Head On Fire

Charles Lu is a Canadian fashion designer whose work has been seen in London, Dubai, and on the hit Netflix show Next In Fashion with Tan France. The child of Vietnamese refugees, he knew his entire life he was going to be a fashion designer. He will make you rethink your relationship to hoodies, and he is my guest today. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

96% of Americans claim to love cheese, according to one survey. The same survey said our love of cheese outranks our love of coffee, social media, national pride, and even our beloved cell phones. Americans’ favorite dish? Mac & cheese. Almost every type of cuisine on the planet features at least one type of cheese. But what do we really know about this most beloved of foods? Emilia D’Albero calls herself the CEO of Cheesetok, and for good reason. Her educational videos showcasing the history, preparation, storage, and myth busting of cheese have been seen by millions of people. I sat down with the cheesemonger herself for a deep dive discussion to ask all the questions even I never knew I wanted answers to about this most supreme of foods. For a brief time only, get signed copies of my book ‘while I wait to be a god again’ here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/784773093/while-i-wait-to-be-a-god-again-signed Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Clarkesworld magazine is a publisher of short form science fiction with the distinction of providing its prospective authors a quick turnaround on submissions. This uniqueness is compounded by the fact that, unlike most other similar publications, the magazine is always open to submissions. All of that changed earlier this year when the Neil Clarke, the founder of Clarkesworld, made international headlines for closing submissions down for the first time in the magazine's decades-long history. Why? Because of ChatGPT. I sat down with Neil to have a deep dive discussion about how legacy media is evolving with technology and accessibility, how the sudden onslaught of chatbot generated content has transformed the submission process, and where science fiction goes from here. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Chances are if you have a racist aunt with access to social media, you've come across the term DEI a lot lately. It's the new conservative boogeyman. It's the reason why SVB closed. The reason why drag queens read books to kids. And it's what happens when big companies get dragged on social media for being run almost exclusively by cisgender, heterosexual white men making 7-figures a year. But what is DEI - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - education? Why has it become so synonymous with corporate training? What are its uses, if any, in the world at large? Tanorria Askew has spent decades as a passionate advocate for DEI, creating or consulting on a number of programs for an even larger number of companies. She's seen what happens when DEI training is done well, done poorly, and what promise it holds for future workers. She's also an accomplished chef - you may have seen her face alongside Gordon Ramsay on MasterChef. She's combined her background in DEI and her time in the kitchen to create Unity Tables - "a safe space for women of different races, cultures, and backgrounds to sit around a dinner table and share their heart as a way to create unity". Look for her cookbook Staples + 5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry everywhere books are sold. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

The internet allows all sorts of people to come together to share their love of musicians, actors, tv shows and movies, and...anything. Everything. There are communities who share a love even specific characters from a book series, and I've even recently come across a diehard community of people who share a specific love of Uncrustables - a frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwich snack. But what happens when fandoms go too far? What happens when a group of people with a lot of big feelings, access to all sorts of personal information, and the anonymity of a screen name decide to turn on you? That's when fandom gets extreme. I spoke to illustrator and researcher Sam Aburime about the rise of Extreme Fandoms. Sam kindly provided resources for you to use as a springboard if this topic interests you: Further Published Reading on Anti-Fans: "Jonathan Gray describes anti-fans as those who 'strongly dislike a given text or genre, considering it inane, stupid, morally bankrupt and/or aesthetic drivel' (Gray 2003, 70). He also acknowledges that 'fans can become anti-fans of a sort when an episode or part of a text is perceived as harming a text as a whole' (73). However, as his contribution to this collection discusses, anti-fan practices are varied and take a number of different forms." (Williams, 2020, Anti-fandom: Dislike and hate in the digital age) Symposium specifically related to Antis: Aburime, Samantha. 2021. "The Cult Structure of the American Anti." Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 36. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2021.2147. Wikis:‘Anti-Shipper’, (2023), Fanlore Wiki, May 12, https://fanlore.org/wiki/Anti-shipper Books & Articles: Click, M. A. (ed.), (2020), Anti-fandom: Dislike and hate in the digital age, New York: New York University Press. Gray, J. (2022), Dislike-Minded: Media, Audiences, and the Dynamics of Taste, NYU Press. Gray, J. (2003), ‘New Audiences, New Textualities: Anti-Fans and Non-Fans.’ International Journal of Cultural Studies, 6 (1), pp.64–81 https://books.google.com/books/about/Cultish.html?id=L-n8DwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Voice acting brings life to everything from corporate training videos to tearjerker holiday commercials to your favorite characters in animated movies or video games. But the daily grind isn't as easy as sitting down and reading a few lines. Tawny Platis is a lifelong actress who has found recent success behind the microphone, and she guides us through what it takes to make it in the cutthroat world of microphone jockeys. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

I think you should confront the things you fear. Not me, of course, but you definitely should. I hear it's great therapy. Me? I talk to experts about the things that I fear, and I cannot think of a creature that inspires for fear, misunderstanding, and general "icky" feelings than bats. But, maybe that's because I don't know enough about them. Alyson Brokaw is a behavioral ecologist and bat scientist who earned her PhD from Texas A&M University. She's a passionate advocate for not only education, but navigating the world around us. (Literally, her dissertation was on how bats use their sense of smell to navigate.) She uses her social media platform to teach the public about the fascinating truth behind one of the world's most maligned creatures. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

