Something (rather than nothing)

Geoff Finan was the Writer in Residence for Dublin City Council for the Dublin North West area in the summer of 2018 and again in 2019 and is currently lecturing in the National College of Art and Design on the module ‘Voices From The Margins’. Last year he had the honour of writing the 100 year commemorative poem celebrating the first Dáil in Ireland, titled ‘January 1919’. Geoff was recently commissioned as part of the First Fortnight Festival to write his most recent piece ‘Gloke’ after working with The Traveling Community for four months. Geoff has also been commissioned by the DCC’s Culture Connects project to write for the Local Heroes initiative and his poem 'A Letter To Leo' was chosen as the flagship piece for the My Name Is campaign, fighting against child homelessness in Ireland.Geoff has written and performed a poem for the documentary Baristas, which has gone to number 1 in 8 countries, top 10 in the US and top 5 in Canada and the UK, in the documentary charts and is now streaming on Amazon Prime. He was also recently shortlisted for writing and performing in the short film ‘Taboo’. Geoff been featured on RTÉ, TV3, Today Fm, 98 FM, FM104 and Newstalk and in The Sunday Business Post, The Times, The Irish Times and The New York Times.https://www.instagram.com/thepoetgeoff/

Mary Cappello is the author of six books of literary nonfiction, including Awkward: A Detour (a Los Angeles Times bestseller); Swallow, based on the Chevalier Jackson Foreign Body Collection in Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum; and, most recently, Life Breaks In: A Mood Almanack. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Salon.com, The Huffington Post, on NPR, in guest author blogs for Powells Books, and on six separate occasions as Notable Essay of the Year in Best American Essays. A Guggenheim and Berlin Prize Fellow, a recipient of The Bechtel Prize for Educating the Imagination, and the Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize, Cappello is a former Fulbright Lecturer at the Gorky Literary Institute (Moscow), and currently Professor of English and creative writing at the University of Rhode Island. Lecture appeared in Fall 2020 as the inaugural title in Transit Books Undelivered Lecture Series.https://marycappello.com/bio-full/

NIKKI LYNETTE is a performer, writer, and visual artist whose individual style is equal parts hip hop, alternative, and pop. A Chicago native, she fuses mental health activism into her performances and has created a lane for her music that is uniquely her own. A proud independent artist, her self-produced tunes are currently featured in popular shows on Netflix, Hulu, Showtime and more. Lynette’s success in music licensing has earned its own accolades, including a prominent feature in Billboard Magazine and being invited to speak on a panel at South By Southwest. After a hiatus from releasing new music, Nikki Lynette returned to the public eye with a confession: she’d secretly been battling mental health issues. She began writing articles about depression and suicide for prominent sites like BlackDoctor, Afropunk and AllHipHop. A newly appointed ambassador for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Nikki’s mental health documentary Happy Songs About Unhappy Things is also currently in production. Nikki has opened for Lion Babe and Leikeli47, and recently in Chicago, headlined her own sold-out show in the Foundation Room at the House of Blues. After a sold-out run in Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s LookOut Series, Nikki’s autobiographical musical Get Out Alive was in conversation with multiple theaters to produce an extended run of the play. Get Our Alive continues to captivate audiences!http://nikkilynette.com/

Holly Campbell is a life-long, self-taught artist born and raised in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Primarily using acrylic, ink, and watercolor, her work is often described as whimsical - with a focus on feminine energies, body positivity, and "dream-scapes". Since 2016, she has worn a multitude of different hats as an artist. She has spent many hours volunteering for local art organizations such as the Corvallis Arts Center, the Corvallis Arts Walk and Chintimini Wildlife Center. These connections eventually led Holly to join a co-op gallery named Voices (now called The Nest). Voices is where Holly really stepped into her identity as an artist and collaborator. Between designing/painting two downtown murals with the group and founding Voices' annual young artist exhibit, Holly met her friend/business partner, Sharon.  Holly and Sharon joined forces in 2017 to open The Hold Studio and that partnership kept The Hold running for almost three years before Covid changed their trajectory. The Hold has since closed its physical location, but Holly and Sharon still run their gallery virtually. In the meantime, Holly has found solace in painting and collaborating from her home studio and you can often find her work on display at local restaurants, shops and, of course, on Instagram (@hollycampbellart). https://www.hollycampbellart.com/

Ben Westhoff is an award-winning investigative journalist who writes about culture, drugs, and poverty. His books are taught around the country and have been translated into languages all over the world.His new book Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic is the highly-acclaimed, bombshell first book about fentanyl, which is causing the worst drug crisis in American history. It has received glowing reviews and was included on many year-end best lists. Westhoff was interviewed about the book for Fresh Air and Joe Rogan, and published an excerpt in The Atlantic. Since the book’s publication, Westhoff has advised top government officials on the fentanyl crisis, including from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the U.S. embassy in Beijing, and the U.S. State Department.His previous book Original Gangstas: Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and the Birth of West Coast Rap is one of the best-selling hip-hop books of all time. It received raves from Rolling Stone and People, and a starred review in Kirkus. S. Leigh Savidge, Academy Award nominee and co-writer of Straight Outta Compton said it "may be the best book ever written about the hip hop world."Westhoff's work has appeared in the Library of Congress, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, Forbes, Playboy, Vice, Oxford American, Pitchfork, and others. He's been honored by the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Entertainment Journalism Awards, Religion Newswriters Association, Best Music Writing, Best of Southern Food Writing, L.A. Press Club, and the Missouri Press Association.He has been interviewed as an expert commentator for CNN, BET, A&E, and ITV, and is the former L.A. Weekly music editor and Voice Media Group Senior music editor. He's a contributor to the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap, and his 2011 book on southern hip-hop, Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop was a Library Journal best seller.https://www.benwesthoff.com/

Alicia Angel is a New York City based songwriter, singer, visual artist, and activist. She has co-written over 35 songs for Emmy nominated and award winning hit preschool shows including Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer" and "Dora and Friends: Into the City" as well as songs for “Sesame Street,” Sesame Studios, and Universal Kids’ “Snug’s House.” She has written songs for artists in China and Taiwan via Universal Music Publishing Group, including the song “Girls” performed by Rainie Yang and Cyndi Wang.  Alicia's paintings have been exhibited in NYC art galleries. She’s used her music and art to raise awareness of, and money for, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, Myasthenia Gravis, and COVID-19. 

