HariCuts

Just 6 days to go till Election Day in the election of our lifetimes, and this week I bring you THREE very special guests: fellow badass phone bank trainers Nancy, Nimat, and Sherrie. We dive into the joys and travails of training phone bank callers, and so this is a "behind the scenes" episode filled with trainer-talk on the art and science of crafting effective and engaging training sessions for equipping people with the skills and confidence needed to make phone calls to swing-state voters. We explore some of the challenges of designing training for complex auto-dialer systems like ThruTalk, persisting with surprisingly tech-challenged people who themselves surprise us with their own persistence, negotiating difficult conversations with hosts and with "backseat trainer" participants, and reflect on how we have each learned and grown as trainers during these past several weeks. I also share a special announcement about my upcoming trip to Wisconsin next week to serve as a trained election observer for the Wisconsin Democrats on election night! Stay tuned, stay human, stay dangerous. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

2 weeks to go till Election Day in the election of our lifetimes, and this week I bring you the #BTS episode, stories from being behind the scenes with the WisDems virtually as I become a rapid response "supervolunteer" with them. Also featuring a surprise mystery letter from a voter in Wisconsin that arrived in my mailbox yesterday! So come with me as we dive into the world of organizing digitally, finding virtual community on Slack channels with other trained rapid response volunteers, inspiring stories of everyday people from around the country going above and beyond, and the impressive and innovative efforts of the WisDem field organizers in recruiting and training almost 2000 poll observers all through virtual Zoom sessions. And, to close with a heartfelt and powerful message from an elderly voter who wrote to me personally, but whose words I read out loud to share with all of you who are also working your hearts out to defeat Trump in the election of our lives. On y va. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

3 weeks to go, and COVID is back in the news, reminding us that the election of our lifetimes is taking place in the middle of the most deadly global pandemic of our lifetimes. Battleground states such as Wisconsin, where I'm volunteering, are facing a rapid surge in COVID cases with real implications for in-person voting that begins next week. And meanwhile Trump continues to spread rampant misinformation and lies about COVID as he apparently is miraculously cured from the disease himself. So, in that context, in this episode I dive into actual science, data, and facts around COVID. I summarize the key ways the virus affects the body, explaining the surprising range of symptoms and the many ways it kills people, and describe why COVID is much more lethal than the flu. I also dive into data dashboards and provide guidance on which key statistics to pay attention to as cases surge with the onset of the winter flu season. Based on the science and data, I summarize the facts that we know about precautions we can take, responses to possible exposure, treatment and recovery insights, and why herd immunity is not only a bad idea, it is just flat out unethical in killing millions of people, and may not even work. All of this leads me to draw 4 main conclusions: (1) Buckle up: don't let your guard down, practice basic precautions such as wearing a mask, social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face, avoiding indoor spaces and crowds, etc. (2) Buck up: Stay resilient, don't set a timeline for when you think things will be "normal", because (3) Brace yourself: things will get worse before they get better, and many areas of the world are likely to go back into a lockdown over the next few months, and so (4) Be: BE informed and aware, BE part of our societal 'immune response system' to the dangerous 'viral' spread of misinformation and lies. Cheery topic! On y va... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

Week 4, the week that feels like a year -- during which Trump gets covid, and the stupidest apocalypse gets even stupider. In this episode I share a little bit about what my week looks like, as a phone bank volunteer, as a worker with a full-time day job, as a single dad, and as someone isolated and alone during this pandemic, while the President of the United States makes getting sick with this dangerous virus into a reality show all about himself. I also share my own reflections and analysis of this particular moment in history, and the feelings of being abused by a narcissist at a national level. Cheery stuff! On y va, stay dangerous... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

Just 5 weeks to go, and the day after the first presidential debate, I pivot from the trauma and depression of watching that orange ... thing ... assault basic human decency, and I instead focus this episode on the basic human decency of everyday people who are getting involved in this election. In this episode I introduce Linda and Frank, two inspiring Wisconsinites whom I talked with on the phone during my phonebanking. I also introduce friends and coworkers who stepped up just this past week to get involved alongside me: Sherrie, Mark, Kevin, Michelle, Darrell, Louvere, Kyle, Mike, and so many others. And just this past week, we scaled up our Wisconsin phone banks to now have 7 phone banks per week, up from what were just 2 phone banks four weeks ago when I interviewed Steve. We couldn't do this without two amazing fellow trainers, Nancy and Nimat, who stepped up this past week to ramp up on the training materials I put together. And just this past week, four other women stepped up to start two new phone banks with us: Janet and Shehla from the interfaith SalaamShalom Sisterhood of Jewish and Muslim women, and Annie and Jen who started a phone bank on Annie's birthday. And so many other folks who are callers in these phone banks. And it's all these people, coming together, old, young, tech-savvy or tech-weary or tech-challenged, across religions and races and genders, that gives me motivation and inspiration after yesterday's debate. So... on y va, 5 weeks to go, and we go, together. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

