The Chills at Will Podcast

Episode 24: An Interview with the Brilliant Camden Ostrander, Teacher, Writer, and Co-Creator of Season Seven of the Dissect Podcast-Because the Internet by Childish Gambino

Camden Ostrander teaches high school English in Maryland, and he is a writer on the Dissect Podcast, Season 7, which is about artist Childish Gambino’s 2013 album, Because the Internet. He has written about the album for years through a metamodern lens, replete with a content guide, intricate and voluminous Reddit threads, and "Internet Age" contextual analysis.

 

SHOW NOTES: 

On Episode 24, Pete talks with the brilliant Camden Ostrander, a metamodern scholar and keen observer and student of Childish Gambino, about whom he writes for Dissect Podcast's Season Seven, which is focused on Gambino's Because the Internet.

You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Spotify, and, as of this week, on Amazon Music! Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1.

This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.

You can find Camden on social media: @metamodernCam (IG and Twitter)

The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

Thanks again for listening, and I hope that these quarantine days bring you texts by writers with MAD Skills whose work gives you    chills     at     will.

The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other cool song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental Version”) by Matt Weidauer, used through Arches Audio. Matt’s artist page can be found here.

Authors Mentioned and Allusions and Songs Referenced During the Episode:

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Alex Haley

Malcolm X's Letter Written after Revelatory Hajj

The Screenplay for Childish Gambino's Because the Internet

Shia LaBeouf and Metamodernism

Raisin in the Sun

Kevin Abstract and Brockhampton

Noname

London O'Connor

 

Episode 23: "S.E. Hinton's Endings that Echo"

SHOW NOTES: 

On Episode 23, Pete discusses the legend S.E. Hinton and her “endings that echo” throughout his life, so memorable in their rawness and beauty.

You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Spotify, and, as of this week, on Amazon Music! Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he's @chillsatwillpo1.

This is a passion project for Pete, a DIY operation, and he’d love for your help in promoting what he's convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.

You can find That Was Then, This is Now and The Outsiders anywhere you buy books. That Was Then, This is Now was published in 1971 by Viking Penguin Publishing, and The Outsiders was published in 1967 by Viking Penguin Publishing.

The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

Thanks again for listening, and Pete hopes that these quarantine days bring you texts by writers with MAD Skills whose work gives you chills at will.

The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other cool song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental Version”) by Matt Weidauer, used through Arches Audio. Matt’s artist page can be found here.

Authors Mentioned and Allusions and Songs Referenced During the Episode:

 

Amazement GIF #1

Amazement GIF #2

Hummus v. Baba Ganoush

Mya: “My Love is Like...Woah”

Ahmad: "Back in the Day"

Episode 22: Pete (Gulp!) Reads His Poetry in Progress

Show Notes:  On Episode 22, Pete shares some of his own work, poetry in progress, much of it written a long time ago and now being rediscovered and tinkered with:

1) "The Death of Humility: An Elegy in Six Parts"-read live on Oct 2, 2020, as part of "Voices of California" at Tia Chucha's in Sylmar, CA

2) "Grocery Store Paperbacks"

3) "Manly Qualifiers"

4) "Just Visiting (Napoli: July, 2009)”

5) "AD"/"The Barometer"

You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts; please leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Spotify and, as of recently, on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I’m @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I’m @chillsatwillpo1.

This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I’d love for your help in promoting what I’m convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.

The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both awesome songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

For now, thanks again for listening, and I hope that these quarantine days bring you texts by writers with MAD Skills whose work gives you    chills     at     will.

 

Episode 21: Interview with Grant Hughes, National NBA Featured Columnist with Bleacher Report

Show Notes: Pete and Grant have a fun conversation about the marriage of writing and sports. They discuss Grant's fandom as a child, as well as his fandom as an adult that has been changed so thoroughly by his job writing about basketball. They also riff on Grant's admiration for Cormac McCarthy, Sports Illustrated for Kids as an writing inspiration (yes, we shout out Buzz Beamer!), how his work in the field of law informs his writing style, the writing life, and the business of sports writing, NBA analytics, why Grant doesn't read website comments about his writing, trends in writing and reading and in the NBA, and the balance between writing for the mainstream and writing for art's sake.

Grant also is put on the spot to predict the winner of Game Five of the Lakers/Heat (the episode was recorded the morning of the game) and the winner of the series. He wraps up the episode with a cool explanation of LeBron James versus Michael Jordan and their respective places in the Pantheon, by way of Chuck Klosterman.

Grant Hughes grew up in San Jose and graduated from Santa Clara University with a BA in English. He went on to earn his law degree from SCU, and worked as Deputy DA before pivoting into sports writing in 2012.

