Podcast appearances and mentions of alex kapelman

Branford Marsalis is a world famous jazz saxophonist and three time GRAMMY Award winner. Then, in the early 90s, Marsalis joined the Dead onstage for a series of shows now widely considered to be the best of that era. For Branford, it wasn't the music that stuck with him from that experience, it was how the audience was listening to it. In this episode, Branford Marsalis on why Deadheads are different from all other music fans. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

We arrive at the last episode of our show, and a new understanding of the power of the Dead community. For this one, we're turning our episode over to Grateful Don, founder of the sobriety group the Wharf Rats, to tell his story. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

“The dancing bears, the steal your face logo, they're probably known on Mars at this point,” says artist ESPO. In this episode, we're asking why these images have such staying power, and Emmett talks to LA streetwear label Online Ceramics, who's Dead-inspired tee shirts have introduced a whole new generation to the psychedelic era. Once you speak the Dead's visual language, you'll see it everywhere. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

Lila Downs is a six time GRAMMY winner who has recorded duets with artists from Santana to Nora Jones and even sang for Barack Obama at the white house. But before all that, Lila was living on the road, traveling with the Dead and selling jewelry on Shakedown Street. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

Emmett sits down with Mac DeMarco and members of the band Animal Collective, artists who are keeping the spirit of the Dead alive today – not just in the music they make, but in the community they cultivate. In this episode, we look at how bands today draw inspiration from the Dead, from live recordings to prolific touring.Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

It all began with a bag of mushrooms… and a bolt of lightning. Today, Paul Stamets is the world's most famous mycologist (mushroom scientist) but we begin by going back to the fateful day when young Paul, loaded up on psilocybin, climbed a tree in the middle of a thunderstorm. In this episode, Paul's story is our gateway to learning about the long strange history of psychedelics in America, and how the Dead brought mushrooms mainstream. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

Margo Price is a true force in country music. Political, opinionated, an incredible creative talent. Her latest project is a new podcast from Sonos called Runaway Horses. Margo just released an amazing interview with the Dead's Bob Weir, and in this special feed drop, we're passing the reins to Margo to hear her interview in full. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

“The Grateful Dead viewed the very idea of planning as being some kind of fascist concept” says Sam Culter, the Dead's tour manager from 1969 to 1974. Cutler is the guy who finally turned the Dead into a business, but it was an uphill battle the whole way. “The business model was made essentially by a kind of strange hippie default mechanism that worked in mysterious ways.” In this episode, stories from inside the strange hippie default mechanism. Emmett sits down with Sam Cutler and the stories get… pretty unbelievable. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

“The Grateful Dead saved me,” says Dr. Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California. And he's not alone. In this episode, Dr. Soni argues that the Dead are actually a religion, and we meet Sage, a student of Dr. Soni, whose encounter with the Dead's music at age 21 has helped guide both her gender transition and spiritual growth. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

Ezra Koenig is an unlikely evangelist for the Grateful Dead, and that's exactly why we brought him on the show. In this first episode of America's Dead, hear the Vampire Weekend frontman defend the wisdom of “hippie psychedelic nonsense” and reveal what has inspired him most as a songwriter. Plus in this episode, Koenig imagines that if Kurt Cobain were alive today, he too would be a Deadhead. Credits:America's Dead is produced by work by work: Scott Newman, Jemma Brown, Kathleen Ottinger, Alex Kapelman, and Ben Montoya. Additional production from Josh Agajanian. The show is mixed by Sam Bair and Josh Hahn. Our theme music is by Jake Longstreth, John Nixon, Aaron Olson, and Ryan Adlaf of Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures. The show art is created by Andy J. Pizza. Special thanks to Joe Dawson at Sonos. 

