Out of Trouble is a pattern interrupting podcast. “Pattern Interruption” can be anything you say or do that creates a disruption needed to refresh and refocus the mind. What you’ll hear is a collection of interviews, conversations, sounds, and occurrences— all narrated and bound together by a theme. By Nikolas Harter out of the land of San Francisco, Out of Trouble is meant to distract from the existential angst that descends upon us at night, or any time. This show is my audio blog. It showcases scenes from my life and life around me as I capture and create special moments. Whether it’s street interviews, intimate conversations with friends or family, or clips pulled off of the internet, I use my years of experience telling stories and editing audio to put together a thoughtfully crafted experience for you each week. My ultimate goals with this podcast is to know myself better, to become the best storyteller I can be, and to transform podcasting by inspiring other independent podcasters to try out narration and storytelling. I believe that podcasts will transform non-fiction, and broaden our perspectives of the world, by opening the door to experiences rarely heard in traditional media. Podcasting is an inherently intimate medium. TV cameras can’t go where audio recorders can go. This show explores that potential.
This episode is the last of season 2 of Out of Trouble. It features some of my favorite reflections from this project. It’s a thoughtful, slow, relaxing episode where I muse on the meaning of life. “Standups” is a term from journalism, in radio it refers to when the reporter acts as the eyes and...
This episode is the last of season 2 of Out of Trouble. It features some of my favorite reflections from this project. It’s a thoughtful, slow, relaxing episode where I muse on the meaning of life. “Standups” is a term from journalism, in radio it refers to when the reporter acts as the eyes and...
This episode is an investigation and a showcase of four in the morning, the witching hour. I stayed up for a number of weeks late last summer to conduct interviews at 4 am. The purpose of these interviews was simply to engage at a time when most of us are asleep. One night I even...
This episode is an investigation and a showcase of four in the morning, the witching hour. I stayed up for a number of weeks late last summer to conduct interviews at 4 am. The purpose of these interviews was simply to engage at a time when most of us are asleep. One night I even...
On this episode I tell my Mom how my feelings about having kids have changed. I speak with my friend Shanthi who’s a young mother herself and we hear briefly from my father as I navigate the challenges of approaching 30 and thinking about child bearing. I have concerns about how having a child will...
On this episode I tell my Mom how my feelings about having kids have changed. I speak with my friend Shanthi who’s a young mother herself and we hear briefly from my father as I navigate the challenges of approaching 30 and thinking about child bearing. I have concerns about how having a child will...
“Standups” is a term from journalism, it refers to when a reporter is out in the field and narrates what’s going on around them. It’s a storytelling device. This is the first edition of some not so random standups that I recorded and stitched together. These particular standups are from last summer, during the beginning...
“Standups” is a term from journalism, it refers to when a reporter is out in the field and narrates what’s going on around them. It’s a storytelling device. This is the first edition of some not so random standups that I recorded and stitched together. These particular standups are from last summer, during the beginning...
In this episode I talk with my Grandma about her feelings about death. Her grandfather owned a funeral home where the family would gather when she was a kid, death has been a presence in her life since then. Yet it’s something she’s never thought too deeply about. Death was just a fact of life...
In this episode I talk with my Grandma about her feelings about death. Her grandfather owned a funeral home where the family would gather when she was a kid, death has been a presence in her life since then. Yet it’s something she’s never thought too deeply about. Death was just a fact of life...
This episode, despite its provocative title, is a heartwarming ode to my family. I visited them in Virginia last summer, they live in the suburbs outside of Washington D.C. My sister and I were there to help take care of my grandma who just had spinal surgery, but it was also a chance to hang...
This episode, despite its provocative title, is a heartwarming ode to my family. I visited them in Virginia last summer, they live in the suburbs outside of Washington D.C. My sister and I were there to help take care of my grandma who just had spinal surgery, but it was also a chance to hang...
