Stoner

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT + Francis Starlite Rerun Dec 19, 2018

Stoner is taking a hiatus so I can write a book for Ten Speed based on this podcast! Gonna re-run some of my favorite Season 1 episodes over the holidays, then back with new episodes in 2019 after the book is turned in.

Episode 42: Ross Simonini, writer and artist Dec 11, 2018

Ross Simonini is the the author of The Book of Formation and the longtime interviews editor of The Believer. We talked about touring in bands, cults, and self-restrictions.

Episode 41: Elise McDonough, author of Bong Appétit Dec 04, 2018

Elise McDonough is the author of Bong Appétit and The High Times Cannabis Cookbook. She lives in Santa Cruz.

@CannabisEdibles420

Episode 40: Matt Taibbi, co-writer of The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing Nov 27, 2018

Matt Taibbi discovered a longtime acquaintance had a secret life as a marijuana kingpin, sending product all over the United States in car trunks. With his anonymous co-author, he collaborated on 'The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing: Adventures of the Unidentified Black Male,' an intimate and detailed account of the business of grey legal marijuana.

Read the serialized 17-chapter The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing in Taibbi's Substack archive

Episode 39: Ann Friedman, co-host of 'Call Your Girlfriend' Nov 20, 2018

Ann Friedman is a longtime "casual but committed " marijuana fan and a writer in Los Angeles. She co-hosts Call Your Girlfriend with previous Stoner guest Aminatou Sow.

Episode 38: Peter Watts, author of Altered States: The Library of Julio Santo Domingo Nov 13, 2018

Peter Watts discusses the library of Julio Santo Domingo who filled his homes and warehouses with the world’s largest private collection of books and ephemera related to the topic of drugs.

Episode 37: Amanda Mac from Terp School Nov 06, 2018

Amanda Mac from Terp School talks about how terpenes tell you a lot more than sativa and indica labels. We also got into the differences between full spectrum and "gateway" CBD.

Episode 36: Paul Flannery, sportswriter Oct 30, 2018

Paul Flannery is a sportswriter and a serious runner who went to the Colorado mountains to train with a championship ultramarathoner (Avery Collins) who runs stoned.

Read: CANNABIS IS FUELING ONE OF THE BEST RUNNERS IN AMERICA (SB Nation)

Also discussed:

🌱 Recent research about cannabis and exercise

🌱 Will the NBA ever let players use cannabis?

🌱 CBD and recovery after runs

Episode 35: Alexis Coe, historian Oct 23, 2018

Alexis Coe is a historian and the author of " Alice+Freda Forever." We talked about setting weed rules for yourself, why it's hard to leave a legalization state behind, and which Presidents she thinks might have smoked weed.

Episode 34: Justin Ouellette Returns Oct 16, 2018

Justin Ouellette of Portland's Lightscale Labs returns to talk about:

🌱 why strains are a bad way to sort weed

🌱 experimenting with CBD and micro-dosing LSD

🌱 why he's starting his own cannabis garden.

Episode 33: Ashley Brooke & Tahirah Hairston from The High Ends Oct 09, 2018

Ashley Brooke & Tahirah Hairston talk to women about their weed habits at The High Ends.

Episode 32: Eduardo Sanchez & Gregg Hale of Haxan Films (Blair Witch Project) Oct 02, 2018

Director Eduardo Sanchez and Producer Gregg Hale of Haxan Films talk weed and their longstanding creative partnership which started with The Blair Witch Project in 1999.

Episode 31: Anja Charbonneau from Broccoli Magazine Sep 25, 2018

Anja Charbonneau is the editor-in-chief of the free weed magazine Broccoli and former creative director of Kinfolk.

Episode 30: Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR), co-founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus Sep 18, 2018

Congressman Earl Blumenauer has represented Oregon's 3rd Congressional District since 1996. He is a co-founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus which was formed in 2017.

He doesn't smoke marijuana but has "no problem with people who do" and predicts marijuana will be legal within 5 years.

Episode 29: 'Elon Musk Hit the Blunt' w/ Charlie Warzel from Buzzfeed Sep 12, 2018

Buzzfeed tech reporter Charlie Warzel returns to discuss Elon Musk hitting a blunt on the Joe Rogan Experience and whether we're ready for a stoner CEO.

