Podcasts about spark london

"AND THE CATEGORY IS...!" That phrase may be something you've heard while watching either Pose on FX or Legendary on HBO Max but what does it mean? What IS Ballroom? What is the background context and history for this community?  If you've wondered all these things and more then we have the perfect episode in store for you today! Author Ricky Tucker joins the show today to discuss his new book "And the Category Is..." we cover his motivation to write this book, what it means for the Ballroom community and the world at large.  Enjoy! About Ricky Tucker Ricky Tucker is a writer, educator, art critic, and North Carolina native based in Brooklyn. His work explores the imprints of art and memory on narrative, and the absurdity of most fleeting moments. He has written for the Paris Review, the Tenth Magazine, and Public Seminar, among others, and has performed for reading series including the Moth Grand SLAM, Sister Spit, Born: Free, and Spark London. He was chosen as a 2017 Lambda Literary Emerging Writer Fellow for creative nonfiction, a 2021 Writers House Pittsburgh Resident, and a 2022 Virginia Center for The Creative Arts resident. Tucker received his Writer/Teacher MA at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a B.A. in fiction at The New School where he later served as Senior Writer for marketing, and now teaches Reading for Writers at Eugene Lang, its college of liberal arts. His debut book, And the Category Is…Inside New York's Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community (Beacon Press) is available online and in stores About And the Category Is... What is Ballroom? Not a song, a documentary, a catchphrase, a TV show, or an individual pop star. It is an underground subculture founded over a century ago by LGBTQ African American and Latino men and women of Harlem. Arts-based and intersectional, it transcends identity, acting as a fearless response to the systemic marginalization of minority populations. Ricky Tucker pulls from his years as a close friend of the community to reveal the complex cultural makeup and ongoing relevance of house and Ballroom, a space where trans lives are respected and applauded, and queer youth are able to find family and acceptance. With each chapter framed as a “category” (Vogue, Realness, Body, et al.), And the Category Is . . . offers an impressionistic point of entry into this subculture, its deeply integrated history, and how it's been appropriated for mainstream audiences. Each category features an exclusive interview with fierce LGBTQ/POC Ballroom members—Lee Soulja, Benjamin Ninja, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and more—whose lives, work, and activism drive home that very category. At the height of public intrigue and awareness about Ballroom, thanks to TV shows like FX's Pose, Tucker's compelling narratives help us understand its relevance in pop culture, dance, public policy with regard to queer communities, and so much more. Welcome to the norm-defying realness of Ballroom. To quickly and easily leave a rating/review for this podcast please go to:  https://ratethispodcast.com/dtalkspodcast Thanks to Snuffy for this episode of the podcast! Snuffy is a clothing brand about empowering you to show your weird - unapologetically, with bravery and confidence. 10% of profit goes to LGBTQ+ organizations led by Trans* people of color. Shop online now at snuffy.co Also, thanks to Empire Toys for this episode of the podcast! Nostalgia is something everyone loves and Empire Toys in Keller Texas is on nostalgia overload.   With toys and action figures from the 70's, 80's, 90's, and today, Empire Toys is a one-stop-shop for a trip down memory lane and a chance to reclaim what was once yours (but likely sold at a garage sale)   Check out Empire Toys on Facebook, Instagram, or at TheEmpireToys.com The DTALKS Podcast has also been ranked #9 in the "Top 40 Detox Podcast You Must Follow in 2020" according to Feedspot.com for our work in the Cultural Detox space. Thank you so much to the Feedspot team!  https://blog.feedspot.com/detox_podcasts/

True stories told live across the UK. This week Spark London very fittingly hears two tales about London. Jess tells us about the time a stranger’s kindness helped her turn her life around and Eleanor reveals a time Buckingham Palace got her all hot under the collar - quite literally.BIG NEWS PODCAST FANS: Spark True Stories turns ten this year and to celebrate we will be hosting a live ‘best of’ at the iconic Underbelly Festival Southbank. Grab your tickets to Spark’s ‘Simply the Best’ night on the 12th of June at underbellyfestival.co.uk or visit stories.co.uk for more details. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

According to Yuval Noah Harari, best-selling author of Homo Deus and Sapiens, it is story telling that sets the human race apart from other species. It’s our ability to believe in the stories we hear that enables us to form communities, believe money has value, and follow a chosen religion. So when today’s guest Joanna Yates was inspired to create Spark London, Britain’s first open mike story telling club, it’s no wonder that it continues to attract sell-out crowds ten years on. Q: What drew you into that first open mike story telling night? A: It was the humanity of it. It was like people in a bare setting, they just appeared from a door and sat on either a chair and a stool, and in front of a room full of people—they just talked about themselves. [1:52] Joanna came across the idea of a story telling club in LA, where she attended an event that left her completely gripped, and somehow determined to bring that feeling with her back to London and spread it. As she began running open mike story telling nights the format evolved and grew. The event started with people reading pre-written stories, and moved to a more spontaneous style before Spark London starting helping produce certain people’s stories as well. Now the events are recorded live and a handful of stories are put into a podcast. ”I know that people have stories to tell, and it’s often the people that will say ‘I definitely haven’t got any stories to tell,’ that you know even more that they have a story to tell.” [11:17] Spark London hosts an event once a month. Attendees get the chance to hear a wide array of stories and also gather some courage and step up to the mic themselves. Each event is themed, and all stories are asked to fit somehow into that theme. For instance, on the Spark London website the prompt will be given with a few examples, such as “Have you ever accidentally called your boss ‘Dad’?” Sometimes at the start of the show only one person is lined up to speak, but once one goes more always step up and get in line. One story easily spawns countless others. “If you want to find a story, one of the best ways to find a story is to hear a story.” [18:40] Many people say the event has been a crossroads for them—a major boost that comes after sharing something personal with a whole room full of strangers. There is a feeling of comradery that comes about from sharing and working with Spark London, guests are encouraged to mingle and talk after the event to connect. I’m looking forward to attending myself and hearing some of London’s hidden stories in an event that is sure to go on for years to come. Links Stories.co.uk (http://stories.co.uk/) @sparkLDN (https://twitter.com/sparkLDN)   Support this podcast

Community radio in Thamesmead, Spark stories, E5 Bakehouse and music by Voltage Black

This Getting Better Acquainted Extra features a true story I told at Spark London. Mentioned: Mansplaining Masculinity: https://unbound.com/books/mansplaining-masculinity/ http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 330 we get better acquainted with Miranda. We talk writing, working, true storytelling and lots more. She's been running There Goes The Neighborhood - a night showcasing established and upcoming writing - for a few years and is currently in the middle of putting out the podcast project, 100 Voices For 100 Years, which is releasing a piece of writing from a woman every day for 100 days to commemorate the centenary of (some) women getting the right to vote. Miranda plugs: There Goes The Neighborhood: https://www.facebook.com/theregoestheneighbourhoodclapton/ 100 Words For 100 Days: http://www.100voicesfor100years.com/ Centenary of (some) women's suffrage: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=centenary+of+women%27s+suffrage&rlz=1C1CHFX_en-GBGB456GB456&oq=Centenary+of&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5608j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 I plug: Mansplaining Masculinity: The Book https://unbound.com/books/mansplaining-masculinity/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-family-tree/id1113714688 We mention: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Picturehouse campaign: https://www.facebook.com/HackneyLivingWage/ Spark London Open Heart Special: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/84111e58-e95e-4abe-89a9-3c3e645df6ab Miranda's Spark Story: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/5babb0c8-01f2-4a66-85fb-e84872aeca19 To The Heart of It: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-53-to-the-heart-of-it ER: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ER_(TV_series) Birkbeck: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/ The Office: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office_(UK_TV_series) Then We Came To The End: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Then_We_Came_to_the_End Flash Fiction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_fiction JD Salinger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JD_Salinger Catherine Mansfield: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Mansfield Bishopsgate Institute: http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Nick Cave: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Cave Cameryn Moore: http://www.camerynmoore.com/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In this GBA Extra I share two stories that I told/retold recently at Spark London true storytelling nights. I plug: Mansplaining Masculinity: The Book https://unbound.com/books/mansplaining-masculinity/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Next Hackney night 9th April: https://www.facebook.com/events/150341378983786/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-family-tree/id1113714688 Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 326 we get better acquainted with Tobi from the Arts Performed Podcast. We'd already warmed up by the time we recorded this conversation with me recording an interview for his podcast and so we get into things pretty quickly. Tobi talks cultural studies, artist and resistance, navigating the world with ADHD and dyslexia, how his relationship with being the child of a Guyanese migrant has changed over his life, systems of oppression, what he has learnt from people he has interviewed on his podcast and so much more. Content note: racism, slavery, colonialism Tobi plugs: Podbean: https://artsperformedpodcast.podbean.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrzaX0VXlgfOPwj7T4z0EyQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/arts-performed-podcast/id1312992320?mt=2 Wordpress: https://artsperformed.wordpress.com Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/artsperformed/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/artsperformed I plug: Mansplaining Masculinity: The Book https://unbound.com/books/mansplaining-masculinity/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-family-tree/id1113714688 We mention: Walter Benjamin: Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Work_of_Art_in_the_Age_of_Mechanical_Reproduction Tommy Poppers: https://www.tommypoppers.com/ Tommy Poppers on Arts Performed Podcast: http://artsperformedpodcast.podbean.com/e/art-and-communication-tommy-poppers/ David Hoyle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hoyle_(performance_artist) Genesis P-Orridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_P-Orridge Throbbing Gristle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throbbing_Gristle Phychic TV: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychic_TV Podcast Support Group Irlen Syndrome: https://irlen.com/what-is-irlen-syndrome/ Extrovert Supremacy: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-290-hamja-ahsan https://www.bookworks.org.uk/node/1917 Mehrdad Seyf and Richard Dedomenicion on Arts Performed Podcast: https://artsperformedpodcast.podbean.com/e/once-iran-to-you-2-richard-dedomenici-and-mehrdad-seyf/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Daniil Ivanovich Kharms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniil_Ivanovich_Kharms The Red Haired Man: https://allpoetry.com/The-Red-Haired-Man Spoken Word London at Vogue Fabrics: https://openmicfinder.com/UK/England/Greater-London/Dalston/Spoken-Word-London-at-Vogue-Fabrics-66-Stoke-Newington-Road-N16-7XB Travis Alabanza: http://travisalabanza.co.uk/ Jorge Ben Jor - Zumbi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFoOgKONIHY Soulfly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulfly Sepulchura: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepultura Roots Boody Roots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roots_Bloody_Roots Soulfly: Tribe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXMdyCK0M9Q Quilombo (A historia do Quilombo dos Palmares): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-z0M-vcCB4 Tanya Tagaq - Retribution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNYTA6SV6tM Joseph Conrad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad Heart of Darkness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness Noh Theatre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noh_Theatre Churchill: https://crimesofbritain.com/2016/09/13/the-trial-of-winston-churchill/ Leopold II: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium Just May Does Geri: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1329142532/just-may-does-geri Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

Pushed for time again this week so instead of a full conversation this week's episode is a GBA Extra combining my British Podcast Award submission and a true story I told at the most recent Spark London. The BPA submission features clips from these episodes of GBA: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-302-nicole-henriksen https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-301-nira https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-312-pandora-blake Spark London can be found here: http://stories.co.uk/ This is the next open mic at hackney: https://www.facebook.com/events/168730357188077/ I plug: Mansplaining Masculinity: The Book https://unbound.com/books/mansplaining-masculinity/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 324 we get better acquainted with Edd Hedges. He talks about stand up comedy and storytelling, accepting that you are going to make mistakes and get things wrong, different types of silence and the appeal of going off into the woods to write sad songs. We talk about and around his true story show Wonderland, compare notes on doing storytelling shows about toxic masculinity (and the life experiences that inspired them) and mention Sofie Hagen a lot. Content note: bullying, domestic violence, violence in general, body issues Edd plugs: Wonderland: 31st April 1st, 2nd May at Soho Theatre https://sohotheatre.com/shows/edd-hedges-wonderland/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/edd_hedges Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eddhedges Tour Dates: http://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/e/34074/edd_hedges Look out for Wonderland touring, for Edd doing stand-up and previews of For Eva, Forever Ago I plug: Mansplaining Masculinity: The Book https://unbound.com/books/mansplaining-masculinity/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ We mention: The Bill Murry: http://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/bill-murray/ Angel Comedy Club: http://www.angelcomedy.co.uk NextUp: http://www.nextupcomedy.com/ The Camden Head: http://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/camden-head/ Larry Dean: http://www.larrydeancomedy.com/ ASMR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_sensory_meridian_response Sofie Hagen: http://www.sofiehagen.com/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Pheonix Artists Club: http://phoenixartistclub.com/ Sofie's podcast: https://www.madeofhumanpodcast.com Mike Birbiglia: http://birbigs.com/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Sarah Kendall: https://twitter.com/sarah_kendall Toxic Masculinity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_masculinity #MeToo: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/15/me-too-founder-tarana-burke-women-sexual-assault Bon Iver: https://boniver.org/ For Emma, Forever Ago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Emma,_Forever_Ago Tim Minchin: http://www.timminchin.com/ Rock and Roll Nerd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29F6nneoH0M Intersectionality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality Caitlyn Jenner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caitlyn_Jenner Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In this GBA Extra I share two stories that I told/retold recently at Spark London true storytelling nights. I mention: Dead Poets Society: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Poets_Society Spartacus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus_(film) If it was a 'tough choice' to cut my job, then come and tell the children why: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/01/tough-choice-cut-job-enfield-children-centres-austerity I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Next Hackney night 12th February: https://www.facebook.com/events/139918386636811/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

The food we cook and eat is so intricately shaped by our lives and what we've done and the people we've met. Some meals can conjure up the most powerful memories and bring people back into our lives in a very evocative way. Joe Marshall is a former vegetarian turned practised cooker of roasts - no mean feat on the river barge he calls home. And every single Sunday meal he makes has a much deeper, more emotional significance. With thanks to Spark London, where I first saw Joe tell a version of this story http://stories.co.uk/ I played a version of this piece at my Potluck event at the previous Hearsay International Audio Arts Festival in Kilfinane - with thanks to Diarmuid Macintyre, Diarmuid O'Leary and the festival team http://www.hearsayfestival.ie/ #food #sundayroast #cooking #recipes

In this Getting Better Acquainted Extra I continue the tradition of beginning the new year with a round up of how the last year panned out for me. And I talk about my plans and resolutions for 2018. Next week the format of the show will be back to normal! I mention: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast My series of personal essays about my dad: Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad https://medium.com/goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Restart Project: https://therestartproject.org/podcast/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/camerynmoore https://www.facebook.com/smutslamlondon/ http://www.camerynmoore.com/ GBA 300: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/gba-300 Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

