Harold Rogers is a novelist, Substacker, and a comedian based in New York City.

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(00:00) Columbia MFA, standup dreams & moving to New York

(03:07) Growing up between Ohio, Brazil & Antigua as a lonely reader

(04:48) Discovering serious novels: Lolita, Crime and Punishment & the power of language

(07:36) Early stories, autobiographical fiction & realizing writing can hurt people

(11:58) Drunk, depressed college years & writing through the abyss

(13:49) Tropicalia: family in Rio, plot, and learning to write a first novel

(16:33) Humility, simplifying the work & 20-day draft marathons

(22:06) Flow, exhaustion & psychography—writing as a kind of mediumship

(25:06) Boxing vs standup: high-stakes performance and the “fight vs book” metaphor

(26:47) First novel flops, expectations, airports & diversity boosts

(32:53) Publishing economics: advances, royalties & the lottery-ticket model

(36:03) Substack as practice ground, Edinburgh trip & building an audience

(38:47) Writing in New York, literary readings, misanthropy & starting BLAST

(41:46) Entering the NYC standup scene, Eric’s role & comedy friendships

(46:54) Boxing gym life, clients, CTE worries & why people fight

(54:02) Steubenville’s ghosts, shuttered mills & the 2012 assault case behind Humpty Dumpty

(54:54) Humpty Dumpty as masculine failure, regicide joke & mythic Trojan horse

(57:49) Redefining success: getting better at books & standup, and protecting time

Caleb Spaulding is a drummer based in Brooklyn, NY.

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(00:00) Driving a 2004 Trailblazer to Williamsburg with the college band

(03:12) Prog-rock frat house: how the band formed and took over campus

(06:05) Older bandmates, Jersey staging ground & choosing New York as the dream

(09:02) Beginner’s mindset, Williamsburg boom & early social media band hype

(12:10) Singing before talking: family piano nights and a childhood built on music

(15:18) Political science major, miserable law firm internship & feeling trapped on the “normal” path

(19:08) Forklift summer: warehouse monotony, hourly work and craving real purpose

(22:45) Cardboard prison, secret lyric notebooks & discovering an allergy to monotony

(26:03) Sixth-grade band class, discovering drums & Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps

(29:40) From rock stages to dance floors: first night hand-drumming with a DJ in Brooklyn

(32:55) World percussion deep dive & finding “Drumming at the Edge of Magic”

(36:22) The Ghana leap: Indiegogo, surrender experiment & flying in with no schedule

(40:05) Open-hearted Ghana: yes-and culture, communal groove & rhythm as everyday life

(43:18) Why Ghana: djembe roots, dense drumming traditions & choosing Accra as the gateway

(46:07) Kids, funerals, weddings & how Western culture shames adults out of musical play

(49:15) Everyone has rhythm: biology, entrainment & giving “no rhythm” adults permission

(52:08) Fela Kuti, Afrobeat, 90s hip-hop flows & the bands that keep him moving

(54:47) Rhythm of Happiness now: drum-powered breathwork, rhythm consulting & the next chapter

Mariel Bildsten is a trombonist based in Brooklyn, NY.

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(00:00) Childhood Visits and Dreaming of New York

(04:18) Grandparents, Ridgewood Roots, and an East Berlin Escape

(08:27) California Childhood and Hating Piano Lessons

(12:45) Joining School Band and Accidentally Choosing Trombone

(16:32) First Trombone Hero and the “Blueprint” Moment

(20:58) Moving at 18 and Falling in Love with New York Jazz

(25:21) Jazz as Black Music and the Harlem Renaissance

(29:49) New Orleans Brass vs Contemporary New York Jazz

(34:05) Betting on New York and Welcoming the Ass-Kicking

(38:02) Inside the Physical Demands of Playing Trombone

(41:37) Injuries, Posture Fixes, and Damage Control

(45:03) Dizzy’s Jam Sessions, All-Night Hangs, and Music as Service

(49:11) Teaching in the Bronx and $10 Pasta Gigs

(52:44) Balls Before Ability and Working Through Imposter Syndrome

(55:36) Side Person vs Bandleader and Making a Living

(58:22) Why She Still Chooses New York

(61:09) Favorite NYC Food, Clubs, and Trombone Mount Rushmore

(63:18) Redefining Success, Education, and the Next Chapter

Jamie Pearl is a photographer based in Brooklyn, NY.

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(00:00) From Seattle To New York

(04:10) Instagram Dreams Of The NY Art Scene

(07:30) Knowing She Was An Artist First

(11:20) Finding Her Medium In The Darkroom

(15:40) From Hobbyist To Neighborhood Photographer

(20:30) Graduating Into COVID And Planning The Move

(25:10) Learning Photography Through Film Basics

(29:30) Auto Mode, iPhones And The 80/20 Of Craft

(33:20) Landing In New York With No Safety Net

(37:40) Babysitting, Job Rejections And The Juve Lifeline

(42:10) First Big By-Lines: Times, Journal And Hoka

(45:50) Saying Yes To Everything And Becoming “The Photographer”

(48:20) Fashion Week Frenzy And Celebrity Shoots

(51:30) Prestige Work That Finally Opens Big Doors

(53:50) Learning The Art Of Negotiating Day Rates

(56:10) Stepping Into The Role Of Lead Photographer

(58:10) Staying Hungry And Raising The Creative Bar

(59:45) Real Talk On Networking And Defining Success

T.J. Wilkins is a singer and an actor currently playing Barack Obama in the musical "44."