What's the difference between myths, legends, and folklore? Or...is there a difference? The winter holiday season is chock full of magic and monsters and bits of folklore abounding in everything from the colors of the season to the foods that we eat. Folklore itself - as a topic of study and discussion - has had a bit of a moment this year. Plenty of voices have made a bit of a name for themselves bringing folklore to the masses via social media, but there's a lot of nuance when you scratch the surface of the topic. So, I talked to my very favorite folklorist, Dr. Cory Hutcheson, about the study of folklore, its misconceptions, and what it teaches us about cultures past and present. We also talked about comic book mythology and what has to happen for the stories of today to become the folklore of tomorrow. Find out more about Cory on his podcast, New World Witchery, or by picking up his book of the same name. Brief housekeeping note: I'll be taking January off from producing new shows. Look for new episodes of Head On Fire in February 2023! Happy New Year everyone! Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

We know Christmas today as a time of Santa in a red suit flying around delivering presents. We know it as a festive holiday filled with plenty of food and gift-giving and light. However, throughout history, this time of year was a pretty dark time filled with mischievous spirits and ghost stories. On this throwback episode that originally aired in 2019 I speak with art historian Susan Owens, author of The Ghost: a cultural history, about how ghosts were seen throughout the centuries and how they became the specters we know today. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

"Didn't he just put out an episode about quantum physics?" you might be asking yourself. First of all, shut up. Second of all, yes. Yes I did, BUT when you come across an expert who can correct Hank Green on quantum entanglement and help me understand basic tenets of quantum physics using a pair of socks, YOU DO ANOTHER SHOW ABOUT QUANTUM PHYSICS. Caroline R.Z. is a multitalented educator who uses her platform to discuss issues of culture, finance, physics, and gaming. (Just don't give her chicken in pasta.) If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Everyone is scared of "The Talk". We avoid it by using phrases like "the birds and the bees" instead of proper names for our bodies. Parents hope the schools do it but don't want the schools to do it and if the schools do it anyway they want to teach kids not to do..."it". And I get it. The intersection of sex education and children is uncomfortable, especially these days when children are being used as footballs by people who are more interested in scoring political points than making their lives safer and better. Not to mention the fact that when The Talk does happen, it tends to exclude folks belonging to LGBTQ+ or disabled communities. Enter Kathleen Hema. She's a sex educator with multiple advanced degrees and years of experience teaching children, adolescents, teens, and young adults. These days she's helping parents and kids find better ways to have The Talk through social media and her fun, informative videos. We have a deep dive discussion that will, hopefully, help you get comfortable with this uncomfortable topic. Not that I think it needs to be said, but this is a frank discussion of sex education. Correct names for body parts, discussions of sex, and other related topics will come up. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

By now you're probably aware there's a new Ant-Man movie on the way in the Marvel Cinematic Universe called Quantumania. In the MCU and other science fiction media, the word "quantum" gets thrown around quite a bit. Why can you teleport? Quantum physics. Why can you shrink to the size of an atom? Quantum mechanics. Why can you walk through walls or travel the multiverse or bring someone back from the dead? Quantum entanglement. Quantum computing. Quantum. Quantum. Quantum. At this point the word "quantum" paired with just about any other word is a stand-in for something like "science magic". It's the label slapped on a bit of plot to explain why the protagonist can do the thing. But this type of slapdash explanation isn't relegated to the silver screen. Films like 'What the BLEEP do we know?' and books like 'The Secret' all maintain that our thoughts affect the world around us. The phrase "thoughts are things" gets bandied about. Oftentimes this is called the "Law of Attraction", or whatever you think about most often tends to show up in your life. These days other buzzwords float around and occupy similar space. Affirmations. Manifestation. And why does any of this work? Quantum physics. Quantum mechanics. Quantum entanglement. Quantum. Quantum. Quantum. I'm no physicist, but I know enough about marketing to know that the same word cannot possibly mean all of these things at the same time. Or could it? I'm no physicist after all. Perhaps it can? I wanted to ask an expert. Jed Buchwald studied physics and science history at Princeton University, and earned a PhD from Harvard in 1974. He taught at the University of Toronto for two decades, where he spent a year as the director of that university's Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. Buchwald then became the director of the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology and the Bern Dibner Professor of the History of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining Caltech in 2001. He has authored or co-authored six books in the history of science and, more recently, on the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics. He edits or co-edits three book series for Springer, one for MIT, and two journals. Buchwald is a member of the American Philosophical Society, a member of the International Academy of the History of Science, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also a MacArthur Fellow (1995) and a Killam Fellow (1990–1991). Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Everyone has those stories from their childhood that are a mix of things that happened and things that didn't happen. This is one of mine. It is a story of death and grief and loss and how a child processes those things. But, it is also a story of an imaginary friend, a mostly forgotten Greek myth, and the stories families tell about themselves. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Dr. Eva Burke returns to provide an education on the value and cultural significance of horror movies. Dr. Eva Burke is a lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, and she both studies and teaches pop culture, genre fiction, crime novels, and, of course, horror. The official Head On Fire Horror Watchlist: Black Christmas (1974) Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) The Fly (1986) Candyman (1992) Audition (1999) Lake Mungo (2008) Suspiria (2018) Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Poetry has a weird reputation in literature. I cannot think of a time when it felt cool to like poetry. All sorts of other genres and styles of writing have had their heyday - seriously who would've thought that "dinosaur smut" would bring in such big bucks? - but poetry seems continually relegated to being that thing you had to get through back in school. Taylor Mali has been on a mission to transform the way we think about, read, listen to, and consider poetry. He has been featured in Russell Simmons' Def Poetry, as well as the documentaries SlamNation and Slam Planet. He has shared stages with Billy Collins and Allen Ginsberg. He's published several books and been featured in even more anthologies, and he took time out of all that to have a conversation with me about bad poetry, good poetry, and all the poetry you aren't reading but should be. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