Less than a month after its last hardware event, Apple held another one this week where it announced a slate of new iPhones. The standout feature of all four (4) phones is 5G capability. Apple, along with other phone manufacturers and network providers, are all touting 5G as the next big thing in wireless connection. But the rollout of 5G networks has also been hampered by a number of controversies, from technical problems to international diplomatic battles between the US and China. Despite the marketing hype, 5G might still be a long way from becoming useful. This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior associate editor Julian Chokkattu and WIRED senior writer Will Knight join us to talk about these roadblocks and whether anyone will actually be able to use the 5G features on Apple's new phones. Show Notes:  Read Will’s story about 5G in the iPhone 12 here. Check out everything Apple announced this week here. Read about all the new iPhones 12 here. Read Brian Barrett’s story about the return of the no-compromise small phone here. Recommendations:  Will recommends this AI-inspired artwork by artist Tom White. Julian recommends getting an espresso machine. WIRED’s guide best coffee machines is here, with best portable espresso machines here. Mike recommends Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. (You can watch them on HBO or via the Criterion Collection.) Lauren recommends the Gimlet Media podcast How To Save A Planet. Will Knight can be found on Twitter @willknight. Julian Chokkattu is @JulianChokkattu. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trying to be a functional human being in 2020 can feel exhausting. Our devices send us constant notifications, social media demands all our attention, and even simple daily tasks start to feel Sisyphean when they pile up. In many ways, the same technology that was supposed to make our lives easier and more efficient has led to a mental health crisis that shows no signs of abating: widespread burnout. This week on Gadget Lab, we talk with Anne Helen Petersen, author of the book Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, about the ways that tech has driven many people to the breaking point. Also, we've got some tips on how to prevent burnout and cut yourself some slack. Show Notes:  You can find Anne Helen Petersen’s book here and read an excerpt about how work became an inescapable hellhole in WIRED here. Subscribe to Anne’s newsletter here. Recommendations:  Anne recommends the show Pen15 on Hulu. Lauren recommends WIRED’s 2020 election coverage, in particular this story about the battle over voting machines in Texas. Mike recommends practicing Qigong to help your peace of mind, starting with this video teaching Qigong for beginners. Anne Helen Petersen can be found on Twitter @annehelen. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the past few weeks, we’ve seen hardware announcements from Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. In them, there’s been a lot of emphasis on gadgets and services for the home. (Like Amazon's crazy indoor security drone.) But it all raises the question—why do these tech companies want to be literally hovering in your house? In some ways they’re using the pandemic as part of their marketing: We’re all home, so use this tech! But it’s also another way, of course, to learn more about you as a “user” as you share more of your personal data. This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior associate editor Julian Chokkattu comes on the show to talk about Google's latest announcements and how they stack up with the other tech companies that want to live in your house. Show Notes:  See everything Google announced at its hardware event here and more about Pixel phones here. Read more about Amazon’s home drone here. Recommendations:  Julian recommends building your own PC. Lauren recommends Apple TV+. Julian Chokkattu can be found on Twitter @JulianChokkattu. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In August, Trump signed executive orders that labeled both TikTok and another Chinese-owned app, WeChat, as national security threats. Unless they could broker a deal that would transfer majority control of the services over to American tech partners, both apps would be banned from the United States. The scramble that followed involved multiple competing companies and interests and raised the already heightened tensions between two feuding countries. This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED staff writer Louise Matsakis joins us to talk about TikTok, WeChat, and how this fight might shape diplomatic relations between the US and China for years to come. Show Notes:  Read Louise’s coverage of the TikTok controversies here and here. Recommendations:  Louise recommends the book The Overstory by Richard Powers. Lauren recommends the show Schitt’s Creek. Mike recommends SF Urban Hiker’s Stairway Project and also just going on a hike yourself. Louise Matsakis can be found on Twitter @lmatsakis. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys. If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 35: The Decision. The finale to it all, recorded live in Brooklyn. And it's come down to three teams: The Knicks, The Warriors, and The Spurs. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Follow me on follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman. Special thanks to Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and my little brother Scott Kapelman, who provided the original music for the show. They're absolutely fantastic at what they do, and if you need podcast music, you should absolutely talk to them. If you want their info, DM me on Twitter. Thank you to all thirty five of my guests on the show — really, truly, appreciate you taking the time to talk with me about basketball for my silly podcast. A huge thanks to Linda Holmes. I really can't say enough about Linda and her support for me and this show, so I'll just say: She's the best, and if you don't know it, now you do. Special thanks to my honorary producers Tracy Clayton, Nichole Perkins, Rose Reid, Gene Demby, Tena Rubio, Nick Swerdlow, Saki Knafo, Albert Samaha, Kasey Fechtor, Nina Feldman, Ian Chillag, Adriana Gallardo, Alex Lewis, Chris Choi, Chris John, Raghu Manavalan, Ann Heppermann, Mark Bramhill, Avery Trufelman, and Emily Boghossian, who I'm gonna buy some grapes for. And to all the people who I know I'm forgetting because I'm an idiot. Also like a million other people who helped me out on this. Really, truly, I can't thank everyone enough. And finally, you, the listeners. If you like the show, let all your friends know about it on Twitter. I'm not sure what's next for me, but stay updated by staying subscribed to The Decision, telling your friends about it, and following me on Twitter. It's been fun. Thank you all. -Alex

