The Art of Asking Everything

Latest Episodes:

Tim Flannery: The Need for Drawdown Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

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
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Tim Minchin: Accidentally Brave Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Tim Minchin, recorded February 20, 2020, in Sydney, AUS.

Tim Minchin is a world-renounded Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, composer, lyricist, and director.

He is the composer and lyricist of the Olivier Award-winning, Tony Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated show Matilda the Musical, based on the book by Roald Dahl.

His musical Groundhog Day, based on the 1993 film, opened in London in 2016, winning his second Olivier Award, and opened on Broadway in spring 2017.

He is the subject of the 2008 documentary, Rock N Roll Nerd.

Tim played the role of rock star Atticus Fetch on Showtime's Californication.

In this interview, we talked about expanding your empathy, exploring your self-loathing in order to find peace, decoupling intellectualism from emotion, the power of The Internet to share the stories of the disenfranchised, combining radical honesty with compassion, how a safe space can people help heal, the gift of being told that you are not special, and how our job is to do what we want on stage.

@timminchin

www.timminchin.com

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Dan Savage: Sex Rules Us Dec 15, 2020

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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

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Tim Ferriss: The Fear of No Dec 08, 2020

Show notes

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Tim Ferriss, recorded March 15, 2019 in Austin, TX.

Tim Ferriss is a best-selling author, speaker, early-stage technology investor, advisor, and host of one of the most popular podcasts in the world, The Tim Ferriss Show.

Tim’s books include, “The 4 Hour Workweek,” “The 4 Hour Body,” and, “Tools of Titans.”

He has two TED Talks: “Smash fear, learn anything” and “Why you should define your fears instead of your goals.”

In this interview we talk about how you can’t avoid some people taking it personally, the fear of the word "no", freeing yourself to ask anything, how you get what you negotiate for, inoculating yourself against dread, our love for the fast "no", and learning that being productive and successful doesn’t always have to hurt.

Tim's conversation with Debbie, "My Healing Journey After Childhood Abuse":

https://tim.blog/2020/09/14/how-to-heal-trauma/

Debbie Millman's podcast, Design Matters:

https://www.designmattersmedia.com

My conversation with Tim, "Amanda Palmer on Creativity, Pain, and Art":

https://tim.blog/2019/04/18/amanda-palmer-2/

http://Tim.blog for everything Tim – books, blog, and podcast.

@tferriss

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Storm Large: Know Who You Are Not Dec 01, 2020

Show notes

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

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KT Tunstall: The Land of I Don’t Give a Fuck Nov 24, 2020

Show notes

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with KT Tunstall, recorded October 15, 2019 in London.

KT Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. Her award winning debut album, Eye to the Telescope, was released in 2004. Her latest album, WAX, was released in 2018. In total, she has released 6 albums which have all been met with critical and commercial success. KT has toured the world and has performed on talk shows in the US and Europe.

She also composes music for film and television including the movie Bad Moms.

We talked about hidden rooms in your inner world, our shared love of Tom Lehrer, being narcissistically hungry, our pet peeves as performers, KT’s hearing loss and how it changed her life for the better.

Support KT on Patreon!

https://www.patreon.com/KTTunstall

@KTTunstall

www.kttunstall.com

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Jamil Zaki: Tuning Your Empathy Fork Nov 17, 2020

Show notes

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
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Nadya Tolokonnikova: Pussy Rioting Now Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Nadya Tolokonnikova. Recorded October 4th, 2020.
Nadya Tolokonnikova is a Russian conceptual artist, political activist, and co-founder of Vladimir Putin’s least favorite band, Pussy Riot.
In 2012, she was convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after a performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and served two years in prison.
She is the author of “How to Start a Revolution” and “Read & Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism.” Her prison correspondence with philosopher Slavoj Žižek was compiled into the book, “Comradely Greetings: The Prison Letters of Nadya and Slavoj.”
In this interview we talked about coping with a pandemic, Putin’s never-ending reign, storming the Russian Parliament, the influence of riot grrrls, female empowerment, the advantages of being a multimedia artist, building an institution as a statement of punk, creating your own rules, rebelling against expectations, reuniting with your parents, and the importance of reading books when you have lost your freedom.
@tolokno on Twitter
@nadyariot on Instagram.
Check out everything from music videos to anti-surveillance makeup tutorials on Pussy Riot’s YouTube
www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYcCfKYfYMcuCsem8z5CyQ
Read & Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism
www.harpercollins.com/products/read-riot-nadya-tolokonnikova?
Comradely Greetings: The Prison Letters of Nadya and Slavoj
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/20819758-comradely-greetings
Get your Destroy the Patriarchy merchandise at pussyriot.store
Support Nadya and Pussy Riot on Patreon:
Patreon.com/pussyriot
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Leslie Salmon Jones: The Heart Doesn’t Lie Nov 03, 2020

Show notes

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

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Eli Pariser: How We Can Actually Use the Internet for Good Things Oct 27, 2020

Show notes

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Eli Pariser, recorded July 24, 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Eli Pariser wants to make technology and media serve democracy, instead of the other way around. He is an author, activist, and entrepreneur who became executive director of MoveOn.org in 2004, where he helped pioneer the practice of online citizen engagement. Eli is also the co-founder of Upworthy, a website for meaningful viral content, and Avaaz, a global citizen's organization. His book, “The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You” not only introduced the term “filter bubble” to the world, but also kicked off a conversation about online discourse that has only become more pressing. He is the author of two TED Talks that focus on social media’s responsibility to the greater good. He currently co-directs, with Talia Stroud, the Civic Signals Project, which aims to support the creation of more flourishing digital public spaces. Check out his recent piece in Wired about how to create public spaces online.

In this episode we talk about how we should attribute people’s actions to their situation instead of their character, controlling your environment to change your behavior for the good, applying urban planning theories to The Internet, inviting in the things you want in your life, why it is so hard to be an artist in America, having empathy for people you don’t agree with, the struggle to raise children with the right amount of determination and grit, and how shame is a cultural tool to create conformity.

@elipariser

https://www.elipariser.org

TED:

https://www.ted.com/speakers/eli_pariser

Civic Signals:

http://civicsignals.io/

Wired:

https://www.wired.com/story/to-mend-a-broken-internet-create-online-parks/

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