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From 2009: What are the seven secrets of successful online dating? Patrick Rubie and Ian Woolf unravel the mysteries; 'Brain spindles that minds are made of' Nija Dalal talks to Charles Siebert about our brains; And Patrick Rubie reveals bacterial artists that draw our attention in the latest science news Presented by Ian Woolf Co-produced by Patrick Rubie and Ian Woolf Support Diffusion by making a contribution Support Diffusion by buying Merchandise
October 4, 2020 Award-winning author and journalist Charles Siebert discusses his many experiences visiting with, and writing about, non-human animals, and what they reveal to us about themselves and us. Through his interludes with everyone from a former cellist in an all-chimpanzee circus orchestra; to an octopus escape artist; to elephant and whale ventriloquists; to traumatized orphaned parrots who heal equally traumatized war veterans, Siebert introduces us to the animal within all humans; the common biology and languages we share with other beings; and the costs of failing to ask "What On Earth Are They Saying." Speakers Charles Siebert, Professor of Practice of Literature and Creative Writing, NYUAD In Collaboration with 19 Washington Square North, NYU Abu Dhabi in New York
Charles Siebert, author of three critically acclaimed memoirs and Professor of Practice of Literature and Creative Writing, and NYU student Zoe Patterson share their experiences with Letters From Afar: Travel Writing Abroad.
This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, *cue banjo*. Vera, Katie, and Livy are making hay with 6x10 “Old Ares Had a Farm,” one of the show’s final, and most lovable, comedies. We discuss its use of nostalgia, not just in the subplot about Xena’s childhood, but also in its hiring of director Charles Siebert, who directed many Xena eps in the first two seasons and whose style here recaptures some of that early-show goofiness. Plus: Kevin Smith’s finest hour, R.J. Stewart’s character-based comedy, Gabrielle and Xena love milkmaid roleplay, the glorious return of GOONS, so many animal reaction shots, sound effects galore, Greba McEntire, Gabs gets into character, and that classic fanfic ‘there’s only one bed’ scenario. The power, the passion, the podcast! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/xenawarriorpodcast iTunes: http://apple.co/2f0NAIM Twitter: @xenawarriorpod Tumblr: xenawarriorpodcast.tumblr.com Facebook: facebook.com/xenawarriorpodcast ———————————————————————— Vera: (@hollywoodgrrl) Katie: (@katetocci) Livy: (@PonderousLivy) Music: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/A_Hawk_and_a_Hacksaw/
During his travels in South America at the close of the 18th century, the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt came upon a parrot speaking the words of a lost Indian tribe. The encounter inspired our guest, acclaimed author and New York Times Magazine writer Charles Siebert, to imagine the echoes of human language that might … Continue reading Ep. 8 – Charles Siebert on translating nature’s symphony →
Show #174 - Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Siebert on Gunshot Wounds and Autopsy Lessons Learned This week Mike interviews American Warrior Society member Dr. Charles Siebert and digs into the lessons learned from his thousands of hours of medical examinations and autopsies. Want our weekly show notes delivered to your inbox? Click here to sign up! Our Awesome Sponsors: Century Martial Arts: Train your striking skills to the highest level with a BOB trainer (Body Opponent Bag), AND get a free video training series from Mike. Learn More Here Coolfire Trainer: Convert your carry or competition handgun to the ULTIMATE training tool! Use code AWSSP18 for $10 off! Check out the Coolfire Here Precision Holsters: "Carry With Confidence" is their slogan and they mean it. Makers of high quality holsters, belts, and magazine pouches. Visit them at: Precision Holsters and use code seekAWS for a discount The Law of Self-Defense: Guys, listen, if you are like Rich and I and you're training for the fight, then that's awesome. But, if you aren't training in the context of lawful self-defense then you are training yourself to go to prison. Check out the nation's leading self defense attorney, Andrew Branca's lawofselfdefense.com/americanwarrior/ and use promo code “AWS” for 20% off anything on the site. Qore Performance IcePlate: a SAPI-shaped, hard cell water bottle that unlike traditional bladders, provides three benefits: Cooling, Hydration and Protection in a single piece of kit while being 20% lighter and 50% thinner than water bladder systems (bladder + carrier pack). View IcePlate SWAT Fuel: The ultimate vitamins and supplements! Shop here Atomic Athlete: Become STRONGER, FASTER, HARDER to KILL! Wilson Combat: The ultimate custom built 1911's, Berrettas, Glocks, and AR's! Wilson Combat About our show: The American Warrior Show, the podcast of the American Warrior Society. This show is designed for one thing: To help keep you safer through information, motivational concepts, and action steps! We appreciate your listenership and value your opinion. Please send comments, questions, or requests on the show to: rich@americanwarriorsociety.com Thank you so much for listening to my show. Please share it on social media and other methods with freinds who want to be safer! If you are interested in sponsoring the American Warrior Show, please contact us!