GBA 317 is a Getting Better Acquainted special featuring a true story I told at Spark London about therapy, anxiety and depression, and conversations with my dad about living with dementia and my brother, Tony about making art about being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ My brother's art: http://pick-art.co.uk/ Spark London: http://www.stories.co.uk Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/events/663459157190793/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In this GBA Extra I share two stories that I retold recently at Spark London true storytelling nights. For anyone missing the usual GBA length and format this episode of The Family Tree Cuttings may fill the gap for you: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/cuttings/the-family-tree-season-2-cuttings-2-other-lives/ I plug: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Next Hackney night 11th November: https://www.facebook.com/events/116918258992374/ Smut Slam - Next London night 8th November: https://www.facebook.com/events/767863566747746/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 315 we get better acquainted with Andy. Since Andy works in very similar areas of audio to me, but has a very different approach to how he works, this is a compare and contrast conversation where we talk about why bassists might have an affinity for radio production, making radio and podcast comedy and drama, working with a foot in independent audio and a foot within the mainstream radio world, what it's like when you're locked in the audio cave and whether we are pond-skaters, water-boatmen or ducks! Andy plugs: Wooden Overcoats: http://www.woodenovercoats.com/ Miniaturists Podcast(launching 16th November): http://www.miniaturists.co.uk/podcast https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/577999433/the-miniaturists-podcast The Night: (next date 6th November): http://crowleynco.com/the-night/ Cleanse at The Vault Festival (not yet announced): http://www.vaultfestival.com/ I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ We mention: Schnoodle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnoodle Podcasters' Support Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/571436979623574/ British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/ Sony Radio Awards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Academy_Awards Radio Production Awards: http://www.audioproductionawards.co.uk/ Pix Europa Awards: http://prixeuropa.eu/home Numbers: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/numbers-an-audio-drama/id1290324649?mt=2 Answer Me This! http://answermethispodcast.com/ Cbeebies Radio: https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio Hat Trick: https://www.hattrick.co.uk/ Audible: https://www.audible.co.uk John Wakefield: http://johnwakefieldradio.weebly.com/ Alex Lynch: https://twitter.com/alexjrlynch?lang=en Expenses Only (sitcom): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07ldv5l Funn Fragments: http://www.woodenovercoats.com/episodes/2017/9/7/funn-fragments-the-full-works Ministry of Stories: http://www.ministryofstories.org/http://www.ministryofstories.org/http://www.ministryofstories.org/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ The Moth: https://www.themoth.org/ Tim Crook: http://www.gold.ac.uk/media-communications/staff/crook/ David K Barns: http://www.davidkbarnes.com/ Bojack Horseman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BoJack_Horseman Alison Brie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Brie The Simpsons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons Apu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apu_Nahasapeemapetilon The Problem With Apu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGzvEqBvkP8 Nihilist Gardening Hour: https://soundcloud.com/thenihilistgardeninghour Radio Production @ Goldsmiths: http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-radio/ Felix Trench: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-258-felix-trench Zoom H2: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoom-H2-Handy-Recorder-Card/dp/B000VBH2IG Roman Mars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Mars Odinn Orn Hilmarsson: https://soundcloud.com/gangleri Hector v the Future: http://www.hectorvsthefuture.com/ James Hamilton: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-live-18-james-hamilton Etcetera Theatre: http://www.etceteratheatre.com/ Sigur Rós: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigur_R%C3%B3s London Podcast Festival: http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/curated-weeks/london-podcast-festival-2017 Pod Academy: http://podacademy.org/ Resonance FM: https://resonancefm.com/ Restart Project: https://therestartproject.org/podcast Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 307, we get better acquainted with Michael. He talks about moving from stand up comedy into true storytelling, running festivals, making flashing hats and merkins, finding a voice, travelling the world and lots more. Michael hosts Natural Born Storytellers and I host the Hackney branch of Spark London and so this is a conversation between two people working in the same genre, and a lot of it is about storytelling and truth and performance. Michael plugs: Natural Born Storytellers: 3rd Wednesday of every month at the Camden Head I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ We mention: Natural Born Storytellers: http://www.naturalbornstorytellers.com/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Tell It Festival: http://tellitfestival.com/ Shambala: http://www.shambalafestival.org/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/events/827737554066972/ Survivors Collective: https://www.survivorscollective.co.uk/ Magnolia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_(film) Shortcuts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Cuts_(film) Nelson Mandela: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela Video of me at NBS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdBcUA5Hb4Q Willy Wonka: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Wonka Slash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(musician) Burning Man: https://burningman.org/ Merkin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkin Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 306, we get better acquainted with Sadia Azmat. She talks about comedy, politics, current events, the media, public speaking, being a British muslim woman who wears a hijab and does stand up while living in a society that often doesn't treat Muslims well and lots more. Content note: racism, sexism, islamophobia Sadia plugs: Follow her on twitter: https://twitter.com/sadia_azmats_ I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ We mention: Made of Human: https://www.madeofhumanpodcast.com/ Sofie Hagan: http://www.sofiehagen.com/ Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/events/827737554066972/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Charlottesville: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/charlottesville-attack-170813081045115.html Burkini ban: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/burkini-ban-why-is-france-arresting-muslim-women-for-wearing-full-body-swimwear-and-why-are-people-a7207971.html Women's March: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Women%27s_March bell hooks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_hooks ISIS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant Grace Dent: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/if-teenage-girls-want-to-join-isis-in-the-face-of-all-its-atrocities-then-they-should-leave-and-10065516.html Assad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad George Bush: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush Kanye West: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanye_West Dwayne Johnson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_Johnson Pamela Geller: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Geller Micheal McIntyre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_McIntyre Drawer Sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgUpDGAIdds Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadia_Azmat Deborah Fraces White: https://deborahfrances-white.com/ Funny Women: http://funnywomen.com/ 9/11: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11 Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 304 we get better acquainted with Scarlett. She talks about being the lead singer in a band from the age of 14 to the age of 21, writing and editing at Men's Health magazine, the landscapes of gender and masculinity, the value of asking for help, Spark London true storytelling, how complicated compliments can be and more. Content Note: Mental Health Issues, Therapy, Street Harassment, Sexism Scarlett plugs: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Next Hackney night: Friendships 14th August: https://www.facebook.com/events/520373711490463/ Next Brixton night: https://www.facebook.com/events/465238527164037/ We mention: Charley: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-200-pt-5-with-charley-harrison Men's Health: http://www.menshealth.co.uk/ Brighton Journalist Works: http://www.journalistworks.co.uk/ Esquire: http://www.esquire.co.uk/ Scarlett telling a story at Spark: http://stories.co.uk/podcasts/promises-scarlett-brian-abel/ The Podcast about street harassment might be this one: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/603/once-more-with-feeling?act=1 Comic about street harassment: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://leftycartoons.com/2010/09/01/street-harassment/&gws_rd=cr&ei=blp7Wci6H8eBgAaxrpXICg Bugle: https://thebuglepodcast.com/ This American Life: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/ Radiolab: http://www.radiolab.org/ Mental Illness Happy Hour: http://mentalpod.com/ Infinite Monkey Cage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snr0w/episodes/downloads Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/ Mind Spark episodes: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/multiculturalminds-truestorieslive https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/imfine-shannon-sparktruestories Jen Teen Vogue: http://www.teenvogue.com/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

