Podcasts about seventies

Episode 392 of RevolutionZ  uncovers and visits a half-century-old file on my computer to address a surprisingly urgent question: are we building new revolutionary ideas, or just renting space in inherited ones. I recently rediscovered the text of my 1974 book What Is To Be Undone? written when the arguments between Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, anarchism, and other currents were not academic history but living fuel for organizing. Reading my own early investigations as the Sixties slipped into the Seventies feels like opening a time capsule and realizing the contents still impact what people believe is possible. On the same day, a friend pointed me toward Gabriel Rockhill's Who Paid The Piper Of Western Marxism? and the storms around his claim that contemporary revolutionary theory drifted into a “respectable” left alignment with capitalism and imperialism. I share a long excerpt from Rockhill laying out his case: a purge of dialectical and historical materialism, class analysis pushed aside by culturalism, and a call to rebuild a disciplined, organized left that can actually win. We agree on the need to rejuvenate anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist struggle, but we very seriously diverge on whether the path forward is a return to classical Marxism-Leninism and democratic centralism or a break from their limits. From there, I grapple with a personal and political test: was my younger and then on-going self part of the problem Rockhill describes, or was I trying to learn from past failures to strengthen future movements. Along the way I revisit blurbs from Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and Herb Gintis, reflect on the dangers of sectarian dismissal, and end with Bob Dylan's “My Back Pages” as a reminder that clarity sometimes comes from letting go of certainty. This episode begins another sequence of episodes whose number of entries depends on what seems the case. Me then and now: a deluded, deceived, sell out CIA symp rejector of Marxism Leninism, or me then and now a sincere whipper snapper  trying to overcome past ideological problems on the way to a better society? Is our ideological problem anti anti imperialism, as Rockhill asserts, or is it that  in going forward from the Sixties we actually retained too much from dead men's minds? This episode is a scene setting opening shot on the way to aggressively and hopefully definitively determining which way we need to orient our thinking Back to classical Marxism Leninism, or forward to a participatory self managing future.Support the show

Painter George, aka George Harry Crampton-Glassanos, is fine if you wanna call him just "George." In this episode, meet and get to know George. Both of his parents came to San Francisco early in their lives. His mom hails from the East Coast and her family were all working-class folks. His grandpa was a business agent for a machinist's union in Massachusetts. That grandfather shaped George's later involvement in organized labor. (Today, he's a member of the ILWU). George never knew this grandparent who had an outsize impression on him. He died shortly after George was born. But in Massachusetts, in addition to his union involvement, he owned a store that sold records on one half and hats on the other. His dad moved to San Francisco from the Midwest to attend school at the Art Institute (RIP). He got into that school and often slept overnight on a ledge on campus. Both of George's parents were punk rockers in SF in the late-Seventies. Amazing. His dad even lived with the guitarist from The Avengers (Penelope Houston's punk band). Though they would meet later, both spent time at the famed Mabuhay Gardens back in the day. George's dad was a painter as well, and that turned out to have a huge influence on George. His parents met when his mom got a job with his dad's construction working crew. This was around the mid-Eighties. George came along in 1989. After that, his parents had two more boys, making George the oldest of three. His earliest memories are from around the mid-Nineties in The Mission. George spent time when he was a kid running around The Mission and pre-gentrification Dogpatch with his dad. They lived on 18th between San Carlos and Lexington (or, zooming out a bit, between Mission and Valencia). That's two blocks from where I lived from 2003 to 2017, incidentally. But George's family got evicted from that apartment on 18th. The building sold and the new owners evicted tenants one by one, including families like George's. Both of his brothers were born in that apartment. His dad had made modifications there, handyman that he was. And George was old enough to remember all the awesome neighbors they had. I ask George about his favorite restaurants when he was a kid. "I fuckin' ate burritos every night of the week," he answers. He'd hit up nearby La Cumbre or El Buen Sabor around 300 times a year. Whiz Burger also figured big in George's childhood diet. There was a diner across 16th from The Roxie called Aunt Mary's (George shows me a coin purse from the place while we're recording) that he loved as well. Art was always encouraged at home. George's dad would bring home boxes of fax paper for him to draw on with ballpoint pens. He'd draw and draw and draw, often of things he saw. He remembers staring out the window of their place on 18th and watching cars go by, and he'd draw those. But it wasn't until high school at School of the Arts that George really started cranking it out. At SOTA, teachers encouraged George to draw whatever the hell he wanted to. He remembers drawing a skeleton pushing a paleta cart. When George tells me he attended SOTA 2004–2008, I mention that a number of past guests of this show went there around that time. "[The school] churned out a lot of us," he says. Joe Talbot, who co-wrote, produced, and directed The Last Black Man in San Francisco, went to SOTA in that era. George goes on a sidebar to share a story of getting caught smoking pot by a SOTA vice principal. I ask him to rattle off the SF schools he went to, and George obliges. Waldorf in The Mission for Kindergarten, then a Waldorf school in Pac Heights through eighth grade. They wanted him to attend their high school, but he chose SOTA instead. The Waldorf schools also encouraged art, which George appreciated. The social dynamics could be strange, though. You'd have kids like him who got into that school thanks to financial aid being classmates with kids who lived in mansions. After eighth grade, he needed a change. After he graduated from School of the Arts, George took some classes at City College. He'd been working summers painting houses for his dad, and eventually, college tailed off so he could work more. It also gave George more time for his artistic painting. This was about 20 years ago, and since then, he's been painting murals, hanging out with graffiti painters, doing work on Clarion Alley, and working with Precita Eyes to paint various houses and walls in The Mission. I ask whether George's art has evolved over the years. After thinking it over, he talks about the influence of cars and his mom and dad's comic book collections. He loved his mom's underground comics collections, and talks about going down to 23rd Street with them to Scott's Comics and Cards and SF Comic Book Co. next door. George points to artists like Spain Rodriguez, R. Crumb, and the Hernandez Brothers as having shaped his art from a young age. He'd go to Avalon on Mission for iron-on old English letters to have put on hats. The cholo influence of his neighborhood was seeping in, and George ran with it. The gumball machines on Mission with their foil stickers also played a part. He'd take those stickers home, many with images of cars on them, and draw from them. And of course the cars cruising Mission Street caught his artistic eye. George also touches on some of the violence he witnessed in The Mission in the Nineties, when he was a kid. George and his friends got around on skateboards, beater bikes, and Muni. He's quick to point out how, back in the day, you could take the 26-Valencia if you wanted to avoid potential trouble on the 14-Mission. I ask whether George got into any trouble himself. He says mostly harmless stuff like shoplifting. That was before his aforementioned time at School of the Arts. George has mixed feelings about the art scene, and I get it. He's had his art in shows, but prefers bookstores or community-oriented spaces vs. white-walled galleries. He doesn't feel like the audience that goes to those spaces is his. When he talks about painting at home after a long day at work, I ask George to talk about that work. He's currently part of a crew painting the new container cranes in the Port of Oakland. The ILWU is assembling the cranes and George and others use marine enamels to make the cranes look good. We end the podcast with how you can find George and his art. "You can find me on 24th Street," he says. No website. He's on Instagram at @paintergeorge415. We recorded this podcast at George's home in South San Francisco in April 2026. Photography by Nate Oliveira

Scot and Jeff discuss the second part of XTC's career (1984-2000) with Andrew Gretes. Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) with guest Andrew Gretes. Andrew is a fiction writer teaching creative rhetoric at Georgetown and George Washington University. You can find his work at andrewgretes.com. Andrew's Music Pick: XTC, Pt. 2 Awaken you dreamers! A month after we took you through the first part of XTC's career – an Argonaut-like journey across the world of postpunk and pop during the end of the Seventies and the start of the Eighties – we return to pick up the story where we left off in 1984: with a psychologically landlocked band (songwriters Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding as well as guitarist Dave Gregory), now forever off the road and consigned to a studio, forced to make the most of their remaining careers without fears of an audience to either drag them down or lift them up. And aside from the Beatles, it is little exaggeration to say that no studio-bound act ever made quite as much out of such a fate as XTC – though they didn't make much money, naturally. Instead they made great art, with a series of increasingly ambitious pop albums (including 1986's Skylarking, which you might even have heard of) that reflected the expanding musical palates and melodic ambitions of Partridge and Moulding.  The first episode of this two-part series proudly featured some of the weirdest, most clashingly irregular sounds of the Seventies. This second features some of the most awe-striking beauty you've probably never heard. From their mainstream career (which rarely if ever sold) to their moonlight lark as the Dukes of Stratosphear (which sold gangbusters until people realized they were buying XTC music) Partridge, Moulding and Gregory never quit stuffing every single song they recorded with meaning and melody, and the results are an overwhelming trove of musical riches to discover – one you might only be vaguely aware even exists Political Beats has been building up to its XTC episodes ever since the day the podcast was founded. The second part of their story is every bit as impressive – and different – as the first. Settle in and listen to us sing a happy-sad ballad about the greatest band in popular music to never quite make it. Oh my, oh my, don't it make you wanna cry? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dale and Tim chat about things from the 70's that are no longer around, like streaking, home haircuts, and shag carpeting to name a few. Listen, remember, and laugh.

Ed. note: We recorded this episode outside on a windy day near The Bay. Apologies for the wind gusts you'll hear throughout. Jenny Chan found Storied: San Francisco thanks to Toshio from Sad Francisco. Jenny and I kick off her episode talking about Toshio, in fact. Jenny was born in Hong Kong. Growing up, her dad's mom babysat her a lot. Young Jenny really loved anime and would turn it on at grandma's house. When she did this, her Chinese grandmother would get upset, and Jenny didn't know why. She thought maybe her grandma was senile. Later in Jenny's life, when her grandmother passed away and she helped clean and organize her home in China, she discovered items her grandma kept that pointed to a life spent under Japanese occupation before and during World War II. We mentioned anime, but when Jenny was a kid, she just loved Japanese culture all around. She indulged in manga whenever she could save up enough money. As with the anime, her grandma didn't take kindly to these Japanese things in her home. When she was 10, Jenny's parents split up. She and her older brother then joined their mom and moved to the US. When Jenny remarks that she's not sure how her mom did it, we go on a sidebar. Jenny shares that her mom grew up during the time of the US war in Vietnam, so she's a survivor. I add that, simply, women are amazing. In US schools, Jenny learned about the Holocaust. She also learned about Pearl Harbor, but like most school-age kids in this country, it was in the context of what got the US into WWII. Japanese colonialism and dominance in east Asia never really came up. Her family came straight from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 2000. Members of her mom's family had already been here, dating back to the Seventies and Eighties. Jenny and her mom and brother lived in the Tenderloin when they arrived. She saw the dirty streets in that hood and wondered why they traded Hong Kong skyscraper living for this. Her mom told her that for many reasons, including not having to buy school uniforms, life in SF was more affordable. Jenny's run of schools in The City—Lafayette, Presidio, Washington High. I ask her if she experienced culture shock moving halfway around the world. She says yes and points to knowing only people from Hong Kong when she lived there. Here, she quickly learned that there are folks from all over China and differences abound. She says also that Chinese people she met in San Francisco or The Bay were stuck in whatever era they moved here during, and that was sometimes startling. We go on a sidebar here after Jenny asks me about my own move here from Texas in 2000. Jenny spent a lot of time in the school library, including during lunches. She dedicated herself to learning from an early age. She recognized the hardships her family was going through and saw education as a way to climb out of that. She used her 45-minute Muni commutes from the Tenderloin to school in the Richmond to read and do homework. Her mom worked in restaurants here in The City. Jenny would go with her mom to places like the bank to do the translation. Jenny was learning about life in the US in real time and for practical reasons. At my prompting, Jenny and I rap about all the awesome food in the Little Saigon area of the Tenderloin. I share the story of coming home from my trip to Vietnam and eating at Turtle Tower right away because I missed the food of that incredible country. Jenny lived in the Tenderloin through all her public school days in San Francisco. When her paternal grandmother passed away, she went back to China to clean out her home, as we've mentioned. And that's when Jenny and other members of her family started finding items—military yen, rice-rationing coupons—that pointed to life spent under occupation. Back home, Jenny had found a decent job after college, but was feeling stuck. The revelation of her grandmother's lived experience was a light bulb. It was around this time that Jenny realized a massive hole in her US education. Why didn't she learn about the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, for example? Most of the emphasis was on the war in Europe, with Pearl Harbor and later the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki being the main subjects of the history of war in the Asian theater. In her own words, Jenny went "into a deep rabbit hole" to learn those untold stories. Her first stop was the library, where she discovered books like The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang and The Rising Sun by John Toland. The more she learned, the more she sought existing nonprofits she could join forces with to amplify the stories of the Japanese occupation of China. To her dismay, there weren't any. It was around 2012 or 2013, and Jenny figured that she already knew how to live without much income. And so, she decided to start her own company—a nonprofit dedicated to getting those stories out to the world. Pacific Atrocities Education was born. Check back Thursday for Part 2 with Jenny Chan. We recorded this episode at Fort Mason in April 2026. Photography by Jeff Hunt