He has written about the NBA for Bleacher Report and other outlets for eight years. He is now a National NBA Featured Columnist with Bleacher Report. 

Selected Articles by Grant:

"EVOLUTION of the STEP-BACK" from 2016  

Trades That Would Unleash Potential NBA Superstars" from October 2020

Ranking the Best NBA Defenders of the 2000s from July 2020

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Q and A

The panel responds to the questions of Pete and Matt and the audience viewing at home.

Questions include "How do you as writers deal with the need or lack thereof to translate languages other than English and/or any cultural references that may be unfamiliar to some readers?"

"Do you write with a target audience in mind?"

"How do you 'armor down?' " in contrast to the ways in which writers and performers need to get the courage up to present their work.

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Tongo Eisen-Martin Reads

Tongo Eisen-Martin is the author of Someone’s Dead Already (Bootstrap Press, 2015), which was nominated for a California Book Award, and Heaven Is All Goodbyes (City Lights Publishers, 2017), which received the California Book Award and an American Book Award. A poet, movement worker, and educator, his latest curriculum on extrajudicial killing of Black people, We Charge Genocide Again, has been used as an educational and organizing tool throughout the country. He has organized against mass incarceration and extra-judicial killing of Black people throughout the United States, and he has taught in detention centers from New York’s Rikers Island to California county jails. He lives in San Francisco.

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Myriam Gurba Reads from Memoir,Mean

2:15-4:30-Myriam introduces and reads (4:30-9:27) a short chapter about her 5th grade experience from her memoir Mean

9:27 on is a cool back-and-forth between Myriam and Matt in discussing the chapter and its impact on both of them

 

Myriam Gurba is a Mexican American writer, story-teller, and visual artist. 

In 2019, O, The Oprah Magazine called Gurba's work Mean (2017) one of the "Best LGBTQ Books of All Time.” The New York Times described Gurba as having a "distinct and infectious" voice.

Gurba is the author of three books: Mean (Coffee House Press, 2017) and Dahlia Season: Stories and a Novella (Manic D Press/Future Tense, 2007), and Painting Their Portraits in Winter: Stories. Her second book, Painting Their Portraits in Winter: Stories, explores Mexican stories and traditions from a feminist lens.

Gurba previously toured with Sister Spit, a "lesbian-feminist spoken-word and performance art collective."

Gurba has also exhibited at the Museum of Latin American Art and The Center Long Beach.

Gurba has won The Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction from Publishing Triangle, and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award.

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Allan Aquino Reads

6:50-10:29-Allan reads "Area Codes (213), (310), (323), (626), and (818)"

10:32-16:09-Allan discusses backstory of poem and reads "Dreamlog of a Needful Heart"

 

ALLAN AQUINO graduated Cal State Northridge in 1998 as a Special Major in Asian American and Comparative Ethnic Histories. After attaining his Masters in Asian American Studies from UCLA, he began his career as a Lecturer and community organizer at CSUN in the Fall of 2000. He has also lectured at UCLA and Loyola Marymount University. A published poet and writer, Allan is the former president of the Filipino American National Historical Society (Los Angeles chapter) and founding member of the Larry Itliong Foundation through Education. His scholarship focuses upon Asian Pacific American history, media, contemporary issues, pop culture, and literary arts.

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Karla Brundage Reads

3:44-6:29-Karla reads "Wannabe White Girl"

6:37-7:38-Karla reads "She's a Mulatto"

7:44-9:20-Karla reads "Inheritance"

9:43-10:37-Karla reads her poem about Melania Trump

10:45-12:17-Karla reads "Over Pahoehoe" 

 

Karla Brundage is a Bay Area based poet, activist, and educator with a passion for social justice. Born in Berkeley, California in the summer of love to a Black mother and white father, Karla spent most of her childhood in Hawaii where she developed a deep love of nature. She is the founder of West Oakland to West Africa Poetry Exchange (WO2WA), which has facilitated cross-cultural exchange between Oakland and West African poets. Her musical loves include Hawaiian, West African, and Hip Hop sounds. Her work can be found at http://westoaklandtowestafrica.com/ as well as on https://www.karlabrundage.com/

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-PART II: Magali Sanchez-Hall Speaks about Her Work in Community Organizing

Magali Sanchez-Hall speaks about her inspiring and passionate community organizing, particularly her work to bring out Latinos in the upcoming election and beyond to use their vote to bring about change.

 

Magali Sanchez-Hall is President of the Chicano Democratic party and a member of Communities for a Better Environment in California. Her Public Policy Master's degree allows her  to further analyze important factors when working in projects, research or work in general. She is very involved in her community, and considered an activist on social economic justice and environmental justice. Her stated goal is to bring some relief to her community by pointing out core issues affecting children and women with the intention to bring quality of life.