This Getting Better Acquainted Extra features 3 stories I told at Spark London about various kinds of adulthood and various ways that I've grown up and grown out over the years. Content Note: Some references to trauma and discussion of sex, sexuality and substance use. Mentioned: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 301 we get better acquainted with Dr Nira Chamberlain. He talks about the history of black mathematicians, his personal journey from being a child told by his careers adviser that he couldn't be a mathematician to getting a PHD in maths and becoming the first black mathematician to be included in the Who's Who, how the women from Hidden Figures could have been his role-models, the real world maths of mathematical modelling and so much more. I sat down with Nira in a quiet room at University of Greenwich where he was giving a talk. We met each other for the first time at a Spark London fundraiser for the Steve Sinnott Foundation. Content note: Racism, slavery Nira plugs: Success Looks Like You: Saturday 29th July: 1pm-4pm https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/success-looks-like-me-tickets-34548932788 @ch_nira: https://twitter.com/ch_nira His website: http://nirachamberlain.com/ Black Heroes of Mathematics: http://www.mathscareers.org.uk/article/black-heroes-mathematics/ http://nirachamberlain.com/the-black-heroes-of-mathematics/ We mention: Steve Sinnott Foundation: www.stevesinnottfoundation.org.uk/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Nira on Spark: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/notaboxer-nira Greenwich University: http://www2.gre.ac.uk/ Babcock International Group: https://www.babcockinternational.com/ Ronaldo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo Messi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi Science Council: http://sciencecouncil.org Who's Who: http://www.ukwhoswho.com/ Professor Phakeng: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamokgethi_Setati Black History Month: http://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/ Black Heroes Of Mathematics: http://nirachamberlain.com/the-black-heroes-of-mathematics/ Hidden Figures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Figures Thomas Jefferson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson Target Oxbridge: http://www.targetoxbridge.co.uk/ Aston Villa: https://www.avfc.co.uk/ JFK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy Euler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonhard_Euler Paul Erdos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s Thomas Fuller 1710 - 1790, Slave and Mathematician Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

To celebrate the 300th episode of GBA I'm putting out a season of 3 special episodes, which continues with today's conversation. In many ways this feels like a regular GBA episode and is a good example for new listeners of what the show is usually like. It's also a conversation with someone who it's taken 299 episodes to persuade to come on as a guest. Part of the motivation for that is encourage people to donate to Refuaid which you can do here: http://stories.co.uk/ https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/sparkrefuaid In GBA 300 we get better acquainted with Matt. We talk about forming a theatre company together as students, 16 years of friendship, the different collaborations we have had over the years, who is actually the hardest working person in UK podcasting, the different interests and experiences that have led to him becoming a major force in British podcasting and how experiencing and healing from a spinal injury caused by a carcrash has influenced his outlook on the world. This episode also features a cameo from previous guest (and Matt's wife) Louise and contains the moment I met their child for the first time! He doesn't plug anything but you can find out about all the things he does via his website: https://rethinkaudio.wordpress.com/ I plug: Donating to GBA: http://bit.ly/2szNgUN The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Freelance Stuff: http://www.davepickeringstoryteller.co.uk Mansplaining masculinit: http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ We mention: Lancaster University: http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/ Jen: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-jen-episodes Zoe: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-zoe-and-gay-episodes Richard: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-richard-episodes Pink Floyd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd Iraq War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War Agitprop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agitprop Proscenium Arch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proscenium_arch Ged: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-31-ged Ringworm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworm Helen Zaltzman: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-live-9-helen-zaltzman http://helenzaltzman.com/ Matt's true story at Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/podcasts/anatomy-of-a-road-traffic-accident-matt-hill-2/ Rethink Daily: http://archive.rethinkdaily.co.uk/ New York Times Daily: https://www.nytimes.com/podcasts/the-daily Radio 4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 Kerrie: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-14-kerrie Four Thought: Liberating Men: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07x5vsh Louise: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-louise-episodes-1/ South Park: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park Cbeebies: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies Ministry of Stories: http://ministryofstories.org/ Private Eye Podcast: http://www.private-eye.co.uk/eyeplayer/podcast BAFTA: http://guru.bafta.org/series/the-guru-podcast Sachsgate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russell_Brand_Show_prank_telephone_calls_row British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/ Sony Radio Awards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Academy_Awards Pete Price: http://ppmtelevision.com/ Crystal Maze: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Maze Knightmare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knightmare Micheal Fenton Stevens: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-michael-fenton-stevens Hackney Hear: http://www.hackneyhear.com/ Soho Stories: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/may/17/london-soho-stories-sex-drugs-rock-and-roll Adam Curtis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curtis Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

To celebrate the 300th episode of GBA I'm putting out a season of 3 special episodes, starting with today's Episode 1 Revisited which is in some ways a conversation between two different versions of me, the 2011 Dave and the 2017 Dave. This episode contains the original audio from Episode 1 with a new commentary and reflection on that material. Episode 1 focused on introducing me, featuring audio pieces and performances. It contains the first two true stories that I ever told at Spark London. I found listening back to the past version of me a difficult thing to do and doing so inspired lots of different emotions in me. Content note: Mental Health Issues, violence against children, sex and sexuality, toxic masculinity and Christmas. The 300th season will continue on Wednesday with GBA 300. In that episode a friend who has resisted being a guest for 299 episodes finally comes on the show, and it will finish on Friday with a special musical GBA Extra. Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 297 we get better acquainted with Andre. He talks about transformation and change in his life and work. Our conversation covers education, dialogue, theology, writing, psychology, acting and so much more. He shares the "origin story" of how he exchanged his adopted name for the original one on his birth certificate, how he became a Priest finally (after being rejected first time round) only to find himself on a different path to the one he'd expected, what he does when practicing systemic therapy, and the relationship between therapy, spirituality, performance and narrative. Andre plugs: The book he is writing about transformation and change His website: http://www.andreradmall.co.uk @radmallandre: https://twitter.com/radmallandre The Shapeshifters: https://www.theshapeshifters.org/ I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ We mention: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Azariah: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-243-azariah Andre and Azariah on The Family Tree Cuttings: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/cuttings/cutting-1-podcasts-and-priests/ http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/cuttings/cutting-6-the-big-questions/ http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/cuttings/cutting-8-stories-and-more-stories/ My show about masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity Shock and Care - Harry Giles: https://harrygiles.org/2016/04/24/shock-and-care/ Stanislavski: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Stanislavski Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Theatre de complicite: http://www.complicite.org/ CS Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis Narnia Books: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia Church of England: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England Wind in the Willows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_in_the_Willows Mr Toad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Toad Guardians of the Galaxy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_Vol._2 Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 292 we get better acquainted with Elle. She talks about being "the most boring kind of twin", the stories behind dead teeth, talking to Hugh Grant about hand cramp, being expelled from school, being the class clown, working in TV, radio and podcasting, the pros and cons of confrontation and openness and so much more. We swap stories of complicated school lives, discuss how passing exams can help you see how meaningless and damaging exams can be and share our love for true storytelling. Elle plugs: Radio Wolfgang: https://www.radiowolfgang.com/ Scienceish: https://www.radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish It's Nice That Podcast: https://www.radiowolfgang.com/s/the-it's-nice-that-podcast Matt Hill: https://rethinkaudio.wordpress.com/ The BPA's: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/ I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Voting for GBA or The Family Tree for the British Podcast Awards Listener's Choice Award: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote/ We mention: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Tell It: http://tellitfestival.com/ London Podcast Festival: http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/curated-weeks/london-podcast-festival-2016#.WPcizNL1DIU Podcast Festival Episodes of Spark: http://stories.co.uk/events/london-podcast-festival-2016/ https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/speciallondonpodcastfestival-part2- The Restart Project Podcast: https://therestartproject.org/podcast/ Wrecking Ball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8 Miley Cyrus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miley_Cyrus Johnathan Chapman: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-245-jonathan-chapman Scienceish episode with eharmony: https://www.radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish/specialish-018-harmone Roundhouse: http://www.roundhouse.org.uk/ Bucky O'Hare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucky_O%27Hare Jack Rooke: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-198-jack-rooke Oceana: https://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/oceana-brighton Applebottom Jeans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9iUPkb9Bbg Missy Elliot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missy_Elliott Hugh Grant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Grant Enid Blyton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton What Katy Did: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Katy_Did Harry Potter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter Ex Machina: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_Machina_(film) Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