The hosts open the show discussing Jill's recent interview with the head of Infiniti USA regarding--among other things--the possible comeback of the humble sedan. This conversation dovetails nicely with Tom's news regarding the likely comeback of a Buick midsize sedan--and a possible Camaro, as well. Jill shared impressions of a would-be annual Land Rover event dubbed Defender Trophy Competition. The event would mirror the legendary Camel Trophy competitions of the Seventies and Eighties. Still in the first segment, Jill reviews the Range Rover SE premium large crossover. Listen in for her take on this off-road-ready luxury hauler. In the second segment, the hosts chat with Caterham's Simon Sproule about the carmaker's tiny sports cars. Listen in for details regarding the history of Caterham, as well as U.S. availability of these storied automobiles. In the last segment, Jill is subjected to Tom's "Which Sold Better?" quiz, including a special Talking Heads bonus question. After the quiz, Tom talks about Elon Musk, and how apparently distracted he is from from developing his core automotive products.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Eyres are currently involved in planning a 50th Anniversary Reunion for the 600 missionaries they led and served back in the Seventies in London England, and in this episode they talk about this phenomenon of young 18 and 19 year olds who leave home to serve and give (and preach) in some part of the world for 18 months or 2 years, and about how it matures and prepares them for life.

Scot and Jeff discuss the first part of XTC's career (1977-1983) with Andrew Gretes.   Introducing the Band: Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) with guest Andrew Gretes. Andrew is a fiction writer teaching creative rhetoric at Georgetown and George Washington University. You can find his work at andrewgretes.com. Andrew's Music Pick: XTC There may be no language in our lungs to tell the world just how we feel about this band, but here we give you a three-hour explanation -- with many clips to illustrate where words fail -- why XTC is arguably the great lost group of the rock era. In the early Seventies, in a rural English nowheresville named Swindon, songwriters Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding got together with local drum-thwacker Terry Chambers to form a local trio with decidedly quirky, non-chart sensibilities. Later they were joined by keyboardist Barry Andrews and began to slowly build a national profile in the (by then) post-punk scene. And only slightly later than that, they decided they were interested in developing those chart sensibilities after all -- but without dropping even one bit of their quirk.  But the story of this band is best told by their music -- and it's practically criminal that it isn't universally celebrated this world over. A decades-long career filled with nothing but one sparklingly intelligent post-punk and pop gem after another, XTC was always out of step with their times, always resolutely unassimilable to the true mainstream, always just a bit too self-consciously thoughtful.  And eventually they made their grudging peace with it, resigned to always be that “great” group that might have scored a hit or two, might have bubbled around the Top 20 every few years or so during the 1980s, but whose impact was heard in the countless subsequent groups they influenced. The story of XTC is a musical tale that will inspire anyone who cares about true songcraft, one filled with immense optimism and joy as well as some of the bitterest sociological observations to be put into British song.  Political Beats has been building up to its XTC episodes (this is the first of two) ever since the day the podcast was founded. The second part of their story is every bit as impressive -- and different -- as the first. All hail the amazing crash-boom-band. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The untold Marvel story behind Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1982 Conan The Barbarian movie! We'll explore the tragic life of Robert E Howard, the creation of the Sword & Sorcery genre, and how Conan The Cimmerian came to be! We'll take you behind-the-page on how Marvel Comics got hold of Conan and how he became one of the BIGGEST comic book success stories of the Seventies, and one of Marvel's most popular characters! Plus, we'll go behind-the-scenes on the making of the 1982 movie, to examine all the influence Marvel Comics had on the film, and find out what it takes to bring The Hyborian Age to life! Then we'll pull apart the original Conan movie scene-by-scene to bring you all our reactions and opinions! This deep-dive also has some of the BEST Marvel Connections we've ever found in a movie! And it's jam-packed with tons of trivia and history about Conan in the Marvel Universe, from the monsters to the magic, the fall of Atlantis, the Crimmerian god Crom, and how exactly Mary Jane Watson is involved! For awesome bonus episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/marvelversusmarvel marvelversusmarvel@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/marvelversusmarvel https://twitter.com/marvelversus https://twitter.com/robhalden https://robhalden.com https://will-preston.co.uk

The untold Marvel story behind Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1982 Conan The Barbarian movie! We'll explore the tragic life of Robert E Howard, the creation of the Sword & Sorcery genre, and how Conan The Cimmerian came to be! We'll take you behind-the-page on how Marvel Comics got hold of Conan and how he became one of the BIGGEST comic book success stories of the Seventies, and one of Marvel's most popular characters! Plus, we'll go behind-the-scenes on the making of the 1982 movie, to examine all the influence Marvel Comics had on the film, and find out what it takes to bring The Hyborian Age to life! Then we'll pull apart the original Conan movie scene-by-scene to bring you all our reactions and opinions! This deep-dive also has some of the BEST Marvel Connections we've ever found in a movie! And it's jam-packed with tons of trivia and history about Conan in the Marvel Universe, from the monsters to the magic, the fall of Atlantis, the Crimmerian god Crom, and how exactly Mary Jane Watson is involved! For awesome bonus episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/marvelversusmarvel marvelversusmarvel@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/marvelversusmarvel https://twitter.com/marvelversus https://twitter.com/robhalden https://robhalden.com https://will-preston.co.uk

Ah, 1990...the year of acid washed jeans, Beverly Hills 90210, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Oh, and lots of Bea Arthur. Of course, none of which we really talk about on this episode. Instead, we're focusing on the best (mostly) alternative albums to come out of that fantastic year. Returning to Third Lad-dom is power pop great Jim Basnight, a fixture on the scene since the late '70s. What has Jim been up to in the past two and a half years since his last appearance? Well, good thing you asked, because the answer is "plenty." For starters, his bands The Meice and The Moberlys were honored with tracks on the definitive Cherry Red box sets Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop in the Seventies and I Wanna Be a Teen Again: North American Power Pop of the '80s. He also released a steady stream of singles throughout 2025 that culminated in the full length album release of Under The Rock in December. As a blues devotee and expert, he's finished writing an exhaustive history of Sonny Boy Williamson, which will hopefully see a silver screen adaptation one day. All that, and he's still found the time to partake in his favorite pasttime - hanging out with O3L. Relive the fun, memories and music of this pivotal year. Plus, play along with the brand new O3L game "Ninety...or Nonsense?!?" It's the most fun you can have without telling someone to "eat my shorts, man!" Buy Jim's music at ⁠https://powerpopaholicproductions.bandcamp.com⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Osmonds were a phenomenon of the early to mid-Seventies. They had tremendous success with their own pop records. But they had broader musical ambitions and conceived a song cycle expounding on their faith in the Mormon Church, but in a accessible way for their young audience. "The Plan" was their concept album that offered a positive message to those would listen to their views. This is the complete album. In memory of Alan and Wayne Osmond.Also...If you would, please make a donation of love and hope to St. Jude Children's HospitalMake an impact on the lives of St. Jude kids - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (stjude.org)Listen to previous shows at the main webpage at:https://www.buzzsprut.com/1329053Other Items of Interest:Pamela Des Barres Home page for books, autographs, clothing and online writing classes.Pamela Des Barres | The Official Website of the Legendary Groupie and Author (pameladesbarresofficial.com)View the most amazing paintings by Marijke Koger-Dunham (Formally of the 1960's artists collective, "The Fool").Psychedelic, Visionary and Fantasy Art by Marijke Koger (marijkekogerart.com)For your astrological chart reading, contact Astrologer Tisch Aitken at:https://www.facebook.com/AstrologerTisch/I'm listed in Feedspot's "Top 10 Psychedelic Podcasts You Must Follow". https://blog.feedspot.com/psychedelic_podcasts/Support the showPlease feel free to donate or Tip Jar the show at my Venmo account@jessie-DelgadoII Support the showPlease feel free to donate or Tip Jar the show at my Venmo account@jessie-DelgadoII 

Eight General Authority Seventies and a new Primary general presidency were sustained at the 196th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, April 4, 2026. On this episode of the Church News podcast, hosted by Church News editor Ryan Jensen, these new Church leaders share their testimonies of Jesus Christ, His restored Church and the blessings that come from obedience to His word. The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Hosts Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News, and Church News reporter Mary Richards share unique views of the stories, events, and people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by Rex Warner.

The Challengers of the Unknown are on a rescue mission to save Henry Kissinger from the Bermuda Triangle! Can it get any more Seventies? Join David and Peter as they cover this exciting story from Super-Team Family #8   Email us at theearth2podcast@gmail.com Facebook www.facebook.com/theearth2podcast Instagram www.instagram.com/theearth2podcast Twitter www.twitter.com/podcast_earth2 Leave us a Voicemail at www.speakpipe.com/theearth2podcast Find our Linktree at https://linktr.ee/theearth2podcast   #DCComics #DCMultiverse #ChallengersoftheUnknown #HenryKissinger #BermudaTriangle #SuperTeamFamily

The story of Soleil Ho starts with their grandparents. In this episode, meet and get to know the food writer and COYOTE Media Collective member who's been on my radar since they replaced longtime Chronicle food writer and mysterious human Michael Bauer. In Part 1, we dive into Soleil's family story. It begins two generations back, when their grandparents came to the US from Vietnam in the Seventies. They were refugees from the US war in their homeland. On Soleil's mom side, the grandparents brought Soleil's mom and seven other children from Vũng Tàu to Freeport, Illinois. They had first ended up in a refugee camp in Arkansas. It wasn't easy finding a new home for such a large family, but an older refugee from Nazi Germany who lived in Freeport took them in. Soleil's mom was around 10 years old when she got to Freeport. Soleil's dad's family comes from Central Vietnam. After the Viet Cong took over, they put his dad (Soleil's paternal grandfather) in a re-education camp, where he remained for around 10 years. After that, he was released and was able to flee his homeland for the US to join his family (also a large one). They also ended up in Illinois, where Soleil's parents eventually met. The story of how their parents met goes something like this: The Illinois Vietnamese scene was relatively small, and folks mostly knew one another. By Soleil's description, their maternal grandfather was "the guy," meaning he threw parties and made connections. So their parents' families just hung together, sometimes at big parties like at Lunar New Year, and there was always a lot of food. It was a shotgun wedding, with Soleil present in fetal form. They have a younger sister and their parents are now divorced. Soleil was born in 1987 in Illinois. Their mom had moved to Chicago to go to school there. Their earliest memories take place in Chicago, in fact. With two young parents working a lot to support their family, Soleil and their sister spent a lot of time with their maternal grandparents. They remember learning to make sandwiches in their grandparents' kitchen. Another early memory that I find fascinating and a little funny is of Michael Jordan individually wrapped hot dogs. It was Chicagoland in the Nineties, so it makes perfect sense that Bulls merch was everywhere. And that extended to food, remarkably. There's one memory from preschool involving contraband Gummy Bears. Fun stuff. As Soleil got a little older, they developed a love of vampires. In art classes, when asked to draw hand turkeys or Santas, Soleil would do so, but they would add fangs and bloody teeth. Fast-forwarding a bit, Soleil says that around the time they went off to college, they realized that the family had moved around 20 times. They moved to New York City when Soleil was eight. Their mom worked in fashion and lived on the east side of Manhattan. From there, they moved to Brooklyn. When I express awe at living in NYC in the Nineties, Soleil is quick to point out that this was Giuliani's New York. Policies of that administration transformed much of the city, especially Manhattan. We'll just leave it at that. It was around this time that Soleil started to develop a "taste in food," as they say. Their mom was now a single mom, working a lot, and like many families, they had the drawer full of take-out menus. Through this, Soleil learned about various Chinese cuisines, Indian food, and dishes from many other cultures, all represented right there in the kitchen. After Brooklyn came a short stint in Long Island before returning to Brooklyn, where Soleil went to high school. They compare that school to Lowell here, where you have to test to get in and "all the smart kids" go. With a quick, feeble calculation in my head, I ask whether Soleil starting high school around 9/11. They confirm and share their story of that day—suffice to say that they saw the whole thing happen in real time. I ask whether they're scarred from 9/11. Soleil says that, yes they are, but mostly existentially. Then they pivot to talking about how it brought about an end to illusion about the world, which is a net good thing. But seeing 9/11 in the greater context of conflict around the world really opened their eyes. (Our second guest that day, Honey, seen in the first photo with Soleil above, took issue with a canine passer-by, which I've left in the recording because duh.) September 11 led to Soleil's becoming an activist anti-war person, starting in 2003 with Iraq. Rather than being scarred by 9/11, it allowed them to put their own life into context. As a Vietnamese person with a French first name, they started questioning things like: Why was it so easy for the US to go to war after 9/11, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq? When it came time for college, Soleil says that they wanted to "get as far the fuck away from New York as" they could, which for them meant Iowa and Grinnell College. They chose the school to be closer to their grandparents, who still lived in nearby Illinois, and because Grinnell essentially billed itself as a place for folks to figure it out, so to speak. By the time Soleil graduated college four years later, the sub-prime crash had happened and the subsequent recession had begun. They worked on a farm, which was hard but helped them better understand food systems. And then they moved to Minneapolis and began working in a restaurant, where we wrap up Part 1. Check back Thursday for Part 2 and the rest of Soleil Ho's story, including how they helped found COYOTE Media Collective. We recorded this episode at Strawberry Creek Park in Berkeley in March 2026. Photography by Jeff Hunt