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(00:00) Greyhound to New York & Joining 44

(03:40) Eli’s Hotel Room Epiphany & Birth of the Musical

(07:20) Jam Session, Studio Work & Becoming “Obama”

(11:00) Three Cassettes that Started It All

(14:40) Church Solos, Performing Arts School & a Teenage Record Deal

(18:20) Realizing His Gift & Studying the Greats

(22:00) Why Arts Education (and His Teachers) Saved His Career

(25:40) Church and Gospel as the Ultimate Music School

(29:20) Class Clown, Inner Soundtrack & Finding an Outlet on Stage

(33:00) Growing Up with Artist Parents & Full-Force Support

(36:40) Northridge Years: Acting, Recording & Using College as a Springboard

(40:20) Disney Reality Show, Mentor Bob & The Voice Audition

(44:00) Lessons from The Voice: Fame, Business & Not Taking It Personally

(47:40) Staying Grounded: Family, Humility & Not Serving Fame

(52:00) Discovering Barack Obama & the 2008 Election Night with His Great-Grandmother

(58:00) Building Obama: Books, Cadence & Humanizing a President

(61:00) 44’s Audiences, Bipartisan Joy & Remembering the Idea of America

(64:30) Evolving the Role, Pre-Show Rituals & Redefining Success

mmegannolan is a novelist and a journalist based in New York City.

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(00:00) Trying to move to New York in 2020

(03:18) Waterford roots and a theatrical family

(06:27) Small-town restlessness and artistic ambition

(09:42) Shy, anxious kid who loved to read

(12:56) Early poetry, contests, and taking feelings seriously

(16:10) Formative novels that changed her life

(19:25) Dropping out, Dublin struggles, and following an artist to London

(22:41) Keeping the identity of “writer” alive

(25:55) Learning to call herself a writer

(29:08) Freelance journalism, readings, and media Twitter days

(32:16) Writing for money versus writing for love

(35:22) Leaping from essays to a novel

(38:05) Three years, Athens, and building the book

(41:02) Domestic horror, obsession, and emotional claustrophobia

(44:10) Book deal, lockdown release, and sudden success

(46:47) Money, advances, and buying dinner for everyone

(49:55) Public life, avoiding fame, and the second novel

(53:20) Habits, community, and redefining success

Shani Nizan is a tattoo artist based in New York City.

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(00:00) New York, Not Berlin

(03:10) Falling In Love With New York

(06:05) Fourteen And Financially Independent

(09:10) Second Child, Hungry For Autonomy

(12:20) Kibbutz Childhood And Early Jazz

(15:45) What A Kibbutz Really Is

(19:05) Free Time, Friends, And Philosophy

(22:10) Chasing A Tattoo Hero To Berlin

(25:30) Inventing A New Tattoo Language

(28:40) From Illustrator To Skin Artist

(31:35) Human–Animal Hybrids And One-Client Days

(34:50) Inside A Perfect Tattoo Session

(38:05) Needles, Meditation, And Flow State

(41:15) Berlin Misery Vs New York Plenty

(44:20) Instagram’s Rise, Algorithms, And Hurt

(48:05) Money, Bushwick Rent, And Getting By

(51:10) Community, Ornithology, And City Worship

(54:20) Success As Service, Not Spotlight

Max Fine is a stand-up comedian based in New York City.

Instagram and all episodes

(00:00) Atlanta Roots and Moving to New York

(03:05) Falling in Love with Standup as a Teenager

(06:40) The Dirtbag Years: Comedy, Bars, and Blackouts

(10:15) Chasing the Lifestyle Instead of the Craft

(13:50) Health Scares, Mushrooms, and the Last Night Drinking

(17:30) Life Levels Up Fast Without Booze

(20:45) Did Drugs Make the Comedy Better?

(24:10) Detox, AA, and Choosing to Quit Alone

(27:55) Bushwick Hell Apartment and the Creek in the Cave

(31:30) Road Gigs, Delusion, and Watching Others Pass You By

(35:05) Ego, Early Confidence, and Actually Getting Good

(38:40) Honesty on Stage and What Makes Great Comics

(42:00) Comedy as Community and Losing It During COVID

(45:10) Treating Comedy Like a Real Business and Career

(48:30) The Comedy Cellar Audition and Getting Passed

(52:10) Living Up to the Cellar and Constantly Improving

(55:30) Weed, Hot Yoga, and Building Better Habits

(58:45) The Comedian’s Role, Politics, and Redefining Success