This Getting Better Acquainted Extra is a true story I told at Spark London about how getting nominated for the British Podcast Awards sent me into a spiral of anxiety and depression as I found myself flashing back to a horrible experience I had at a school talent show when I was 15. Content Note: bullying, reference to suicide Mentioned: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ British Podcast Awards: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/ Stop Whispering by Radiohead: https://youtu.be/PECnzN8P6KQ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Cameryn Moore: http://www.camerynmoore.com/ Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/events/1329431967123652/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

This Getting Better Acquainted Extra features two stories told at Spark London nights and one told at a storytelling event I hosted in Warwick. Plus a new song. Mentioned: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Next Brixton Night: 3rd April https://www.facebook.com/events/1891953977747487/ Next Hackney Night: April 10th https://www.facebook.com/events/263159014125695/ The new song is called Isthmus and can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2vXFynC24c Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

This Getting Better Acquainted Extra starts with a story I told at a Spark London night about mental heath in November 2016 and then jumps to Feb 2017 to continue the story. It's all about therapy, mental health, diagnosis and the relationship between the personal and the political. Mentioned Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Hackney Night: https://www.facebook.com/events/1362423493814282/ Spark Mind Podcast Specials: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/multiculturalminds-truestorieslive https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/imfine-shannon-sparktruestories Mind in Haringey: http://www.mindinharingey.org.uk/ Dad Episodes: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Cameryn Moore: http://www.camerynmoore.com/ Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/events/607321672796807/ What About the Men? https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 267 we get better acquainted with... me. In this shorter episode than usual I share some of the true stories I've told on the Spark London stage in 2016. As host of the Spark Hackney open mic I start every night with a story from my life that fits that months theme. I've been hosting for 4 years so finding stories to tell is a constant challenge. For more about Spark True Stories: http://stories.co.uk/ I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk Donating: http://bit.ly/1LUtbKt Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 264 we get better acquainted with Jen. We talk about the things she wants to have done before turning 30, the process of working on yourself, the value of sharing true stories and attempting to live authentically and so much more. Despite working together as part of the Spark London team we had never really sat down and had a face to face conversation and we dive straight in with the big questions. Jen is a brilliant and active listener with a history of interviewing/documenting people and so I end up talking a lot! Jen Plugs: Spark: http://stories.co.uk/ I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk Donating: http://bit.ly/1LUtbKt We mention: The Risk episode where I told my sex club story: http://risk-show.com/podcast/3177/ Body and Soul: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/body-soul Sex Worker Stories: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/special-sex-worker-stories Kevin Allison: https://twitter.com/TheKevinAllison Two Cathedrals: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/ff1da899-bf3e-481c-8f20-8d84d1e99e9b Bright Eyes - Bowl of Oranges: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUym7n7fJTQ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 262 we get better acquainted with Miranda Kane. We recorded this conversation at the Audible studios in London during the recording of her new audio sitcom Slaving Away which is a comedy about a cheerful and happy-go-lucky single girl who just happens to be a dominatrix that will be hitting your earways this August. We talk about making comedy about sex work and sex worker rights, why it took a while for her to realise she could fit into the world of stand-up comedy, not making fat people and sex workers into punchlines and lots more. We also talk about her show Coin Operated Girl which is back again at this year's PBH Free Fringe: https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/602895-the-coin-operated-girl/ For more about sex worker rights, decriminalization and sex worker led activism see: Sex Worker Open University: http://www.sexworkeropenuniversity.com/ Toni Mac: The Laws That Sex Workers Really Want: https://www.ted.com/talks/toni_mac_the_laws_that_sex_workers_really_want GBA 197 - Toni https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-197-toni Miranda Plugs: Slaving Away: https://www.amazon.com/Slaving-Away-Speaking-Audible-Original/dp/B010PRLWLI I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk Donating: http://bit.ly/1LUtbKt We mention: Audible: http://www.audible.co.uk/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Spark SW podcasts: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/special-sex-worker-stories https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/more-sexworkerstories-truestoriestoldlive Coin Operated Girl: http://www.coinoperatedgirl.co.uk/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

Who did your Dad lose his virginity to? Do you know? Dave Pickering does... and that particular tale leads us into wartime france, a tale of resistance and passion. Ooo er! Was free love a modern invention or has history something else to tell us? Thanks for listening - if you can, please donate, but you can also help by sharing this episode on social media. www.zlistdeadlistcom FEATURING: Kyrstyna Skarbek https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krystyna_Skarbek Francis Cammaerts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Cammaerts Harry Rée https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_R%C3%A9e With thanks to: DAVE PICKERING is a storyteller & podcaster. Host of Getting Better Aquainted, Stand Up Tragedy and Spark London. www.davepickeringstoryteller.co.uk Iszi Lawrence is a comedian and podcasterer www.iszi.com The Z List Dead List is a podcast about obscure people from History. Created by Iszi Lawrence @iszi_lawrence To help support the show please share it with your friends and on social media. Also leave us a review on iTunes - this makes us more visible so that other people can find us. For any donations please use the paypal button. Thanks very much! MUSIC All Licenses can be viewed on www.freemusicarchive.org.Theme: Time Trades Live at the WFMU Record Fair - November 24, 2013 by Jeffery Lewis (http://www.thejefferylewissite.com)Podington bear (http://podingtonbear.com/)