When you're into crystals as a kid that - at least for me - takes the form of "rock on the side of the road pretty, must take home". When you're into crystals as an adult it comes with all this extra baggage. What's the name of the crystal in your hand? Where does it come from? How much child labor went into getting it out of the ground and into your hands? Does it actually cure my migraines? Yinan Wang is a geologist and children’s book writer. He is currently studying potential uses of new technology to aid the field of paleontology. He stopped by to have a conversation about the science and salesmanship behind pretty rocks. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Ola Ojewumi is a force of nature. When she was nine she learned she had a rare heart condition and by eleven she was faced with undergoing kidney and heart transplants. She grew up navigating a complex world of intersectional privilege and challenge which was only exacerbated when, as a young adult, she was diagnosed with cancer and soon after became a wheelchair user. She's a fierce advocate for the disabled community, having worked with Lady Gaga, Nancy Pelosi, Cory Booker, Steny Hoyer, and Barack Obama. She accomplishes more before breakfast than I do in an entire year. Today, she gives us a look at disability advocacy, the lyrical dust up involving Beyonce and Lizzo, and choosing our words more thoughtfully. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

You might have at one time said something like “I think if we ever met, I’d be really good friends with Dolly Parton.” Or thought if Chris Evans happened to come into the cafe where you work, he’d definitely go out with me. Have you ever heard of a parasocial relationship? The term was created in 1956 by Donald Horton and Richard Wohl to describe a unique one-sided relationship in which a member of an audience believes a person they see on tv or social media is their close personal friend. That they’re in a relationship with that person. I’m not talking about imagining meeting a celebrity in real life and then striking up a genuine friendship like in my initial examples, but believing that right now - without ever having met - you are in an intimate relationship of some kind. These days social media has made all of these lines even more blurred. A celebrity liking a tweet or a famous author answering your question. Television, social media, these have given us ways to carry celebrities around in our pockets, to give us a false sense of intimacy with people we’ve never met. When parasocial relationships stay in the realm of hypothetical, or perhaps even in something like passionate adoration, that’s fine. That’s not a crime. But some people take it too far. They believe celebrities, influencers, authors, actors owe them something. Parasocial relationships have a proven link to negative body image issues, increased aggression, and a whole host of problematic behaviors all stemming from this one-sided false intimacy. If you’re a creative person who puts their work out for public consumption, there’s one additional layer to consider. Ownership. Creative people - writers, actors, painters, etc - aren’t just known as themselves, but as their work, too. And, as a result of parasocial interactions and the general toxic discourse existing in various corners of the internet, there are those folks out in the world who feel a sense of ownership over that creative person’s work and career. They feel personally invested in its trajectory, taking losses as personal, and oftentimes expressing that they are owed something for wins and successes. Meg Elison is an author who knows this terrain all too well, and she wrote about it in her new book Number One Fan. It’s a breakdown of how social media blurs barriers between creator and audience, emboldens parasocial interactions, and acts as a cautionary tale for anyone who has ever summoned up a stranger by pressing a few buttons on their phone and then gotten into their car. While the story itself is fiction, the events inside it can be seen paralleled in news headlines on a weekly basis. Since recording this interview I can think of at least 3 times when I read or heard a story that shared shocking similarity to the plot being relayed by young women simply existing out in the world. This is a conversation about one-sided relationships, the specter of Stephen King, book consumption culture, niche internet communities, and who owns a creator’s work once it is out in the world. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524 YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

We love talking about food, but we have a tough time talking about eating. For some reason we are allowed to almost fetishize food, salivating over perfectly aesthetic photos of food but the moment that food touches our lips we are judged for it. And, naturally, the more layers of intersectional oppression you experience, the more you are judged for your food choices. Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson is Professor and Chair of the Department of American Studies at the University of Maryland College Park. Her research explores the ways in which Black people engage their material worlds, especially with food and food cultures as well as historical legacies of race and gender (mis)representation. She has conducted extensive research throughout the United States in this area using intersectionality, cultural studies, popular culture, and more to inform our understanding of these phenomena. She is the author of the new book Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Hate ads? Consider joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Writing is a special kind of solitary torture. The only thing about it anyone ever sees is the end result, the finished, published work resting on shelves. In today's booktok culture, books are consumed at lightning speed and reviewers rush to deliver the most controversial hot take they can think of for engagement. Years of a person's life are spent writing the stories that become our blockbuster movies or our summer beach reads. Years spent alone in a room somewhere with a pen and paper or a keyboard tapping out scenes and dialogue only to scrap it all later and rewrite. Creating work, toiling over its perfection, and then navigating social media to spread the word is all part of the job of a writer these days, on top of all the other actual work the author must do to create something special. It's agony. It's glorious. And, for some, it's incredibly rewarding. Ayana Gray's debut novel, Beasts of Prey, did something few debut authors achieve: it hit the New York Times bestseller list. Her follow up, Beasts of Ruin, is poised to do the same. (It's out today.) We sat down for a discussion on the work of writing, how that job has expanded, navigating how much of ourselves we give away, and how much we get to keep. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Help keep the show free and producing regularly by joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