‘Tis the time for “Best of …” lists, so in the spirit of my illustrious predecessor and with a nod to the substantial differences in mounting a musical versus a play, here are my top torn tickets of 2018 - Part One, the Plays (in alphabetical order): Blackbird - Main Stage West – As dark subject matter goes, this look at a pedophile and his victim is as unsettling a piece of theatre as I’ve seen. Under David Lear’s direction, Sharia Pierce and John Shillington acted the hell out of David Harrower’s script which raised a lot of really uncomfortable questions and provided no answers. Buried Child - Main Stage West – Elizabeth Craven’s direction of Sam Shepard’s nightmarish look at the crumbling American Dream found the right balance between the real and the surreal in this dark, funny, disturbing, and heartbreaking show. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Spreckels Theatre Company – Elijah Pinkham’s revelatory performance as a 15-year-old with an Asperger’s/autism-like condition on a journey of self-discovery was the centerpiece of this Elizabeth Craven-directed production. Death of a Salesman - Novato Theatre Company & 6th Street Playhouse - It’s a critic’s burden to have to go see multiple productions of the same piece within weeks or months of each other and it’s rare when both productions are superb. The Carl Jordan and Craig Miller-helmed productions each had their own strengths and weaknesses but both had towering lead performances. Joe Winkler’s and Charles Siebert’s takes on Willy Loman were utterly different and totally devastating. Equus - 6th Street Playhouse – Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play about a boy and his horse was such a left-field choice for 6th Street to produce that I really didn’t know what to expect. That this very difficult play turned out to be one of the North Bay’s best 2018 productions is a credit to director Lennie Dean and an outstanding ensemble. The Great God Pan – Cinnabar Theater – A terrific combination of script, performance, technical and design craft under the direction of Taylor Korobow made this rumination on recovered memory unforgettable. Oslo - Marin Theatre Company – While the Oslo Accords have been deemed a failure, MTC’s excellent production of the J.T. Rogers drama about the negotiations that lead to them reminded us that humanity is too often the missing element in politics today. Next week: Top Torn Tickets, the Musicals!
Dramas old and new dominate North Bay stages with two good ones continuing their runs. Film, television, and theatre veteran Charles Siebert headlines the 6th Street Playhouse production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Miller’s Pulitzer Prize and multi-Tony Award winning treatise on the elusiveness of the American Dream is considered by many to be the greatest American play ever written. While almost seventy-years-old, in the hands of the right artistic team it can seem as fresh as ever. Director Craig Miller has assembled that team to surround Siebert’s towering central performance as Willy Loman, a traveling salesman whose days on the road are rapidly coming to an end. Frustrated at still living paycheck-to-paycheck at his late age, Willy is coming unraveled to the consternation of his wife Linda (Sheila Lichirie) and son Happy (Ariel Zuckerman). Things aren’t helped by the return of semi-prodigal son Biff (Edward McCloud). The action glides between the present and the past and between fantasy and reality as we see why Willy’s dreams for his boys and himself have come to naught. The Studio theatre setting brings a level of intimacy to the show that makes Willy’s downfall, Linda’s helplessness, and Biff’s acknowledgement of his own failures even more gut-wrenching. In a very strong ensemble of North Bay regulars, take note of Bay Area newcomer Zuckerman’s performance as the son most like his father. Attention should be paid to this excellent production of an American classic. ‘Death of a Salesman’ runs Thursday–Sunday through April 28 at the 6th Street Playhouse Studio Theatre in Santa Rosa. Thursday through Saturday performances at 7:30pm; Sunday matinees at 2pm. For specific show information, go to 6thstreetplayhouse.com If political drama is more to your liking, then the scrappy Redwood Theatre Company is presenting Farragut North by Beau Willimon (who’s responsible for Netflix’s House of Cards). Willimon turned his time as a press aide during Governor Howard Dean’s 2004 Presidential run into this tale of the inner-workings of a similar campaign. Set in Iowa over two days before their caucuses, Press Secretary Stephen Bellamy (Kot Takahashi) is a 25-year-old political hot shot working on what everyone thinks is a winning campaign. Clandestine meetings and questionable decisions lead to double-crosses, triple crosses and unemployment before the first votes are cast. RTC’s no-budget productions are always interesting and director Ron Smith uses the energetic young troupe to good advantage here. What they lack in production value, they make up for in talent and heart. 'Farragut North' runs Friday through Sunday through April 22 at the Redwood Theatre Company Studio Theatre in Healdsburg. Friday and Saturday evening performances at 7:00pm; Sunday matinee at 2pm. For more information, go to redwoodtheatrecompany.com
September 19, 2017 Award winning author and journalist, Charles Siebert, talks of his many experiences visiting with, and writing about, non-human animals, and what they reveal to us about themselves and us. Through his interludes with everyone from a former cellist in an all chimpanzee circus orchestra; to an octopus escape artist; to elephant and whale ventriloquists; to traumatized orphaned parrots who heal equally traumatized war veterans, Siebert introduces us to the animal within all humans; the common biology and languages we share with other beings; and the costs of failing to hear “What On Earth Animals Are Saying.” Charles Siebert Professor of Practice of Literature and Creative Writing, NYUAD