In GBA 243 we get better acquainted with Azariah. He talks about being a father, a husband, a priest, a runner and a storyteller. We talk about race, religion, podcasts, comics, questions and how sharing true stories can bring people together. The conversation ranges from Ecclesiastes to The Incredible Hulk, from Aesop's Fables to personal recollections, as we investigate stories, communication and shapeshifting. Azariah plugs: The Shapeshifters: http://www.theshapeshifters.org/ I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/goosefat101 Donating: http://bit.ly/1LUtbKt We mention: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Church of England: https://www.churchofengland.org/ Park Run: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/ St Paul's Cathedral: https://www.stpauls.co.uk/ Multicultural Minds: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/multiculturalminds-truestorieslive Mind in Haringey: http://www.mindinharingey.org.uk/ Ecclesiastes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastes Revelations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation Incredible Hulk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_(comics) Knightrider: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Rider_(1982_TV_series) Spider-man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man Marvel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Comics Aesop's Fables: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesop%27s_Fables Wind and the Sun: http://www.bartleby.com/17/1/60.html Stan Lee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Lee Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 239 we get better acquainted with Njambi McGrath. She talks about how the sudden death of her father forced her to confront a past she'd left behind and begin a journey of discovery into personal and cultural history she knew little about. We talk about making comedy out of dark topics, the effects of colonialism on the continent of Africa (particularly on Kenya where Njambi is from) and how the west views and distorts the lives of people from African countries. Njambi will be previewing her new show in a double bill with my solo show at Stand Up Tragedy Presents on Feb 18th at the Dogstar Brixton: Stand Up Tragedy Presents on 18th Feb: http://www.facebook.com/events/1129825877029165/ Listen to a sneak preview of the preview in this episode of the Spark True Stories Live Podcast: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/multiculturalminds-truestorieslive Njambi plugs: Her Blog: http://www.njambimcgrathcomedy.co.uk/#!blog/c1o4u Her website: http://www.njambimcgrath.co.uk Her Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Njambi-McGrath-comedy-211852255541445/ Her Twitter: https://twitter.com/njambi1 Her Instagram: https://instagram.com/thehotafrican Look out for her book and her new show A Last Dance With My Father We mention: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Pulp Fiction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_Fiction Concentration Camps in Kenya: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Detention_Camps_during_the_Mau_Mau_Uprising Gay Ugandan King: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100256386/it-was-homophobia-not-homosexuality-that-was-introduced-to-uganda-by-europeans/ Scott Lively: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Lively King Leopold II: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium Live Aid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Aid Comic Relief: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Relief Bill and Melinda Gates: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ Dr Leakey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Leakey Nairobi Museum: http://www.museums.or.ke/content/blogcategory/11/17/ Idi Armin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin Kampala: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampala Mau Mau: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau_Uprising Kikuyu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu_people Maassi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_people World Bank: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank Margaret Thatcher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In this Getting Better Acquainted Extra recorded on New Years Eve and edited on New Years day(!) I round up of how 2015 actually panned out for me in what has become an annual post New Year retrospective, mixed in with some true stories that I told told at Spark London and some clips from the podcast I make for The Restart Project. Contact me on twitter where I'm @goosefat101 on by email on goosefat101@gmail.com or GBApodcast@gmail.com I plug: Spark True Stories: http://stories.co.uk/ The Restart Project podcast: https://therestartproject.org/category/podcast/ - Sex Worker Stories Episodes: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/special-sex-worker-stories https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/more-sexworkerstories-truestoriestoldlive - Multicultural Minds Episodes: https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/multiculturalminds-truestorieslive https://www.acast.com/sparklondon/imfine-shannon-sparktruestories Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Stand Up Tragedy Presents... : 18th Feb @ Dogstar: https://www.facebook.com/events/1129825877029165/ Content note for the true stories sections: anxiety, depression, bullying, childhood trauma, racism. Next week normal service will resume and GBA will be back to it's in conversation format. Things mentioned: Uncertain New Year: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/uncertain-new-year The Parachute Opened: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-parachute-opened The Restart Project: https://therestartproject.org/ Storylines which was produced by Ampersand Media: http://www.ampersandmedia.co.uk/ GBA 200: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/gba200 Radcliffe Royds: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-radcliffe-episodes Why I Make Tragedy: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-why-i-make-tragedy What About the Men: http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Edinburgh Storify: https://storify.com/goosefat101/responses-to-the-mansurvey-show-on-twitter Samantha Mann Episode: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-live-16-ms-samantha-mann Edinburgh Episodes: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sets/edinburgh-2015 AJ McKenna: https://soundcloud.com/aj-mckenna Howl of the Bantee: https://soundcloud.com/aj-mckenna/sets/howl-of-the-bantee-live-at-dogstar-brixton Howl Press Coverage: http://www.gadgette.com/2015/11/20/transgender-day-of-remembrance/ International Men's Day Blog: http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/liberation-a-response-to-internationalmensday/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 233 we get better acquainted with Ali. He talks about writing sports listicles, having to choose between football and drama, how sport and theatre are not that different, his Northern and Jewish heritage and identity and so much more. Shared interests lead to us discussing interviewing and podcasting, the issues and tensions around digital and print media and the various approaches to the craft of true storytelling. Ali doesn't plug anything. I plug: Donating to GBA: http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cm%E2%80%A6_id=4RCU5NHZURXUL We mention: The Nerdist: http://nerdist.com/podcasts/nerdist-podcast-channel/ Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/alimason Marc Maron: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Maron WTF: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast President Obama WTF Episode: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_613_-_president_barack_obama Richard Herring: http://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/richard_herring_lst_podcast/ Desert Island Discs: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr Press Association: https://www.pressassociation.com/ Listicle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listicle Snappa: http://snappa.press.net/ I100: http://i100.independent.co.uk/ Buzzfeed: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ Advertorial: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertorial Metro: http://metro.co.uk/ Evening Standard: http://www.standard.co.uk/ NME: http://www.nme.com/ BBC Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/i The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/ Citizen Journalism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism Martin Ziegler /Sepp Blatter: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/sepp-blatter-resignation-celebrate-yes-but-his-exit-must-lead-to-real-change-10293234.html Wikileaks: https://www.wikileaks.org/index.en.html Whitehaven newspaper: http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk Joanna Yates: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-32-joanna-yates Chris Hardwick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hardwick For Folks Sake: http://www.forfolkssake.com/ Avi Buffalo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avi_Buffalo Ashes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashes Sarah Kane: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Kane Simon Stevens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Stephens Electra: http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2014/electra/ Jos Butler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos_Buttler Spark London: Bernard : https://www.mixcloud.com/sparklondon/bernard-ali-mason/ Harrowgate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowgate_Hill Stand Up Tragedy story: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/tragic-history-act-3 Isle of Man internment camp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutchinson_Internment_Camp Who Do You think You Are? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007t575 Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

In GBA 230 we get better acquainted with Sally. She talks about connecting with people, maths, computers and horses, teaching teenagers, IT training, being independent, self knowledge, stepping out of your comfort zone and so much more. Sally plugs: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Skeptics in the Pub: http://www.skeptic.org.uk/events/skeptics-in-the-pub And stepping out of your comfort zone I plug: Stand Up Tragedy Presents: http://www.facebook.com/events/461679520679231/ Spark Hackney Open Mic: Gifts https://www.facebook.com/events/689270927876614/ Donating to GBA: http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cm…_id=4RCU5NHZURXUL We mention: CERN: http://home.cern/ Good Thinking Society: http://goodthinkingsociety.org/ Simon Singh: http://simonsingh.net/ David Nutt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nutt Bradford Photography Museum: http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/ Matt Parker: http://standupmaths.com/ Full Frontal Nerdity: http://festivalofthespokennerd.com/dvd/ Festival of the Spoken Word: http://festivalofthespokennerd.com/ Oresteia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oresteia Almeida Theatre: http://www.almeida.co.uk/ The Beaux' Stratagem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beaux%27_Stratagem National Theatre: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ Kent PCC resigns over twitter: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22083032 Amy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_(2015_film) Amy Winehouse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Winehouse Manfred Mann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_Mann Val Doonican: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Doonican Sandie Shaw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandie_Shaw Andrew Jennings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jennings Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 228 we get even better acquainted with Mathy. She talks about her book Quit or Embrace Your Job Crisis, being a Third Culture Kid, navigating change, race, grief, stereotypes, depression, faith and creativity. We met up at the William Morris Gallery​ a few months back to ago. A lot has changed for both of us since she we had our last conversation way back in GBA 50. This is the first GBA conversation that I had with Mathy: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-50-mathy Mathy plugs: Quit or Embrace Your Job Crisis: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quit-Embrace-your-job-crisis/dp/1508592136/ Good Morning Mathy: https://www.youtube.com/user/whathejobisthis I plug: Spark London: Muticultural Minds: https://www.facebook.com/events/1735829253307581/ Stand Up Tragedy Presents: https://www.facebook.com/events/461679520679231/ We mention: Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ The Parachute Opened: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-parachute-opened Janelle Monáe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janelle_Monáe Tightrope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc What the Job is This? http://whathejobisthis.com/ Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/MathyLisikaM/ William Morris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris William Morris Gallery: http://www.wmgallery.org.uk/ Third Culture Kid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_culture_kid Amy Clare Tasker: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-192-amy-clare-tasker Change Curve: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_96.htm Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