It's 1978 and in The New Fantastic Four cartoon Johnny Storm has been replaced by an RDD2 knockoff - was the Human Torch too dangerous for TV? Were children really at risk of setting themselves on fire? We'll take you behind-the-scenes on the DISASTROUS making of this infamous Seventies cartoon and everything that went wrong, including TWO legal battles over the right to Marvel's characters! We'll also take you behind-the-page on the Fantastic Four in the Seventies to look at the seismic split between Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the split between Sue Storm and Reed Richards, and how the FF came to reflect the rise of feminism and divorce rates in America! Then we'll deep-dive 3 episodes of the series to bring you all our reactions and thoughts, all the history and trivia, and all the Marvel Connections hiding in the IMDB pages of the cast! Plus we'll spend time with the Impossible Man, the strange death of Galactus, the darkest Human Torch story ever told, the last comic book Stan Lee and Jack Kirby ever did "together", and the worst Magneto ever committed to page or screen! Episodes In The Deep Dive Include; Ep. 2 - The Menace of Magneto Ep. 9 - The Frightful Four Ep. 11 - The Impossible Man For awesome bonus episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/marvelversusmarvel marvelversusmarvel@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/marvelversusmarvel https://twitter.com/marvelversus https://twitter.com/robhalden https://robhalden.com https://will-preston.co.uk

It's 1978 and in The New Fantastic Four cartoon Johnny Storm has been replaced by an RDD2 knockoff - was the Human Torch too dangerous for TV? Were children really at risk of setting themselves on fire? We'll take you behind-the-scenes on the DISASTROUS making of this infamous Seventies cartoon and everything that went wrong, including TWO legal battles over the right to Marvel's characters! We'll also take you behind-the-page on the Fantastic Four in the Seventies to look at the seismic split between Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the split between Sue Storm and Reed Richards, and how the FF came to reflect the rise of feminism and divorce rates in America! Then we'll deep-dive 3 episodes of the series to bring you all our reactions and thoughts, all the history and trivia, and all the Marvel Connections hiding in the IMDB pages of the cast! Plus we'll spend time with the Impossible Man, the strange death of Galactus, the darkest Human Torch story ever told, the last comic book Stan Lee and Jack Kirby ever did "together", and the worst Magneto ever committed to page or screen! Episodes In The Deep Dive Include; Ep. 2 - The Menace of Magneto Ep. 9 - The Frightful Four Ep. 11 - The Impossible Man For awesome bonus episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/marvelversusmarvel marvelversusmarvel@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/marvelversusmarvel https://twitter.com/marvelversus https://twitter.com/robhalden https://robhalden.com https://will-preston.co.uk

John Carpenter's Someone's Watching Me! (1978) is one of the most overlooked thrillers in his filmography, and this week on Cutting Deep into Horror, Henrique Couto and Rachael Redolfi dig into the tense, creepy made-for-TV shocker Carpenter made right before Halloween.The film stars Lauren Hutton, David Birney, and Adrienne Barbeau, and turns anonymous phone calls, apartment paranoia, and stalker dread into a slow-burn nightmare that still lands. The movie was produced by Warner Bros. Television and aired on NBC on November 29, 1978. In this episode, Henrique and Rachael get into why the movie works so well as a pre-Halloween Carpenter thriller, how it builds suspense out of invasive attention and helplessness, and why its made-for-TV roots actually sharpen the tension instead of softening it. They talk about Lauren Hutton's strong lead performance, Adrienne Barbeau's memorable supporting turn, the movie's stalking setup, its uneasy humor, and the way it taps into fears about privacy, vulnerability, and not being believed. They also explore why this one deserves a much bigger reputation among fans of 1970s horror, psychological thrillers, and John Carpenter deep cuts.Inside this episode:why Someone's Watching Me! feels like a missing link between Carpenter's early work and Halloweenhow the film turns phone harassment, surveillance, and apartment living into effective horrorwhy Lauren Hutton makes such a compelling leadthe importance of Adrienne Barbeau's Sophie and the film's unusually progressive character dynamics for 1978why the movie's TV-thriller format gives it a different but very effective rhythmhow Carpenter creates tension without needing nonstop violence or spectacleFilm details:Year: 1978Director: John CarpenterStarring: Lauren Hutton, David Birney, Adrienne BarbeauRuntime: 97 minutes  Where to watch (U.S., this week):Hoopla and available to rent or buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.

A member of one of the biggest rock bands in Canadian history, drummer/vocalist/songwriter Gil Moore has been a part of Triumph since its inception in the Seventies. Now, with the reunited band ready to take off on its 50th Anniversary Tour, Gil sat down with Rock At Night to talk about the history of the band, how this tour is a REAL Triumph tour (and not what you might have heard online), and how important the fans are to the band. Check it out! [...]

A member of one of the biggest rock bands in Canadian history, drummer/vocalist/songwriter Gil Moore has been a part of Triumph since its inception in the Seventies. Now, with the reunited band ready to take off on its 50th Anniversary Tour, Gil sat down with Rock At Night to talk about the history of the band, how this tour is a REAL Triumph tour (and not what you might have heard online), and how important the fans are to the band. Check it out! [...]

To celebrate the 85th Anniversary of Captain America, we're exploring Cap's 1979 TV movie, and Marvel's 70s Cinematic Universe! We'll dig into the deal between Marvel Comics, Universal Television, and CBS that brought us TV movies and TV shows starring The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Dr Strange, and Captain America! We'll get into how the deal began and how it all fell apart, how the Captain America TV movie was made, why Reb Brown was cast as Steve Rogers, and how the film nearly ended the career of the director before it had ever begun! We'll also pay special attention to the Captain America comic books of the 1970's, how they took influence from the shifting sands of America's social and political climate, and how the Seventies transformed Captain America into a true rebel! Then we'll deep-dive the movie itself, pull it apart scene-by-scene and dig into everything this movie got right (the bike) and everything it got wrong! Plus we've packed the episode with tons of unexplored Marvel history and trivia about the Super Soldier Serum, the SECOND origin of Captain America, the Super Soldiers who also got powers in the war, how Marvel tied their Golden Age characters into their Silver Age characters, and tons more! Plus we've got all the Marvel Connections of every actor in this movie, no matter how tenuous or strenuous they may be! For awesome bonus episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/marvelversusmarvel marvelversusmarvel@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/marvelversusmarvel https://twitter.com/marvelversus https://twitter.com/robhalden https://robhalden.com https://will-preston.co.uk

To celebrate the 85th Anniversary of Captain America, we're exploring Cap's 1979 TV movie, and Marvel's 70s Cinematic Universe! We'll dig into the deal between Marvel Comics, Universal Television, and CBS that brought us TV movies and TV shows starring The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Dr Strange, and Captain America! We'll get into how the deal began and how it all fell apart, how the Captain America TV movie was made, why Reb Brown was cast as Steve Rogers, and how the film nearly ended the career of the director before it had ever begun! We'll also pay special attention to the Captain America comic books of the 1970's, how they took influence from the shifting sands of America's social and political climate, and how the Seventies transformed Captain America into a true rebel! Then we'll deep-dive the movie itself, pull it apart scene-by-scene and dig into everything this movie got right (the bike) and everything it got wrong! Plus we've packed the episode with tons of unexplored Marvel history and trivia about the Super Soldier Serum, the SECOND origin of Captain America, the Super Soldiers who also got powers in the war, how Marvel tied their Golden Age characters into their Silver Age characters, and tons more! Plus we've got all the Marvel Connections of every actor in this movie, no matter how tenuous or strenuous they may be! For awesome bonus episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/marvelversusmarvel marvelversusmarvel@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/marvelversusmarvel https://twitter.com/marvelversus https://twitter.com/robhalden https://robhalden.com https://will-preston.co.uk

For this episode of My Martin Amis, we're plugging into the London recording studio of the New Statesman magazine.From the intro: "Founded by economists and social reformers Sidney and Beatrice Webb and the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw in 1913, the New Statesman has enjoyed a long history of finding and fostering journalistic and literary talent. In the early Seventies, the paper went through a succession of editors, during which time its circulation hit a low ebb. Among its staff then were two bright talents who became close friends through their employer. They sported flared trousers, yellowed fingertips and hair of thickness and length relatively similar to my guests. Their names were Christopher Hitchens and Martin Amis. Half a century later, minus the flares and barely disguised homoerotic tension (although who knows what we'll learn on this episode), a new duo stalks the newsroom."Jack's guests on this episode are George Monaghan, the New Statesman's junior commissioning editor, and Nick Harris, its ideas editor. At 27, they are both in the prime of their youth, yet have chosen to speak about what Amis taught them in Experience on the eternally fertile subjects of love, life, and literature.FOLLOW US ON X: @mymartinamisYOUTUBE: @mymartinamispod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does an author do when her debut novel becomes an instant bestseller?  Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney went right back to work on her next one, and her next-also instant hits. In this episode, Cynthia discusses growing up in the seventies, her hometown, and her parents' book collection influenced her latest novel, Lake Effect. People Magazine calls Lake Effect: “Astute and immersive with a surprising twist.”Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney is the author of the instant New York Times bestselling novels The Nest (named a best book of the year by People, the Washington Post, and NPR) and Good Company (a Read with Jenna selection). She has been a guest on Today, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and NPR's All Things Considered. Her work has been translated into more than 28 languages, and The Nest is in development as a limited series with AMC Studios. Sweeney holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She and her husband live in New York City.  Her latest novel is LAKE EFFECT. Learn more at daprixsweeney.com Thanks to NetGalley for early preview copies. Ragdale Writing ResidenciesIntro reel, Writing Table Podcast 2024 Outro RecordingFollow the Writing Table: @writingtablepodcastEmail questions or tell us who you'd like us to invite to the Writing Table: writingtablepodcast@gmail.com.