Episode 28: Adam Lisagor, director and founder of Sandwich Video Sep 04, 2018

Adam Lisagor makes commercials. We talked about life before the internet, when weed takes you to a dark place, and discovering CBD.

Sandwich Video

Cornerstone Research Collective in Eagle Rock

Episode 27: Jia Tolentino, writer for The New Yorker Aug 28, 2018

Stoner is back for Season 2! Jia Tolentino is a staff writer at The New Yorker who wrote recently about the teen vaping sensation Juul. We talked about her intention to die on the moon, the etiquette of sharing popcorn with a complete stranger during a stoned viewing of Beauty and the Beast, and how she navigates her weed life.

Episode 26: Cannabis Bar Association co-founders Amanda Conley and Shabnam Malek Sep 26, 2017

Amanda Conley and Shabnam Malek are Bay Area lawyers who co-founded the National Cannabis Bar Association. They also maintain their own practice, Brand & Branch LLP, which provides intellectual property services to cannabis businesses.

We talked about the importance of attorneys sharing notes across state lines, California's confusing legal history around medical and recreational legalization, and why first-hand experience can be important for lawyers who want to work within the industry.

Episode 25: Mira Gonzalez, poet and writer Sep 19, 2017

Mira Gonzalez is a poet and writer in L.A. She got a job at a dispensary when she was 19 and she once drank an entire bottle of weed lube.

Episode 24: Benjamin Dickinson, filmmaker Sep 12, 2017

Benjamin Dickinson is a director whose most recent film is Creative Control.

We talked about being a movie director in the age of TV, his daily writing routine, and his experiences with seeing a dream therapist.

Episode 23: Tao Lin, novelist and poet Sep 05, 2017

Tao Lin is is the author of the novel Taipei and a forthcoming book Beyond Existentialism about Terence McKenna and psychedelics.

We talked about:

🌱 why Tao documents both his own thoughts and his caffeine and cannabis consumption in a giant .RTF document

🌱 having empathy for your parents

🌱 how pesticides block endocannabinoid receptors and steal humanity's natural stonedness

Episode 22: The Great Pot Monopoly Mystery w/ Amanda Chicago Lewis Aug 29, 2017

Amanda Chicago Lewis returns to the show to discuss her new GQ story "The Great Pot Monopoly Mystery" about a shadowy business group that is trying to patent marijuana strains.

Episode 21: Ian Vanek from Japanther and Howardian Aug 22, 2017

Ian Vanek spent 13 years in the art project duo Japanther. He's currently touring the country by himself on a dirt bike as part of his new project Howardian.

We talked about the challenges of solo motorcycle touring, frosted weed milkshakes, and why Japanther called itself an art project instead of a band.

Episode 19: Matt Haughey founded Metafilter and works at Slack Aug 08, 2017

Matt Haughey never touched weed as a teen, despite being a competitive BMX rider in Southern California. He didn't smoke any weed in his 20s either, busy founding Metafilter one of the internet's first collections of "cool shit people find on the internet." By the time he was in 30s, Matt was curious to try marijuana but didn't know anyone who had any. Finally, a decade later, legalization came to the West Coast and he set off for Washington State to acquire some weed so he could smoke his first joint, age 42.

We talked about the lack of beginner's weed-smoking information on the internet, touring elementary schools and churches performing in a D.A.R.E. BMX show, and why he gave Metafilter away after 16 years.

Episode 18: Samantha Miller, Chief Science Officer at HMBLDT Aug 01, 2017

Samantha Miller does research that informs the formulation of the special vape pens that hmbldt makes branded not by strain but effect: sleep, bliss, calm, relief. Prior to becoming HMBLDT's in-house scientist, Miller founded Pure Analytics, one of the first cannabis testing labs in the country.

We talked about the value of anecdotal evidence in testing, getting feedback from a seniors group, and why she grew well before it became her job.

Episode 17: Cards Against Humanity co-founder Max Temkin and writers Joanna Feldman & Julia Weiss Jul 25, 2017

Max Temkin is a co-founder of Cards Against Humanity, a "party game for horrible people," and Chicago comedians Joanna Feldman and Julia Weiss are its head writers. After a successful Kickstarter in 2011, Cards Against Humanity was released independently, reaching #1 in Amazon's Games section and spawning numerous expansion packs and copycats.