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 30: The Utah Jazz, featuring Dave Horan, a teacher. You can follow him at www.twitter.com/downrightdave. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 34: Quit, featuring Chenjerai Kumanyika, Rutgers SCI JMS Professor and Co-host and Co-executive producer of Gimlet Media's Uncivil podcast. You can follow him at twitter.com/catchatweetdown. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. Follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 32: League Pass, featuring Emmett FitzFerald, producer at 99% Invisible. You can follow him at twitter.com/emmettsfitz. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 31: The Seattle SuperSonics, featuring Whitney Jones, co-host of Pitch, which I also co-host. It's a podcast about music. You can follow him at twitter.com/whitneyajones. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 30: The Phoenix Suns, featuring Michele Melrose, Director of Marketing at Invizion Video. You can find them at http://invizionvideo.com/ The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 29: The Orlando Magic, featuring Brian Brown, a writer in Los Angeles. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 26: The Dallas Mavericks, featuring Zac Crain, senior editor at D Magazine. You can follow Zac at twitter.com/zaccrain. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 27: The Houston Rockets, featuring Rachel Neel, producer of 2 Dope Queens and Sooo Many White Guys from WNYC. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 25: The Oklahoma City Thunder, with Nick Quah. You can follow Nick at twitter.com/nwquah The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 24: The Washington Wizards, with Annie-Rose Strasser, editor at Gimlet. You can follow her at https://twitter.com/arstrasser The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 23: The Miami Heat, with Wilkine Brutus. You can follow Wilkine at instagram.com/wilkinebrutus. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 21: The Charlotte Hornets, featuring Vann Newkirk II, staff writer at The Atlantic where he covers politics and policy. You can follow him at twitter.com/fivefifths The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 16: The Portland Trailblazers, featuring Will Tracy, writer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 17: The Memphis Grizzlies, featuring Keith Parish, host of Fast Break Breakfast, an NBA podcast. You can follow him at twitter.com/fastbreakbreak. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 18: The Minnesota Timberwolves, featuring Todd Melby, host of The Drunk Projectionish, a podcast featuring interviews with directors about their craft. You can subscribe at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-drunk-projectionist/id1219439115 The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 19: The New Orleans Pelicans, featuring Andres Begue, a journalist and former student of mine. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 20: The San Antonio Spurs, featuring Joe Ruiz, weekend editor at NPR, soon to be senior weekend editor at CNN Politics. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 22: The Atlanta Hawks, Jade Brown, a Hawks fan and the daughter of former Hawk Rickey Brown. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 15: The Milwaukee Bucks, featuring NHPR producer Jimmy Gutierrez. You can find him at twitter.com/JimmyGootz The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 13: The Chicago Bulls, featuring documentary filmmaker Donnie Weals. You can follow him at twitter.com/dseals The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 8: The Sacramento Kings. Dave Iseri makes the case. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 9: The Golden State Warriors. What can I say? The Warriors are a superteam. They're so good that they're kinda the frontrunner, but at the same time, I can't see myself choosing them, because they just seem too good. The guy who's help me parse out these feelings is Albert Samaha. He's the criminal justice reporter at BuzzFeed. You can find him at twitter.com/albertsamaha. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 10: The Denver Nuggets. This is a two-person episode, featuring Janet Tsai and Kaitlin Barrer. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 11: The Cleveland Cavaliers, featuring lifelong Cleveland sports fan — and my friend's mom — Laurie Mazur. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 12: The Indiana Pacers, featuring Caitlin Cooper, contributing writer at Indy Cornrows, the Indiana Pacers blog at SB Nation. You can follow her at twitter.com/c2_cooper. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 14: The Detroit Pistons, featuring healthcare policy worker Maria Alexander. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 6: The Los Angeles Clippers. Advocating for the Clippers is Dria Roland, the deputy editor at Complex Sports. You can find her at twitter.com/dreetv. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 7: The Los Angeles Lakers. Our Lakers guy is Blair Wells, an old school Laker fan. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 3: The Boston Celtics. One of my most despised teams. Boston fandom just does not do it for me, and I've always hated the Celtics. But I brought on someone who actually made a pretty good case. His name is Jake Tuber. He's one of my best buddies and a lifelong Celtics fan. Alright, here's our conversation. You can follow his dog at twitter.com/RussellCeltsPup. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 2: The Philadelphia 76ers. I don't have any real affinity to Philadelphia, but I loved Allen Iverson when he was playing, and I know they have a nice young team right now. The guy who's gonna try to convince me to hop on the bandwagon is Gene Demby, the lead blogger for NPR's Code Switch, and the host of the Code Switch podcast. You can listen to Code Switch on your podcast app of choice, and you can find the Code Switch blog at npr.org. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 1: The introduction to the whole series. Where I basically just whine and complain about how terrible the Knicks are. You'll get to hear my history with the Knicks, and why I'm actually considering leaving, even though I've been a diehard fan. In this episode, I'm actually turning the mic over to Linda Holmes, she'll be facilitating my depressed rantings. Linda is the host of Pop Culture Happy, from NPR, and the editor of NPR's pop culture blog, Monkey See. You can follow Linda at twitter.com/nprmonkeysee. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 4: The Brooklyn Nets. This is gonna be a hard one. The Nets are walking distance away from me, but they're atrocious. However, I did find a true Nets fan, my buddy Chris Choi. He's head of global digital strategy for the nonprofit 100 Resilient Cities. And, uh, well, I'll just say he tried really hard. You can find Chris Choi at twitter.com/thischoi. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