Send a textIn this episode I'm talking about the story behind my ultimate 70s tribute song, ‘These Were the Seventies.' What started as little memory notes and fun 70s references while I was writing my book slowly turned into a full song. This tune is packed with the sights, sounds, and goofy little details people from that era will remember instantly. In this episode, I'll share how the song came together, explain some of the lyrics, and play a little of it so you can hear where it's headed.Support the show

1:44:22 – Frank in New Jersey, plus the Other Side. Topics include: Waiting for the snow to melt, Florida, the cats, gave up on Best Guess Live, TextSavvy, California Fantasy Lies, hippo dream, sun trash synchronicity, The Firesign Theatre, Dope Humor of the Seventies, Duke of Madness Motors, Clown Cars & Pocket Machines, thought experiments, time travel, […]

For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to: https://swordschool.shop/blogs/podcast/episode-214-swords-in-your-seventies-with-deborah-fisher  To support the show, come join the Patrons at  https://www.patreon.com/theswordguy Deborah Fisher is a member and instructor with the Whidbey Swordplay Association, a historical martial arts club on Whidbey Island, a ferry ride north of Seattle, Washington. She specializes in rapier and small sword. Knighted as Dame Virago, she is a former assistant director and instructor for the Seattle Knights, the Pacific Northwest's premier sword fighting and jousting theatrical troupe. And as Captain Highjack, she is the former leader of a very scurvy and entertaining band of pirates known as the Pirates of Puget Sound. We talk about how and why Deborah got into swords at the age of 50, and what her current training looks like in her 70s. We discuss how some physical and mental abilities change as you age, but how one's peak is still an attainable future goal. Deborah is a professional writer, specializing in instructional materials for teachers, health-care practitioners, and community youth advocates. She has written six books on positive youth development and served as a national trainer for the Minneapolis-based Search Institute. She is also a co-author of Stamp of the Century, a nonfiction book about the history of flight and a famous airmail postage stamp called the Inverted Jenny. Two of Guy's blog posts mentioned in this episode are 100 Days No Booze Results: What Really Changed (and What Didn't) and You're probably holding your sword wrong. Here's why. Find out more about the Whidbey Swordplay Association at: https://whidbeyswordplayassociation.com/

Matthew Bannister onNeil Sedaka the prolific songwriter who had Sixties hits with Oh Carol and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen and made a Seventies comeback with Solitaire and Love Will Keep Us Together. Graham Gouldman pays tribute. Drusilla Beyfus, the journalist best known for her books on etiquette. Her daughter Alexandra Shulman shares her memories.Professor Dame Carole Jordan, the leading astronomer who was an authority on the coronae of the sun and cool stars.And Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran for over thirty years who was killed in an air strike.Interviewee: Nazila Fathi Interviewee: Lisa Verrico Interviewee: Graham Gouldman Interviewee: Professor Mike Lockwood Interviewee: Alexandra ShulmanProducer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn TansleyArchive used: Revolution In Iran, BBC News, 11/02/1979; The death of Ayatolla Khomeni, BBC News, 04/06/1989; Iran street protests, BBC News, 1999 and 2009; Protests in Iran, BBC News, 29/06/2023; BBC News report, 01/03/2026; Neil Sedaka: King of Song, BBC Four, 28/10/2018; The Sky at Night: Exploring the ultraviolet sky, BBC 1, 07/05/1989; Drusilla Beyfus, recorded by Susan Irvine, 08/08/2018; Drusilla Beyfus interview, Castle in the Country, BBC Two, 18/03/2005; Drusilla Beyfus interview, Eight for Eight fifteen, BBC Radio 4, 12/06/1988;

1:44:22 – Frank in New Jersey, plus the Other Side. Topics include: Waiting for the snow to melt, Florida, the cats, gave up on Best Guess Live, TextSavvy, California Fantasy Lies, hippo dream, sun trash synchronicity, The Firesign Theatre, Dope Humor of the Seventies, Duke of Madness Motors, Clown Cars & Pocket Machines, thought experiments, time travel, […]

The story of Sonia Mansfield has roots in The Bay. In this episode, we meet and get to know my friend Sonia. She and I worked together at the Fangs' Examiner back in the mid-2000s, and have been friends since. I loved her presence in the newsroom. I'd often listen to her make us all laugh from her A&E desk across the room. We've been through weddings, births, illness, divorces, and many, many beers together. These days, she hosts the What a Creep podcast, and I'm so glad you get to meet her now. We begin Part 1 with the story of Sonia's parents. Her dad is from Richmond, California, and her mom is from Concord. Her dad eventually moved to Concord, where he went to Mt. Diablo High and dated a girl who turned out to be Sonia's mom's best friend. After her dad got his heart broken by that friend, Sonia's mom jumped right in. They were high school sweethearts who got married right after graduation, and have been together ever since. The young couple had their first kid—Sonia—a couple years later, when they were 21. Another girl came around about three years later, followed by a boy five years after that. Sonia was born and grew up in Concord. She recalls the East Bay town before BART, with plenty of wide-open fields and other undeveloped spaces. She rollerskated a lot (hey, it was the Seventies, after all) at local roller rinks. The Concord Pavilion (now known as Toyota Pavilion at Concord—barf) was where big touring acts played, and Sonia went to her share of concerts there. Her childhood and early adulthood were, in her words, "so Gen X." She and her siblings and their neighborhood friends ran wild, like feral animals. Anyone from this generation, including me, can relate. Looking back as an adult with a kid now, Sonia figures her parents just wanted them out of the house. What's the worst that could happen? The only "surveillance" would be: If the family dog, a Dachshund named Oscar, was sitting outside a nearby house, you could bet that Sonia was inside. He got there by chasing his favorite person while she rode her bike. No leash. Why would you? It was so laissez-faire, in fact, that Sonia says she would walk into strangers' houses. "You're watching cartoons. I like cartoons." Cool. Her sister was always part of her crew, her and other kids from the neighborhood. They also had hella cousins. Sonia's mom is one of eight kids in her family. We go on a little sidebar about all the crazy, dangerous shit we all did as kids. In Texas, there was a certain kind of injury, where some part of your body scraped across cement or asphalt. We called it "getting skinned," and it hurt like hell. But it was just part of the game. The conversation turns to Sonia's earliest days loving TV and movies. She's loved them as long as she remembers, thanks to her dad. He used to love going to theaters to watch movies. Now, he prefers seeing them from the comfort of his own home, but it speaks to his love of the medium. And Sonia says she got that from her old man. Her mom also loves movies, and kept going to theaters longer than her husband. She took her eldest daughter with her almost always. The movies they saw were never age-appropriate, but she got in because she was with her mom. Young Sonia also loved TV Guide, and would read the magazine from front-to-back, word-for-word. She says that before the internet, before Google, her dad would call Sonia and ask her about movies. The TV was always on, something else I relate to (my parents, both in their mid-eighties, still do this). Sonia was an early MTV adopter. Probably because her parents were younger than most, they liked cool music and Sonia heard a lot of it. That whole "walk into neighbors' houses, everyone's my friend" ran head-first into seventh grade, when Sonia learned the hard way that it just can't be true. One day, on the bus she rode every day, one kid started teasing her and then got other kids on the bus to join in. And it happened again the next day. And the next. The torture lasted for months. And it wasn't just the bus—the dude kept up the torment in the classroom. She says that the bullying changed her chemically. She went from open and outgoing to shy and afraid. She started spending more and more time in the school library during lunch. She didn't share her shame with anyone—not friends, not her parents. She internalized it. Part of turning inward for Sonia meant watching more and more TV. She'd go see movies alone. But it's not like she had zero friends. Sonia found her weirdos, the nerds and theater kids, and kept her circle small. She got even more into writing during this time in her life. In middle school, she'd write "really shitty short stories." She asked her parents for and they bought her an electric typewriter. In high school, she took a creative writing class and joined the school paper staff, for whom she wrote movie reviews (duh). Siskel and Ebert were huge influences, and she regularly read the Contra Costa Times' A&E section. When her family would go off on camping/hunting trips and leave Sonia behind because she wasn't into that kinda thing, she'd take the $20 they left her and go rent movies at her local indie video store. She'd browse the aisles and read the backs of every tape. She credits this with why she has so much useless knowledge around movies in her brain all these years later. After she graduated from high school, Sonia got a job at the local movie theater. And at that job, she started making friends with other movie nerds. Because her coworkers were new in her life and not privy to the BS she put up with in middle and high school, she could start fresh with them. And she was getting attention … from boys. Some of the folks she met at that theater job and another that followed have remained lifelong friends, in fact. Sonia was really finding herself as a young adult. We wrap up Part 1 with her decision to stay close to home and go to community college, vs. moving away and going to a four-year school. Check back tomorrow for Part 2. We recorded this episode at Rosamunde in The Mission in January 2026. Photography by Jeff Hunt

It's the White Rocket Music Podcast! Connie and Andy Fix join Van once again to dig into the greatest music of the Sixties, Seventies, Eighties and beyond! This episode: Connie, Andy and Van choose their 5 Albums that are ALL KILLER, NO FILLER-- albums that may not be their favorites, but you never want to skip a single track! Thanks to all of our patrons for making shows like this possible! We have no advertisers and are entirely supported by our great listeners! Be a part of the White Rocket Entertainment family by becoming a patron of the shows: https://www.patreon.com/whiterocketreviews Brought to you by White Rocket Entertainment. http://www.plexico.net

TVC 723.1: Ed welcomes Glenn Stewart, an adjunct professor at Westfield State University (Westfield, Massachusetts) whose background in media includes twenty-five years in radio, both as an on-air personality and as a station programmer for many stations across the United States. Glenn's new book, Columbo Explains the Seventies: A TV Cop's Pop Culture Journey, asks the question, "If you sealed all forty-five episodes of the original Columbo (NBC, 1971-1978) in a time capsule and unearthed them one hundred years later, what would those episodes of Columbo tell us about the culture of the 1970s?" Columbo Explains the Seventies is available through Bonaventure Press and Amazon.com. Topics this segment include how the original Columbo is more a clash of styles versus a study in class conflict; how social capital is portrayed in Columbo; and the extent to which the series reflects the melting pot of Los Angeles in the 1970s.

TVC 723.2: Glenn Stewart, author of Columbo Explains the Seventies, discusses some of the differences between the original Columbo (NBC, 1971-1978) and the revival of Columbo in the 1990s (ABC, 1989-2003), and how one of his goals for the book is to get readers to revisit the NBC series. Columbo Explains the Seventies is available through Bonaventure Press and Amazon.com.

Disguised variously as a baseball umpire, NFL referee, pro golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Barry Bremen earned his reputation as America's greatest pitch invader - a career that kicked off on 4th February, 1979. Dressed as a player for the Kansas City Kings, the 32 year-old insurance salesman crashed the court of an NBA All-Star basketball game - much to the delight of fellow players and spectators. Hey, it was the Seventies! In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why top sportsmen of the day were so keen to support him; reveal how the media encouraged his efforts to become a sporting celebrity; and explain why his behaviour pushed the broadcasters of the 1985 Emmys to cut quickly to a puzzled David Hasselhoff… Further Reading: • ‘From Ali Dia to Karl Power: the greatest impostors in sporting history' (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2016/oct/18/from-ali-dia-barry-bremen-greatest-fakers-in-sporting-history • 'When Barry Bremen Tried to Infiltrate the Dallas Cowgirls, the Team Found It a Drag' (People, 1980): https://people.com/archive/when-barry-bremen-tried-to-infiltrate-the-dallas-cowgirls-the-team-found-it-a-drag-vol-13-no-2/ • ‘The Great Imposter Barry Bremen' (NBC, 1979): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNjZni1yQ90 Love the show? Support us!  Join 

TVC 723.3: Glenn Stewart, author of Columbo Explains the Seventies, talks to Ed about Patrick McGoohan's peculiar relationship with Columbo as an actor, writer, and director. While McGoohan starred in two of the very best episodes of the original Columbo ("By Dawn's Early Light," "Identity Crisis") and one of the better episodes of the ABC series ("Agenda for Murder"), he also contributed to some of the problems that plagued Columbo in the 1990s (including, most notably, the episode "Murder with Too Many Notes"). Columbo Explains the Seventies is available through Bonaventure Press and Amazon.com.

Welcome to an event we call HAUNTED WEEKEND!  A horror convention held in downtown Los Angeles in the late autumn of 1975!   This episode of My Haunted Head is a horror convention version of fantasy football.  It's an imagined genre convention experience taking place in 1975 - an event unlike anything horror fans back in the Seventies ever experienced.  It consists of a weekend filled with activities including film screenings, photo ops with celebrity guests, Q&A panels and a convention floor full of vendors selling toys, comics and collectibles related to horror and science fiction.  Join Toddzilla and AI co-host Ash in 1975.  Available to listen on your favorite podcast app.  Please Like, Share and SUBSCRIBE! #horror #horrorconvention #horrorcollector

This week, Blaine welcomes everyone and gives a quick overview of the episode (0:02). From there, Donovan gives the guys the scoop on what the hype is behind the HBO series 'Heated Rivalry' (1:33). After that, the weekend was abuzz because of Netflix's live event 'Skyscraper Live,' which Donovan could not watch (9:31). Continuing in non-spoilers, they introduce 'PONIES' on Peacock (15:09), why 'The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins' is must-see (20:53), and how great it is to be back in Westeros with 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' (28:17). In the spoiler section, the host discuss how 'PONIES' is mostly great, though there could be fixes (30:18). Then they finalize this week's episode with the joy of 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' (43:31). For more, visit The Alabama Take website!To sign up for the site's newsletter rather than rely on social media, sign up here.To help both the podcast and The Alabama Take site itself, consider making a donation of any size with the link here.Companies mentioned in this episode:NBCPeacockHBONetflix

The disco era of the Seventies is characterized by a danceable "four-on-the-floor" beat, lush orchestration, synthesizers, and glamorous fashion, ultimately exploding into mainstream pop culture with hits, iconic clubs like Studio 54, and films like Saturday Night Fever, before fading by 1980. Filmed in 1977, Saturday Night Fever was a critical and commercial success, helping to popularize disco around the world. The soundtrack, featuring songs from the Bee Gees, has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums and the second-biggest-selling soundtrack of all time. I don’t know about you but I still like dancing to Stayin’ Alive, Jive Talkin, and More than a Woman. By all accounts, so does my lunch guest Alyssa Lundy, Founder & CEO of 5 to 9 Dance Club, a sober, early-evening dance club for women only. Turning coffee shops into Miami-themed dance floors, 5 to 9 Dance Club transforms each venue into a full, nightclub experience with lighting, screens, DJ production, and beach décor. Every event also includes access to mental health professionals, business resources, and women-focused non-profits, as well as a welcome committee to ensure no one feels excluded. The most famous dinosaur, Barney, an anthropomorphic purple Tyrannosaurus rex, didn’t come onto the scene until 1992 but was as ubiquitous on television and in toy stores for three decades as the disco ball was on dance floors in the Seventies and Eighties. Beloved by school children, Barney, of Barney & Friends, conveyed educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude. Dinosaurs dominated Earth for over 165 million years, and still dominate the imagination of scientists and children alike today. Martin Wilmott, owner of The Dinosaur Experience, has seen for himself both the wonder and delight children have for dinosaurs. A Londoner, Martin first came to Louisiana in 2009 for a Saints game. In 2013, he moved to Baton Rouge after marrying his wife, a Louisiana native. Martin began noticing children’s love for dinosaur themes while hosting water-slide and bounce house parties. Armed with his first dinosaur costume purchased from a specialty store in England, Martin began performing. The business exploded during COVID when he and his wife created a drive-around dinosaur show to cheer up children, growing his Facebook page from 400 followers to 10,000 in one month. Today, Martin is one of only a handful of dinosaur entertainers in the U.S., and the only one in Louisiana. He performs at birthday parties, school events, corporate events, and museums. He’s especially popular at libraries across multiple states. What’s striking about both of Alyssa and Martin is neither of them set out to “disrupt an industry.” They weren’t trying to invent trends. They were trying to solve human problems—loneliness, disconnection, stress, isolation—with experiences that feel safe, playful, and immersive. Alyssa has built a space where women don’t have to be impressive—they just have to show up. Martin has built a world where adults remember what it feels like to be amazed. And what I think they both remind us is that joy isn’t decorative. It’s functional. It heals. It rebuilds. It gives people permission to breathe. So whether it’s through dancing or dinosaurs, what Martin and Alyssa are really offering is the same thing: a moment where people feel seen, lighter, and less alone. And in today’s world, that’s not entertainment—that’s infrastructure. Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at the bloating of the music biz in the early 70s and the feeling that everyone was waiting on something to happen, Bob Dylan vs David Geffen, the New York Dolls at the Mercer Arts Center and the collapse of Stax Records. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack. Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks! Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠letitrollpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Twitter.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Let It Roll is proud to be part of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pantheon Podcast⁠s⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kicking off 2026 with a truly epic edition of MVM - a special look at how Star Wars, the movie that saved Marvel Comics! We bring you the incredible Hollywood story of how George Lucas and his team poured blood, sweat, and tears into making the first sci-fi blockbuster, and how it changed cinema forever! Then we'll take you behind-the-page to look at the close relationship between George Lucas and comic books, the financial quicksand Marvel Comics was drowning in in the Seventies, how Marvel became the very first people to ever tell the Star Wars story, and how Star Wars saved the company! Then we'll deep-dive the movie itself, pull it apart scene by scene to bring you all our reactions, plus tons of wild trivia, and compare the Star Wars movie to the Marvel Star Wars Comics! For awesome bonus episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/marvelversusmarvel marvelversusmarvel@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/marvelversusmarvel https://twitter.com/marvelversus https://twitter.com/robhalden https://robhalden.com https://will-preston.co.uk

Kicking off 2026 with a truly epic edition of MVM - a special look at how Star Wars, the movie that saved Marvel Comics! We bring you the incredible Hollywood story of how George Lucas and his team poured blood, sweat, and tears into making the first sci-fi blockbuster, and how it changed cinema forever! Then we'll take you behind-the-page to look at the close relationship between George Lucas and comic books, the financial quicksand Marvel Comics was drowning in in the Seventies, how Marvel became the very first people to ever tell the Star Wars story, and how Star Wars saved the company! Then we'll deep-dive the movie itself, pull it apart scene by scene to bring you all our reactions, plus tons of wild trivia, and compare the Star Wars movie to the Marvel Star Wars Comics! For awesome bonus episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/marvelversusmarvel marvelversusmarvel@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/marvelversusmarvel https://twitter.com/marvelversus https://twitter.com/robhalden https://robhalden.com https://will-preston.co.uk

What if you could have better physical performance and less pain 10 years from now? How would you like to have more strength and flexibility in your Seveneties than you had in your 30's? Jerzy Gregorek is a four time world weightlifting champion and co-creator, along with his wife, also a world champion, of "The Happy Body Program"; a program that combines mindful exercise, nutrition, and emotional eating intelligence.RESOURCES:Get the Book "The Happy Body Program" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4jprfBpVisit this episodes blog page: https://drhaley.com/happy-body/Visit Jerzey Gregorek's website: https://thehappybody.com/This episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJSKafgKMn8TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro Snip01:57 What were you awarded by the polish government and why?03:52 What felt better, being awarded medals for being a freedom fighter or winning medals for powerlifting?05:25 What power words were spoken into your life that you apply to your life?07:05 What happened at the first fire you went to that affected you the rest of your life?09:30 What do you mean by lose everything to gain everything?10:30 What were Jerzy Gregorek's powerlifting records?12:12 What are your secrets to success for getting strong?13:13 What is the "Power" that makes people strong, lean, attractive, and more?17:00 What is best in the gym for powerlifting, full range of motion repetitions or partial range repetitions?18:45 Discussion about Jerzy Gregorek's YouTube short of snatch on a balance board21:35 How do you learn balancing boards using microprogression?22:35 How does training speed relate to the aging process and dementia?23:20 What is "senile atrophy?25:46 What is "Hard Choices, Easy Life. Easy Choices, Hard Life"?29:36 What is micro-progression and could it be the cure of cerebral palsey?33:23 What is the "Happy Body: Lifestyle Medicine Program"?40:00 What is your call to action and where is the best place to go for more information?46:30 Dr. Haley askes the forbidden question48:24 What advice do you have for someone that has no motivation and wants to give up?

The 1970s was the decade that changed the television landscape forever dealing with issues of race, gender, sexuality to the war in Vietnam. No show broke the barriers of turning entertainment into social commentary more than "All in the Family." The late actor-director Rob Reiner played a critical role in the series as Mike "Meathead" Stivic, the liberal foil to main character working class conservative Archie Bunker. In our latest, we discuss Reiner and 70s television contributionto the era's political culture. We also look at television through the decades and its ongoing contribution to politics. ------------------------------

When you tell friends you're going to see a movie at The Roxie, there's an almost palpable envy that sets in for them. In this episode, meet Lex Sloan and Henry S. Rosenthal. Lex is The Roxie's executive director and Henry is on its Board of Directors and the chair of the theater's capital campaign, which we'll get to. In the meantime, if you'd like to help keep a bona fide San Francisco landmark in its rightful home until the end of time (they'd sure love you to, and so would I), donate to the Forever Roxie fund here. We start with Henry, who lets us know that the "S" in his name stands for Sigmund. Henry was born in Cincinnati and had what he describes as an "idyllic childhood" there. He started going to music shows when he was 13, seeing bands like Iggy and the Stooges and MC5. After graduating from high school, he moved to San Francisco in 1973 to attend school at The New College of California. He was an early subscriber to Rolling Stone magazine, where he had seen a New College ad. That ad captivated young Henry's imagination. He visited the campus, which was in Sausalito at the time, after a road trip from Ohio to the West Coast. The school tried to get him to enroll right then, but Henry decided to go back home and finish high school first. Henry produced cable TV shows while in college. In a sense, it's what he's been doing ever since. When Henry moved to San Francisco, there were still operating movie palaces on Market. Before really making friends here, he'd spend a lot of time inside those theaters. It was the era of movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Enter the Dragon. He says it's difficult to put into words (it is), but San Francisco just grabbed him and never let go. Then we turn to Lex Sloan. Lex went to college in Bellingham, Washington, at the type of school that allows you to design your own degree, which she did. Lex got a bachelor's in "social change media," which is so on the nose, it tickles. Post-graduation, she went to what she calls "the middle of nowhere, Arizona," but that lasted all of seven or eight months. Looking for where to land next and being a spreadsheet nerd (like me), Lex made a list. And lo and behold, San Francisco checked the most boxes. She got a job in Redwood City, not knowing that that Peninsula town wasn't exactly The City. No matter—she landed. The job involved teaching video production at a community center. At first, she stayed in a hostel on Mission Street before finding a place all her own on Craigslist. That was 2005, and Lex hasn't looked back. We go back to Henry to hear the story of how The Roxie drew him in. Perhaps jokingly, he says he laments not visiting when The Roxie was a porn theater. Henry doesn't recall his actual first visit, but says he's been a regular since first learning about the place. He knew Bill Banning, who created Roxie Releases, the organization's distribution operation. (Rivers and Tides, the documentary about artist Andy Goldsworthy, is among their releases.) Banning and he were friends for a while. Their kids went to school together. Their lives kept intertwining, including at film festivals. When The Roxie transitioned to a nonprofit and created a board, folks like Bill invited Henry to join it. He politely refused … until the theater was on firmer ground financially. And once it was, he was in. Henry's goal in joining The Roxie board was singular, he says: To help the organization buy the building where the theater sits. Lex does remember her first time at The Roxie. After she landed in The City, she sought work on local film crews. She found a crew and their film (Getting Off) premiered at The Roxie during Frameline. Because she was "only" a production assistant, she wasn't comped a ticket. Lex remembers showing up and seeing a rather long and daunting line to get in. But! That line was filled with her people. She calls that screening "magical" and "electrifying." Over the years, she came back time and again, for one-off movies as well as for film festivals. When Lex worked for Frameline, one of her jobs was carrying film prints into the projection booth at The Roxie and other theaters. Fast-forward to 10 years or so ago, when Lex became operations director at The Roxie. We then turn to the history of The Roxie, with Lex as our tour guide. The space where the theater sits today was built to be just that—a movie theater. It wasn't converted at any point from something else to become a place where folks watch movies. The folks who run the theater today have discovered and held onto the original blueprints from 1913. Its first name was The Poppy Theater. Then it was The 16th Street. Then The New 16th Street, The Gaiety, The Rex, and finally, in the early 1930s, The Roxie. That oh-so-recognizable marquee came to The Mission from an auto dealership in Oakland aboard a barge that traveled across The Bay. A lot of the history of The Roxie before the Seventies is not well-known. But, after becoming The Roxie, it was first a German-language cinema (concessions at the time were German candies). Thanks to some projectionist's notes they've found, they know that in the Fifties, it became a variety space of sorts. In the late Sixties/early Seventies, it was an XXX theater, as mentioned in Henry's story earlier. In those days, a turnstile out front kept underage folks and those who didn't pay out (or did it?). In 1976 or '77, a group of local artists took over. That group changed a lot of things. It became more of an arthouse cinema, as it remains to this day. The folks who ran the place put people before profits. Midnight movies became a thing The Roxie was known for. Check back Thursday for Part 2 with Lex and Henry. We recorded this podcast at The Roxie in The Mission in October 2025. Photography by Jeff Hunt