Hey, you -- yeah, YOU, reading this right now and listening to this episode... this is your call to adventure, get involved, join me in making an impact on the election of our lifetimes. Yes, we only have 6 weeks to go, and this is the week when RBG passed away. The stakes just got that much higher, the motivating tensions got that much tenser, and I am getting pushy with friends and coworkers. In this episode, I feature a conversation with Ben, a leader and co-organizer of Wisconsin phonebanks with Swing Left Greater Boston. We reflect on phonebanking, and the community of volunteers that are getting involved at this crucial turning point in the story. So, on y va, let us push onward together. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

7 weeks to go till the election of our lifetimes! This week I interview Rebecca, a fellow phone bank trainer and a mom, activist, and social change educator. We get to know a bit more of her story and motivating tensions driving her involvement in making an impact on the election. We dive into the world of being a peace marshall for street protests, electoral activism, and taking the long view on whatever happens 50 days from now. On y va! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

8 weeks to go to the election of our lifetimes, and this week I dive into the world of being a poll worker. I bring you behind the scenes of a small precinct at a polling station in the Central Massachusetts town of Auburn, during the Massachusetts state primary election on Tuesday, September 1. Come with me on the journey of a 16-hour day working the polls... On y va! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

Featuring my first guest interview: Steve, an organizer of phonebank calls into Wisconsin. It's Tue, Sept 1, and exactly 9 weeks to go till the election of our lifetimes. This week we get into the world of phonebanking, and we get to see a bit of the behind-the-scenes life of an everyday volunteer and organizer, Steve. And we get into the events of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and how the emotions of this week weigh on our minds as we think about Gramsci's maxim of "optimism of the will, pessimism of the intellect." Steve gives us an inspiring view of the arc of history, and how he sees his role as simply helping to move it along a little. And that's the "Long View" that keeps me going this week. On y va, stay human, stay tuned, stay dangerous. [Music credit: "The Long View" by Purple Planet Music, provided royalty-free.] --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

It's the election of our lifetimes, and certainly the most consequential election of my life. We will all be telling stories about this election for decades to come -- but what are the stories we are crafting in the weeks leading up to this election? What are the stories of us everyday people, like you and me, looking to make a difference in this election? I am not an expert or a celebrity with any influence, so what can I do as just an everyday person to impact something so big, with such high stakes, as the election of our lifetimes? As Gramsci said, it's not about "pessimism of the will and optimism of the intellect" but about reversing those, it's about "optimism of the will and pessimism of the intellect." In that spirit, here are everyday stories, of volunteers like me, and stories from my own experiences each week in making calls as a phonebank trainer and being a poll worker. Each week, I'll share a few short stories from that week's efforts, from my own perspective as just an everyday volunteer. I'll also interview other volunteers whom I'm meeting in these next few weeks. Hopefully these stories and interviews give you a sense of the cadence and rhythm of stories over the next 10 weeks, counting down week by week. And, hopefully, as a "2020" retrospective/oral history of the plot twists and motivating tensions we are about to experience ahead. The background music for this series of episodes is the song "The Long View", royalty-free and shared freely by Purple Planet Music. Along those lines, join me, in taking the 'long view' to Election 2020. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we get into the most COLORFUL principle of storytelling: supporting characters! What do supporting characters do in a story, who are they, and why are they so important in storytelling? Crucially, what are the powerful choices we can make in terms of diversity and inclusion as we craft stories using compelling personas in supporting roles? And, taking this philosophically, what would the world be like if we thought of ourselves as supporting characters in each other's stories? Let's get into the rich and colorful world of supporting characters! This is also the last episode in my totally free 5-part Storytelling 101 series. And so what is YOUR story? What is your motivating tension as you have been listening to these Storytelling 101 episodes? Are you looking to develop your storytelling skills, and use these principles in your personal or professional lives? And how can I be a supporting character in your story, in your journey? Reach out, I am available as your personal storytelling coach. Email me at hari@storycoach.io or find me on LinkedIn or Instagram. And let's embark on the adventure of crafting your story together. On y va! (CC-BY-NC-SA 2020) Hari Stephen Kumar: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we dive into the GROOVIEST principle of storytelling -- the art of telling a story in scenes, to build an audience experience marked by curiosity and rapt attention. Music credits: Alte Herren by KieLoKaz, and royalty-free songs from Purple Planet Music. (CC-BY-NC-SA 2020) Hari Stephen Kumar: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