Jakub Ferencik is a philosopher and an author. Ferencik's new book 'Up in the Air: Christianity, Atheism & the Global Problems of the 21st Century' formed the basis for our critical discussion.You will enjoy this deeper dive into philosophy and the inquiry into our present difficulties in connecting humans to productive, up-building discourse. Jakub and I dig into space/time, art, epistemology, argument, rationality, Calvinism, atheism, agnosticism and Christianity and much more . . .   

S.A. Lawrence-Welch  (she/her/hers|they/them/theirs) S.A. is a Métis / Néhiyaw (Plains Cree) Indigenous Advocate, Organizer, Speaker, Activist, Artist & Writer. Their main focus of work has been on the lasting damage the Residential School System, Indian Boarding Schools & The 60’s Scoop left on First Nations people. They are an advocate for community gathering and cultural connection as a form of healing trauma. S.A.’s goal is to see Indigenous representation and leadership in historically and presently non-Indigenous spaces.https://www.instagram.com/lawrencewelchnw/

HARDLINERAY makes smart, high energy art of a noticeably singular and unique hand. Ray is of noteworthy talent. I loved doing this episode. To learn about Ray check out these words from his Folks Press (Portland) feature:"When all is said and done, however, what keeps Ray sane is comics. Comics, comics, comics. In part, the sanity comes from being skilled. A fellow illustrator had this to say about Ray from Chi City. 'Even though I've seen a lot people do comics—that was like my first love—you can tell when somebody has a unique angle. Even in a very common job—some people do backgrounds, some do ink, some do coloring—you can tell when someone is just trying to do their own thing. That's what caught my attention about Ray.'" https://www.instagram.com/hardlineray/

DIRTY PRINCESS is a mischievous alchemy of Francesca, Mikayla , and JewlzThese women appear as a dark obscurity that rose into the spotlight in early 2018.Dirty Princess have encapsulated crowds with fuzz guitars, banshee-like vocals, and stand up drums. Their music is a field of energy you can feel starting at your toes and ending in the tips of your hairs.Wild and Alive rock n' roll will NEVER die!!!https://www.instagram.com/pcp3k/

Claire Peaceful Deer Lady Zwicker is an Anishinaabe woman from Lake Simcoe Territory / Williams Treaty Territory in Ontario, Canada. "I am currently writing my thesis for my Masters of Education around Indigenous Survival, Revitalization & Self-Determination. I am a big advocate for Indigenous Youth and believe they are the future. I am also a beginning educator and have worked in Vietnam, my home community, and will be working at a First Nations school in the city. Beadwork and art have been my medicine and I love sharing it with the world and our youth as it was something I did not learn until I was an adult."https://www.instagram.com/peacefuldeerlady/

Cathy Camper is the author of Lowriders in Space, Lowriders to the Center of the Earth and Lowriders Blast from the Past, with a fourth volume in the works, Lowriders to the Rescue, all from Chronicle Books. She has a forthcoming picture book, Ten Ways to Hear Snow (Dial/Penguin), release October 13, 2020, and also wrote Bugs Before Time: Prehistoric Insects and Their Relatives (Simon & Schuster). Her zines include Sugar Needle and The Lou Reeder, and she’s a founding member of the Portland Women of Color zine collective. A graduate of VONA/Voices writing workshops for people of color in Berkeley, California, Cathy worked as a librarian in Portland, Oregon, where she did outreach to schools and kids in grades K-12.https://cathycamper.com/media/

Joëlle Jones is an Eisner nominated artist currently living and working in Portland, Oregon. Since attending PNCA in Portland, OR, she has contributed to a wide range of projects and has most recently has worked on Batman for DC comics. She also wrote and drew the series, Lady Killer, published by Dark Horse comics. Jones has also provided the art for fashion designer Prada, and various projects for Marvel, Boom, Vertigo, Oni Press and The New York Times.  Joëlle currently has projects with DC comics as well as continuing her Series Lady Killer.https://www.joellejones.com/

Originally from Istanbul, Özlem Sorlu Thompson now paints in the flat where Piet Mondrian made his art studio in Belsize Park. Her influences include the great expressionist artist Kandinsky and the abstract surrealist Joan Miró.  Özlem’s works have already made their way into the homes of renowned celebrities such as actress Anita Dobson and her husband Brian May, musical theatre star Maria Friedman, actor Andy Nyman, and several private collectors. With degrees in biology and botany, and an in-depth knowledge of exotic plants and a keen interest in physics, Özlem strives in her work to create synaesthesia in the experience, the process and the result, with a visionary energy that generates an extemporaneous flow of strong colours and shapes.  Painting without preparation or planning, she merges intellectual concepts with visual ideas, mixing real and imagined organic structures with one another, while dream-like worlds and creatures all converge to create a vivid explosion of the real and fantastic.  As a result, positivity and joy invariably manifest strongly in the viewer. https://ozlemsorluthompson.com/

Kait Matthews' formal art training began several years ago, and include The Art Center in Pasadena and The Laguna College of Art and Design, in Laguna Beach, California, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2009 with a degree in Fine Art. "In my art I enjoy exploring the universal emotions and feelings that are innate in all of us. We are connected when we can look into the eyes of others and see a little bit of ourselves reflecting back. I am inspired by the philosophy of Pablo Picasso who once said, 'The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place; from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.' When someone asks, how long did it take you to create that painting? 'The sum of a life’s worth of experiences' is really the true answer. Malcolm T. Liepke, a contemporary artist, believes 'painting is useless without humanity.'It is only through emotion that we connect. My goal is to be able to convey, to share, and to connect through art and through feeling. It is the kaleidoscope of emotions that tie us together, that make us whole. As I learn more about my own indigenous culture and as an artist of aboriginal native descent growing up in a white world, I wish to further explore emotion on canvas from this unique point of view."https://www.kaitmatthews.com/

Blackwater Holylight, as the name suggests, is all about contrasts. It’s a fluid convergence of sound that’s heavy, psychedelic, melodic, terrifying and beautiful all at once. As a heavy band, their songs aren’t anchored to riffs, but rather riffs come and go in waves that surface throughout the band’s meditative, entrancing songs. It’s a hypnotic sound, with orchestral structures that often build tension and intrigue before turning the song on its head — not by simply getting louder or heavier, nor by just layering elements. They expertly subvert the implied heaviness of a part, dissecting it and splaying the songs guts out to seep across the sonic spectrum. Now, having toured together extensively following the band’s wildly-successful breakout self- titled debut in 2018, Blackwater Holylight has honed their sound and identity to a powerfully captivating beast. Their live set is all about the slow build, seeming to combine the melodic tension of early Sonic Youth crossed with the laconic fever-dream blues of the first Black Sabbath album, and wiry experimentation of post-punk and krautrock. The lineup on the most recent album is Allison (Sunny) Faris (bass/vocals), Laura Hopkins (guitar/vocals) and Sarah McKenna (synths), with new guitarist Mikayla Mayhew and drummer Eliese Dorsay fleshing out their sound in exciting ways. “The process of this album was vastly different from our first record,” says Faris. “One, because we recorded it over the course of a few weeks, whereas the first record was over the course of about a year. And two, this album was a true collaboration between the five of us. Each of us had extremely equal parts in writing and producing, we all bounced ideas off each together, and we all had a say in what was going on during every part of the process.” “One of our favorite things about this album is that because it was so collaborative, we didn't compartmentalize ourselves into one vibe.” She continues. “It’s heavy, psychedelic, pop, shoegaze, doom, grunge, melodic and more. The whole process was extremely organic and natural for us, we were just being ourselves.” Veils of Winter opens with fuzzed-drenched, drop-tuned bass and baritone guitar leading a dirge riff on “Seeping Secrets.” Faris’ lilting and funereal vocals drop in, adding to the mournful atmosphere until a short turnaround progression hints at changes to come, as Faris and Hopkins harmonize eerily and the tune suddenly turns into a krautrock charge. “Motorcycle” kicks off deceptively with a heavy grunge riff building up for about 40-seconds before the song abruptly shifts gears into a synth-led post-punk harmony, sounding something like Lush meets Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. “Death Realms” is perhaps the poppiest track, based around soaring shoegaze guitars and interwoven light vocal harmonies. Soft piano notes, occasional woozy whammy bar dives and a driving tom-tom beat solidify its hooks. “Spiders” is a creepy- crawly guitar riff and counterpoint keys, while “Moonlit” explores prog-structures with a shredding guitar solo crescendo. The penultimate track, “Lullaby” is exactly that, a lulling, expansive tune exemplifying Blackwater Holylight’s genre smashing sound as it subtly moves across a vast sonic landscape atop a hypnotic 6/8 beat and repetitive 3-note motif. Throughout the album, their songs shirk traditional verse-chorus-verse structure in favor of fluid, serpentine compositions that move with commanding grace. https://www.blackwaterholylight.com/

Episode 50 is distinguished by the world-adored Australian painter and happiness-peddlar (as well as our first ever return guest . . . ) Vanessa Stockard! Vanessa was featured in Episode 20 wherein she self-effacingly clarified her stance on particular theoretical issues. For this episode, we chat about painting metallic balloons, the use of color, her feature in Hi-Fructose magazine, and Kevin the Cat’s prancing animation.  We also had a strange conversation about licorice before veering towards Vanessa's important support for 'The Torch Project' which, in part, supports art-healing to reduce recidivism rates for the Indigenous prison population in Australia.Welcome back Vanessa!

LOREN RHOADS My life changed when I read Dracula at age 10 and then again when I saw Star Wars at 13. Telling true stories came much later, but to me, it’s all interconnected. My latest book, Tales for the Camp Fire: A Charity Anthology Benefiting Wildfire Relief, came out in May 2019. Northern California’s horror writers came together to raise money for survivors of last year’s devastating wildfire. Contributors include Nancy Etchemendy, Dana Fredsti, Ross Lockwood, Erika Mailman, Gene O’Neill, and more. It was my honor to serve as editor for the project. 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die guidebook to cemeteries around the world, came out in a gloriously illustrated full-color hardcover from Black Dog & Leventhal Books in October 2017. The UK edition was published in paperback by Sphere Books. Part cemetery history, part travel memoir Wish You Were Here: Adventures in Cemetery Travel collects my essays from Gothic.Net, Morbid Outlook, Eleven Eleven, and Morbid Curiosity magazine, alongside pieces written specifically for the book. The revised second edition was published by Automatism Press in July 2017. My space opera trilogy In The Wake of the Templars — The Dangerous Type, Kill By Numbers, and No More Heroes — were published by Night Shade Books in 2015. Publishers Weekly said the trilogy brought grimdark to space opera. Lost Angels, the first book in the As Above, So Below series, is the story of the succubus Lorelei, who pursues the angel Azaziel, only to find herself possessed by a mortal girl’s ghost. That first novel, co-written with Brian Thomas, was originally published by Black Bed Sheet Books under the title As Above, So Below. A revised second edition came out in April 2016 as Lost Angels, published by Automatism Press. A sequel called Angelus Rose is in the works. Between 1996 and 2006, I edited the cult nonfiction magazine Morbid Curiosity. I still believe curiosity is a radical, transformative trait. Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues: True Stories of the Unsavory, Unwise, Unorthodox, and Unusual a collection of some of my favorite essays drawn from the magazine was published by Scribner in 2009. My travel essays have appeared on Mental Floss, The Daily Beast, GothicBeauty.com, as well as darkening the pages of Search magazine, two Traveler’s Tales books, and the anthology Pills, Thrills, Chills, and Heartache: Adventures in the First Person (edited by Clint Catalyst and Michelle Tea). I explore graveyards as travel destinations regularly at CemeteryTravel dot com. My short fiction has been anthologized in Best New Horror #27, Strange California, The Haunted Mansion Project: Year One, Sins of the Sirens: 14 Tales of Dark Desire, and nEvermore!: Tales of Murder, Mystery, and the Macabre.  My stories have appeared most recently in the magazines Occult Detective Quarterly, Space & Time, and Weirdbook.https://lorenrhoads.com/

HAWKINS balances energetic Rock and Roll mixed with infectious hooky Pop sophistication. The band embraces an ever-more genre-bending Pop Rock aesthetic as they continue to captivate their audience with musical virtuosity in a manner that is reminiscent of their Rock and Roll predecessors.They have performed on countless major stages across the East Coast. Notable performances include Mohegan Sun Casino, The Bitter End, Foxwoods Casino, and The Pleasantville New York Music Festival. In Pleasantville, they shared the stage with illustrious acts such as  Blues Traveler, Suzanne Vega, and Living Colour.Within only their first year of establishing themselves, they have gained an astonishing number of followers. Their talent has been praised by music legends like Eddie Money, Noel E. Monk (former manager of The Sex Pistols and Van Halen), and Michael Caplan (former VP of Sony Music). Their debut single "Lights Off" has been written and produced by the band themselves and mastered by the two-time Grammy award winner industry giant, Nathan Dantzler.https://hawkinstheband.com/