The story of how Randall Ann Homan got her name is a unique one. In this episode, meet and get to know Randall and her partner, in life and in neon, Al Barna. Today, the couple are all about all things San Francisco neon. But we'll get to that. When Randall's dad was a teenager, he saved a young girl named Randall from drowning. After saving the little girl, he taught her to swim. Years later, when he had his own daughter, he carried the name forward. Randall Homan grew up in Goodyear, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. The town was named for the tire company, and it was where, back in the day, the eponymous blimp lived when not in use. Randall has a fun story about being brushed by the Goodyear blimp's ropes when she was a kid. She considered her hometown "Nowheresville" and left as soon as she could—at 17, after graduating from high school early. Randall came straight to San Francisco to attend Lone Mountain College (the University of San Francisco today). "It was wild," she says about her time in the Seventies in The City. Art school is what brought both Randall and Al to San Francisco. At her school, there was a dorm where all the art students, including Randall, lived. Views out the window of that dorm were always completely foggy except for one thing—the neon sign at the Bridge Theater on Geary pierced that blanket of gray. It left a strong impression on them both. Rewinding a bit, Randall says that there was a little neon in her hometown of Goodyear, and she was fascinated by it. She was interested in how it worked, but also was drawn to the beauty of the colored light. When I ask Randall whether she ever left San Francisco after her initial move here, she rewinds a little bit to talk about how young they both were when she and Al met. "Cupid hit us both square in the heart," she says. But they wanted to see the rest of the country. They both wanted to visit where the other is from (Al came here from Pennsylvania), but they compromised on New Orleans. They were drawn to NOLA by the music, and they sure did see a lot of that. But getting jobs was a different story. That didn't come easy in "the Big Easy," and so they came back. They've been in their San Francisco apartment for 30-plus years, and they're not going anywhere. As mentioned, Al comes from Pennsylvania, specifically the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre northeast area of the state. It was coal country, but young Al wanted to pursue art. And so he came to The City to go to the San Francisco Art Institute (RIP). It was 1976, and even though he was in college, Al never intended to stay longer than a year or two. The Beats influenced Al, and though San Francisco figures largely in their history, so does travel. But he and Randall were here during the so-called Season of the Witch—1978. Randall is quick to point out how much easier it was to move within The City back then, something they did every six months or so for a stretch. I ask them to rattle off the different neighborhoods, and they oblige me: Lower Nob Hill, North Beach, and The Mission figure prominently, among others. Al goes into a little more detail about how the two met. It was at a going-away party for a mutual friend. For him, that first meeting settled it. Randall was about to go to school in Los Angeles, and Al decided to join her down south. After a couple years at SFAI, Al left school to work for a film company, where he did a lot more learning. He was taking lots of photos, and it wasn't until Randall pointed out the abundance of neon signs in the backgrounds of his pictures that Al picked up on it. In addition to LA, they also spent some time in Flagstaff, Arizona, where they both got jobs at a silk screen company. Randall also got a job working for a sign painter whose hands were too shaky for his craft. The work she did painting signs left a big impression on Randall, and you can see it in her love of old neon signs today. Between the Eighties and early 2000s, they each worked in their respective crafts—photography for Al, and graphic design for Randall. Al worked for several decades for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the parent org for the de Young and Legion of Honor museums). He shares a story of helping prevent a bomb from exploding at the old de Young museum building, just before it was scheduled to be demolished anyway. Randall's graphic design work had her, among other jobs, designing album covers for bands. She did show posters, logos, and branding—work she still engages in to this day. In the Nineties, she designed the cover page for one of the Bay Guardian Best of The Bay issues. Eventually, the two decided to create a book all about neon. Putting together that first book—San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons—took five years. We'll talk in more depth about that and their other, more recent projects in Part 2. We end Part 1 with the story of how neon became the central focus of both Al's and Randall's lives. It involved a sign in the Mission that was there one day and gone the next. Check back Thursday for Part 2 with Randall and Al. We recorded this podcast at Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store in North Beach in November 2025. Photography by Nate Oliveira