This is The Decision: The podcast where people try to convince me to finally abandon The Knicks, and become a fan of their favorite team. This is Episode 5: The Toronto Raptors. I think they're a good candidate because I just love what Canada seems to represent. And to make an argument for Canada is Chris Berube, who's probably the platonic ideal of what I think about when I think of a Canadian. You can follow Chris at twitter.com/chrisberube. The Decision is produced by Alex Kapelman. Original music from Louis Stein, Alessio Romano, and Scott Kapelman. There will be five new episodes of the show every weekday until Tuesday, October 17, when the final episode will be released. Until then, follow Alex on Twitter at twitter.com/alexkapelman.

Alex Kapelman is a huge name in podcasting.  He co-hosts/produces Pitch, assists in editing Millennial, and so many other things!  Recently elected to the Board of Directors of Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), Alex and I dive deep on podcasting, money and diversity in the public radio.  If you are a fan of great audio work, you'll enjoy this excellent conversation! Links Alex Kapelman (Website) (Twitter) Pitch (Website) (Twitter) Millennial (Website) (Twitter) Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) (Website) (Twitter)  

Is your favorite band really playing live when you go see them? Not so much. This isn't about Milli Vanilli. It's about something artists love called backing tracks.  From Jay-Z to Justin Timberlake to the indie band at the local bar, performers are playing along to pre-recorded music to make themselves sound bigger, badder, fuller. In this episode, we ask: 'is it right to feel wronged as a fan of live music'? Alex Kapelman did. He's a musician and co-host of the documentary music podcast Pitch, where a version of this story first appeared. Click the audio player above to hear Alex and Manoush go on a journey of discovery to find out why backing tracks enraged him so much when he found out his favorite band was less live than he thought. Along the way we hear from musicians who make backing tracks, we listen to some huge non-backed tracks to show it can be done pure, and we meet Columbia University professor Jennifer Lena, who studies the sociology of music. She gives Alex a hefty smack down about music snobbery in the second half of the show.  Naturally, we couldn't end this episode without taking our own stab at backing tracks. Call it Manoush's debut single: Podcasting Glory, which premieres at the end of this episode. Hilarity ensues.  Quotes from this episode: On how pervasive backing tracks have become: “I think it's totally an industry standard at this point," Ian Pei, drummer of Avan Lava who also makes backing tracks for bands.  On the risks of backing tracks: "We we're playing in front of 50,000 people, my computer's plugged in not only to the sound system but also to the video screen. And... this giant beep goes off, and then my photo library is playing on a video screen in front of 50,000 people,” Ian Pei of Avan Lava. On why she uses backing tracks live: “Until it can be afforded to have like 20 musicians up there... until all those sounds can be replaced, then yes, I do feel it necessary," Brittany Campbell musician.  On why not to judge too rashly: “I don't want us to have an artistic culture where the majority of the conversations we have about the stuff that's really at stake for us is judging whether we're right or somebody else is right,” Columbia Professor Jennifer Lena.  If you like this episode why not share it with two friends who love music, or who go to live shows. To get future audio downloads of our program direct to your phone or computer, subscribe to the New Tech City podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or via RSS. It just takes a second. Thanks.