Boston-based artist, Olivia MacDonald is best known for her ink drawings she has been creating every day since the winter of 2018. She holds an extensive collection of thought-provoking and unconventionally playful black and white designs, metaphors for her daily experiences and thoughts. Self-taught, Olivia began creating art as a means of expression and experimentation ever since she was a child. After receiving her BFA in creative writing with a minor in illustration in 2020, she now works as a full-time artist and entrepreneur.Her commission work ranges from custom tattoo designs to music album covers, gig posters, logos, and product labels for worldwide clients like Hilko Guitars and Brahmin designer handbags. She is a featured artist with Strathmore Artist Papers and Sakura of America and her work has been exhibited in local establishments and art fairs.https://inkbyolivia.com/pages/about

”My name is Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel. I am Kul Wicasa Lakota and a citizen of Kul Wicasa Oyate/Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota. I am also Diné (Navajo). I am passionate about many things. However, I want to connect two of those passions that really make life worthwhile: running and activism.I was born to run, but I rejected it for quite some time. My Lala (grandfather) Nyal Brings was a long-distance runner for the University of South Dakota and was inducted into the USD Hall of Fame for his running accomplishments. Friendly rivals, Lala Billy Mills and Lala Nyal competed in the mile a few times, with Lala Nyal taking a victory over Billy. In the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Lala Billy would go on to win a gold medal in the 10K. My Lala Nyal took me on my first run and it ended with a half-mile uphill that ultimately led me to not like running. I didn't find it fun at all. My Ina (mother) was a sprinter and my Lala was her coach, with a sure plan to get her to the 1988 Olympic Trials. However, her path led her to become an incredible pediatric, dialysis and oncology nurse. My Até (dad) really helped me develop a mental toughness for running — something I'll never forget.I grew from tolerating running to really falling in love with the sport. I started with the 5K and 10K my freshman and sophomore years of college, then moved down to shorter distances. However, after college, I moved back to longer distances, then half marathons and eventually marathons. After college, Lala Billy's organization, Running Strong for American Indian Youth, had asked me to join their team for the 2016 Boston Marathon. At the time, I was working with tribes to implement programs, some specifically for Native youth in Washington D.C., and I was glad to help Running Strong raise funds. I suffered an injury while preparing for that marathon but somehow got myself to the starting line in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.My coach got me into the first wave and corral, so to experience that while fan-girling over my idols gave me the adrenaline to run through the pain. When the gun went off, all I could think about was my Lala Nyal, my Ina, Lala Billy and my entire tiospaye (extended family) back in Lower Brule and Indian Country. I was running Boston, something I never would've dreamed possible. Alongside me, others were running to get a best time or running for a cause, all while running with other Indigenous relatives. I had a lot to reflect on. I got to the finish, feeling happy and emotional. I was in pain, but the joy I felt upon completing that race wasn't for me, it was for Indian Country. The possibilities for Indigenous Peoples are endless and to share that with everyone was beautiful.That experience led me to use running as a way to change the narrative around how people see or think about Indigenous Peoples. The protests in Standing Rock over the Dakota Access Pipeline really inspired me. While I was working full-time and training, I was also organizing events, rallies and marches to raise awareness about environmental, social and economic issues where running could serve as another platform. The Standing Rock youth who ran 2,200 miles from North Dakota to D.C. to hand deliver a petition opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline to protect water — our first medicine (mni wiconi translates to water is life) — was a great motivator for me, and an example of how I thought I could connect running with activism. https://www.jordanmariedaniel.com

With ancestral roots in the Lheidli T’enneh, Cree and Secwépemc Nations, KYM GOUCHIE is fostering change through her music and art. Her music brings awareness to First Nations and women’s issues, promoting reconciliation and community building while reminding us that we are all in this together. Her stories are a testament to the human spirit, weaving together threads of her own journey from personal tragedy to triumph. Kym’s traditional hand drum, clean, crisp acoustic guitar and full-bodied voice make her a powerful solo artist. She also performs as a duo, trio and full band, adding in vocal harmonies, keyboard, electric guitar, mandolin, banjo and cello by talented accompanists. Traditional First Nations, folk, and country tones alongside poignant and inspirational lyrics capture the hearts of young and old — her genuine and heartfelt performances have a profound and sometimes emotional impact on their audience. A respected elder-in-training of the Lheidli T’enneh Nation, also known as Prince George, BC, Kym is sought after to perform and speak at traditional welcoming ceremonies, cultural gatherings, schools, and conferences.https://kymgouchie.com/

Jessica McDiarmid is a Canadian journalist who has worked across North America and Africa, writing for publications such as the Toronto Star, the Associated Press, Maisonneuve, Canadian Business and the Harvard Review. Highway of Tears is her first book. She lives in British Columbia. For decades, Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been found murdered along an isolated stretch of highway in northwestern British Columbia. The highway is known as the Highway of Tears, and it has come to symbolize a national crisis. Journalist Jessica McDiarmid meticulously investigates the devastating effect these tragedies have had on the families of the victims and their communities, and how systemic racism and indifference has created a climate where Indigenous women and girls are over-policed, yet under-protected. Through interviews with those closest to the victims–mothers and fathers, siblings and friends –McDiarmid provides an intimate, first-hand account of their loss and unflagging fight for justice. Examining the historically fraught social and cultural tensions between settlers and Indigenous peoples in the region, McDiarmid links these cases to others across Canada–now estimated to number up to 4,000–contextualizing them within a broader examination of the undervaluing of Indigenous lives in the country. Highway of Tears is a piercing exploration of our ongoing failure to provide justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and testament to their families and communities’ unwavering determination to find it.http://jessicamcdiarmid.com/

Benjamin Gorman is the author of The Sum of Our Gods (2013, Not a Pipe Publishing), Corporate High School (2015, Not a Pipe Publishing), and The Digital Storm: A Science Fiction Reimagining of William Shakespeare's The Tempest (2017, Not a Pipe Publishing), and Don’t Read This Book (2019, Not a Pipe Publishing). Corporate High School became an Amazon bestseller in 2016, and The Digital Storm was named a “Top Five Book Pick” by the San Diego Union Tribune. Benjamin is a high school English teacher. He lives in Independence, Oregon with his son, Noah. Benjamin believes in human beings and the power of their stories. He places his confidence in his students and the world they will choose to create if given the chance.Benjamin was born in Michigan, grew up in Illinois, California, and Ohio, and graduated with a BA from Whitworth University in Washington before moving to Oregon to get an MAT at George Fox University. He teaches at Central High School and loves his job. He’s passionate about the classes he teaches, like Creative Writing and Science Fiction Literature, but he enjoys the students even more than the content. He is a strong advocate for public education and for elevating and honoring the profession of teaching, so he served as the president of his local teachers’ union and now serves on the board of the Oregon Education Association. He has also been named to the National Writing Project's Writer's Council. Meanwhile, he writes every chance he gets. In 2013, he decided to start his own publishing company, Not a Pipe Publishing, and venture into the exciting and growing independent publishing industry.  “I’m luckier than a lot of writers who slog their way through day jobs they hate. I get to work on my craft with the help of my students at a job I love, and as we learn together, I get better. I hope that shows in The Sum of Our Gods, Corporate High School, The Digital Storm, and Don’t Read This Book. Like much of the union work I’ve done at the bargaining table, the meaning of a novel is a negotiation between the reader and the writer. I hope I’ve brought my readers a fair offer, something they’ll be pleased to accept.”http://www.notapipepublishing.com/benjamin-gorman

 Interdisciplinary artist avery r. young is a 3Arts Award winning teaching artist, composer and producer with work that spans the genres of music, performance, visual arts and literature.  Examining and celebrating Black American history and culture, his work also focuses in the areas of social justice, equity, queer identity, misogyny, and body consciousness. As a writer, this Cave Canem alum has work featured in The Breakbeat Poets, Coon Bidness, to be left with the body, and Make Magazine. He has also written curriculum and essays on arts education that appear in the Teaching Artist Journal and A.I.M. Print. Dubbed “sunday mornin jook joint,” his performance and work in sound design merges spiritual and secular aesthetics with dramatic and comedic sensibilities. He has performed at the Hip Hop Theater Festival, Wordstock, and Lollapalooza. He has recorded with house producers Anthony Nicholson and Charlie Dark, and is featured on recordings such as New World Reveal-A-Solution, Audio Truism, Catfish Haven’s Devastator, and New Skool Poetiks. His new full-length release, booker t. soltreyne: a race rekkid, features songs and other sound designed created during his artist residency with the University of Chicago's Arts + Public Life initiative.  It was during this residency that he worked on sound design and poems called "cullud sign(s)."Through voice, sound, visual art, and performance, young is constantly exploring the forms and spaces in which poetry can exist. Most recently, he is the vocalist on flutist Nicole Mitchell’s Mandorla Awakening (FPE Records) and his poetry is featured in photographer and fellow 3Arts awardee Cecil McDonald Jr.’s debut book, In the Company of Black (Candor Arts).Young’s first book neckbone (Northwestern University Press) is out on the shelves now. He is currently one of four directors for the Floating Museum and touring with his band, avery r. young & de deacon board. New album Tubman. is available via all major musical outlets.https://www.averyryoung.com/

Rachel Lally is an actor, writer, model, director, street theatre performer, poet and drama facilitator who trained with Crooked House Theatre Company and Kildare Youth Theatre before going on to obtain her MA in Theatre from The Gaiety School of Acting and NUI Maynooth. Rachel has toured as an actor (and briefly, folk metal singer with Cruachan) both nationally and internationally as well as appearing in a number of films, theatre productions, music videos and TV commercials over the years. She is passionate about accessibility to the arts for people of all ages. Most recently she has performed her poetry in the Axis Theatre, performed with Giant Wolf Theatre (of which she is a member) in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, toured Ireland with the Moat Theatre production of 'Push Up' as well as directing a number of community and youth productions and is currently developing a new piece of work for stage. Rachel Lally is the voice of SRTN.https://youtube.com/@rachellally

Great chat this episode with two gifted creators - Paige Henderson and Nicole Murray. Their most recent joint project is the YouTube webseries - Dead Friends.https://youtu.be/LYoeOUXbEioPaige Henderson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature: Cinema Studies from the University of Washington. Even amongst various film production jobs she spent a year travelling the world.Upon her return to the U.S. she set her focus on acting. She starred in the feature film “Vellai Pookal”, she also directed and produced her short “To Build a Forest."After moving to Los Angeles, she frequented short film sets as actress, producer, director and art department. Paige co-founded Svelte Dog Productions, where she wrote and produced short films “Nacken” and “Josie’s Song.”Nicole Murray has a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from the University of Washington. She has years of research experience between an addiction and an individual differences laboratory and she has continued research after graduation. Throughout her schooling Nicole quenched her passion for acting through plays and making films with friends.Nicole began pursuing film acting in tandem with research in Seattle, starring in shorts and a pilot entitled “Vashon." She moved down to Los Angeles, to hit her dream full-force, where she starred in various short films alongside producing, directing and writing. She co-founded Svelte Dog Productions and currently works at the renewable fuels facility - World Energy.But, wait, wait, wait! How did they meet???While both ladies were pursuing acting in Seattle, they met on a short film set. Both already had plans to move to Los Angeles, but now, within hours of meeting each other… they decided to do it together.They struggled through the difficulty of finding housing together, eventually finding a place in Highland Park. After settling in to their new home and enduring the initial crisis of “why did I move here??” they took to creating their own content. After co-creating Svelte Dog Productions and filming a couple of shorts together, they began writing “Dead Friends”, which inspired them to expand this world into a full-blown film production.

New episode of the ‘Something (rather than nothing)’ podcast with Opera Singer Mackenzie RogersI had a most stimulating conversation with Mackenzie about art’s role in a pandemic, art's role in challenging white supremacy, opera, van Gogh, painting, Cabaret, philosophy and what it feels like to be painted into a painting.Ms. Rogers is a talented actress and performer whose recent credits include Nancy in Albert Herring, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, the Forrester's Wife in The Cunning Little Vixen, Betty in Over Here!, and the Announcer in Gallantry, A Soap Opera. In 2017, she also joined the ensembles of Portland Opera's production of La Bohème and Broadway Rose Theatre's rendition of the popular musical The Addams Family, the latter of which received the Drammy Award for Best Ensemble and the PAMTA Awards for Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Revival.https://www.mackenzierogerssoprano.com/ 

Mishka Shubaly is writer, musician, runner, comedian, teacher and thinker. We got to chat all about that stuff as well as drinking and not-drinking, art, creation, nothingness and somethingness. His books 'Cold Turkey', 'The Long Run', 'Of Mice and Me', and 'Beat the Devil' and 'Shipwrecked' are intense, raw and honest reads.I deeply appreciated Mishka's talents and his ability to range on some really tough topics. Importantly, he has a lot of practical advice to get off the sauce. It is a practical, adapt-what-you-can approach that can help save a life from addiction.His writing and music is available on all major and minor outlets. His newest book ‘Cold Turkey’ was a May title available to Audible subscribers. http://www.mishkashubaly.com/

Great new episode with Indigenous artist and musician Sara Billdt!!!We chatted about her music, her graphic art, and her traditional bead work. It was exciting to learn more about her philosophy, her experiences in the heavy metal scene, and finding her remarkable voice.Sara has been involved in the music scene of Eugene, Oregon for over a decade. Starting out as a solo artist, she went on to found and front Sara B3 and the 45RPM Soul Revue, as well as the heavy power trio, Coyote.Influenced by both cultural and natural forces, she has continued to create music and artwork that reflect her position in a world that has gone awry.https://eugeneweekly.com/2016/10/27/sara-billdt/

I chatted with JASON MAYOH, author/director of ‘Tales of Rocky Point Park.’ It was an inspiring and delightful conversation that covered horror, childhood, comics, philosophy, the pandemic, the creative process, Rocky Point and more!!!Many Americans enjoyed amusement parks in their childhood and in non-pandemic summertimes. Rhode Islanders and Southern New Englanders had Rocky Point park with its joys and fun and clam cakes and urban legends and weird accidents and horrors.The legend of Rocky Point’s cursed FLUME Log Number 13 haunts Rhode Islanders to this very day. The same fear resonates in visions of the great VIKING who stood to protect (?) or attack (?) those who dared visit the HOUSE OF HORRORS. Did you jump off the SKYLINE and live to tell about it?This is a Rhode Island story but it is also a story of Summers of Yore. https://johnstonsunrise.net/stories/cranston-native-exposes-haunted-ri-,62453 

WOW! An interview with GINA GLEASON lead guitarist for the incredible metal band BARONESS.Gina Gleason, a product of Philly, began playing guitar at fourteen and has had a wild journey through Rock&Roll, playing for Misstallica (all female Metallica tribute band) as well as Queen Diamond (all female King Diamond tribute band). She performed as the character 'The Muse' in the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil production of Michael Jackson: One playing many of those famous rock/funk guitar licks.After this stint she moved into an outsized vacancy  in Baroness by replacing their guitarist Pete Adams.This is where her badassness presently resides.Enjoy this listen as we chat with Gina about life, art, guitar lessons, creation, something, nothing, metal, and more . . . https://guitar.com/features/interviews/baroness-gina-gleason/

BRAD BALUKJIAN hit the sweet spot of the baseball in his new book WAX PACK. The book is a joy for baseball freaks but also serves as a fantastic memoir on relationships and life. The LA Times Bestselling book is a road trip journey of history and the psyche. Built on the randomness of a fifteen pack of baseball cards with a crisp stick of tongue cutting gum, Brad builds a 10,000 mile adventure into the strange character of American baseball. Brad is a Ph.D., a fighter for the underdog and the working stiff, a writer and a Rhode Islander who now lives on The Best Coast.Brad tells a bit about himself here:"Brad Balukjian is a doctor, but not one who can write you a prescription (unless you're a sick insect). He hated school when he was little, but now loves it so much that after graduating from the 23rd grade, he has moved to the other side of the desk to teach natural history at Merritt College in Oakland, California. He has strong opinions about the value of education, exposure to nature, and utility infielders from the 1980s, and is pursuing a hybrid career of teaching, writing, and research to get the word out that science is accessible and (gasp!) fun. He chose this path because he never wants to stop learning and apparently has a strong aversion to money. This is his first time writing in the third-person."https://www.bradbalukjian.com/books/

Michael Burns is a university teacher, writing coach, film director, labor activist, editor, and storyteller. He has a B.A. from Georgetown University, an M.S. from University of Massachusetts - Amherst, and holds a Ph.D. in documentary film history from the University of Birmingham in the UK. Burns directed five films for international television and his work has been seen in over twenty countries. He is the founder, director, and curator of Tall Tales, India’s longest-running, true storytelling event series that features live performances and writing workshops of all kinds. He lives in the United States of America for six months each year and the other six in India. I was so happy to catch up with Michael from Mumbai, India for an incredible chat and exploration. Enjoy.https://www.michaelpburns.com/bio

Allison C. Meier is an Oklahoma-born, Brooklyn-based writer focused on visual culture, architecture, and overlooked history: she believes in writing about the arts and heritage of our world in an accessible, engaging way. We talked about her recent, haunting Fall 2019 article on the Spanish Flu and the depiction of disease by painters in a Pandemic.I am still thinking about the many topics we discussed including - forgotten history, disease, death, cemetery tours, painting, philosophy, history, Spirit photography, symbols, ghosts and so much more . . . I hope you enjoy the journey.Allison 

Such an enjoyable conversation with New York Yankees hitting coach RACHEL BALKOVEC!Rachel is a deep thinker whose ability to both challenge norms and seek deeper truths have served to forge her path. She notes that "by trade I'm a hitting coach, but in reality, I'm a student, athlete, minimalist, feminist and nomad.  Those are things that I resonated with long before my career and will be with me long after my career in sports is over."Rachel and I explore the art and science of hitting a baseball by exploring both the mental and physical aspects that drive a complicated passion. The conversation covered a diverse range of topics that include the importance of mentorship (especially for young women), the complicated history of the American National Pastime, her podcast 'Theta Wave" explorations and the meaning of making history.Rachel manages the Tampa minor league affiliate of The New York Yankees.Rachel Ball

This episode is pure sci-fi/science geek heaven. Join the Tattooed Scottish-American N7 Slytherin Rebel from Starfleet - Dr. Erin Macdonald.Dr. Macdonald is an astrophysicist, science fiction consultant (currently for the Star Trek franchise), and host of the online series "Dr Erin Explains the Universe". Her specialty is in general relativity, having previously worked in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration searching for gravitational waves. She has since found her home in science fiction, consulting with writers, teaching STEM through popular culture, and fulfilling her life goal of becoming a warp drive expert while living in Los Angeles.Dr. Erin

BUELL THOMAS - master on trumpet, vocals and philosophy ---Buell began playing the trumpet at 9 years young. The Marriage between the two, like any other, has had its peaks and valleys throughout but every musician has his soul instrument. Mr. Thomas has used his to be able to share the gift of expression with many others over his Career.His first Band was SUPERBUG, in South County, Rhode Island. Superbug went on to enjoy local success in Southern New England, culminating with a first place finish in the then prestigious 1994 95.5 WBRU Rock Hunt. The group recorded three albums together, most notably, the 12 song PRIZED. The group disbanded in 1995 and Thomas left for New York City where he continued writing while also spending one year studying at the City College Of New York.As a trumpet player, Buell was able to contribute to many live and recorded performances. In 2007, upon meeting TJ Swan (Joe Carter), he recorded his first solo album, 'In The Air.' 'In The Air' was recorded at Velvet Swan Studios in 100% analog format, and was pressed to 500 vinyl albums.Thomas continues to release great music under his newest project WELL BRED MONGRELS with a new album soon in the offing . . . 