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Magali Sanchez-Hall Speaks about Her Work in Community Organizing

Magali Sanchez-Hall speaks about her inspiring and passionate community organizing, particularly her work to bring out Latinos in the upcoming election and beyond to use their vote to bring about change.

 

Magali Sanchez-Hall is President of the Chicano Democratic party and a member of Communities for a Better Environment in California. Her Public Policy Master's degree allows her  to further analyze important factors when working in projects, research or work in general. She is very involved in her community, and considered an activist on social economic justice and environmental justice. Her stated goal is to bring some relief to her community by pointing out core issues affecting children and women with the intention to bring quality of life.

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Huda Al-Marashi Reads the Powerful "An Index of Small Stings"

Huda Al-Marashi reads from "An Index of Small Stings":  1:15-10:41

 

Huda Al-Marashi is the Iraqi-American author of First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story, a book the Washington Post called "a charming, funny, heartbreaking memoir of faith, family, and the journey to love. If Jane Austen had grown up as a first-gen daughter of Iraqi parents in the 1990s, she might have written this.”

Excerpts from this memoir have also been anthologized in Love Inshallah: The Secret Love Lives of Muslim American Women, Becoming: What Makes a Woman, and Beyond Belief: The Secret Lives of Women and Extreme Religion.

Her other writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, al Jazeera, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a Cuyahoga County Creative Workforce Fellowship and an Aspen Summer Words Emerging Writer Fellowship. First Comes Marriage was longlisted for the Chautauqua Prize and a finalist for the Southern California Independent Booksellers’ Award.

Huda currently resides in California with her husband and three children.

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Helena Maria Viramontes Reads "The Moths"

Luis Rodriguez and Helena share some interesting stories about their writing groups from decades ago and their continued belief that community and the written word are transformative.

4:45-9:15: Helena Maria Viramontes reads "The Moths"

Helena Maria Viramontes was born in East Los Angeles, one of eight siblings in a working-class family. Her career began with her work for the avant-garde Chicano magazine ChismeArte. Assigned as literary editor, she began to develop a style that reflected her understanding and upbringing in the streets of East Los Angeles. 

She is the author of The Moths and Other Stories and two novels Under the Feet of Jesus and Their Dogs Came With Them.  She has also co-edited with Maria Herrera Sobek, two collections: Chicana (W) rites: On Word and Film and Chicana Creativity and Criticism. A recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the John Dos Passos Award for Literature, and a United States Artist Fellowship, her short stories and essays have been widely anthologized and her writings have been adopted for classroom use and university study. Her work is the subject of a critical reader titled Rebozos De Palabras edited by Gabrielle Gutierrez y Muhs and published by the University of Arizona Press.  A community organizer and former coordinator of the Los Angeles Latino Writers Association, she is a frequent reader and lecturer in the U.S. and internationally.  Currently she is completing a draft of her third novel, The Cemetery Boys.

Her works have been canonized in some of the most important textbooks and anthologies, including those used by academia. Viramontes is a professor of English at Cornell University. She received the Luis Leal Literary Award in 2006.

Reviewers have written of her: “Her groundbreaking narrative strategies, combined with her sociopolitical focus, situate her at the forefront of an emerging Chicana literary tradition that redefines Chicano literature and feminist theory.” 

AND “Viramontes’s stories convey the impact of repression on women’s lives and graphically depict the price paid by women who dare to challenge a misogynist social system that moves rapidly to squelch their every attempt toward self-definition… The result is a rich, challenging narrative that rewards the reader with insight to the passions and torments that drive the characters.”

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Mike "The Poet" Sonksen Reads

3:04-4:32-Mike reads an excerpt from "THE MURAL MILE ~ A HISTORY OF PACOIMA TOLD THROUGH THE TAPESTRY OF STREET ART"

 

5:30-10:34-Mike reads "The Ode to LA Writers"

 

 

Mike Sonksen aka Mike the PoeT is a 3rd-generation Los Angeles native. Poet, professor, journalist, historian and tour-guide, his latest book Letters to My City was published by Writ Large Press. His poetry’s been featured on Public Radio Stations KCRW, KPCC & KPFK & TV programs like Spectrum News. Sonksen taught high school for five years and now teaches at Woodbury University. Find more info here.

Episode 20, "Voices of California" Event from October 2, 2020-Luis Rodriguez Reads "Tia Chucha," "Make a Poem Cry," and "Heroin's Soundtrack" Poems

2:25-Luis describes the background of and inspiration for the "Tia Chucha" poem

4:20-6:16-Luis reads the poem "Tia Chucha"

9:22 to 10:40- Luis reads "Make a Poem Cry"

10:40-12:23-Luis reads "Heroin's Soundtrack"