Why do some romance authors build decades-long careers while others vanish after one breakout book? What really separates a throwaway pen name and rapid release strategy from a legacy brand and a body of work you're proud of? How can you diversify with trad, indie, non-fiction, and Kickstarter without burning out—or selling out your creative freedom? With Jennifer Probst. In the intro, digital ebook signing [BookFunnel]; how to check terms and conditions; Business for Authors 2026 webinars; Music industry and AI music [BBC; The New Publishing Standard]; The Golden Age of Weird. This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jennifer Probst is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over 60 books across different kinds of romance as well as non-fiction for writers. Her latest book is Write Free. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights, and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How Jennifer started writing at age 12, fell in love with romance, and persisted through decades of rejection A breakout success — and what happened when it moved to a traditional publisher Traditional vs indie publishing, diversification, and building a long-term, legacy-focused writing career Rapid-release pen names vs slow-burn author brands, and why Jennifer chooses quality and longevity Inspirational non-fiction for writers (Write Naked, Write True, Write Free) Using Kickstarter for special editions, re-releases, courses, and what she's learned from both successes and mistakes – plus what “writing free” really means in practice How can you ‘write free'? You can find Jennifer at JenniferProbst.com. Transcript of interview with Jennifer Probst Jo: Jennifer Probst is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over 60 books across different kinds of romance as well as non-fiction for writers. Her latest book is Write Free. So welcome, Jennifer. Jennifer: Thanks so much, Joanna. I am kind of fangirling. I'm really excited to be on The Creative Penn podcast. It's kind of a bucket list. Jo: Aw, that's exciting. I reached out to you after your recent Kickstarter, and we are going to come back to that in a minute. First up, take us back in time. Tell us a bit more about how you got into writing and publishing. Jennifer: This one is easy for me. I am one of those rarities. I think that I knew when I was seven that I was going to write. I just didn't know what I was going to write. At 12 years old, and now this will kind of date me in dinosaur era here, there was no internet, no information on how to be a writer, no connections out there. The only game in town was Writer's Digest. I would go to my library and pore over Writer's Digest to learn how to be a writer. At 12 years old, all I knew was, “Oh, if I want to be a famous writer, I have to write a book.” So I literally sat down at 12 and wrote my first young adult romance. Of course, I was the star, as we all are when we're young, and I have not stopped since. I always knew, since my dad came home from a library with a box of romance novels and got in trouble with my mum and said, basically, “She's reading everything anyway, just let her read these,” I was gone. From that moment on, I knew that my entire life was going to be about that. So for me, it wasn't the writing. I have written non-stop since I was 12 years old. For me, it was more about making this a career where I can make money, because I think there was a good 30 years where I wrote without a penny to my name. So it was more of a different journey for me. It was more about trying to find my way in the writing world, where everybody said it should be just a hobby, and I believed that it should be something more. Jo: I was literally just going back in my head there to the library I used to go to on my way home from school. Similar, probably early teens, maybe age 14. Going to that section and… I think it was Shirley Conran. Was that Lace? Yes, Lace books. That's literally how we all learned about sex back in the day. Jennifer: All from books. You didn't need parents, you didn't need friends. Amazing. Jo: Oh, those were the days. That must have been the eighties, right? Jennifer: It was the eighties. Yes. Seventies, eighties, but mostly right around in the eighties. Oh, it was so… Jo: I got lost about then because I was reminiscing. I was also the same one in the library, and people didn't really see what you were reading in the corner of the library. So I think that's quite funny. Tell us how you got into being an indie. Jennifer: What had happened is I had this manuscript and it had been shopped around New York for agents and for a bunch of publishers. I kept getting the same exact thing: “I love your voice.” I mean, Joanna, when you talk about papering your wall with rejections, I lived that. The only thing I can say is that when I got my first rejection, I looked at it as a rite of passage that created me as a writer, rather than taking the perspective that it meant I failed. To me, perspective is a really big thing in this career, how you look at things. So that really helped me. But after you get like 75 of them, you're like, “I don't know how much longer I can take of this.” What happened is, it was an interesting story, because I had gone to an RWA conference and I had shopped this everywhere, this book that I just kept coming back to. I kept saying, “I feel like this book could be big.” There was an indie publisher there. They had just started out, it was an indie publisher called Entangled. A lot of my friends were like, “What about Entangled? Why don't you try more digital things or more indie publishers coming up rather than the big traditional ones?” Lo and behold, I sent it out. They loved the book. They decided, in February of 2012, to launch it. It was their big debut. They were kind of competing with Harlequin, but it was going to be a new digital line. It was this new cutting-edge thing. The book went crazy. It went viral. The book was called The Marriage Bargain, and it put me on the map. All of a sudden I was inundated with agents, and the traditional publishers came knocking and they wanted to buy the series. It was everywhere. Then it hit USA Today, and then it spent 26 weeks on The New York Times. Everybody was like, “Wow, you're this overnight sensation.” And I'm like, “Not really!” That was kind of my leeway into everything. We ended up selling that series to Simon & Schuster because that was the smart move for then, because it kind of blew up and an indie publisher at that time knew it was a lot to take on. From then on, my goal was always to do both: to have a traditional contract, to work with indie publishers, and to do my own self-pub. I felt, even back then, the more diversified I am, the more control I have. If one bucket goes bad, I have two other buckets. Jo: Yes, I mean, I always say multiple streams of income. It's so surprising to me that people think that whatever it is that hits big is going to continue. So you obviously experienced there a massive high point, but it doesn't continue. You had all those weeks that were amazing, but then it drops off, right? Jennifer: Oh my goodness, yes. Great story about what happened. So 26 weeks on The New York Times, and it was selling like hotcakes. Then Simon & Schuster took it over and they bumped the price to their usual ebook price, which was, what, $12.99 or something? So it's going from $2.99. The day that they did it, I slid off all the bestseller lists. They were gone, and I lost a lot of control too. With indies, you have a little bit more control. But again, that kind of funnels me into a completely different kind of setup. Traditional is very different from indie. What you touched on, I think, is the biggest thing in the industry right now. When things are hot, it feels like forever. I learned a valuable lesson: it doesn't continue. It just doesn't. Maybe someone like Danielle Steel or some of the other big ones never had to pivot, but I feel like in romance it's very fluid. You have genres hitting big, you have niches hitting big, authors hitting big. Yes, I see some of them stay. I see Emily Henry still staying—maybe that will never pause—but I think for the majority, they find themselves saying, “Okay, that's done now. What's next?” It can either hit or not hit. Does that make sense to you? Do you feel the same? Jo: Yes, and I guess it's not just about the book. It's more about the tactic. You mentioned genres, and they do switch a lot in romance, a lot faster than other genres. In terms of how we do marketing… Now, as we record this, TikTok is still a thing, and we can see maybe generative AI search coming on the horizon and agentic buying. A decade ago it might have been different, more Facebook ads or whatever. Then before that it might have been something else. So there's always things changing along the way. Jennifer: Yes, there definitely is. It is a very oversaturated market. They talk about, I don't know, 2010 to 2016 maybe, as the gold rush, because that was where you could make a lot of money as an indie. Then we saw the total fallout of so many different things. I feel like I've gone through so many ups and downs in the industry. I do love it because the longer you're around, the more you learn how to pivot. If you want this career, you learn how to write differently or do whatever you need to do to keep going, in different aspects, with the changes. To me, that makes the industry exciting. Again, perspective is a big thing. But I have had to take a year to kind of rebuild when I was out of contract with a lot of things. I've had to say, “Okay, what do you see on the horizon now? Where is the new foundation? Where do you wanna restart?” Sometimes it takes a year or two of, “Maybe I won't be making big income and I cut back,” but then you're back in it, because it takes a while to write a few new books, or write under a pen name, or however you want to pivot your way back into the industry. Or, like you were saying, diversifying. I did a lot of non-fiction stuff because that's a big calling for me, so I put that into the primary for a while. I think it's important for authors to maybe not just have one thing. When that one thing goes away, you're scrambling. It's good to have a couple of different things like, “Well, okay, this genre is dead or this thing is dead or this isn't making money. Let me go to this for a little while until I see new things on the horizon.” Jo: Yes. There's a couple of things I want to come back to. You mentioned a pen name there, and one of the things I'm seeing a lot right now—I mean, it's always gone on, but it seems to be on overdrive—is people doing rapid-release, throwaway pen names. So there's a new sub-genre, they write the books really fast, they put them up under whatever pen name, and then when that goes away, they ditch that pen name altogether. Versus growing a name brand more slowly, like I think you and I have done. Under my J.F. Penn fiction brand, I put lots of different sub-genres. What are your thoughts on this throwaway pen name versus growing a name brand more slowly? Jennifer: Well, okay, the first thing I'm goign to say is: if that lights people up, if you love the idea of rapid release and just kind of shedding your skin and going on to the next one, I say go for it. As long as you're not pumping it out with AI so it's a complete AI book, but that's a different topic. I'm not saying using AI tools; I mean a completely AI-written book. That's the difference. If we're talking about an author going in and, every four weeks, writing a book and stuff like that, I do eventually think that anything in life that disturbs you, you're going to burn out eventually. That is a limited-time kind of thing, I believe. I don't know how long you can keep doing that and create decent enough books or make a living on it. But again, I really try not to judge, because I am very open to: if that gives you joy and that's working and it brings your family money, go for it. I have always wanted to be a writer for the long term. I want my work to be my legacy. I don't just pump out books. Every single book is my history. It's a marking of what I thought, what I put out in the world, what my beliefs are, what my story is. It marks different things, and I'm very proud of that. So I want a legacy of quality. As I got older, in my twenties and thirties, I was able to write books a lot faster. Then I had a family with two kids and I had to slow down a little bit. I also think life sometimes drives your career, and that's okay. If you're taking care of a sick parent or there's illness or whatever, maybe you need to slow down. I like the idea of a long-term backlist supporting me when I need to take a back seat and not do frontlist things. So that's how I feel. I will always say: choose a long, organic-growth type of career that will be there for you, where your backlist can support you. I also don't want to trash people who do it differently. If that is how you can do it, if you can write a book in a month and keep doing it and keep it quality, go for it. Jo: I do have the word “legacy” on my board next to me, but I also have “create a body of work I'm proud of.” I have that next to me, and I have “Have you made art today?” So I think about these things too. As you say, people feel differently about work, and I will do other work to make faster cash rather than do that with books. But as we said, that's all good. Interestingly, you mentioned non-fiction there. Write Free is your latest one, but you've got some other writing books. So maybe— Talk about the difference between non-fiction book income and marketing compared to fiction, and why you added that in. Jennifer: Yes, it's completely different. I mean, it's two new dinosaurs. I came to writing non-fiction in a very strange way. Literally, I woke up on New Year's Day and I was on a romance book deadline. I could not do it. I'll tell you, my brain was filled with passages of teaching writing, of things I wanted to share in my writing career. Because again, I've been writing since I was 12, I've been a non-stop writer for over 30 years. I got to my computer and I wrote like three chapters of Write Naked (which was the first book). It was just pouring out of me. So I contacted my agent and I said, “Look, I don't know, this is what I want to do. I want to write this non-fiction book.” She's like, “What are you talking about? You're a romance author. You're on a romance deadline. What do you want me to do with this?” She was so confused. I said, “Yes, how do you write a non-fiction book proposal?” And she was just like, “This is not good, Jen. What are you doing?” Anyway, the funny story was, she said, “Just send me chapters.” I mean, God bless her, she's this wonderful agent, but I know she didn't get it. So I sent her like four chapters of what I was writing and she called me. I'll never forget it. She called me on the phone and she goes, “This is some of the best stuff I have ever read in my life. It's raw and it's truthful, and we've got to find a publisher for this.” And I was like, “Yay.” What happened was, I believe this was one of the most beautiful full circles in my life: Writer's Digest actually made me an offer. It was not about the money. I found that non-fiction for me had a much lower advance and a different type of sales. For me, when I was a kid, that is exactly what I was reading in the library, Writer's Digest. I would save my allowance to get the magazine. I would say to myself, “One day, maybe I will have a book with Writer's Digest.” So for me, it was one of the biggest full-circle moments. I will never forget it. Being published by them was amazing. Then I thought I was one-and-done, but the book just completely touched so many writers. I have never gotten so many emails: “Thank you for saying the truth,” or “Thank you for being vulnerable.” Right before it published, I had a panic attack. I told my husband, “Now everybody's going to know that I am a mess and I'm not fabulous and the world is going to know my craziness.” By being vulnerable about the career, and also that it was specifically for romance authors, it caused a bond. I think it caused some trust. I had been writing about writing for years. After that, I thought it was one-and-done. Then two or three years later I was like, “No, I have more to say.” So I leaned into my non-fiction. It also gives my fiction brain a rest, because when you're doing non-fiction, you're using a different part of your brain. It's a way for me to cleanse my palate. I gather more experiences about what I want to share, and then that goes into the next book. Jo: Yes, I also use the phrase “palate cleanser” for non-fiction versus fiction. I feel like you write one and then you feel like, “Oh, I really need to write the other now.” Jennifer: Yes! Isn't it wonderful? I love that. I love having the two brains and just giving one a break and totally leaning into it. Again, it's another way of income. It's another way. I also believe that this industry has given me so much that it is automatic that I want to give back. I just want to give as much as possible back because I'm so passionate about writing and the industry field. Jo: Well, interestingly though, Writer's Digest—the publisher who published that magazine and other things—went bankrupt in 2019. You've been in publishing a long time. It is not uncommon for publishers to go out of business or to get bought. Things happen with publishers, right? Jennifer: Yes. Jo: So what then happened? Jennifer: So Penguin Random House bought it. All the Writer's Digest authors did not know what they were going to do. Then Penguin Random House bought it and kept Writer's Digest completely separate, as an imprint under the umbrella. So Writer's Digest really hasn't changed. They still have the magazine, they still have books. So it ended up being okay. But what I did do is—because I sold Write Naked and I have no regrets about that, it was the best thing for me to do, to go that route—the second and the third books were self-published. I decided I'm going to self-publish. That way I have the rights for audio, I have the rights for myself, I can do a whole bunch of different things. So Write True, the second one, was self-published. Writers Inspiring Writers I paired up with somebody, so we self-published that. And Write Free, my newest one, is self-published. So I've decided to go that route now with my non-fiction. Jo: Well, as I said, I noticed your Kickstarter. I don't write romance, so I'm not really in that community. I had kind of heard your name before, but then I bought the book and joined the Kickstarter. Then I discovered that you've been doing so much and I was like, “Oh, how, why haven't we connected before?” It's very cool. So tell us about the Kickstarters you've done and what you know, because you've done, I think, a fiction one as well. What are your thoughts and tips around Kickstarter? Jennifer: Yes. When I was taking that year, I found myself kind of… let's just say fired from a lot of different publishers at the time. That was okay because I had contracts that ran out, and when I looked to see, “Okay, do we want to go back?” it just wasn't looking good. I was like, “Well, I don't want to spend a year if I'm not gonna be making the money anyway.” So I looked at the landscape and I said, “It's time to really pull in and do a lot more things on my own, but I've got to build foundations.” Kickstarter was one of them. I took a course with Russell Nohelty and Monica Leonelle. They did a big course for Kickstarter, and they were really the ones going around to all the conferences and basically saying, “Hey guys, you're missing out on a lot of publishing opportunities here,” because Kickstarter publishing was getting good. I took the course because I like to dive into things, but I also want to know the foundation of it. I want to know what I'm doing. I'm not one to just wing it when it comes to tech. So what happened is, the first one, I had rights coming back from a book. After 10 years, my rights came back. It was an older book and I said, “You know what? I am going to dip my foot in and see what kind of base I can grow there. What can I do?” I was going to get a new cover, add new scenes, re-release it anyway, right? So I said, “Let's do a Kickstarter for it, because then I can get paid for all of that work.” It worked out so fantastically. It made just enough for my goal. I knew I didn't want to make a killing; I knew I wanted to make a fund. I made my $5,000, which I thought was wonderful, and I was able to re-release it with a new cover, a large print hardback, and I added some scenes. I did a 10-year anniversary re-release for my fans. So I made it very fan-friendly, grew my audience, and I was like, “This was great.” The next year, I did something completely different. I was doing Kindle Vella back in the day. That was where you dropped a chapter at a time. I said, “I want to do this completely different kind of thing.” It was very not my brand at all. It was very reality TV-ish: young college students living in the city, very sexy, very angsty, love triangles, messy—everything I was not known for. Again, I was like, “I'm not doing a pen name because this is just me,” and I funnelled my audience. I said, “What I'm going to do is I'm going to start doing a chapter a week through Kindle Vella and make money there. Then when it's done, I'm going to bundle it all up and make a book out of it.” So I did a year of Kindle Vella. It was the best decision I made because I just did two chapters a week, which I was able to do. By one year I had like 180,000 words. I had two to three books in there. I did it as a hardback deluxe—the only place you could get it in print. Then Vella closed, or at least it went way down. So I was like, “Great, I'm going to do this Kickstarter for this entire new thing.” I partnered with a company that helps with special editions, because that was a whole other… oh Joanna, that was a whole other thing you have to go into. Getting the books, getting the art, getting the swag. I felt like I needed some help for that. Again, I went in, I funded. I did not make a killing on that, but that was okay. I learned some things that I would have changed with my Kickstarter and I also built a new audience for that. I had a lot of extra books that I then sold in my store, and it was another place to make money. The third Kickstarter I used specifically because I had always wanted to do a writing course. I go all over the world, I do keynotes, I do workshops, I've done books, and I wanted to reach new writers, but I don't travel a lot anymore. So I came up with the concept that I was going to do my very first course, and it was going to be very personal, kind of like me talking to them almost like in a keynote, like you're in a room with me. I gathered a whole bunch of stuff and I used Kickstarter to help me A) fund it and B) make myself do it, because it was two years in the making and I always had, “Oh, I've got this other thing to do,” you know how we do that, right? We have big projects. So I used Kickstarter as a deadline and I decided to launch it in the summer. In addition to that, I took years of my posts from all over. I copied and pasted, did new posts, and I created Write Free, which was a very personal, essay-driven book. I took it all together. I took a couple of months to do this, filmed the course, and the Kickstarter did better than I had ever imagined. I got quadruple what I wanted, and it literally financed all the video editing, the books, everything that I needed, plus extra. I feel like I'm growing in Kickstarter. I hope I'm not ranting. I'm trying to go over things that can help people. Jo: Oh no, that is super useful. Jennifer: So you don't have to go all in and say, “If it doesn't fund it's over,” or “I need to make $20,000.” There are people making so much money, and there are people that will do a project a year or two projects a year and just get enough to fund a new thing that they want to do. So that's how I've done it. Jo: I've done quite a few now, and my non-fiction ones have been a lot bigger—I have a big audience there—and my fiction have been all over the place. What I like about Kickstarter is that you can do these different things. We can do these special editions. I've just done a sprayed-edge short story collection. Short story collections are not the biggest genre. Jennifer: Yes. I love short stories too. I've always wanted to do an anthology of all my short stories. Jo: There you go. Jennifer: Yes, I love that for your Kickstarter. Love it. Jo: When I turned 50 earlier this year, I realised the thing that isn't in print is my short stories. They are out there digitally, and that's why I wanted to do it. I feel like Kickstarter is a really good way to do these creative projects. As you say, you don't have to make a ton of money, but at the end of the day, the definition of success for us, I think for both of us, is just being able to continue doing this, right? Jennifer: Absolutely. This is funding a creative full-time career, and every single thing that you do with your content is like a funnel. The more funnels that you have, the bigger your base. Especially if you love it. It would be different if I was struggling and thinking, “Do I get an editor job?” I would hate being an editor. But if you look at something else like, “Oh yes, I could do this and that would light me up, like doing a course—wow, that sounds amazing,” then that's different. It's kind of finding your alternates that also light you up. Jo: Hmm. So were there any mistakes in your Kickstarters that you think are worth sharing? In case people are thinking about it. Jennifer: Oh my God, yes. So many. One big thing was that I felt like I was a failure if I didn't make a certain amount of money because my name is pretty well known. It's not like I'm brand new and looking. One of the big things was that I could not understand and I felt like I was banging my head against the wall about why my newsletter subscribers wouldn't support the Kickstarter. I'm like, “Why aren't you doing this? I'm supposed to have thousands of people that just back.” Your expectations can really mess with you. Then I started to learn, “Oh my God, my newsletter audience wants nothing to do with my Kickstarter.” Maybe I had a handful. So then I learned that I needed longer tails, like putting it up for pre-order way ahead of time, and also that you can't just announce it in your newsletter and feel like everybody's going to go there. You need to find your streams, your Kickstarter audience, which includes ads. I had never done ads either and I didn't know how to do that, so I did that all wrong. I joined the Facebook group for Kickstarter authors. I didn't do that for the first one and then I learned about it. You share backer updates, so every time you go into your audience with a backer update, there's this whole community where you can share with like-minded people with their projects, and you post it under your updates. It does cross-networking and sharing with a lot of authors in their newsletters. For the Write Free one, I leaned into my networking a lot, using my connections. I used other authors' newsletters and people in the industry to share my Kickstarter. That was better for me than just relying on my own fanbase. So definitely more networking, more sharing, getting it out on different platforms rather than just doing your own narrow channel. Because a lot of the time, you think your audience will follow you into certain things and they don't, and that needs to be okay. The other thing was the time and the backend. I think a lot of authors can get super excited about swag. I love that, but I learned that I could have pulled back a little bit and been smarter with my financials. I did things I was passionate about, but I probably spent much more money on swag than I needed to. So looking at different aspects to make it more efficient. I think each time you do one, you learn what works best. As usual, I try to be patient with myself. I don't get mad at myself for trying things and failing. I think failing is spectacular because I learn something. I know: do I want to do this again? Do I want to do it differently? If we weren't so afraid of failingqu “in public”, I think we would do more things. I'm not saying I never think, “Oh my God, that was so embarrassing, I barely funded and this person is getting a hundred thousand.” We're human. We compare. I have my own reset that I do, but I really try to say, “But no, for me, maybe I'll do this, and if it doesn't work, that's okay.” Jo: I really like that you shared about the email list there because I feel like too many people have spent years driving people to Kindle or KU, and they have built an email list of readers who like a particular format at a particular price. Then we are saying, “Oh, now come over here and buy a beautiful hardback that's like ten times the price.” And we're surprised when nobody does it. Is that what happened? Jennifer: Exactly. Also, that list was for a non-fiction project. So I had to funnel where my writers were in my newsletter, and I have mostly readers. So I was like, “Okay…” But I think you're exactly right. First of all, it's the platform. When you ask anybody to go off a platform, whether it's buy direct at your Shopify store or go to Kickstarter, you are going to lose the majority right there. People are like, “No, I want to click a button from your newsletter and go to a site that I know.” So you've got that, and you've got to train them. That can take some time. Then you've got this project where people are like, “I don't understand.” Even my mum was like, “I would love to support you, honey, but what the heck is this? Where's the buy button and where's my book?” My women's fiction books tend to have some older readers who are like, “Hell no, I don't know what this is.” So you have to know your audience. If it's not translating, train them. I did a couple of videos where I said, “Look, I want to show you how easy this is,” and I showed them directly how to go in and how to back. I did that with Kindle Vella too. I did a video from my newsletter and on social: “Hey, do you not know how to read this chapter? Here's how.” Sometimes there's a barrier. Like you said, Joanna, if I have a majority that just want sexy contemporary, and I'm dropping angsty, cheating, forbidden love, they're like, “Oh no, that's not for me.” So you have to know whether there's a crossover. I go into my business with that already baked into my expectations. I don't go in thinking I'm going to make a killing. Then I'm more surprised when it does well, and then I can build it. Jo: Yes, exactly. Also if you are, like both of us, writing across genres, then you are always going to split your audience. People do not necessarily buy everything because they have their preferences. So I think that's great. Now we are almost out of time, but this latest book is Write Free. I wondered if you would maybe say— What does Write Free mean to you, and what might it help the listeners with? Jennifer: Write Free is an extremely personal book for me, and the title was really important because it goes with Write Naked, Write True, and Write Free. These are the ways that I believe a writer should always show up to the page. Freedom is being able to write your truth in whatever day that is. You're going to be a different writer when you're young and maybe hormonal and passionate and having love affairs. You're going to write differently when you're a mum with kids in nappies. You're going to write differently when you are maybe in your forties and you're killing your career. Your perspective changes, your life changes. Write Free is literally a collection of essays all through my 30 years of life. It's very personal. There are essays like, “I'm writing my 53rd book right now,” and essays like, “My kids are in front of SpongeBob and I'm trying to write right now,” and “I got another rejection letter and I don't know how to survive.” It is literally an imprint of essays that you can dip in and dip out of. It's easy, short, inspirational, and it's just me showing up for my writing life. That's what I wish for everybody: that they can show up for their writing life in the best way that they can at the time, because that changes all the time. Jo: We can say “write free” because we've got a lot of experience at writing. I feel like when I started writing—I was an IT consultant—I literally couldn't write anything creative. I didn't believe I could. There'll be people listening who are just like, “Well, Jennifer, I can't write free. I'm not free. My mind is shackled by all these expectations and everything.” How can they release that and aim for more freedom? Jennifer: I love that question so much. The thing is, I've spent so many years working on that part. That doesn't come overnight. I think sometimes when you have more clarification of, “Okay, this is really limiting me,” then when you can see where something is limiting you, at least you can look for answers. My answers came in the form of meditation. Meditation is a very big thing in my life. Changing my perspective. Learning life mottos to help me deal with those kinds of limitations. Learning that when I write a sex scene, I can't care about my elderly aunt who tells my mother, “Dear God, she ruined the family name.” It is your responsibility to figure out where these limitations are, and then slowly see how you can remove them. I've been in therapy. I have read hundreds of self-help books. I take meditation courses. I take workshop courses. I've done CliftonStrengths with Becca Syme. I don't even know if that's therapy, but it feels like therapy to me as a writer. Knowing my personality traits. I've done Enneagram work with Claire Taylor, which has been huge. The more you know yourself and how your brain is showing up for yourself, the more you can grab tools to use. I wish I could say, “Yes, if everybody meditates 30 minutes a day, you're going to have all blocks removed,” but it's so personal that it's a trick question. If everybody started today and said, “Where is my biggest limitation?” and be real with yourself, there are answers out there. You just have to go slowly and find them, and then the writing more free will come. I hope that wasn't one of those woo-woo answers, but I really do believe it. Jo: I agree. It just takes time. Like our writing career, it just takes time. Keep working on it, keep writing. Jennifer: Yes. And bravery, right? A lot of bravery. Just show up for yourself however you can. If “write free” feels too big, journal for yourself and put it in a locked drawer. Any kind of writing, I think, is therapeutic too. Jo: Brilliant. So where can people find you and your books and everything you do online? Jennifer: The best place to go is my website. I treat it like my home. It's www.JenniferProbst.com. There is so much on it. Not just books, not just free content and free stories. There's an entire section just for writers. There are videos on there. There are a lot of resources. I keep it up to date and it is the place where you can find me. Of course I'm everywhere on social media as Author Jennifer Probst. You can find me anywhere. I always tell everybody: I answer my messages, I answer my emails. That is really important to me. So if you heard this podcast and you want to reach out on anything, please do. I will answer. Jo: Fantastic. Well, thanks so much for your time, Jennifer. That was great. Jennifer: Thanks for having me, Joanna.The post Writing Free: Romance Author Jennifer Probst On A Long-Term Author Career first appeared on The Creative Penn.