Eyyyyy, story of my life continues! I’m off to Washington D.C. (last August nothing to do with current events) to visit family, help take care of Grandma post spinal surgery op. In this episode I arrive, my sister and my mom and I get into stupid arguments, we meet my grandma, and try to catch...
Eyyyyy, story of my life continues! I’m off to Washington D.C. (last August nothing to do with current events) to visit family, help take care of Grandma post spinal surgery op. In this episode I arrive, my sister and my mom and I get into stupid arguments, we meet my grandma, and try to catch...
Did you know that sound doesn’t physically exist? When you smell, tiny particles stick inside your nose, when you eat it’s those same particles that make things taste delicious, and even light can be felt on your skin as warmth as the photons bounce off you. Sound is the least tangible sense. You can’t feel...
Did you know that sound doesn’t physically exist? When you smell, tiny particles stick inside your nose, when you eat it’s those same particles that make things taste delicious, and even light can be felt on your skin as warmth as the photons bounce off you. Sound is the least tangible sense. You can’t feel...
This is the last of three episodes with Austin, an old friend of mine. This one could be standalone, you don’t have to listen to the two before this but I recommend it. In this episode, we learn about gun history and how to safely store and operate a firearm through knowledgable banter and a...
This is the last of three episodes with Austin, an old friend of mine. This one could be standalone, you don’t have to listen to the two before this but I recommend it. In this episode, we learn about gun history and how to safely store and operate a firearm through knowledgable banter and a...
In this episode, we continue hanging out with my old friend, Austin. He takes us to the gun range and tells me crazy sex stories. Later, back at home, I reflect with him on the place he holds in my life. Austin is one of my oldest friends, we shared a room for a while...
In this episode, we continue hanging out with my old friend, Austin. He takes us to the gun range and tells me crazy sex stories. Later, back at home, I reflect with him on the place he holds in my life. Austin is one of my oldest friends, we shared a room for a while...
In this episode I go back to fulfilling the promise of this season of Out of Trouble, that is, to turn my storytelling powers inward. To tell the story of my own life in the same way I tell the stories of other lives. In One Nugget, we go and visit a friend (more like...
Normally when I go out recording I’m the one approaching people and asking for interviews. But every once in a while, someone will see me with my microphone, and approach me. This episode features a few of my favorites of those instances. In the first, a naked man accosts me on the beach. In the...
Find a Fake Local Newspaper Near You (search bar in the upper left). This is part 5 in a 3-part mini-series. Yes you read that correctly, no I do not give a fuck. In this episode, I help you differentiate between reporting and commentating. I outline the biggest problem facing our journalism industry and describe...
Listen to Out of Trouble on Itunes, Spotify, Google This is an extension on a three-part series “Real Eyes Realize Real Lies.” I recommend you listen to those episodes first but it’s not necessary. In this episode, I set the record straight and correct the misinformation I gave you in the last episode. I breakdown...
This is the third part in a three-part series about media polarization and disinformation entitled “Real Eyes Realize Real Lies.” I highly recommend you listen to at least Realize, the episode before this, before listening to this episode. In this episode I play clips from the rightwing media sphere and discuss media bias. We learn...
This is the second part in a three-part series about media polarization and disinformation entitled “Real Eyes Realize Real Lies.” You don’t have to listen to the episode before this (Real Eyes) for this one to make sense, but it helps. In this episode, I chat with my friend Gabo, a Qanon initiate, about conspiracy...
This episode is the first in a three part series entitled, “Real Eyes Realize Real Lies.” Yes, that is meant to be cheeky. In this first episode, we introduce the question which started this mini-series: “Why can’t we handle coronavirus? What is it about the media that is causing people to be so polarized about...
In this episode we follow the life of an apartment dog and his human servants. Gordo, king of Frenchies, blesses us with his snorts. Please enjoy this peak into a domestic life under quarantine in the city by the bay. Gordo’s Instagram Instagram Twitter Website Leave the podcast a voicemail: (415) 841-3104
For my birthday this year I asked folks to leave me a voicemail on a designated line. They called in and received three prompts: 1. One thing you’ve always known to be true about me.2. The most annoying thing about me.3. First impression of me or the first time we met. A bunch of folks...
