The Art of Asking Everything

Amanda sits down to discuss art, life, why goth matters, and the process behind star TED speaker and author Susan Cain's new #1 Bestseller, "Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole".

Sherry Turkle is an empathetic technologist.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Clare Bowditch, recorded March 6th, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Rachel Jayson, recorded September 10, 2019 in Woodstock, NY.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Fred Leone, recorded March 6, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Fred Leone is a musician with Australian Aboriginal, Tongan, and South-Sea Islander heritage. One of the few Butchulla song men, he is a cultural custodian preserving their language through music. He the front man for the hip hop group Impossible Odds. Fred is also a passionate community activist and a First Nations advocate. He is committed to passing down the cultural knowledge of his ancestors by passing on traditional songs and dances to younger generations via his work as a song man. In this episode we talk about Fred’s surprise hit song, growing up with a Robin Hood mentality, what it means to be a “song man” in his culture, saving his dying native language, the importance of passing on knowledge, the politics of land rights, the sterility of anthropology, how to be a better ally, and traditional burning methods that can prevent brush fires. Twitter: @impossible_odds Music: https://www.impossibleoddsmusic.com https://amandapalmer.bandcamp.com/track/solid-rock-with-fred-leone No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Tim Flannery, recorded July 23, 2019, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Tim Flannery is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer and public scientist. He has discovered more than 30 mammal species including a new type of tree kangaroos. Tim served as the Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission, a Federal Government body providing information on climate change to the Australian public. In 2013, Tim announced that he would join other fired commissioners to form the Independent Climate Council. Tim is a professorial fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. His books include The Future Eaters and The Weather Makers. His TED Talk is entitled, “Can Seaweed Help Curb Global Warming?” In this episode we talk about the power of seaweed to draw down large greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, the vastness and unexplored nature of the Australian Outback, the death of The Great Barrier Reef, how different countries view the climate crisis, the convict roots of Australia and its effects on modern politics, the lack of climate change coverage in the mainstream media, how to be a leader on climate change in your own community, and the battle against tribalism and skepticism. @FlanneryTex Books: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/27157.Tim_Flannery TED: https://www.ted.com/speakers/tim_flannery No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Dan Savage, recorded June 4, 2019 in Seattle, WA. Dan Savage is an author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He is the long-time writer of Savage Love, an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column and the author of books such as, “The Commitment,” “The Kid,” and, “American Savage.” Dan is also the host of his own hit podcast, The Savage Lovecast, and also serves as the editorial director of the weekly Seattle newspaper, The Stranger. In 2010, Dan and his husband, Terry Miller, began the It Gets Better Project to help prevent suicide among LGBT youth. Dan also coordinates the annual Hump Pornography Festival, which is made up of clips on any pornographic topic, submitted by viewers. In this interview we talk about the power of the mute button and marijuana, weeding out toxic critics, how open relationships need to constantly be renegotiated, lessons from monogamous hospice care, the problems with compartmentalizing feelings and sex, the complications of being polyamorous, and the logistics of being openly married with children. Twitter @fakedansavage Instagram @dansavage Savage Love Podcast: https://www.savagelovecast.com Web: https://www.thestranger.com/authors/259/dan-savage https://humpfilmfest.com No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Storm Large, recorded June 11, 2019 in Portland, OR. Born in Southborough, MA, Storm graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York before moving to San Francisco and later to Portland, which she now calls home. Storm is the co-lead vocalist for the band Pink Martini along with China Forbes. Her band, Storm and the Balls, has toured the world, playing mash-up covers of rock hits of the ’70s and ’80s. In 2006, she appeared as a finalist on the CBS show Rock Star: Supernova Her musical one-woman show, Crazy Enough, premiered to rave reviews in 2009 and spawned her autobiography of the same name in 2012. In 2014, her band, Le Bonheur, released a self-titled album of classics from the American Songbook. In this episode Storm and I discuss growing up in Massachusetts, the isolating horrors of writing a book, our shared obsession with Madonna, imposter syndrome, and parallel parking as a feminist statement. For everything Storm go to StormLarge.com Support the Performers Emergency Fund at gimmeshelterpdx.org @Stormof69 No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Jamil Zaki, recorded remotely on April 11, 2019 in Woodstock, NY and Stanford, CA. Jamil Zaki