• Laura Jane Grace, Writer Musician
    October 19th, 2020

    Laura Jane Grace: Punk Guilt

    Laura Jane Grace is the lead singer/songwriter for Against Me! and author of the recent memoir Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout. She's been powerfully open about her own experiences with gender dysphoria, transitioning, imposter syndrome and - most interesting to me - what it means to be truly authentic in this world. Our conversation went all over the place, as you'd expect, from how we write songs and deal with "finishing" things, to how we deal when the head-weasels come scurrying.

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  • BJ Miller, Doctor
    October 12th, 2020

    BJ Miller: An Expert on Death Talks About Life

    Why are we so bad at death, dying, dealing with it, talking about it? Dr. BJ Miller is a palliative care physician who has spent his whole adult life trying to figure that out. His own traumatic experience has informed his ability to know compassion, see the far grander picture, and help people sort out the blurry lines between care, pain and reality. In college, BJ lost both of his feet and one hand in a tragic accident, and despite becoming a triple amputee, he still returned to university and got his medical degree. Now he's a doctor who helps people deal with dying, and he's got a lot of thoughts on the matter....we talked about art and beauty as therapy, mindfulness, coping skills, and a topic so needed right now: how independence is really an illusion. This is a really great episode for people who may be dealing with a recent loss, or an imminent one.

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  • Lenny Henry, Comedian
    October 6th, 2020

    Lenny Henry: Humor, Trauma, and Flipping the Cosmic Spatula

    Humor. Armour. Racism. Voice. How our youth really shapes why we want to do what we wanna do, especially when we are drawn to the stage...this long yarn with Sir Lenny Henry, one of the most celebrated comedians in British history, was one for the books. We talk candidly about the paradoxes of celebrity and social media, how The Internet is a buffet, starting a career in entertainment in working mens’ clubs, using humor as armor against racism, the history of minstrelsy in the UK, making your work the structure of your life, giving your loved ones fair warning when you publish a memoir, the beautiful meld of words and images in comic books, the power of masks and fiction and why giving advice to younger artists is so important.

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  • Elizabeth Lesser, Author
    September 29th, 2020

    Elizabeth Lesser: Bullshit Is Everywhere

    HERE WE GO A-ASKIN’! It isn’t a coincidence that I chose Elizabeth Lesser to be the inaugural guest of this podcast. She’s a bestselling memoirist who attacks dark and difficult matters of the heart. She’s written candidly about her divorce and her struggles with life, work, people and feminism, and she’s one of the most unapologetically compassionate people I’ve ever met. We discuss the difference between telling your own story versus somebody else’s, what it’s like to navigate life as a single mother after a divorce, how the patriarchy gets passed down through the generations, and how BULLSHIT IS…EVERYWHERE!!! I left this conversation so inspired; I hope you do, too. Her new book, Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes, just came out this September 2020….we will be discussing it in the podcast book club, so GET READING.

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  • The Art of Asking Everything podcast
    September 22nd, 2020

    WELCOME TO THE ART OF ASKING EVERYTHING, the PODCAST

    Do you know that I love to talk to people? About hard and uncomfortable things? Well, I do. For this podcast, I sit down with (or occasionally, phone) guests from all walks of life: doctors, sex workers, musicians, writers, teachers, painters, parents, activists, TED speakers, friends….basically anyone who wants to have a deep and honest conversation with me about The Big Stuff. This podcast is professionally produced and includes music, tangents, and best of all: NO BRANDING OR PAID ADVERTISEMENTS because we are 100% patron-supported. My patrons also get access to the podcast book club, blogs and behind-the-scenes stuff, plus a live chat with me and almost every guest to ask us their own questions and catch up with each other, so please join to support us...and keep us ad-free! Listen and subscribe to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/AskingEverything and join the Patreon: http://patreon.com/amandapalmer.

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