You’ll recall perhaps an episode from last season, N.R.E., in which I was really excited about this new relationship I’d just started. Well, that relationship ended, unfortunately. This episode is about what happened afterward, Heartbreak. I talk with my father and friends and try to process what happened. As part of processing, I play actual...
The season 1 finale. In this episode, I find a bike abandoned on the street, brush it up and give it to a piano-playing stranger, Josh. I meet Josh outside the Russian orthodox church by my house where he’s playing box piano for people walking by. He looks kind of homeless, with various pieces of...
Microphones are magical, almost holy objects to me. They represent the world listening in and allow folks to feel heard. In my experience, they allow people to open up and be vulnerable more often than they cause people to shut down and clam up. This episode is an ode to microphones. Microphones have already changed...
What would you do if a mysterious ethereal tone started emanating through your whole neighborhood? Wouldn’t you hop on your bike and not get off until you figured out what it was? In this episode I track down a mysterious hum that suddenly began blanketing my section of San Francisco this summer. I couldn’t have...
A collection of notes, voice memos and poems, cut together with music and The Blue Angels. I even embarrassingly attempt to sing. It’s pretty special. A lot of the material is from when I was rediscovering being single a couple years ago. So dating and romance can be considered a secondary theme here. Instagram Twitter...
Walking with Mom to Alexander Hamilton’s grave in New York. Talking with Gary about JGAF (joy gratitude appreciation and forgiveness) and atonement. This episodes about microphones in odd places. Hearing things you’re not supposed to. Rain sounds, a story about a pipe in an apartment bursting, a house boat. A garden that needs populating. nik.harter@gmail.com
It’s the first weekend after George Floyd was killed. Outraged, I attend a loosely organized protest in Oakland, California. Little did I know this would not be a typical, sing songs and chant and listen to uplifting speeches, protest. Please enjoy this raw take of my experience in a freshly wounded America. Movement for Black...
There’s a connection between 9/11 and a brutal assault by a group of Chicago Police officers. They both caused a sort of amnesia in their victims, the U.S.A. and my deranged homeless friend Gary. Both events made their victims paranoid, angry, and ready to hurt someone. This episode features tape from the 9/11 memorial museum,...
Being lost and being stuck are kind of the same thing. When you’re stuck you’re in between two points but can’t go forward. When you’re lost you don’t know where you are and you’re trying to find your way. In both cases, directionless. This episode explores being lost vs. stuck, featuring tape of my family and...
New Relationship Energy. Colloquially known as “The Honeymoon Phase.” I talk with an ex-girlfriend and a friend about my new relationship, and all the butterflies. My ex thinks I’m “rehashing my co-dependencies” by dating my coworker during the Covid19 crises. My friend recently started seeing someone and is also experiencing N.R.E., so we just ooze...
I attend a Juneteenth skate-protest (Kicking for Freedom) with some number of hundreds of skaters taking over Mission street from the Ferry Building to the SOMA skatepark. We roll slowly through downtown, block traffic, and honor George Floyd– I capture everything recording from the seat of my bicycle. We kneel for 8 1/2 minutes while...
Old tape of an ex and I crossed with an Old Time Radio story about a husband who conspires with his neighbor to murder their wives. Intimate and eerie, educational yet ultimately meaningless– just like falling in love! I hope you like it
…on a crowded beach during Corona… interviewing large groups of men and women about being a large group of people on the beach during Corona! This tape is from Baker Beach in San Francisco on 5/24/2020, Memorial Day weekend. Despite the virus, the beach was more full than I’ve ever seen it– packed with pods...
Consider this episode my cornerstone. It explains how this project was born and what it’s meant for. It’s like super deeply meaningful to me! Login’s Podcast Ctrl-Shift-Pod Discord and Twitter My Instagram and Twitter nikharter.com
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