Majoring in Everything

Latest Episodes:

How to build a career in the arts, with Turner Sparks Sep 20, 2022

Show notes

Turner Sparks is an internationally-touring standup comedian who spent 12 years in China as an entrepreneur -- he brought Mister Softee ice cream to the country and was foundational to building China's standup comedy scene. Join us to hear how his experience in business has helped him make a living in comedy. And pre-order his new (hilarious) standup album, Double Happiness, at https://www.turnersparks.com/buy-my-album! Let's get it to #1!

Follow Turner:

Insta, Twitter, and YouTube!
Pre-order Double Happiness on iTunes!
Subscribe to his podcast, Lost in America(Twitter)
Watch him perform standup around the world
Watch him perform standup in NYC
Follow all the pods in the World's Smartest Podcast Network and listen to our roundtables!

And, heck, follow me, too :):

Insta, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok
And www.jonesrooy.com for even more, if you can take it.

Majoring in Everything is edited by Eric P. Stipe and is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network.

Bonus ep. 4: A civil & enlightening conversation about abortion with someone who is pro-life Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

Hello friends! We've come to (finally) the final (for real) episode of season 1 of Majoring in Everything! One of the best things about having a podcast with the word "everything" in the title is that we can literally talk about it all. This episode is no exception: I (someone who is pro-choice) had a conversation with J.M. Jennings (someone who is pro-life) about abortion because I wanted to understand what on Earth is going on on the other side of this debate. I'm so grateful to Andrew Heaton (The Political Orphanage) for refereeing our conversation, and I hope to have more surprisingly civil conversations in the future with people with whom I disagree.

I feel like this kind of dialogue might make a lot of people mad, but I think it's really important (if I may say). Thank you, Jennings and Heaton for helping me feel a tiny bit better about our collective future (don't worry, we have a long way to go). Tune in if you are on either side of the debate and are open to humanizing the other side.

Follow Heaton on Insta & Twitter at @MightyHeaton, and be sure to check our his great show, The Political Orphanage (https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com).
Follow Jennings on Insta at @j.m.jennings and on Twitter at @cufflinkdive!

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetw... !

Part 2: From Hollywood to independent documentaries, with filmmaker Robert Rooy! Jul 12, 2022

Show notes

The long-awaited and much-anticipated part 2 of our season finale is finally here! Join me for the second half of this inspiring, fun, emboldening, and, gosh, downright delightful conversation with my father, the Peabody award-winning filmmaker, Robert Rooy!

Learn about taking risks, trusting your interests, shining a light on important things, and how to get started in filmmaking, no matter your beginning point. Thank you again to my father, dO, for this special episode (I love you!), and to all who are listening!

Get involved in the Summer of John campaign and learn more about this extraordinary person and film project:

https://www.tailtwistermovie.com !

Find out more about Rob's documentaries below:

More Tail Twister: https://www.documentaries.org/tail-twister
Deej: https://www.deejmovie.com
More Deej: https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/america-reframed-deej/

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com!

Part 1: From Iowa farmland to Hollywood, with Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Robert Rooy! May 31, 2022

Show notes

Ok, I might be a *little* bit biased, but our guest in this episode is one heckuva guy: my father! I've long admired his work in filmmaking -- from Hollywood to nonprofits to being an independent (multi award-winning!) documentary director/producer/editor/gaffer/craft services/cinematographer -- as his daughter, but in this episode, I talk with him as a podcast host about his career, ambitions, and advice to young filmmakers (and everyone else).

This is a really special episode to me, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Also, it's *so* special that I am releasing it in two parts -- stay tuned for part 2!

Find out more about Rob's documentaries:

Tail Twister: https://www.tailtwistermovie.com
More Tail Twister: https://www.documentaries.org/tail-twister
Deej: https://www.deejmovie.com
More Deej: https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/america-reframed-deej/

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com!

P.S. Thanks for doing this, dO! I love you!

The closest you can get to oblivion: Rock music, film scoring, and PR, feat. Kathryn Musilek & Andrew Gerhan Apr 25, 2022

Show notes

Get ready to meet your new favorite power couple! I've known Andrew Gerhan and Kathryn Musilek for a few years (they might have been the last new people I met before lockdown?!) as PR experts, and only recently learned of their whole other lives as musicians -- both as part of a killer rock band and as film scorers! As if that weren't all, during the conversation I learned even more about their many talents, from physics to painting to founding and running one heckuva small business. They are seriously my heroes, and I can't wait for them to become yours.

Check out some of their many goings-on:

Shark Party Media: https://www.sharkpartymedia.com
Nevāda Nevada's EP Wild and Glowing: https://open.spotify.com/album/63XEWZGvJ4tRbcJxG20TnM
Film scoring: https://www.buzznumbermusic.com

Follow everyone!

https://www.instagram.com/kmuze
https://www.instagram.com/angerhan
https://www.instagram.com/nevadanevadaband
https://www.instagram.com/sharkpartymedia

And a few more links:

Jen Kirkman's new comedy album, Ok Gen X: http://www.jenkirkman.com/jens-blog/2022/1/27/my-new-comedy-album-ok-gen-x-out-in-2022
Photo of Kathryn & Andrew by Kate Reeder: https://www.katereeder.com

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com!