This getting better acquainted extra features various performances I've done on stage during 2015. Stand Up Tragedy Presents: https://www.facebook.com/events/461679520679231/ Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ Multicultural Minds: https://www.facebook.com/events/1735829253307581/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Arts Emergency: http://www.arts-emergency.org/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk GBA 106 Jack and George: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-106-jack-and-george Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 226 we get better acquainted with Cheryl. She tells the story of when as a result of misunderstandings and other circumstantial issues she was taken from her home by the police and put into a mental institution against her will. This experience changed her understanding of the human rights afforded to people with mental health issues and her knowledge of what mental health services can be like. This traumatic experience inspired her to become an anti-psychiatry activist. We have a conversation around her story about our different perspectives on mental health but mostly the episode focuses on the details of her experience which are terrifying, vivid and often horribly darkly funny. For more perspectives and experiences of mental health listen to this collection of Getting Better Acquainted episodes: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/mental-health-issues Cheryl plugs: Speak Out Against Psychiatry: http://speakoutagainstpsychiatry.org/ Asylum Magazine: http://www.asylumonline.net/ Petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/104681 I plug: Spark London: Multicultural Minds: https://www.picturehouses.com/film/spark-london-storytelling-multi-cultural-minds Stand Up Tragedy: Tragic Autumn: http://www.facebook.com/events/1453089018350037/ Stand Up Tragedy presents.... http://www.facebook.com/events/461679520679231/ #ManSurvey: http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ We mention: Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ Mind Freedom International: http://mindfreedom.org/ Network Against Psychiatric Assault: http://networkagainstpsychiatricassault.org/ Kidnapped by Psychiatry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU0Ue1xg9m4 ECT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroconvulsive_therapy Mind: http://www.mind.org.uk/ DSM 5: http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx Bupa: http://www.bupa.co.uk/ Rethink: http://www.rethink.org/ Nellie Bly - 10 days in a Mad-House: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html Aunty Margaret: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-125-margaret My story from the Spark London Mental Health Stories night is included in this GBA episode: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/uncertain-new-year Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 225 we get better acquainted with Frog. He talks about Daniel Barker's Birthday, glass aquariums, a love for natural history and the history of science, high and low culture and literature, the twitter-verse, the story of the family Tench and how he came to be writing a book about whaling. And he did all this whilst at the same time cooking a delicious meal for two. Frog plugs: China_Miéville: Iron Council: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iron-Council-New-Crobuzon-3/dp/0330534203 China_Miéville: Perdido Street Station: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perdido-Street-Station-New-Crobuzon/dp/0330534238 Twitter: @gimzify: https://twitter.com/gimzify @FrogCroakley: https://twitter.com/frogcroakley The Sea Hates A Coward (Tomes of the Dead) by Nathan/Nate Crowley: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hates-Coward-Tomes-Dead-ebook/dp/B013I681P8 I plug: Stand Up Tragedy: Tragic Autumn: http://www.facebook.com/events/1453089018350037/ Stand Up Tragedy presents.... http://www.facebook.com/events/461679520679231/ #ManSurvey: http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ We mention: Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ Daniel Barker: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-177-daniel-barker Daniel Barker's Birthday: https://storify.com/FrogCroakley/the-colelcted-daniel-barker-s-birth http://danielbarker.cogdiss.com/ On Buzzfeed: http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/a-guy-complained-no-one-had-wished-him-happy-birthday-on-twi Guy / @brainmage: https://twitter.com/brainmage China Miéville: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Mi%C3%A9ville Shakespeare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare Dickens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens Star Wars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_wars Timehop: http://timehop.com/ Helen Zaltzman: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-200-pt-1-with-helen-zaltzman London Aquarium: https://www2.visitsealife.com/london/ London Zoo: https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo Tench: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tench Izaak Walter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izaak_Walton The Compleat Angler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izaak_Walton#The_Compleat_Angler Whipsnade: https://www.zsl.org/zsl-whipsnade-zoo Amsterdam: http://www.artis.nl/en/artis-royal-zoo/ National Aquarium Atlanta Georgia: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/ Whale shark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_shark Steampunk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk His Dark Materials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dark_Materials Studio Ghibli: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli Warhammer 40k: http://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Warhammer-40-000 Great Exhibition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Exhibition Dinosaurs in Chrystal Palace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_Dinosaurs Moby Dick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick ASMR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_sensory_meridian_response Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 222 we get better acquainted with Renee. She talks about storytelling, identity, culture, feminism and feeling like a grafted tree. The conversation maps out her story, the different countries she has lived, the different heritages that have formed who she is. Renee plugs: Her twitter: https://twitter.com/BOHOSOJO Her blog: http://bohosojo.com/ I plug: My twitter: https://twitter.com/goosefat101 Spark Encore: Infectious: https://www.facebook.com/events/420281474843128/ Spark Hackney: Borders: https://www.facebook.com/events/1658041704462196/ Stand Up Tragedy: Tragic Autumn: https://www.facebook.com/events/1453089018350037/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://www.facebook.com/events/1453089018350037/ http://www.mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ We mention: Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ SOAS: https://www.soas.ac.uk/ Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Women-Who-Run-With-Wolves/dp/1846041090 Putin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin Utrecht: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utrecht The Moth: http://themoth.org/ Rachel Dolezal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Dolezal Hafu: http://hafufilm.com/en Miss Japan: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/asia/biracial-beauty-queen-strives-for-change-in-mono-ethnic-japan.html International Women's Day: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/ Mistakes I Made at Work: 25 Influential Women Reflect on What They Got Out of Getting It Wrong http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mistakes-Made-Work-Influential-Reflect-ebook/dp/B00FX7LUUO Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 218 we get better acquainted with Shaun Atwood. He talks about being "the Walter White of the Ecstasy market in Arizona", struggling to survive in maximum and medium security prisons, starting a blog from the inside jail, playing chess with the Mafia, racism within criminal justice systems, teaching creative writing to prisoners, the Prison Industrial Complex, prohibition, the War on Drugs and more. Shaun plugs: Trilogy of memoir books: Hard Time, Party Time, Prison Time Website: http://www.shaunattwood.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/shaunattwood Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shaun-Attwood/228166633865948 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/derickatt/featured Blog: Jon's Jail Journal: http://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.co.uk/ I plug: My preview on 23rd July: http://www.facebook.com/events/1598769017027875/ GBA and SUT in Edinburgh: http://www.facebook.com/events/1378858509079820/ http://www.facebook.com/events/1446178112341943/ http://www.facebook.com/events/1554323898168649/ We mention: Spark London: http://sparklondon.com HMP Thameside: http://www.hmpthameside.org/ To Kill A Mockingbird: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird Hard Time: Wolf of Wall Street: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_of_Wall_Street_(2013_film) Scarface: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarface_(1983_film) Pulp Fiction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_Fiction Rambo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambo_(film_series) Breaking Bad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad OJ Simpson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: http://www.leap.cc/ Schopenhauer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Ivan_Denisovich Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn Shawshank Redemption: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasing_the_Scream Johann Hari on Little Atoms: http://www.littleatoms.com/podcast/johann-hari-chasing-scream Orange is the New Black: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Is_the_New_Black Queen Victoria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria Freud: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud Fred West: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_West David Nutt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Nutt The Bush Family: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_family Corrections Corporation of America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrections_Corporation_of_America Three Strikes Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law California Prison Guards Union: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Correctional_Peace_Officers_Association Broadcom: https://www.broadcom.com/ Chris Grayling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Grayling Kill the Messenger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_the_Messenger_(2014_film) Gary Webb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Webb Nancy Reagan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Reagan Just Say No: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Say_No Ronald Reagan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan George Bush Sr: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush Bill Clinton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton Contras: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contras Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