We discuss flying while stoned, what makes a card work in the Cards Against Humanity writers' room, and why Max was dreading coming on the show.

Episode 16: Digby, an English cannabis enthusiast who has lived in Morocco since 1973 Jul 18, 2017

In 1973, Digby traveled from England to Morocco seeking out villages that practiced traditional hashmaking. Forty-six years later, he's still there.

Episode 15: Benny Blanco, producer and songwriter Jul 11, 2017

Benny Blanco has produced twenty-six #1 hits and his records have sold over 100 million copies (or so Wikipedia tells me.) His writing credits include Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream,' Rihanna's 'Diamonds,' Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself,' and Maroon 5's 'Moves Like Jagger.' He was nominated for the 2017 Producer of the Year Grammy.

Benny is only 29 and keeps a relatively low profile. We talked about growing up music-obsessed in suburban VA, why the secret sauce to the '90s hip-hop sound may have been "dogshit weed," and recording Ed Sheeran on a transcontinental cruise ship.

Episode 14: Dope Girls Zine (Beca Grimm & Rachel Hortman) Jun 27, 2017

Dope Girls Zine's editor Beca Grimm and art director Rachel Hortman discuss why they made a zine for women who "can still get shit done while getting high," living in Atlanta during a rap golden age, and Beca's monthly weed dinner parties.

Episode 13: Sebastián Silva, director of Crystal Fairy & The Magic Cactus and Nasty Baby Jun 20, 2017

Sebastián Silva is a filmmaker and grew up in Chile. He directed Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus about a group of Chileans and Americans on a road trip seeking the mescaline-bearing San Pedro cactus. He also has directed Nasty Baby, and The Maid and lives in New York.

Episode 12: Emma Chasen, Director of Education at Portland's Farma and former budtender Jun 13, 2017

Emma Chasen quit her job doing research trials at Brown and took her degree in Medicinal Plant Research to Portland. Within a week she had a job at Farma, where she was first a budtender and now focuses on cannabis science education.

Episode 11: Jake Lodwick, creator of Vimeo and Keezy Jun 06, 2017

When he was in college, Jake Lodwick was brought on as one of the original developers of CollegeHumor. Shortly thereafter he co-founded Vimeo and three years later he posted a photo of himself taking a bong hit after he was fired by Vimeo's new owners, IAC.

Jake's a pretty different person now, pouring his energy into a company that makes tactile and joyous music creation software. He's not totally comfortable with the internet he helped create, and had a lot to say about flow mindstates, the relationship between art and technology, and taking the long view.

Episode 10: Ricardo Baca, founding editor of The Cannabist May 30, 2017

Ricardo Baca is the founding editor of The Cannabist, a site from the _Denver Post _that covers the "marijuana industry like it was the oil industry" and the subject of the documentary Rolling Papers. He recently left The Cannabist to found Grasslands, "a content agency for cannabis."

Episode 09: Francis Starlite from Francis and the Lights May 23, 2017

Francis Starlite is behind Francis and the Lights, who in 2016 alone released the album Farewell, Starlite! and worked collaboratively with Bon Iver, Kanye West, The Weeknd and Frank Ocean. He performed extensively with Chance the Rapper and last week released a video for a remix of his song 'May I Have This Dance' featuring Chance.

Francis and I have been friends since elementary school and have been writing songs together for the last 15 years. We talked about why Francis spent the majority of his life avoiding marijuana, what made him give it a try during a rut in his 30s, and the time he unexpectedly ended up in a studio with Kanye West and Jay-Z.

Episode 08: Alexandra Chasin, author of a biography of America's first drug czar Harry J. Anslinger who coined the term 'marijuana' May 16, 2017

Alexandra Chasin is an associate professor at The New School. Her new book Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger's War on Drugs is a biography of America's first drug czar who popularized the term 'marijuana' and ushered in the Reefer Madness period of drug prohibition. A master propagandist prone to demonizing ethnic and immigrant groups, Anslinger's ideas laid the foundation for the modern drug war and brought awareness of cannabis to the American masses.

