Junior Varsity

Orion Black does off-grid permaculture consulting, runs a tree service company out of Graham, WA, stewards and lives on a five acre plot of land called The Sanctuary, and studies sustainable living skills in his free time.  OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (01:05) - Buying Land (09:23) - From 10 years old to homeless (13:16) - Prison Experience (28:33) - Post Prison reengagement  (38:23) - The Sanctuary (44:10) - Sustainable Communities (52:40) - Plans for building community (56:45) - The need for local economy (1:00:15) - Skills for successful sustainability (1:09:15) - Orion's contact info

Recorded in the front seats of a car. 

I did an interview/conversation with Sam, Keith, and Hilda at the ecovillage Sam and Keith are creating on a piece of land in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Sam and Keith met several years back and joined with a friend of theirs to begin this project, while Hilda and I have each been here for a few weeks as work-traders. Hilda is originally from Indonesia and has lived in the Denver area for many years now, working as a financial advisor.

Second episode of the drive from Idaho to Wyoming.

First of two episodes while driving from Idaho to Wyoming.

Under the pseudonyms Dallas (Harry) and Puff (myself), we muted the Mariners game and did three innings of the radio commentary ourselves. 

Joined by my friend, Harry, we set up next to the Matador restaurant and had four conversations with strangers. 

Sitting in the van in New Mexico next to the Rio Grande, passing gas. 

I play a Sunday morning radio host and play for y'all some quality tunes. 

A lil' improv while driving through northwestern Texas. 

A voice recording on the road. 

Had a 3 hour conversation over a crackling fire with a guy named Ben who recently arrived at the camp I'm at here in Austin. Ben is an incredibly articulate philosopher, a cook who used to work for Tom Douglas (S/O Seattle), an anarchist, a revolutionary, an ex-addict, a strong proponent of psychedelic mushroom use, a previous owner of goats which he used to graze/fertilize abandoned lots in New Orleans, and a critic of the fact I audibly farted during this podcast.

An audio journal recorded while I drove around Austin. Featuring Kanye West. 

I stepped aside from the mic for this one. Two women sat down and talked to each other (in Spanish), then one handed off the mic to a new guy who then stayed and talked, and then the remaining woman passed the mic to another girl who joined that guy. A bilingual “chain” podcast if you will. 

4 conversations - An oral surgeon who greatly enjoys his patients' confessions when they awake from anesthesia, a man with the strongest mustache I've ever seen in real life, a soon-to-be married man with a newfound passion for golf, and a guy my age with prosthetic legs and a girlfriend who he shares some pretty cool visions for the world with. 

My cohost Jack and I set up shop on Rainey Street during a bustling Saturday night, and had a consistent flow of different people joining us for conversation. This was by far the most exuberant podcast yet.

Joined by my cohost, Jack Hoffman, who I recently met while WWOOFing (check out his podcast - "People With Jack"). We were joined by multiple guests and had a great conversation on prominent topics ranging from the current state of our society to governmental weather manipulation. I really enjoyed this one and I think it'll be a good listen!

Two separate conversations, the first with a 26 year old man from Chicago who described his experiences living in 6 different cities in the past year, smoking weed every day, recovering from cocaine addiction, and why he was wearing a shirt saying "Live Fast Eat Ass". In the second, I tried a new podcast style, allowing three guests to facilitate their own conversation using a list of questions from a famous New York Times Article called "36 Questions That Lead to Love". 

Robbie lives in Bastrop, TX, but was raised in a rough area near Sacramento, CA. We discuss how he was recruited to the U.S. Coast Guard, where he took down many drug-carrying ships during the War on Drugs, as well as his many years working as a guard in the local prison, experiencing an entirely different side of society that very few people know about.

Deep ocean pumping, Elon Musk, abusive boyfriends, H-E-B, corrupt companies at the mall, kidnapping, space portal travel, etc. 

Strippers, biological father kidnapping, Crossfit, sci-fi romance, incest, mushrooms, etc.

Strippers, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ribbon fish, Minnesota, Daddy, sex five times in one day, RVs and corporate jobs, strawberry ice cream, etc. 

Bike brakes, second grade, jumping up hills, principal, cigarettes, right wing conservative, capitol rally, masks, laundry, 7/11, gold, etc. Joined by Ancel, my WWOOF host. 

Two convos. 

4 total convos, in the second the recording stopped unexpectedly midway thru. 

Two conversations with two duos. 

Joined by Harry Shaw. We had three separate conversations. with strangers. 

Joined by my buddy, Harry (last name anonymous). Spoke with two people on this episode before our limbs froze off and we had to leave. 

Cohosted this episode with my WWOOF host, 11 year-old Ancel, and we spoke to two young sisters who were close to his age. 

2 guests for this episode. Featuring new sponsor, Alchemy's Apothecary. 

This is a shorter episode, with just one guest, due to unfortunate audio difficulties with the other conversations. Enjoy!

Two conversations in this episode, the first with two people simultaneously and the second with one person. Enjoy!

Guest 1 - 1:32, Guest 2 - 16:51, Guest 3 - 27:43.

Sign read "Conversations with Strangers (A podcast - feel free to join). Spoke with two people, the second being towards the end. 

Spoke with two homeless men in Republic Park in Downtown Austin. 

Message on sign was: "Conversations with Strangers (A Podcast - feel free to join)"

Sign read: "Be Interviewed for a Podcast".

Message on the sign was: "Be Interviewed for a Podcast".

Recorded in 2019, this interview is with a friend of mine since birth, Miles Trieger, who at the time was attending USC majoring in music with a jazz focus. If that wasn't unique enough, Miles has been successful in a variety of fields in his just 21 years of life so far. With the help of DJB, we asked Miles about his upbringing around music, from the family karaokes to the "Broadway Bound" teenage musical troupe. Miles recently graduated, and is now pursuing a professional music career in Los Angeles, so this will be a fascinating conversation to listen back to as his life progresses. 

Recorded in 2019, Imani and I discussed her experience growing up as a Black person in a predominantly white neighborhood of Seattle, and she shared some of her passion for literature and specific authors. It turns out that Imani has intentions of writing a book one day, so I'm thinking we'll need a follow-up podcast years from now. Although I've known Imani since elementary school, I was struck by how wise and mindful she is, and hopefully you'll be able to recognize that while listening. Enjoy!

Recorded in 2019, this was an interview with Dani, who I met while we were both sales reps at PayScale, a tech company in Seattle. Dani describes in great detail the challenging events they experienced growing up and how those formed who they are. We also discussed Dani's acting and performing history and what it's like to be a professional performer in the pacific northwest. DJB joined as the co-host for this episode, with excellent contributions as always. 

Recorded in early 2019, I interviewed my friend since birth, Oscar, and his partner at the time, Sarah. They met while staying in a mental health residential clinic in Wisconsin, and they shared some of their experiences there. 

Recorded in 2019, this was an interview with fellow Seattleite, Christa Theilen, who I met in an acting class in Ballard. Her history includes a unique relationship with singing, odd jobs, a deep interest in spirituality, and a desire to poke fun at me. DJB (whose real name will never be shared) makes a nice addition with excellent co-hosting.