is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory. By combining psychology and neuroscience, Jamil and his colleagues study how empathy works, and ultimately how we can empathize with each other more effectively. Jamil is the author of "The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World." Jamil’s 2017 TEDxMarin Talk is entitled “BUILDING EMPATHY: How to hack empathy and get others to care more.” His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. We talked about how to flex your empathy, art as a performance enhancing drug for empathy, post traumatic growth, and the high wire act of having empathy for those who cause us harm. @zakijam The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World https://www.warforkindness.com TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DspKSYxYDM Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab: http://ssnl.stanford.edu No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Leslie Salmon Jones, recorded July 5, 2019 at The Omega Institute. Leslie Salmon Jones is a professional dancer, yoga instructor, wellness coach, public speaker, and community activist. Along with her husband, Jeff W. Jones, she is the cofounder of Afro Flow Yoga. The pair work with community organizations to help develop mastery over their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-beings. AFY offers weekly classes, monthly workshops, teacher trainings and outreach programs to promote diversity and inclusion in Boston, New York, and worldwide. AFY workshops and retreats are also offered at The Omega Institute, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Festivals, Schools, Colleges and Universities, private events and at studios worldwide including Hawaii, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Bali, and Canada. Leslie’s work has been featured in Yoga Journal, Black Enterprise, Essence and Oprah Magazines, NPR, NBC, and ABC News. In this conversation, we talk about Leslie’s amazing family, growing up Black in an affluent Toronto neighborhood, learning how to speak your truth, The Cloud Club, how one’s body remembers trauma, the importance of self-compassion, finding your light in the darkest of times, and why the best way to mend your mind and body is through your breath. @AfroFlowYoga lesliesalmonjones.com afroflowyoga.com No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Laura Jane Grace. Recorded March 15, 2019 in Austin, TX. Laura Jane Grace is the founder, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me! They’ve come out with 7 studio albums. Grace is one of the first highly visible punk rock musicians to come out as transgender and has become an outspoken advocate for transgender awareness. Her column Mandatory Happiness was published by Vice for years. Her autobiography is entitled, "Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout." Her debut solo album “Bought to Rot” was released in 2018. Her new album “Stay Alive” is out now on Polyvinyl Records. We talk about enjoying music as an individual, musicians working in cycles, the relationship between speed and creativity, and punk guilt. @LauraJaneGrace www.laurajanegracemusic.com Stay Alive: https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/product/stay_alive Bought to Rot: https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/album/bought-rot Against Me!: https://www.againstme.net Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout: https://againstme.myshopify.com/collections/everything/products/laura-jane-grace-tranny-hardcover-book No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Lenny Henry, recorded December 17, 2019 in London. Lenny Henry is one of the most successful British stand-up comedians of all time. In 1975, at just 17, his career took off when he was a repeat winner on the weekly TV talent show, "New Faces.” He went on to host his own sketch comedy program, "The Lenny Henry Show," starting in 1984. Later, Lenny stared in the 90’s BBC sitcom, “Chef!" Lenny is a founder, front-man and a creative force behind the charity Comic Relief. In this episode we talk about the paradoxes of celebrity and social media, how the internet is a buffet, starting a career in entertainment in Working Mans’ Clubs, using humor as armor against racism, the history of minstrelsy in the UK, making your work the structure of your life, giving your loved ones fair warning when you publish a memoir, the beautiful meld of words and images in comic books, the power of masks and fiction and why giving advice to younger artists is so important. @LennyHenry https://lennyhenry.net This podcast is 100% fan supported. There are no corporate sponsors or restrictions on speech. No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

One day in my early forties I looked around and realized that I occupied a very strange social space: I was good friends with both doctors and porn activists, climate scientists and avant-garde writers and musicians. When I began recording these conversations, I realized that I'd accidentally created what I've always yearned for: an excuse to randomly call up really creative and compassionate people, dispense with the superficial chat, and get to the core heart-to-heart discussion about what's important in this life. Being able to create this podcast using patronage also means that I don't have to answer to a boss, rely on advertisement, or otherwise dilute the content of the conversation. This podcast is produced purely by me and my home-team, for my community, with no added artificial ingredients. No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast