Monocular

A liberal arts student suddenly finds himself working for the quintessential kind of massive corporation: An insurance company. This is a classic fish-out-of-water story about colliding attitudes and the impossibility of adapting to this otherworldly universe. The liberal arts student in question was obviously me, and I was 25 years old at the time. I learned a lot from holding this job, and my views of what big corporations are all about were forever shaped by the experience.

Angry Danish teenagers clash with older music fans who try to lecture them on why they will eventually grow out of their obsession with a certain German emo band. A story about the concert review that generated more discussion than any other in the history of Denmark’s biggest music magazine.

When you’re 17 years old and have just left satanism behind, what comes next on the long road of intellectual self-discovery? Regular old atheism? Nihilism? Or something else entirely? This is part three of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.

A newly minted 16-year-old satanist goes to highschool. His teacher, who will be forced to read all of his devilish essays, is an older woman, who also happens to be a former priest. Now, there’s a match made in heaven – or is it hell? This is part two of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.

Satanism can be surprisingly appealing to a white, middle-class teenage boy in Denmark, if he’s sufficiently ripe for taking a stand against the hypocrisy of Christianity. Part one of a three-part episode about my journey to the Dark Side.

How do you discover a band that you thought you already knew and had maybe even written off as an uncool oldies band? That’s one of the main questions I ponder in the second part of this marathon episode about the Beach Boys. The episode contains an exclusive performance by Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle.

This is a story about the Beach Boys. But it’s also a story of how identities are formed. About how music is not simply the soundtrack to your life, but also something that influences it and offers many new and inspiring perspectives on it. It’s also a story about friendships and, not least, love. Part one of a two-part episode.

It’s one thing to be bullied by the other kids in school. But it’s quite something when your teacher decides to join in. This story serves as an account of my relationship with a teacher that I endured for nine years of public school. It’s not just a tale of woe, however, as it also covers how I finally confronted him many years later.

It’s the 4th of July, and you’re going to a party. Snacks are out, decorations are up, spirits are high. What should y’all be talking about? Well, at this particular party the topic of choice was everyone’s various sexual fetishes – from domination and submission to the joy of getting peed on. But, above all alse: Puppy play. So tune in, take part in this peculiar party – and you just might learn a thing or two along the way.

Wander the streets of New York with a cup of Starbucks in your hand – and you just might encounter someone trying to convince you to get your coffee from a different company. That is, a company that does not embrace the devil. PS: This story is so short that this episode actually contains a bonus story.

What kind of adventures and struggles do you face when you’re learning how to swim as a 37-year-old? That’s what you’re going to find out in this story. It will take you on a journey that spans three decades and transports you all the way from the wild west coast of Jutland, Denmark, to the hot November sun over Sarasota, Florida.

A tale about the value of acknowledging someone who’s not particularly great at what they’re trying to do – but who’s nevertheless trying their very best. In this case, what I was trying my best at, at least for a season or so, was soccer.

Welcome to Monocular. My name is Mikkel, and I have some stories to share with you – in the form of autobiographical and quite idiosyncratic essays. In this trailer, you can get a preview of the kinds of stories you will get to hear on Monocular. There’s one about trying to learn how to swim at the ripe old age of 37. One about enduring and finally confronting a teacher, who blatantly had a preference for kids that were already popular. There’s also one about winning a soccer trophy in spite of being one of the least naturally gifted soccer players in the world — and one about a sitting through and eventually partaking in a six-hour discussion of all kinds of sexual fetishes, from domination to puppy play. If this has made you sufficiently curious, I politely encourage you to hit that infamous subscribe button. That way you will be sure to not miss any of the stories as they are published over the coming weeks and months.