Would you make a good cult leader? If not you, then you probably know someone who would. We're fascinated by cults. It seems like every day a new docuseries is dropped on some streaming service or podcast platform about yet another cult out there in the world taking people's time, energy, or money. Jennings Brown is an investigative journalist with a penchant for investigating cults. He's reported on Teal Swan, the Fellowship of Friends, as well as a number of conspiracy theories, algorithm blackholes, scam artists, and assorted ways people prey on others. We have a discussion about what it takes to not only investigate cults and cult leaders but what it takes to simply be a journalist in the sociopolitical climate of 2022. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Help keep the show free and producing regularly by joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Pre-K pause. If you’ve been online in any capacity in the last year, that phrase probably conjures up the face of Tell Williams. He was a pre-K teacher for 9 years before resigning to pursue a Master’s in social work. Along the way he accidentally found viral fame when a video he posted about the realities of being a teacher hit the algorithm jackpot. He’s gone on to try his hand at stand-up comedy, being the face of a nail polish brand, and even act in the new show The Book of Queer that just premiered on Discovery+. Despite sitting atop the influencer game, we had a lengthy conversation about his offline life. What it means to be a visibly queer, visibly BIPOC teacher right now when every news cycle seems to both praise teachers and vilify them. What it means for content to be “age appropriate”, and just how much our kids actually understand at a young age. I do want to warn you, we do touch on the subject of school shootings, though we do not go into specific details about any one shooting, however if that topic is sensitive for you at this time please listen with care. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Help keep the show free and producing regularly by joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

Lots of people have lots to say about the Bible. Loads of conspiracy theories exist about it. Whether it’s conspiracy theories about its creation, or lost books that didn’t make the cut, or obscure interpretations seen by a select few as prophecy about our modern world, not a day goes by that someone, somewhere isn’t holding the Bible up to the light and seeing if we missed anything. Beyond that, so-called biblical literalism has been the basis of support for a lot of pretty heinous parts of our country’s past and present. From regulating the sale of alcohol to vilifying interracial marriage and queer identity to demonizing immigrants to supporting slavery, supposed biblical scholars have found a way to twist the Bible in such a way that it is a timeless scapegoat for current hatred. All of this turns a lot of people off from not just modern Christianity, but of religion in general. Few scholars wish to use their time, energy, and knowledge to combat the misinformation and vitriol online. But, thankfully, my guest today does just that. Dan McClellan is a scripture translation supervisor for the LDS church, with a PhD in theology and religion. He ran for the State Senate as a Democrat in Utah. He is a fierce ally of the queer community, a debunker of conspiracy theories, and a Marvel fan. We had a lot to talk about. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

Witchcraft and magical practice has been an indelible part of the human experience throughout recorded history. Wherever there are people, there are people practicing magic. It shows up in all sorts of places: tv shows, fantasy novels, and the strange shop on the corner that smells of incense and has shelves lined with crystals. But what if I told you there is an actual, formal discipline of study when it comes to the history and practice of magic? Owen Davies is a professor of history at the University of Hertfordshire whose career has been spent largely researching witchcraft, magic, and ghosts. He is the president of The Folklore Society in the UK, and the author of - as of this recording - 16 publications on the subject. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the study of witchcraft, and he took some time to chat with me about witch trials, the fact and fiction of real witches, and, of course, Taylor Swift. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Help keep the show free and producing regularly by joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Connect with me on social media @headonfirepod everywhere. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

Early mornings and late sunsets are a hallmark of the summer season. The extra warmth and daylight is a blessing for many of us that live in areas where it is cold, dark, and wet or frozen for much of the year. It is a time of year that calls many of us to go out in search of high mountaintops or deep canyons, verdant forests, and untouched landscapes. To get back to nature. But getting back to nature isn't without its pitfalls, which is where my guest today comes in. Diana Helmuth is the author of How to Suffer Outside, a humorous guide for the beginning backpacker or hiker who would love to experience the great outdoors while keeping the agony to a minimum. Diana also graciously sent along a list of organizations specifically operated and aimed at people who are queer, women, or people of color who want to seek out more resources or engage with the outdoors near you! KweenWerk SheColorsNature (also great for advice for parents!) OutdoorAfro BrownPeopleCamping LatinoOutdoors WildDiversity UnlikelyHikers If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Help keep the show free and producing regularly by joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

Do you want to see a dead body? How about two? Would you like to see 1-2 dead bodies every day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for the next 20, 30, 40 years? If you said yes, you might have what it takes to do the job of my guest on today's episode of Head On Fire. The preparation and care for our dead is not just a sacred rite, or a taboo subject, but for folks like Temple Ruff it's a job. One that isn't without its perks, I mean how much more job security can you get than death, right? Temple is a mortician and funeral director, and today she helps us scratch the surface on what it means to care for our bodies after we're done using them. Temple Ruff is also the founder and COO of Idun Ruth, a nonprofit organization that seeks to help all those in her local North Carolina community who need access to personal sanitation items - such as diapers or menstrual products - get them. Idun Ruth offers inclusivity and anonymity to all. Please consider supporting this important local organization. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Help keep the show free and producing regularly by joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Connect with me on social media @headonfirepod everywhere. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