First and foremost I must appologize for the sound quality lately, we are working on it, we appreciate your patience.

Ever since I heard the Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri back in the Seventies, I've been fascinated by musicians from South America who found their way to jazz.Lately there seems to be a strong showing of contemporary musicians from various Latin American countries who not only play jazz but also mix certain Latin American folk traditions into their sound.So, this week I spoke with six of them: vocalist Claudia Acuña from Chile, Argentine vocalists Sofia Rei and Roxana Amed, Mexican vocalist Magos Herrera, guitarist/vocalist Camila Meza and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana.Each has a story about identity, living the jazz dream and how they came to jazz.Hopefully you'll use this roadmap to start your own journey into jazz, if you haven't already.- FelixMusic heard in this episode:Claudia Acuña - “Prelude To A Kiss”Sofia Rei - “El Gavilán”Gato Barieri - “To Be Continued”Roxana Amed - “Corazón delator”Mangos Herrera - “Luz de Luna”Camila Meza - “Utopia”Melissa Aldana - “A Purpose”Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ever since I heard the Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri back in the Seventies, I've been fascinated by musicians from South America who found their way to jazz.Lately there seems to be a strong showing of contemporary musicians from various Latin American countries who not only play jazz but also mix certain Latin American folk traditions into their sound.So, this week I spoke with six of them: vocalist Claudia Acuña from Chile, Argentine vocalists Sofia Rei and Roxana Amed, Mexican vocalist Magos Herrera, guitarist/vocalist Camila Meza and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana.Each has a story about identity, living the jazz dream and how they came to jazz.Hopefully you'll use this roadmap to start your own journey into jazz, if you haven't already.- FelixMusic heard in this episode:Claudia Acuña - “Prelude To A Kiss”Sofia Rei - “El Gavilán”Gato Barieri - “To Be Continued”Roxana Amed - “Corazón delator”Mangos Herrera - “Luz de Luna”Camila Meza - “Utopia”Melissa Aldana - “A Purpose”Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Scot and Jeff discuss Iggy Pop & the Stooges with Dominic Green.Introducing the Band:Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Dominic Green. Dom is a historian and columnist, and he used to be a musician. He is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal and a columnist for the Washington Examiner and Jewish Chronicle. Check him out on Twitter at @DrDominicGreen.Dominic's Music Pick: Iggy Pop & the StoogesLooooooooooord! When Dominic last joined us on Political Beats, to discuss the great U.K. band The Jam, we declared it to be in some ways one of the most necessary episodes of the show ever. (It was.) He has chosen to return to us this month with another one of the most necessary shows we have recorded, a deep dive into the true foundations of punk.Did "punk" music begin with the Sex Pistols in 1976? With the Velvet Underground in 1966? No. Whatever else you may think punk should be, or whatever else it evolved into, the true musical spirit of punk begins with the Stooges' 1969 debut album, a record of such throbbingly feral loudness, rage, and inarticulate energy that it seemed like the sound of cavemen bashing upon logs. And yet the Stooges -- led by Ypsilanti, Michigan's own James Osterberg, better known to the world as Iggy Pop -- were both primitive and neo-primitivist simultaneously: maybe the first band whose garage-rock aesthetics were both authentic and also an intentional artistic proposition. Iggy Pop -- working with the Ashton brothers and later James Williamson -- sought to strip rock and roll to its rawest, most inchoate essentials, and succeeded so wildly that an entire subgenre of music reveres him as their founding father.And then, of course, there's his work with David Bowie in the late Seventies, where both men creatively resurrected themselves. Buckle up for a brisk roller-coaster of an episode, folks -- embrace your lust for life. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.