JAMES SWEET is an Oregon based Producer, Director, and Writer.Sweet is the Director for the much-anticipated Friday the 13th fan film JASON RISING. For many of us horror fans,  Jason Voorhees is the source of nightmares and a cause for pause in the consideration of sex, drugs, alcohol and rock & roll. The Friday the 13th series remains a primary source of slasher film horror since 1980. Jason has terrorized Camp Crystal Lake, the suburbs, Manhattan and even the far reaches of outer space. Jason Rising brings him back for more mayhem . . . James Sweet began acting in 1997 and has trained with several methods and instructors, including friend, Robert Blanche. He is known for his vast resume acting in films such as Men of Honor and Television shows as Leverage, Grimm, Z Nation, and The Librarians. His eye has always been on filmmaking. James made his first short film, 'Blood and Sugar' with credits as writer and producer.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7798990/

PHOEBE BLAKEPhoebe Blake is a Tucson-based artist who was born in Eugene, Oregon. She works in a lot of mediums - oils, ink, printmaking, marker on wood and colored pencils Blake also creates hand-poked tattoos, makes zines, quilts and sews appliqué denim jackets. She is known to plan and execute elaborate themed costume parties with old school handbill-style invites as a personal remedy and response to the monotone frat culture on the University campus. “I’m more of a maker of things and feelings than an artist with a distinct focus and style. I love to create communities and to create space.”

Episode 26 with DAVID VERESPY     Hi, I’m David Verespy, Professional Photographer.  But, I am way more than that, I am an active creative professional who really can’t sit still without creating something. I have been a creative all of my life, whether it be drawing, doodling, painting, sculpting, photography, print making, writing, inventing or exploring the creative world. I create with an eye towards a unique view and experience while capturing the moment.I have a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture with a Minor in Art from the University of Rhode Island.  I am a registered Landscape Architect and have been in the profession of Landscape Architecture for the past 27 years. I have been an active part of that community, holding leadership positions in the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. In 2007, I started my own Landscape Architecture firm designing and managing the construction of numerous commercial and residential properties.  I create beautiful gardens and spaces, each a series of imagined vignettes brought to life in stone and plants. But, I wasn’t satisfied, I found myself continually drawn back to a vantage point behind the lens. I am that guy who will stop in the middle of Disney, the airport, the slopes or on a busy street, pause what I am doing to take that special photograph for another person or family.  Why? The moments we live in are fleeting.  Time and people pass us by without a thought and then are gone. When I have the opportunity to capture a moment for someone that means something to them it means so much to me. A moment in my life to stop and take a photo for someone is nothing compared to the joy it may bring to them in creating that life-long memory. Each time I stop to do this I envision the image finding its home framed as a centerpiece on someone’s shelf, a treasured memento of a special time.       Photography has always been part of who I am.  I can usually be found with at least one camera on me.  Early on I started with a Kodak 110 camera with a pocket full of flash cubes. I would cart that camera all over the place, capturing view of the world from a child’s perspective.  I worked as a photographer for both my high school and college yearbooks and newspapers gaining more technical experience and using better equipment.  An immersion into Photography during my college years allowed me to experiment with different technologies and equipment, expanding my creative voice.  Over the years I gathered equipment, experimented with other formats and learned all I could. It wasn’t till I had children, which coincided with the emergence of Digital photography, that I put all the equipment and learning to good use. I was a very early adopter of digital imaging, which has expanded my creative voice.  I have recently taken my photography to the skies and am a licensed drone pilot.         Photography is at its most basic level is the manipulation and capture of light.  I look for the perfect natural light or work with studio lights to sculpt shadows and light to create the ideal image. I try to go beyond merely cataloging that moment, I capture the energy, emotion and essence of that moment.  When I am photographing people, I endeavor to capture who they are.  Each photo tells a story. Let me help you tell your story.VerespySRTN

Episode 25 with LIZZY FALCONCaptivating, fascinating, unique, and soulful, describe Lizzy Falcon’s artwork. Lizzy's work has a whimsical, yet "emo-like" feeling. Thematic threads of her work are grey-toned girls with one big eye as "Big-Eye-Art" and the Lowbrow Art Movement have had a major impact on her, and she (usually) only exposes one eye: the left eye, as that is the eye that represents true emotion. Lizzy uses grey tones for her characters to avoid assigning them race or ethnicity, as all human should be permitted to relate to them, but they end up with a slight creepy look, and that's okay. Lizzy does not try to capture absolute realism in her works, preferring the fantastic and whimsical. Margaret Keane and Walt Disney have been her two biggest artistic influences. As a child, Keane's artwork adorned Lizzy's walls and inspired her to be an artist later in her life. Lizzy is a self-taught artist and mainly works with acrylics on canvas.  Lizzy has had the honor to show alongside some very talented artist from all around the world. In addition, buyers from all corners of the world have purchased Lizzy's paintings and sculptures. Whether Lizzy is painting, sculpting, or creating animated shorts of her characters, she is always creating something new.http://lizzyfalconart.com/index.html

Rosalie Fish is a member of the Muckleshoot and Cowlitz tribes and is a competitive runner and college student. Rosalie made national headlines when she painted a red hand over her face in order to represent Missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW). She also painted the MMIW hashtag on her leg and ran races for specific Indigenous women. Her actions of bravery have helped spark greater awareness about this issue and the issue of violence within a larger North American historical context.Rosalie and I talk about Native Art, philosophical questions, running, something and nothing and making a difference. Rosalie is a hero and an inspiration. https://www.washington.edu/news/2022/04/14/rosalie-fish-student-athlete-and-activist-selected-as-truman-scholar/ 