How much does the marketing industry know about you? You, specifically. Sure, you've heard all the horror stories - or maybe you've lived it - in which you're thinking about Pop Tarts and suddenly you see an ad on social media for Pop Tarts. That's freaky, right? But marketing existed long before the advent of modern technology and still seemed to somehow catch the pulse of what we all wanted to consume. Or did it? Maybe the truth about marketing isn't that it is reacting to what you're seeing or hearing, rather it is shaping it, shaping you. Helping you tell stories of how your life might look if you purchased this candy, went to see that movie, or, in the case of the United States, took this prescription medication. Or perhaps you've seen an ad that seemed so incredibly ill-advised you wonder...how many people had to look at this ad and ignore all the blatantly problematic visuals or ad copy before it was sent out in the world? How many people thought this was a good idea? Hayley Grant is a VP of Strategy for VaynerMedia, one of the country's largest and most influential marketing firms. She sat down for a deep dive conversation about the realities of the marketing industry. There were no topics off the table. We discussed how marketers decide who a product or service is for, how they develop a marketing strategy for them, and how they make us want things we didn't ever think we'd want. We discussed the taboos of pharmaceutical marketing and whether the US should change tactics to match the rest of the world. And, we discussed which piece of media the marketing industry is most like. (Hint: it's not Mad Men.) If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Help keep the show free and producing regularly by joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Connect with me on social media @headonfirepod everywhere. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

"Grief is a feeling made of feelings," says Mahlakai Rose, a death doula and co-founder of The House of Grief. We are all thinking about death lately. How we want to die, where and with whom we want to spend our final moments, and what we'd like to happen afterwards. But given how much our lives have changed in the last few years, we're also becoming clued in to the fact that death and grief happen more often than we'd like to think. We die little deaths throughout our lives. Unexpected loss of a job. Moving across the country. The end of a cherished friendship. Mal has a lot to teach us about dealing with grief and demystifying the role of a death doula in both our deaths and lives. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

There’s this urge to turn yourself into a brand online. No matter how specific your interests are, no matter how tiny you think the niche is, social media compels you to believe that if you want to participate in that culture you must become a copy of those who came before you. If you come online hoping to research anything - how to be a writer, how to organize your home, how to exercise - you are instantly bombarded with people who are not only far more advanced at that thing than you are, but they’ve cultivated their social media presence in such a way that you think the only way to get where you want to go is to buy what they’re selling. Surely they have the secret, right? Minimalism is a movement that is quite literally about living with less, and yet if you go online to research minimalism you’ll soon find that people are more than happy to sell you lots and lots of things in order to become a minimalist. Minimalist home organization supplies. Minimalist tables. Minimalist jewelry. Minimalist…refrigerators? (I googled it and the first search result is $4600.) Slap a branded label on it and suddenly you can sell a “minimalist decorative branch” for $250…for a stick you are going to lean in a corner of your room as decoration. Christine Platt is an expert on minimalism, personal branding, and navigating this uncomfortable confluence of authentic exploration and capitalism. She’s the author of The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less, and she says there’s a way to live with less without buying more. It’s all about creating an intentional life. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

The last two years of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic have forced a lot of people to take stock of what is important to them. For many that has meant assessing whether they're in the right career or whether it's time to take a chance on forging a path for themselves. That's what Nikk Alcaraz - an actor, food artist, and DIY craft maker - did. He created Practical Peculiarities, a content creation brand under which Alcaraz inspires people to add a bit of magic into their dinner menus or around their home. If you haven't heard the name before you've surely seen one of his many viral videos. Hear how he took the skills he learned from his previous jobs and lifelong passions and turned them all into a magical career of his own making.

What’s important to you? What do you value? What makes you happy? No matter how you answered I want to know: would your answers change if you were telling your significant other? A work acquaintance? Your boss? If I were there right now with a microphone and camera asking you on the record, would any of those answers change? The answer is…probably…yes. Right? Yes, of course, we don’t tell our bosses everything about our off-hours lives. We don’t tell our coworkers all the smutty shows we watch or tell our relatives about the things we enjoy that we don’t really want grandma asking us about around a holiday table. I’m speaking, of course, about guilty pleasures. The bits of pop culture that are considered silly, juvenile, and are often spoken of with derision. Reality television. Pop music. Fashion trends. It is rare that these bits of culture are seen as areas of legitimate interest, and rarer still when they are given serious study and consideration. My guest today hopes to change the discourse around so-called guilty pleasures. Her name is Dr. Eva Burke. She’s a lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, and she both studies and teaches pop culture. We open our discussion on the topic of guilty pleasures, and Dr. Burke had quite a lot to say on the matter. Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

An all too common problem for anyone in a creative field is other people's opinions. The folks who look over your shoulder and tell you that you should've painted something blue instead of red. The folks who take years of your life's work and turn it into bumper sticker commentary for easy engagement on social media. The alleged fans of a show that seem to take glee in tearing apart the thing they profess to love and ruining the lives of those who make it. My guest today knows this intimately, having written for some of the biggest shows to come on Netflix in recent years. Joshua Conkel is a screenwriter behind some of your favorite scenes in shows like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and A Series of Unfortunate Events. We sat down to discuss the perils of listening to other people's opinions, deciding whose opinions matter and whose don't, how consumers of media feel a sense of entitlement and ownership of that media, and how to create through all that noise. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Share it with your friends on social media. You can also like, rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leave a review. Reviews help recommend the show to other listeners like you. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by joining my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and a monthly book club! Sign up at Patreon.com/headonfirepod. Or if a one-time donation is more your speed, you can buy me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod. Connect with me on social media @headonfirepod everywhere.

A promotional trailer for Head On Fire. "Seek illumination the way a man with his head on fire seeks water." That's the ethos behind Head On Fire, a new podcast featuring deep dive conversations with experts in interesting, often overlooked fields. It's a search for meaning and answers to life's biggest and smallest questions. Join me, author and host Don Martin, every other week as we discuss everything from climate change and reproductive Justice to the cultural importance of reality television or the value of believing in monsters. Head On Fire, every other week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Coming February 2022.

