo is a stand-up and the creator of dozens of live shows, including the pun competition Punderdome, the Inner Beauty Pageant, and the Unexpectashow at UCB. As an actor, Jo's been in everything from Broad City to Search Party to the Mike Birbiglia film Don't Think Twice, and as a stand-up, she's performed on Night Train with Wyatt Cenac and her own Comedy Central Half Hour. In addition to all of this, Jo is also the host of her very own podcast on Earwolf, the loveable Dr. Gameshow, and co-hosts the weekly stand-up show Butterboy along with Aparna Nancherla and Maeve Higgins. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to actor and comedian Griffin Newman. Raised in New York, Griff has been writing and performing for a lion's share of his life. In 2007, he started college, but left in his first year to pursue acting, and since then has appeared in a number of films and TV shows including Law and Order, Blue Bloods, Fort Tilden, Vinyl, Cop Show, Difficult People, Draft Day, Search Party, Our Cartoon President, and currently stars as the sidekick Arthur in Amazon's live action The Tick. In addition, Griffin co-hosts the popular podcast Blank Check with film critic David Sims. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to composer and musician Ryan Lott. Born in Denver, CO, Ryan began playing music when he was relatively young. His first album as Son Lux, At War with Walls & Mazes, was released by Anticon in 2008, and since then they've recorded three other albums, We Are Rising in 2011, Lanterns in 2013, and Bones in 2015. In 2014, Ryan collaborated with Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti as the band Sisyphus, releasing a self-titled album that year. As a composer, Ryan has scored the soundtracks for a number of films, including Mean Dreams, Paper Towns, and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. This Friday, City Slang will release Son Lux's latest album Brighter Wounds (and it is great!). This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to TV writer Amy Hubbs. Originally from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Amy began her TV career as a writers' assistant on the original run of NBC's Will & Grace, and since then has worked on numerous shows including Raising Hope, The Crazy Ones, Ugly Betty, and Great News. Currently she is a writer and producer on the new Freeform show Alone Together, which stars Esther Povitsky. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comedian and musician Tawny Newsome. Originally from California, Tawny got her start in comedy in Chicago, where she was part of the Second City Mainstage, as well as the Second City National Touring Company. More recently, she was one of the stars of the wonderful Seeso show Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ and is a recurring character on BET's The Comedy Get Down. In addition, Tawny is a fan favorite on many Earwolf podcasts including Spontaneanation and Comedy Bang Bang. On top of all this, Tawny is also a musician, recording music on her own and with a number of other bands including Mekons-founder Jon Langford's Four Lost Souls, whose self-titled album was released late last year by Bloodshot Records. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to painter and illustrator Brandon Bird. Originally from Sacramento, CA, Brandon paints pop culture figures in absurd situations, like Christopher Walken building a Transformer in his garage or the cast of Frasier in a 1970s pulp fantasy series. He's organized a number of arts shows around these ideas and created a Law and Order coloring book called Law & Order: An Adventure to Color! Brandon also contributes to the wonderful magazine The Believer, and in 2013 Chronicle Books released an anthology of his work called Brandon Bird's Astonishing World of Art. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to actor James Urbaniak. Originally from Bayonne, New Jersey, James was part of the flourishing 1990s New York theater scene. It was there he met Hal Hartley who cast him as Simon Grim in the wonderful film Henry Fool. Since then, James has been part of Hartley's unofficial repertory, acting in a number of his other films. Outside of these, James has also acted in dozens of roles for TV and the silver screen, turning out classic performances such as R. Crumb in American Splendor, Dr. Venture in The Venture Bros., Grant on Andy Daly's show Review, and Julie's boyfriend Arthur on Difficult People. In addition, James has his own radio drama podcast called Getting On With James Urbaniak. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to stand-up and writer Dana Gould. Originally from Hopedale, MA, Dana started performing stand-up at the tender age of 17, and since then has taped numerous late night appearances, specials (including an HBO Half-Hour), and four albums: Funhouse, I Know It's Wrong, Let Me Put My Thoughts in Your, and his latest Mr. Funny Man, which was just released earlier this year on the wonderful label Kill Rock Stars. As an actor, he's appeared in everything from Roseanne to Seinfeld to King of Queens, as well as most of the programs he's written for, which include The Ben Stiller Show, The Simpsons, Parks and Rec, and his own show on IFC, Stan Against Evil, which just finished its second season. In addition to all this, Dana hosts his own monthly podcast The Dana Gould Hour, which is just a delight. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