“I wear the chains I forged in life!” This ghostly report from the doomed spirit of Jacob Marley is amongst the most famous supernatural utterances in English literature. It’s also a fair metaphor for the heavy weight of responsibility carried by any theater company brave enough to stage Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This unstoppably popular story has been around for better than 170 years, and along the way it’s forged a long, weighty chain of expectations, adorations, misinterpretations, criticisms, dismissals and the weird, unkind backlashes that spring from any legendary story’s overfamiliarity in the public eye. Amongst the many reasons that 6th Street’s current production of A Christmas Carol can claim to be called one of the best surprises of 2015, is that it both embraces what’s made the tale so enduring, while also blazing new trails, finding fresh, entertaining possibilities in what has, in some adaptor’s hands, become stale and predictable. With a strong, adaptable cast, an inventively clever script by Michael Wilson, sprightly, emotion-focused direction from Craig Miller, and a delightfully steam-punk production-design, this incarnation of the Dickens classic also makes maximum use of actor Charles Siebert as Ebeneezer Scrooge. Performing rarely on local stages, Siebert’s North Bay appearances are always occasions to celebrate (6th Street’s Red, Cinnabar’s The Price). As Scrooge—the miserly skinflint whose Christmas Eve haunting takes him backwards and forwards through his own history—Siebert is fancifully mesmerizing and terrifically, touchingly real, maintaining a remarkable level of creative generosity toward all others with whom he shares the stage. As Marley—materializing to deliver a dire warning to his former business partner Scrooge—Alan Kaplan is a wickedly, wackily menacing and also heartbreakingly earnest. As the various spirits of Christmas—past, present, and future—Miller has assembled a trio of comic actors (Jessica Headington, Nick Christenson, and Ryan Severt) who deliver delightfully spectral comedy while consistently landing sharp emotional punches when necessary—in one case, while towering over the stage on stilts. The large, multi-age cast—with notably strong and/or hilarious performances by Jeff Coté as Bob Cratchit, Harry Duke as Fezziwig, and Crystal Carpenter as Belle—work incredibly well as a shape-shifting, character-changing, scenery-moving ensemble. And particular praise must be given to Miller’s technical team, whose clock-work set (Jesse Dreikosen), mood-making lights (Steven Piechocki), and otherworldly sound-design (Miller, with John Gromada) are some of the best seen at 6th Street in many a Christmas. Meanwhile, over at Spreckels Arts Center, another beloved novel leaps to life on stage in ‘Little Women: The Musical.’ With a spectacular performance by Rebekah Pearson in the lead role of Jo March, with crisp, lively direction by Thomas Chapman, and a beautifully spare musical direction Jim Coleman, Louisa May Alcott’s enduring story of love, family and individual determination is gorgeously and cleverly transformed. The story has been rearranged a bit, with the bulk of the familiar tale of the March sisters a flashback in Jo’s grown-up memory, as she strives to make a go of it as a writer in New York City, far from the home she loves. IT works, taking elements of the book that happened earlier, and easing them later into the story, where they become the emotional peak of the play. The entire cast is excellent, the sing is stellar, and the remarkably accessible storytelling aims straight for the heart, without forgetting that ‘Little Women’ the novel, is also delightfully, humanly hilarious. Taken together these two season favorites are must-sees for this holiday season. A Christmas Carol’ runs Thursday–Sunday through December 20 at 6th Street Playhouse. 6thstreetplayhouse.com. Little Women: The Musical runs Friday - Sunday until December 20. Speckelsonline.com
Abraham Lincoln's eldest son, Robert, is the subject of a grim coincidence in American history: He's the only person known to have been present or nearby at the assassinations of three American presidents. In this episode of the Futility Closet podcast we describe the circumstances of each misfortune and explore some further coincidences regarding Robert's brushes with fatality. We also consider whether a chimpanzee deserves a day in court and puzzle over why Australia would demolish a perfectly good building. Sources for our segment on Robert Todd Lincoln: Jason Emerson, Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln, 2012. Charles Lachman, The Last Lincolns: The Rise and Fall of a Great American Family, 2008. Merrill D. Peterson, Lincoln in American Memory, 1994. Ralph Gary, Following in Lincoln's Footsteps, 2002. Sources for the listener mail segment: "Lyman Dillon and the Military Road," Tri-County Historical Society (accessed 11/06/2014). Charles Siebert, "Should a Chimp Be Able to Sue Its Owner?", New York Times Magazine, April 23, 2014. This week's lateral thinking puzzle is from Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's 1994 book Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles. Some corroboration is here (warning: this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!
What are the seven secrets of successful online dating? Patrick Rubie and Ian Woolf unravel the mysteries 'Brain spindles that minds are made of' Nija Dalal talks to Charles Siebert about our brains. And Patrick Rubie reveals bacterial artists that draw our attention in the latest science news Presented by Ian Woolf Co-produced by Patrick Rubie and Ian Woolf