Goodbye. Today is the very last episode of Inciting A Riot. And the last time I'll be speaking to you as Fire Lyte. Sometimes growth means putting yourself back together, and in 2022 I am going to embark on a more personal, more authentic journey. As myself. I hope you’ll come along with me. The antagonistic, pointed energy of Inciting A Riot is going away as it no longer serves me. In its place will be a new title and a new me. The real me. The me that my friends and loved ones know. No more mask. I explain everything in the podcast episode, but in short there’s no need to unsubscribe or resubscribe. The feed will stay the same. And, if you have any podcast name suggestions, I’m certainly willing to entertain them all. I’m also taking a month off from producing the show, the first break I’ve had in a few years. I want to give myself a space to breathe, to consider, and to feel confident and certain about my next steps. I’m a bit scared, if I’m being honest. Fire Lyte has presented a certain version of myself - a version that always has a witty, biting response or is willing to jump right in the middle of a fight without quite knowing whether he should - that you all like…and packing him up and living as my authentic self feels raw…shaky. I feel very much like a kid awaiting their first day at a new school scared that nobody will like them. But it’s time, and no time like New Year’s Eve. I wish you the happiest of New Year’s. Thank you so much for letting me be part of your lives. I hope we can go on a new journey together in 2022. And, since I won’t be saying it much more in the future, I’d like to leave you with Love and Lyte. Fire Lyte

Queer as Folk's Peter Paige on the legacy of his career, stepping behind the camera to craft queer-centric television shows and movies like The Fosters and The Thing About Harry, casting cishet actors in queer roles, and where Hollywood goes from here. Connect with Peter Paige here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

The witch is a curious figure, existing in a uniquely liminal space of both fact and fiction, this world and the next. Many practitioners of magic walk a path that carefully stays in that middle ground, but a few heed the call to peek beyond the hedge, to walk amongst ancestors and spirits and gods and beings for which we don’t yet have names. It can be daunting, to leave that comfortable middle path, but Christine Grace’s book The Witch at the Forest’s Edge provides a gentle, encouraging hand to hold as you take your first steps past the hedge into the world beyond. The advice is practical, grounded in a practice that begins with what you have on hand and in your surroundings, includes discussion of ancestry and the many ways that family is made and found, and includes a deeply appreciated section on magical ethics. This book is practical, fresh, and will help guide a whole new generation off the well-trod path to embrace the old, wild magic found beyond the hedge. Get more of Christine Grace here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

When I wrote an article for Writer's Digest about witches in stories, I said that the best stories aren't about the magic but about the power. In science fiction and fantasy writing, I've found that a superpower or access to magic or a special tool that grants an ability - whatever it is - isn't nearly as interesting as the power that it grants the user. The ability for magic to level a playing field, to allow the righting of wrongs. In her latest graphic novel, Squad (illustrated by Lisa Sterle), author Maggie Tokuda-Hall tells a story of werewolves, yes, but the story is far more about a young girl finding the power to fit in, to feel in control of her life for the first time ever. We talk about her new work, the importance of queer representation, receiving critique, and how we'd rewrite Mean Girls if we could. Buy her new book here: https://bookshop.org/a/56826/9780062943149 If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

The Day of the Dead, El Día de los Muertos, is a celebration originating in Mexico. It's been gaining visibility and popularity in the United States and beyond thanks in part to films like Book of Life and Coco. However, a lot of misconceptions surround this cultural event, such as it being a "second Halloween". Too often elements of the celebration are taken piecemeal by those from outside the culture and used as costume or in ways that remove the context or history behind it - such as calavera face paint. Jaime Gironés has written a phenomenal new book, Llewellyn's Little Book of the Day of the Dead, to guide you through the history of the holiday, the myths and traditions surrounding it, and how it can be appreciated - and even adapted - in your household. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

Every year around Halloween, I gather together a collection of stories, poems, and songs from around the magical world to help bring a bit of magic to your Samhain season. This year's Hallowed Riot features the following works: The Lockkeepers's Door - original short story by Vinna Harper Dawn of Maw - an excerpt from Taylor Narváez Claman Love Letter to Hades part 2 - a poem by Lauren Theresa travel - a poem from the book while I wait to be a god again read by Cory Hutcheson Verity Vox & King Earl - a full-cast short story by Fire Lyte Cast Verity Vox - Jax in the Box Tacita Tarry - November Sierra King Earl - Cory Hutcheson Gilly Green - Vinna Harper If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

Being a femme presenting person in an online space is to constantly walk a minefield of harassment, intimidation, and abuse. To have your authority questioned and your opinion overlooked in favor of a man's. Things aren't better behind the screens either. Earlier this year a lawsuit against one of the world's biggest game makers, Activision Blizzard, brought to light a long-standing "frat boy" culture that permeated all levels of the company and promoted a culture of harm. My deepest gratitude to my guests Cara and Deme for their honesty. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

Recently I was asked to define some important rules to remember when writing about witchcraft, especially in fiction. My response was to keep in mind that it's never about the magic but about the power that magic provides. For many of us who are drawn to the witchy characters in fiction and folklore, we're often drawn to the witch's ability to level the playing field in an otherwise unfair society using some form of magic. In the new book Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis, this dynamic is played out in one of the most unique and harrowing character studies I've seen in recent years. Her book takes on not only what it means to be a young black girl living in poverty and under the care of abusive parents, but what happens when that young girl realizes she has tremendous abilities that allow her to not just communicate with the dead but bring them back. It's a slow burn novel that's perfect to kick off spooky season. Find more of Jessica Lewis here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