We're stuck between Christmas and New Year's Eve, folks, so I thought I'd drop a bonus episode this week! What's a "bonus episode" of Beginnings? These are episodes that deviate from "let's talk to a creator I admire about their childhoods" and instead take a peek behind the curtain of showbiz. As I get deeper into the business part of this industry, I learn so much more about the real structures underpinning why certain TV shows get made or why certain actors become household names, and I think it's worth talking about those things. So on today's episode, I talk to my fiancee Naomi Ekperigin, a wonderful stand-up and TV writer (perhaps you've seen her Half Hour or one of the shows she's written on like Broad City or Great News). We moved to LA halfway through the year, so we talk about some of the lessons we've learned in 2017 and also discuss ways we can stay ethical and keep our dignity in the face of the Beast we call ShowBiz! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to TV writer and showrunner Karl Schaefer. Originally from Downey, CA, Karl has been working in TV since the late 1980s, where he started off as the creator and showrunner of TV 101. In the '90s, he created and showran two supernatural programs Eerie, Indiana and Strange Luck, and then spent time writing on a number of different shows including Monk, The Dead Zone, Eureka and Ghost Whisperer. In 2014, he co-created the wonderful show Z Nation, which just finished its fourth season on SyFy. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to TV writer Jessica Gao. Originally from Los Angeles, Jessica began her TV writing career in the world of animation, working on shows like Nickelodeon's The Mighty B and Kung Fu Panda, as well as live action shows for both Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel. In 2014, Jessica wrote for Silicon Valley on HBO, followed by the wonderful Seeso (RIP) show Bajillion Dollar Propertie$. Currently she is writing on the beloved Adult Swim show Rick and Morty and the upcoming Comedy Central show Corporate, and she also hosts a podcast about writing and race with Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon called Whiting Wongs. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to comics writer and artist Sina Grace. Based in Los Angeles, Sina is the author and illustrator of a number of books for Image Comics including Self-Obsessed, Not My Bag, and Nothing Lasts Forever. He acts as the artist for Shaun Steven Struble's cult hit, The Li'l Depressed Boy, and handles art chores along with co-writing the Image Comics hit series, Burn the Orphanage. Sina has also done illustrations for all-ages readers, including Among the Ghosts, written by Amber Benson, and Penny Dora & the Wishing Box, written by Michael Stock. His previous works include the slice-of-life Books with Pictures, and the neo-noir urban fantasy, Cedric Hollows in Dial M for Magic. For a time, he acted as Editorial Director for Robert Kirkman's Skybound imprint at Image Comics. And most recently, Sina has been writing Iceman for Marvel Comics, and it is easily the best X-comic currently being published. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer and painter Steve Dildarian. Originally from New Jersey, Steve spent many years as an advertising executive and created a number of well-known campaigns including the "Budweiser Lizards". In 2006, Steve created an animated short film called Angry Unpaid Hooker, which won the best animated short at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, which led to his show on HBO. The Life & Times of Tim ran for three seasons from 2008 to 2012 and is wonderful. Tim is also a painter and you can purchase his artwork online, and most recently, he created a pilot for Amazon called The New V.I.P.'s. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