Flow state: Neuroscience, storytelling, music, & open water(!) swimming, feat. Paula Croxson! Apr 11, 2022

Show notes

Brace yourself, because Paula Croxson is a force to be reckoned with! Neuroscientist, storyteller, flautist, and (very) open water swimmer, Paula might actually need a word bigger than "everything" to describe her many talents. I am so grateful for everything I learned in this episode -- from the different types of memories we have, to how we manage anxiety without realizing it, to the fact that I might actually want to swim in the Hudson River, and more. I hope you are as inspired by this conversation and by Paula as I am.

Follow Paula:

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/paulacroxson/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulacroxson
Website: https://www.paulacroxson.com

Learn more about:

Marlowe Grey Band: https://twitter.com/marlowegreyband
Zuckerman Institute for neuroscience: https://twitter.com/zuckermanbrain
The Story Collider: https://www.storycollider.org
Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimming (CIBBOWS): https://cibbows.org
Pavlov's Dogz Band: https://www.facebook.com/pavlovsdogz/

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com!

Bonus ep. 3: The World's Smartest Podcast Network hosts save the world (again!) Apr 04, 2022

Show notes

We're back with another roundtable episode! Your favorite world's smartest podcast hosts are back with some policy, political, business, and all-around-awesome ideas about how to save the world. I hope you enjoy the discussion, and be sure to check out our partner podcasts & hosts!

Partner podcasts:

Lost in America: https://www.turnersparks.com/lost-in-america-podcast
The Political Orphanage: https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com

Partner hosts:

Turner: https://twitter.com/TurnerBSparks
Kap: https://twitter.com/KapinAmerica
Heaton: https://twitter.com/MightyHeaton

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com!

Bonus ep. 2: The IOC, the Royals, and Whoopi Goldberg walk into the Friars Club Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

We're coming in hot with the bonus episodes these days! As you may know, Majoring in Everything is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN). My fellow WSPN hosts -- Turner Sparks & Michael Ira Kaplan of Lost in America and Andrew Heaton of the Political Orphanage -- join forces every now and then to put our heads together and solve the world's problems. This episode is no exception -- enjoy!

Come see Turner and me live (or live-streaming)!

Get tickets to Turner's live album recording (March 11 in NYC): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/turner-sparks-live-comedy-album-recording-friars-club-march-11-2022-tickets-224940572307 !
Get tickets to my Data Science Spectacular (March 1 in NYC and live-streaming worldwide): https://www.caveat.nyc/event/the-data-science-spectacular-3-1-2022 !

More cool ways to follow your favorite WSPN hosts!

Subscribe to Lost in America: https://www.turnersparks.com/lost-in-america-podcast
Subscribe to the Political Orphanage: https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com
Follow Turner: https://twitter.com/TurnerBSparks
Follow Kap: https://twitter.com/KapinAmerica
Follow Heaton: https://twitter.com/MightyHeaton

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com!

Is it all just math? Consulting, comedy, and the ultimate nirvana, feat. Zain Sharif Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

Zain Sharif is a consultant, standup comedian, Bollywood dancer, and all-around super nice, thoughtful, and generous guy. I'm so honored that he joined me for this conversation to share how he found his path, how to figure out what to do next, and what the point of all this is, anyway. This is an extra existential one (and that's a lot coming from this podcast), and I am so here for it. Thank you, Zain, and, enjoy, everyone!

Follow Zain: https://www.instagram.com/zainsharifcomedy/

Get tickets to my Data Science Spectacular:

https://www.caveat.nyc/event/the-data-science-spectacular-3-1-2022 !
March 1, 2022 at Caveat in NYC and live-streaming worldwide

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com!

Bonus ep. 1: Ok, but what does "identity politics" mean? Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

In this bonus episode, I put on my trusty old political scientist hat to have a nice chat with some of my favorite political thinkers, Andrew Heaton (The Political Orphanage) and Jeremiah Johnson (The Neoliberal Podcast) to talk about what "identity politics" means, how our identities influence our political behavior, and what identity even is. Also, some of the great political science research we mention (from superstars like Professors Ashley Jardina and Morris Fiorina) is linked below!

Heaton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MightyHeaton
Political Orphanage podcast: https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com
Jeremiah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeremiahDJohns
Neoliberal Podcast: https://neoliberalproject.org/neoliberal-podcast

More on white identity politics research by Ashley Jardina, Ph.D.:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/white-identity-politics/5C330931FF4CF246FCA043AB14F5C626
https://www.vox.com/2019/4/26/18306125/white-identity-politics-trump-racism-ashley-jardina
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-disturbing-surprisingly-complex-relationship-between-white-identity-politics-and-racism

More on party sorting research by Morris Fiorina, Ph.D.:

https://www.amazon.com/Unstable-Majorities-Polarization-Political-Stalemate/dp/081792115X
https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/fiorina_3_finalfile.pdf
https://www.policyed.org/policy-briefs/Morris-Fiorina-On-Why-Political-Parties-Have-Polarized/video

Tickets to my Data Science Spectacular (March 1, 2022 at Caveat in NYC and live-streaming worldwide): https://www.caveat.nyc/event/the-data-science-spectacular-3-1-2022 !

Edited by Eric P. Stipe. MIE is a proud member of the World's Smartest Podcast Network (WSPN): https://www.worldssmartestpodcastnetwork.com!