Being an author shares a lot of similarities with being a witch. Much of the work we do is alone, toiling away at improving skills or deepening our knowledge about obscure topics. Should we work in groups it's typically in very small circles of trusted peers. The other way that witches and authors are alike is that the general public has a lot of very wrong opinions about what it's like to be one. So, that's why Thorn Mooney, author of the new (phenomenal) book The Witch's Path and I sat down to chat about publishing, marketing, the pressures that come with authorship, the weird authority we place on books, and the writing process itself. It's a long conversation in which we interview each other about our respective work, our goals, and where we each want to go from here. You can find more about Thorn Mooney here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

In recent days a new law went into effect in the state of Texas prohibiting access to an abortion after 6 weeks. 6 weeks after what, though? Conception? Your period? Something else? And why so restrictive? And why are so many organizations setting up websites to gather tips about patients, providers, and those that aid them? This conversation requires an expert to guide us through the nuance, and I'm grateful that Dr. Leah Torres returned to lead us through the thick of the issues. Follow Dr. Torres on Twitter @LeahNTorres and learn more about her work at LeahTorres.com. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

Shadow Work is a trend that seems to have come out of nowhere in the last two years. One cannot explore much of witchy social media these days without seeing recommendations to “do your shadow work”, which seems to mean anything from “go to therapy” to “meditate more” to “write your feelings in a journal”. As with many trends, plenty of people are trying to commodify it with spiritual advisors selling shadow work services alongside tarot and astrology readings, sometimes inserting it into a reading without prior notice. Spiritual dabblers are buying up Shadow Work journals and seeking out more information about how to do this work themselves or with a professional. But…what is it and what makes a professional Shadow Work…er? Shadow Work is a term stemming from Jungian psychology and is a part of trauma therapy, a sensitive practice where licensed trauma counselors assist patients with processing serious traumatic events in their lives. It is delicate, difficult work that takes years of training to master. Because of the nature of this form of therapy, there are a number of risks involved with undertaking it, and even more risks when determining what kind of professional should assist you. I spoke to Lauren Theresa, a licensed Trauma Therapist and witch, to unpack how this term got wrapped up in modern spiritual discourse, what it really means, whether the online community’s version of shadow work matches up with reality, and what warning signs to look out for when beginning shadow work. Find more of Lauren Theresa at LaurenTheresa.com. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingProjects. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: beacons.ai/incitingariot

Have you ever seen those food videos on YouTube where a chef or a food scientist tries out a series of “food hacks” found in those viral videos by places like 5-minute crafts or Blossom? The “hacks” as they’re commonly called showcase a new, easier way of cooking in well-edited videos lasting only a few seconds per recipe. Ostensibly, this is to help folks who don’t have a lot of cookware on hand or prior skill make something delicious in a way that’s cheap, accessible, and easy. Making brownies in a paper bag or caramel corn with a bit of candy and some kernels. These videos are made in a way that most people find not only aesthetically pleasing, but enjoyable to watch and rewatch, to share with their friends, and, of course, to try and replicate. Some of the biggest channels on YouTube are these life hack or food hack videos, garnering hundreds of millions of views across multiple channels and raking in large sums of money for the never-seen owners of the channel. Invariably, what the chef or food scientist realizes pretty quickly is there is a problem, several actually, with these slick, trendy videos: there are no lists of ingredients used, no temperatures provided, no times given, and no narrator telling you what they’re doing. So, when the expert attempts to replicate the video they immediately run into some problems and typically need to have a fire extinguisher on hand. The food scientist or experienced chef can usually break down exactly why the hack doesn’t work as they’re showing you the technique used in the viral video. Either the recipe is missing a key ingredient that would cause the bread to rise or the video tells you to use something that would fall apart in real life. What is most often the case is, if you look closely, the videos are edited in a way that the end result is an already prepared dish that wasn’t made using the hack. What does this have to do with a podcast about witches and other magical people? Well, we have similar issues with trendy, viral videos. Except, in our case, they typically come in the form of supernatural claims, ghost hunting videos, and the broad reaching world of paranormal entertainment programs. In these videos you might see a person performing a feat of magic or displaying a supernatural ability - such as walking on water or fire - as proof of their gifts. In other videos, you might hear an investigator give long, detailed explanations about all of their technical equipment and how it will prove or disprove the presence of a ghost or other being. While many people online making recipe videos or showing off life hacks or, as is the case in our topic today, hunting ghosts are doing it in good faith…there are a few out there that aren’t and they tend to be the most visible. Going viral is a goal for a lot of people putting content online. It represents the chance to be seen by millions of people and to suddenly experience fame, receive a financial windfall, or accrue a legion of adoring fans hanging on their every word. Some people seek all three of those, some only one, but in either case what they’re usually seeking isn’t to provide a legitimate good or service to the world, but to increase their own standing in it. This distinction is important, because it illustrates that the person’s motivation might end up causing harm on you, the end user. Harm can look like a lot of things. If you don’t know how to temper chocolate properly or how to handle it, you can do anything from destroy your cookware to need a trip to the ER to treat a burn. Likewise, if you are not cautious, a bad faith paranormal entertainer might take your time, money, or worse. Kenneth Biddle joins a long line of people who investigate big claims of the possibly paranormal. Like his mythbusters predecessors, Biddle employs a knowledge of scientific research, fact checking, and common sense in his attempts to provide context and reasoning for some of the bigger, more outlandish claims of the paranormal floating around the internet today. He is my guest today in a long, important discussion about the science behind ghost hunting, the tools used and misused by paranormal entertainers, the spectrum of potential harm, and, of course, cryptids. Find more from Kenneth Biddle here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingProjects. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte Inc

The International Panel on Climate Change - otherwise known as the IPCC - just released their Sixth Assessment Report and it is pretty much all the various news outlets, politicians, and talking heads can discuss. But, it's a big report. The full report is thousands of pages long with hundreds of authors and well over 10,000 source citations. When all the headlines seem to say is something like IPCC Report Confirms We're All Gonna Die, it can be difficult to parse out what is important, what is relevant to you, and how much of the catastrophizing to believe. That's where Dr. Sam Montano, the disasterologist herself, comes in. She's back to tell us what this report means, which parts she and other researchers are focused on, how alarmed we should be, and what the average consumer can do. We discuss issues like the California wildfires, the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota, and even touch upon the current wave of COVID resurgence here in the United States. Find more of Dr. Montano's work here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingProjects. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: https://linktr.ee/IncitingARiot

Paganism isn't immune to any number of societal ills. While the same issues that plague the culture at large exist in all parts of our community in some way, it is groups associated with Norse Paganism - and all its related and parallel names, Asatru, Heathenry, Germanic Reconstructionism, and more - that most often come under scrutiny. White supremacy. Transphobia. Homophobia. Xenophobia. When one sees a headline from inside our community mentioning Heathens or Asatru or the like, there is a bit of white knuckling that happens before you click the mouse as you wonder...which one is it this time? It can be difficult to navigate an authentic spiritual journey into Heathenry because of its associations with these and other issues, and those who do are often afraid to tell others they are Heathens for fear that they'll immediately be labeled a Nazi, or at least a Nazi sympathizer. However, one person is doing just that on the podcast Heathen's Journey. Siri, the creator and host of the show, is a queer, non-binary practitioner who is hoping to reclaim the moniker of Heathen from those who would use it as a racist cudgel. They are my guest on episode 175, and we have a wide-ranging and discussion that doesn't shy away from topics such as why white supremacy seems to go hand in hand within Heathenry, the value of reclaiming symbols that have been appropriated by actual Nazis, and what it's like working as an ambassador for modern Paganism and Heathenry specifically in the Minnesotan prison system. Get more from Siri here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingProjects. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: https://linktr.ee/IncitingARiot

The element of fire has a long history in myth and magic. Fire transforms whatever it consumes, turning it into something new. Yes, of course, wood into charcoal, but it also cooks our food and warms our home. Metaphysically, it is the energetic spark that burns away the parts of us that do not serve our growth and makes way for what should be. Of course, it's a personal favorite of mine. Josephine Winter wrote a whole book about Fire Magic, examining the subject from all angles, adding her unique perspective as an Australian witch and Wiccan. It is an excellent book and it is the subject of our interview. Find more of Josephine Winter here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingProjects. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: https://linktr.ee/IncitingARiot

The magical tradition of brujería is shrouded behind a veil made of assumption, colonization, and entitlement. We assume quite a lot about it. One common assumption is that it’s simply the word for witchcraft in Spanish and therefore anyone practicing any kind of magic is, indeed, practicing brujería. Learning about this tradition is difficult and confusing for a newcomer. If you don’t already know where to go or who to ask, you do what a lot of people do - you go online and look for books or YouTube videos or podcasts. The issue there is that the novice is suddenly faced with the task of discerning which practitioners are coming from a place of genuine scholarship, cultural ownership, or good faith. Too often practices such a brujería, hoodoo, yoga, or reiki are mined by white, western practitioners for magic that will be appealing to suburban audiences, stripped of the fullness and context of the culture from which they originate. They might be combined in a slapdash manner with other practices hailing from unrelated spiritual traditions and sold back to you as genuine for a nice profit. In that murky space it can be difficult to discern how to start learning and where to go once you’re on the path. I spoke to Laura Davila, a lifelong bruja and hechicera who hails from a family of practitioners in Mexico. She came to the US a few years ago and discussed what it means to be a cultural carrier of this magical tradition, who can claim ownership, what gates exist to brujería and who - if anyone - are the gatekeepers. Find out more from Laura on her Instagram or Twitter. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingProjects. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: https://linktr.ee/IncitingARiot

Almost everyone at some point looks around at their lives and asks why. We wonder why our family believes in the politics we do or eats the foods we eat. We also wonder about where our beliefs come from. Oftentimes those questions and the subsequent journey after lead people to interact with the magical community. But, what if you are already here? What if you were raised in a magical household? Where do your questions take you, then? To other religions? Dr. Eric Scott is a co-editor for The Wild Hunt, a researcher on the subject of spiritual pilgrimage, and has the unique quality of having been raised by witches. He did what many of us do. He looked around at his magical existence and asked where it all came from and whether it all fits his worldview, and then he set out to find those answers. What he finds is just about what you’d expect to find: that a lot of what he believes and practices was simply cobbled together or made up in recent decades by…some guy. So, the question is then…what do you do when you find out that your belief system and worldview is made up? By some guy? And is there still value to be found in faith despite knowing its origins? Find more of Eric Scott here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingProjects. Pre-order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide Love and Lyte, Fire Lyte IncitingARiot.com [email protected] Social Media & Podcast Subscription links: https://linktr.ee/IncitingARiot