It's almost Thanksgiving, folks! So I thought I'd drop a bonus episode early so you could listen while you're traveling for the holidays. What's a "bonus episode" of Beginnings? These are episodes that deviate from "let's talk to a creator I admire about their childhoods" and instead take a peek behind the curtain of showbiz. As I get deeper into the business part of this industry, I learn so much more about the real structures underpinning why certain TV shows get made or why certain actors become household names, and I think it's worth talking about those things. So on today's episode, I talk to my friend Katie Walsh. Katie is a Los Angeles-based film critic and journalist, reviewing weekly film releases for the Tribune News Service, Los Angeles Times, and The Playlist. She is also a member of the LA Film Critics Association, has served on the jury for the Women In Film Finishing Fund grant, and has been a member of the nominating committee for Breakthrough Performance for IFP's Gotham Awards. Katie and I get into the nuts and bolts of being a film critic, the economics behind Hollywood awards, and tension that comes from commodifying your art. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to actor and voiceover artist Carlos Alazraqui. Carlos is probably most often recognized as Deputy James Garcia from Comedy Central's hit show Reno 911! A standup comic for over 25 years, he is also one of LA's top voiceover actors with hundreds of credits to his name, including The Taco Bell Chihuahua, Mr. Weed on FOX's Family Guy, Lazlo on Cartoon Network's Camp Lazlo, Bane in Justice League: Doom, and Mr. Crocker on Nickelodeon's long running series Fairly OddParents. Currently he is rebooting his role of Rocko in the New Rocko's Modern Life for Nickelodeon, due out next year. Carlos also recently won the prestigious Annie Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production" for his role of Ponce de León in The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Javier Grillo-Marxuach. Originally from Puerto Rico, Javi earned his MFA in screenwriting from USC in the early 1990s, and soon after started his television career. He's written for a number of rad shows across many different genres including Charmed, Boomtown, Medium, Lost, Helix and The 100, and he created and showran the fantastic show The Middleman, which was based on his own comics. Javi's also the co-host with Jose Molina of the Children of Tendu podcast, which is an educational series that aims to teach newcomers how to navigate the entertainment industry with decency and integrity (and as far as I'm concerned is a must-listen for anyone that wants to work in this industry). Currently, Javi co-executive produces the Jim Henson Company's upcoming ten-hour prequel to their classic film The Dark Crystal for Netflix. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to TV writer and performer Eliot Glazer. Originally from Long Island, Eliot is now based in LA and has written for or contributed to shows like Billy on the Street, Difficult People, Best Week Ever, Younger, Broad City, New Girl, and currently Teachers. He also recently developed a show for Comedy Central produced by Will Arnett. As a performer, you've seen him on plenty of shows, such as playing Ilana's brother on Broad City, or at his wonderful live show Haunting Renditions, where Eliot takes some of pop music's most infamous songs and turns them into highbrow, sweeping ballads. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Angelo de Augustine. Angelo writes and records music in Thousand Oaks, California -- a suburb north of Los Angeles, where he grew up. His self-released debut album, Spirals of Silence, and 3-song EP follow-up, How Past Begins, earned praise from The FADER, Stereogum, Vogue, My Old Kentucky Blog, and more, and his music has been compared to Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, Vashti Bunyan and Judee Sill. His latest album, Swim Inside the Moon, was released by Asthmatic Kitty in August. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Inara George. The daughter of Lowell George, who was a member of Frank Zappa's band and the founder of rock group Little Feat, Inara grew up in Topanga Canyon, in the outskirts of Los Angeles. Since the 1990s, she has been a member of a number of bands herself including Lode, Merrick, and starting in the early 2000s, the indie pop duo The Bird and The Bee with Greg Kurstin. The duo have released a number of amazing albums and EPs, including an self-titled record, Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future, and their latest, Recreational Love, which was released in 2015. Inara has also recorded a number of albums under her own name: All Rise in 2005, An Invitation in 2008, which she recorded with Brian Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks, Accidental Experimental in 2009, and her latest Dearest Everybody, which will come out early next year. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to TV writer Annie Mebane. Originally from Florida, Annie came up in comedy at iOWest and UCBLA, performing on house improv teams at both theaters. As a writer, she's worked on a number of awesome shows including Happy Endings, Breaking In, Community, The Michael J. Fox Show, The Goldbergs, and currently the new Heathers series. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to TV writer Cord Jefferson. Originally from Tucson, Cord began his career as a print journalist, first as senior editor at GOOD magazine and then as the west coast editor at Gawker. His reporting and writing have appeared in numerous places including National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, The Root, TheNation.com, Jezebel, The American Prospect, and many others. As a TV writer, he started off on The Nightly Show, moved to Master of None, and currently writes on the wonderful NBC show The Good Place. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to musician Cory Hanson. Originally from Los Angeles, Cory began playing music professionally with Mikal Cronin and the bands, together PANGEA and Meatbodies. In 2014 he formed Wand with his former art school classmates Lee Landey and Evan Burrows, and they've gone on to record four albums: Ganglion Reef, Golem, 1000 Days, and their latest Plum (the last two were released on the wonderful label Drag City!). Last year, Drag City also released Cory's solo album The Unborn Capitalist from Limbo. All of these terrific! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

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 on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

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, follow me on Twitter.

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.

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 well as many others. Jill is also the recipient of a Columbia University Writing Fellowship, a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Teacher Award and a National Endowment for the Arts Fiction Grant. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.