You are really going to enjoy this deep dive into profound questions with Canadian Artist MAGDOLENE DYKSTRA. Her work with clay prompts the viewer to consider profound questions of ecology, elementals, growth, decay, the climate and art. I really love her Artist Statement that helps to describe the sheer profundity of her project . . .A desire to understand my place in the universe drives my work. Using sculpture and installation, my work meditates on the unfathomable multiplicity of humanity. My compositions are inspired by microbiology, finding lineage in the Romantic artists of the 19th century who used their paintings to evoke the sublime by reminding the viewer of their diminutive status in relation to grand landscapes. In contrast to macro landscapes, I site the sublime in microbial terrain. In a time of environmental endangerment, my aesthetic of cellular accumulation references the vast numbers of the human race, swarming beyond what is sustainable. I compose my work using primarily unfired clay, imparting these roiling masses with precarity to reflect on the fragility of our collective existence. Whatt is the role of the individual within the horde?My sculpted paintings merge my interest in the foreign terrain of microbiology with an examination of what Barnett Newman called the “abstract sublime”. These works reference Abstract Expressionism’s use of immense scale to evoke feelings of transcendence. Within my work, each individual is absurdly insignificant except for its interconnectedness to everything around them. Gathered en masse, these lifeforms overwhelm the structure upon which they grow. Drawing on the ephemeral works of land artist Richard Long, my Interventions contextualize the microbial forms in the landscape. Despite the accumulating number of cells in each Intervention, they cannot withstand the elements, ultimately returning to the earth.Just as prehistoric artists recorded their presence using pigments of the earth, I use clay to explore my relationship to the earth and the universe. Sculpture, installation, and drawing allow me to make the unseen tangible. Using clay connects me to rituals and cultures throughout human history. This primordial material bears the memory of the earliest artists, all the way back to the cave of Le Tuc d’Audoubert in France, where a bull and cow sculpted in raw clay have lain for about 15,000 years. I am one of many makers throughout human history who uses this material to explore my link to the rest of the universe. Instead of relying on the ability of fired clay to withstand time, I use raw clay in order to embrace ephemerality. Impermanence enhances preciousness. The things that don’t last demand more careful attention.http://magdolenedykstra.com/

Anne Bujold combines metalsmithing and blacksmithing techniques with alternative materials such as felt, ribbon, and plastics. In her sculpture, animals are agents examining the spaces between definitions, that fertile ground where new forms emerge.Bujold is currently the Artist-In-Residence for the Metals Department at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, TN. She received her MFA from the Craft and Material Studies Department at Virginia Commonwealth University (2018) and BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft (2008). Previously based in Portland, Oregon, she operated Riveted Rabbit Studio, a custom metal fabrication business.Bujold has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University (VA), Oregon College of Art and Craft (OR), The Multnomah Art Center (OR), The Donkey Mill Art Center (HI), The Appalachian Center for Craft (TN), and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (TN). https://annebujold.com/

GERALD ROULETTE is native of Missouri and a graduate of Truman State University (BFA). He has been involved with art since kindergarten and was accepted into an art school in Arizona at 12 years of age. Roulette studied art in Strasbourg, Austria under the tutelage of Dr. William Unger and Oscar Kokoshka. He has earned multiple awards for his artwork and has lectured at colleges, universities and high schools across the USA. Roulette has worked as a high school 2-D art educator and football/track coach for 19 years. He has exhibited his work in the US and Europe.  A former NFL player, he has lived in Texas and moved to Portland, Oregon three years ago. “Art is my way of capturing life. My sketchbook is a diary. Colors are feelings, and each stroke is an experience.” https://www.instagram.com/geraldaroulette/

Vanessa Stockard is an Australian painter. I had the great pleasure of speaking with her about:Cats borne of heaven and hellPaintingHer time in Oregon, USABecoming a MumSomethingNothing.Her paintings, generously displayed on instagram, will steal your heart. When I see her paintings, I instantly feel like I am living and laughing and loving. Make sure you take the time to experience them. Your life will improve.{Prior to interviewing her I suspected that she was part Trafalmadorian, one of those beings that inhabit Kurt Vonnegut's Trafalmador. Trafalmadorians are beings who exist in all times simultaneously, and are thus privy to knowledge of future events, including the destruction of the universe. I did not ask her about this as my independent research failed to yield any proof. However, I will ask her directly next time . . . }SRTN Website

First episode of the ‘Something (rather than nothing) podcast’ 2020 was such a joy to record with Ana del Rocio. Keep your ears and ojos open for this great conversation. We spoke about mothering, epistemology, philosophy, women of color, politics, writing, music and so much more.ANA DEL ROCÍO (she/her/hers), is the Executive Director of Oregon Futures Lab. del Rocío is a first-generation Chicana/Peruana based in Portland, Oregon.She is a mother of two young boys and the past policy director and chief of staff to Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson. Ana was elected to Director for Position 1 in the David Douglas School District in 2017, in a historic election that saw people of color on the ballot for the first time in the "majority-minority" school district. She also serves on the board of Family Forward Action, and in 2019 was appointed by Governor Kate Brown to a statewide task force on maternal health outcomes.Ana is passionate about reproductive justice, grassroots organizing, and building political power for and with Black and Brown communities, Indigenous peoples, and people with disabilities. She stars on the screen SRTN Podcast

Great new episode with JACK KENT! This episode was so much fun!!‘Sketchy People’ is the people-watching-comic by Jack Kent. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Jack draws the residents of his hometown and beyond.This project started in 2016. Jack's caricatures are drawn in a wacky pen and ink, cartoonist style. Portland’s sketch flag flies high and proud in each volume of ‘Sketchy People.”Who qualifies as "sketchy"? Good question. It could be what someone is wearing, or doing, or saying. Jack keeps his sketchbook close 'cause Sketchy People can be anywhere. You could be next!Website!SRTN Podcast

This episode is a joy. Stay for the whole visit.PRUDENCE FLINT is a Melbourne based artist. She has held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart and has exhibited in major state and regional galleries. She is a seventh time finalist in the Archibald Prize. She won the Len Fox Painting Award (2016), the Portia Geach Memorial Award (2010), and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2004). Her work is held in the collections of the City of Port Phillip, Artbank, BHP Billiton, City of Gold Coast, University of Wollongong, Castlemaine Art Museum and in numerous private collections. Reproductions of Flint’s paintings have recently appeared in international publications including Oh Comely (UK), It’s Nice That, Printed Pages (UK), Hi Fructose (US) and recently in Juxtapoz (US). Flint is represented by Australian Galleries in Melbourne and Bett Gallery in Hobart. She had her first international show at Mother’s tankstation Limited Dublin in May 2019.Prudence's WebsiteSRTN Website