Alexandra and I talked about the Harrison Act, how America was scandalized by wild 'marijuana parties,' and the analogues between coming out as queer and coming out as a stoner.

Episode 07: Bill Levin, founder of The First Church of Cannabis May 09, 2017

In 2015 longtime activist Bill Levin founded the First Church of Cannabis in Indianapolis. He is currently suing for the right to use the "sacrament of cannabis" as part of his church's religious practice.

Despite being frequently written about online, the First Church of Cannabis has no website. I called the number listed on their Facebook page and a woman picked up. She gave me Bill Levin's cell number and I called him.

Episode 06: Charlie Warzel discusses shocking weed revelations from Alex Jones' custody hearings May 02, 2017

Charlie Warzel is a technology reporter who spent the last two weeks sitting right behind America's favorite conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in an Austin, TX courthouse. At stake in Alex Jones' custody dispute is whether the unhinged character he plays on InfoWars is real or as he claims "political satire."

On 4/20, his ex-wife's attorneys asked him about an incident wherein he was "unable to recall the names of his children's teachers after eating a big bowl of chili" and another incident where smoked a joint on the air while appearing as a guest on Joe Rogan's podcast. Jones explained that he used marijuana nearly yearly "to monitor its strength, which is how law enforcement does it" and that marijuana was too strong as a result of a mind control conspiracy backed by billionaire George Soros.

Episode 05: Amanda Chicago Lewis, weed journalist and Rolling Stone columnist Apr 25, 2017

Amanda Chicago Lewis is a journalist in Los Angeles. Amanda has spent the last few years covering the entrepreneurs, charlatans, and weirdos who make up the largest weed market in the world for LA Weekly and Buzzfeed.

We talked about California's legalization vote in November and why we won't really know how it's going until 2020.

Episode 04: Krishna Andavolu from Weediquette Apr 18, 2017

Krishna Andavolu is the host of Weediquette, a TV show on Viceland in which he travels America and the world telling the stories of people whose lives are are deeply impacted by marijuana. Weediquette's third season kicks off as part Vice's Weed Week on April 19th.

We talked about being asked to drive extremely high on a closed track for an episode of Weediquette, his parents reaction to him smoking weed on camera with the President of Uruguay, and how the election of Trump changed the direction of the show.

Episode 03: Nick Denton, founder of Gawker Media Apr 11, 2017

Nick Denton founded Gawker Media in 2004. In 2016, Gawker's portfolio of sites were either sold off or shuttered after a lawsuit brought by Hulk Hogan bankrupted the company. This lawsuit, over the posting of Hulk Hogan's sex tape, was financed by Peter Thiel.

But Nick and I didn't talk about any of that.

We talked about discovering marijuana later in life, his obsession with internet forums, and his post-lawsuit plans.

Episode 02: Justin Ouellette from Lightscale Labs Apr 04, 2017

Justin Oullette was a major programmer in New York's technology scene, working on Vimeo, Muxtape, and Tumblr, before leaving it all behind to start a marijuana testing facility, Lightscale Labs.

We talked about growing up with kids whose mothers grew weed on the side, what happens when a project you've spent your life savings on literally catches on fire, and how advanced lab machines might unlock the secrets of terpenes, which control the smell and possibly the psychoactive effects of marijuana.

Episode 01: Aminatou Sow from 'Call Your Girlfriend' Mar 28, 2017

Aminatou Sow is the co-host of the podcast 'Call Your Girlfriend' and consults extensively in the technology industry.

Her family is Guinean and she grew up in Nigeria so I was curious to hear about her experiences as a weed-enthusiast, immigrant, and woman of color.

We talked about weed culture in Nigerian prep schools, what happens when your dealer forgets to BCC, and why legal marijuana is so terribly branded.

Episode 00: Teaser Mar 24, 2017

Stoner is a freewheeling conversation that often starts with "when was the first time you ever smoked weed?" and can end up anywhere. Guests range from artists to musicians to those working in the marijuana economy. Host Aaron Lammer is also the co-host of the Longform Podcast and has co-written songs with Francis and the Lights for artists like Chance the Rapper and Drake.

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