A bridge episode in which I reflect on a historic and eventful month of June, including Juneteenth, and reflect on some of the stories that come together in the broader story of making sure that Black Lives Matter. I dive into the story of the 2009 arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and walk through the official police report as an example of systematic storytelling that dehumanizes Black lives. A lot has changed since 2009, but we are at a moment when we are all called to find ways to join our stories together to change the systems that dismiss Black lives. How can storytelling help us in not just telling but making stories that matter, so that we are not just spectators but we are actively crafting turning points at this critical moment in history? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

For Floyd. For Trayvon. For Emmett. For Marissa. And... for the rest of us, may we rewrite the stories yet to be told. A good place to start or continue is this list of 75 things you can do to take action against social injustice and police killings: https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

It all started, as so many stories in Ireland do, when an Irish lass led me astray... So come travel with me to scenic Ireland, land of storytellers and dragons, as I get into the key principle of the Plot of a story, which is actually about the twists and turns of the tale rather than a straight line. And what better place to learn that lesson than on a twisting and turning country road along the gorgeous Irish coast! Video and photos accompanying the story are on instagram.com/haritellastory. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we get into the second key principle of Storytelling 101: Main Character. Who is the main character in a story? Who gets to decide? Or does the story pick the main character? And of all the details about the main character, which ones are truly important for the story? I also try applying this concept to telling the story of Qantas Flight 32. Comments welcome at instagram.com/haritellastory or on anchor.fm/haricuts. [Sound effects credit: "Airplane, Seat Belt Beep, A.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org] --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

Introducing Storytelling 101! In this launch episode we dive into what I consider to be the single most important principle of storytelling: Motivating Tension. We look at this concept from a few different angles, and then I try to apply it to the baseline story that is my "workbench" for these episodes: the story of Qantas Flight 32. Also featuring a side-story and reflection on my IBM Model M keyboard that was originally used for American Airlines as part of the Sabre airline reservation system! Comments welcome at instagram.com/haritellastory or leave a voice message on anchor.fm/haricuts. [Sound effects credit: "Airplane, Seat Belt Beep, A.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org] --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