Storyteller and writer Elna Baker (The Moth, This American Life, Radiolab) dropped into a Spark London night recently and told this story of Head/Heart: growing up a Mormon is hard, especially if you live in New York... WIN TICKETS! Simply fill in this 1min survey and help us find out more about you, our growing listenership: sparklondon.com/survey See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In GBA 215 we get better acquainted with Cameryn Moore. She talks about her shows Phone Whore, Smut Slam Caberet and Slut (R)evolution, the ethics around making art about difficult subjects; responsibility, accountability and authenticity, balancing doing phone sex work and being a touring artist, fat acceptance, authentic sexuality, "bigot comedy bingo" and more. Cameryn plugs: Phone Whore and Slut (r)evolution at the Buxton Fringe: http://www.buxtonfringe.org.uk/descriptions2015.html Phone Whore at the Manchester Fringe: http://www.greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk/ Dundee - Phone Whore: http://www.camerynmoore.com/current-tour/ Phone Wore, Slut (R)evolution and Smut Slam Caberet at the Edinburgh Fringe: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/phone-whore-a-one-act-play-with-frequent-interruptions https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/slut-r-evolution-no-one-gets-there-overnight https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/smut-slam-cabaret-where-sexy-and-storytelling-collide Website: http://www.camerynmoore.com/ I plug: GBA and SUT in Edinburgh: http://www.facebook.com/events/1378858509079820/ http://www.facebook.com/events/1446178112341943/ http://www.facebook.com/events/1554323898168649/ We mention: Adrian: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-162-adrian Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ Natural Born Storytellers: http://www.naturalbornstorytellers.com/ Smut Stand: http://www.camerynmoore.com/sidewalk-smut/ Heather McAllister: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_MacAllister_(activist) Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 212 we get better acquainted with Ian. He talks about finding growing up and looking back, accidentally getting into computing, playing chess against adults as a boy, and we chart his experience of living for over a decade as someone with a long term illness, how ME was for him and his journey of recovery. Ian plugs: Believing ME sufferers when they express their experiences. ME Story: http://sparklondon.libsyn.com/me-story-ian-barratt I plug: Spark Bristol: http://www.sparkbristol.org.uk/ Spark Preston: http://www.sparkpreston.org.uk/ Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ Radio 4 Pilot: https://www.facebook.com/events/1432959260340325/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ What About the Men: http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ GBA and SUT in Edinburgh: https://www.facebook.com/events/1378858509079820/ https://www.facebook.com/events/1446178112341943/ We mention: Louise: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-louise-episodes-1 Four Days in a Room: https://soundcloud.com/fourdaysinaroom In the Dark: http://www.inthedarkradio.org/ Thatcher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher Douglas Rushkoff: http://www.rushkoff.com/ Program or be programmed: http://www.rushkoff.com/program-or-be-programmed/ Sutton Coldfield: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton_Coldfield Birmingham: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham Garry Kasparov: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov Nigel Short: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Short Glandular Fever: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Glandular-fever/Pages/Symptoms.aspx Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Chronic-fatigue-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx CBT: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cognitive-behavioural-therapy/pages/introduction.aspx St Bartholomew’s Hospital: http://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/our-hospitals/st-bartholomew%E2%80%99s-hospital/ Kafka: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

Another from the vaults....a story from Australia that may (or, and this is important, may not) meet your expectations of teenage love It was told at Spark London's birthplace, the Canal Cafe Theatre, in February 2013. Win tickets to a Spark show - just fill in this simple survey and tell us what you like about the podcast... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In GBA 211 we get better acquainted with Lizanne. She talks van driving, assembly lines, office jobs, corporate catering, what it's like being a woman working in male dominated industries, her love of cars, vans and other driving machines and turning her life and thoughts into stories and comedy. Lizanne plugs: YouTube/ Shepherd1964 Twitter: https://twitter.com/lizanne_davies I plug: Tragic Summer: http://www.facebook.com/events/1374545949536475/ Spark Hackney Open Mic: Head/Heart: https://www.facebook.com/events/455504937947384/ We mention: Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ HGV: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_goods_vehicle Fiant Mutipla: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Multipla Ford Motor-company Dagenham: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Dagenham West Ham: http://www.whufc.com/ Lewis Hamilton: http://www.lewishamilton.com/ Formula 1: https://www.formula1.com/ The Goodies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goodies Monty Python: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python Dave Allen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Allen_%28comedian%29 Jasper Carrot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Carrott Two Ronnies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Ronnies Aston Martin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin Jo Brand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Brand Lee Hearst / Backyard: http://www.leehurst.com/ Harry Hill: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Hill Bill Bailey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bailey Rhythm Factory: http://www.rhythmfactory.co.uk/ Mslexia: https://mslexia.co.uk/ NHS Direct: http://www.nhs.uk/nhs-direct/pages/nhs-direct-legacy-enquiries.aspx DVLA: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 207 we get better acquainted with Simon. He talks about dealing with the death of both his parents at a young age and how that, and the lives and values his parents had, has shaped his own life and world view. It's a conversation about bereavement, life, mental health and perspectives but most of all it's a conversation about stories, about the narratives and fictions we create and refine. Simon doesn't really plug anything. I plug Tragic Summer: https://www.facebook.com/events/1374545949536475/ and the Stand Up Tragedy podcast: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy We mention: Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ Risk! Live from London: http://risk-show.com/podcast/3177/ Kevin Allison: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-90-kevin-allison After Effects: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_After_Effects Charlie Hebdo: http://mediadiversified.org/2015/01/10/hatred-breeds-hatred-charlie-hebdo-marginalisation-and-terrorism/ Tony Judt - Post War Europe: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Postwar-History-Europe-Since-1945/dp/009954203X Rosa Parks: http://mediadiversified.org/2014/04/11/no-alibis-educating-children-about-racism/ MLK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr. Mark Cousins: https://twitter.com/markcousinsfilm Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/ Bill Hicks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks Joris Luyendijk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joris_Luyendijk Niels Bohr: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Bohr Schrödinger's cat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat Micheal Frayn - Copenhagen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_%28play%29 Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 205 we get better acquainted with Suraya. She talks about creating an erotica magazine for women, moving between cultures, countries and cities, the therapeutic and social value of storytelling, singing, writing, mental health and more. Suraya plugs: Tragic Spring at the Hackney Attic 25th April: http://www.facebook.com/events/588668424609848/ We mention: Risk! : http://risk-show.com/ The Moth: http://themoth.org/about/programs/the-moth-podcast Fran: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-170-fran Risk! Live in London: http://risk-show.com/podcast/3177/ Jen Hazel: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/jen-hazel/b/302/2b6 Adele: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele Faure's Requiem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_%28Faur%C3%A9%29 Mickey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E-Zrg9CB_Q Sweet Valley High: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Valley_High Babysitters Club: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baby-Sitters_Club Dangermouse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_Mouse_%28TV_series%29 Jamm: http://jaam.net.nz/ Radio 3 - The Verb: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tnsf Arcola Theatre: https://www.arcolatheatre.com/ Filament: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filament_%28magazine%29 http://web.archive.org/web/20090406063332/http://www.filamentmagazine.com/ Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ Foyles: http://www.foyles.co.uk/ Mind Haringey: http://www.mindinharingey.org.uk/ Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ CBT: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Cognitive-behavioural-therapy/Pages/Introduction.aspx Both my Sex Club and Mental Health Stories are in this GBA extra: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-parachute-opened Kinsey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Kinsey Meridith Chivers: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15482445 Nexus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Books#Imprints Black Lace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Books#Imprints Mils and Boon: http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/ Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!