Introducing Storytelling 101! A series of episodes in which I share basic principles of storytelling and apply them to try and tell the story of a Qantas airplane catastrophe. Comments welcome on anchor.fm/haricuts or on instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we decide, in the middle of a global pandemic, to dive into a religious war and find an unlikely hero in Microsoft Word, and we relish the new hell that certain snooty professors in certain snooty New England colleges will now have to endure every time they type. Comments welcome, so long as they only have one space after each sentence, at anchor.fm/haricuts or instagram.com/haritellastory. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we wrap up the story of Caspar, Keeper of the Treasure, etc., with a surprising twist in the tail—errm, tale—involving the mystery of why Baby Girl went under the fence in the first place, and what was Edmond thinking, and a tangential connection to the Netflix documentary Tiger King. Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or at instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we return to the world of Caspar, Keeper of the Treasure, etc., but this time from a different set of eyes, reliving the events of that fateful “Hump Day” from a blissfully pre-pandemic time when the news had time and space for the misadventures of Florida Man and Florida Woman... Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or at instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which I bring you into the world of Caspar, Keeper of the Treasure, Prince of the Desert, sole purveyor of all he, uhm, purveys, until one fated Wednesday — a “Hump Day” — that cannot be forgotten once you’ve heard it. Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or instagram.com/haritellastory. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we finally conclude our Caribbean Luxury Cruise with David Foster Wallace, involving a drinking game where we drink with each of the 48 footnotes in an action-packed last day of minute-by-minute managed activities, featuring losing at chess to a 9-year-old girl, winning at decktop Ping Pong over a 26-year-old pro, getting punched in the eye, almost throwing up caviar at old ladies, enduring an anecdote on the near-fatal suction powers of the Vacuum Sewage System, and a hypnosis session that generates a trance in DFW about returning to reality, very much the way that reading his essay aloud has been itself, for me, an epic Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or at instagram.com/haritellastory --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we spend a morning with David Foster Wallace docked in port on deck 12 of the m.v. Nadir, reflecting on the sky, the sea, the transformation of passengers into American bovine tourists, the deep lie of the promise to sate the Insatiable Infant within us, and the juxtaposition of all of that with the levels of American bovine stupidity in the midst of a global pandemic. Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or at instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we take an interlude with David Foster Wallace to reflect on the differences in the seas and sands of the Caribbean, and of life, and the meaningful distinction between beauty and prettiness, and on the expense of stillness in the middle of a global pandemic. Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or at instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we take respite from being stuck inside during a global pandemic to go on a cruise with David Foster Wallace where ... we find ourselves stuck inside a cabin in a cruise ship with DFW, who proceeds to observe, with curiosity and fascination, everything in the cabin, including an existential rumination on vacuum sewage systems. Comments welcome at www.anchor.fm/haricuts or at instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we immerse ourselves in the luxury of shipboard life on board the m.v. Nadir (nee Zenith) with David Foster Wallace, and end up ruminating on the meaning of hospitality that has a sinister anal-retention to it, and on the front-line nature of service work in the midst of a global pandemic. Comments welcome on anchor.fm/haricuts or on instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which DFW finally has a sunny day on deck but has to involve, in DFW style, a dive into matters concerning advertising, essays, essaymercials, ads as fundamentally non-art, and the sinister nature of ads that pretend to be art. Also featuring a footnote on the fucking mess that is the Professional Smile. Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we experience the first two days of sailing on a luxury Caribbean cruise with David Foster Wallace, involving pitching, rolling, romance, nausea, Table 64, and the Anti-Mona Alliance. Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we finally, finally, after 5 long sections and 23 pages and 26 footnotes, finally we set sail aboard the m.v Nadir (nee Zenith) on a 7-Night Caribbean Luxury Cruise with David Foster Wallace. Subscribe and leave a comment at anchor.fm/haricuts or instagram.com/haritellastory. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we embark, in storytelling mode and present-tense, with David Foster Wallace, as he boards a luxury Caribbean cruise in 1996, along the way reflecting on operatic infants, correlations between guilt and self-indulgence, and that rarity: the footnote that DFW decided not to write. Comments welcome at anchor.fm/haricuts or instagram.com/haritellastory --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

In which we take respite from a global pandemic to check in with David Foster Wallace in 1996, on a luxury Caribbean cruise, pondering death, birth, advertising, the puzzle over his use of the word "preterite," and finding unexpected basic human decency in NYC or Boston. If you know what DFW means by "preterite workers" drop me a voice message on anchor.fm/haricuts or find me on instagram.com/haritellastory and of course, #StaySafe #StayHome #StayHealthy #StayHuman --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

Easter during a global pandemic, and I light candles for the dead and the living among us, raise a glass of bourbon to us all. Buckle up folks, as shit gets real, David Foster Wallace-style: we dive headlong into serious themes of despair in section 3 of his essay "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" -- and to think it all started out as a luxury cruise! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

It's still a global pandemic! Most of us are still stuck inside, and so I continue with episode 2 of this pandemic season of HariCuts with the next section of David Foster Wallace's 1996 essay "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again." Now featuring my own commentary as HariNotes(tm) at the end. Stay safe. Stay home. Stay healthy. Stay human. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

It's a global pandemic! We are all stuck inside, and we miss being outside, but there's one place out there where we all definitely don't want to be right now: that's right, cruise ships. Cruise ships are terrible things, cruise lines are terrible companies, and the people that run them are terrible people. But that's not my rant to make -- that's actually a rant much better said by one of my favorite writers: David Foster Wallace, in his 1996 essay "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again." So, to start my podcast off again after a very long hiatus, I am going to dabble in audiobook style podcasting and bring you DFW's classic essay, mixed in with my own commentary. Enjoy! Stay safe. Stay home. Stay healthy. Stay human. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message

A story from South India, involving a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus, a brave chicken, and a sleepy police station. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/haricuts/message