Conversation ex Nihilo

Jim is the co-founder and CCO of Cornbread Hemp. He is a native of Lebanon Kentucky. He holds degrees from Centre College, Brown University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He worked briefly for The New York Times, before retiring home to write his first book The Cornbread Mafia. Published in 2012 the book tells the story of the biggest domestic marijuana syndicate in American history. Jim has also worked for The Washington Post and Politico.
Jim joins Billy via Zoom to talk about how he captured the story of The Cornbread Mafia, Catholicism and its relationship with organized crime, the hemp industry at large and what lead him to start Cornbread Hemp along with his partner Zipperle.

Listeners, when you visit cornbreadhemp.com enter coupon code EXNIHILO for 20% off of your purchase. 
According to Jim,  they have the  only CBD gummies that are Whole-Flower™ full spectrum CBD and are USDA certified organic. 

Maria Liberati is a celebrity chef and award-winning author of the book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking. She is also a blogger and podcast host. Maria has a passion for cooking that is quite infectious and her insight into food aesthetics is keen.
She joins Billy via Zoom to talk about her Italian-American heritage, transitioning from being a model to a chef, the pros and cons of being a celebrity chef, food's portrayal in books, film and other media, the beauty of simplicity and her work on her most recent book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: DaVinci Style. 

David Richards is a business professional, life coach, yoga instructor, and speaker on self development. He was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Marines where he served 15 years on active duty in a variety of locales. He is also an internationally best selling author of the books The Lighthouse Keeper and Whiskey & Yoga.
David joins Billy via Zoom to talk about KISS and his connections between their music and David's time in Mogadishu in the early 90's. They also discuss growing up in a military family, how his travels around the world at a young age have helped inform who he is today, religion and creativity, meditation and pushing one's limits.
 

P.J. Agness is a protective intelligence specialist and open source intelligence analyst. He is the founder of Archangel Protective Intelligence.  He joins Billy via Zoom from Minnesota to talk about security in the face of imminent threat of public unrest, the Derek Chauvin trial, P.J.'s martial arts training and the way it helped shape his worldview. They get a little into Jean Claude Vandamme and find time to talk about education and media manipulation. 

Robert Wagner is a musician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  His band The Little Wretches is a folk act with a punk rock spirit. Their 2020 album Undesirables and Anarchists gives soulful life to the stories of the songs' protagonists. They are the down-trodden and destitute, the forgotten wretches of society and Robert joins Billy via zoom to talk about his background and how he weaves some of the overheard stories of the people in his community into his music.
Robert talks about life in Pittsburgh, his parents' immigrant backgrounds and the trauma that has informed his art and outlook.
Learn more about and listen to The Little Wretches here
Join the conversation on Twitter @convoexnihilo

Sound and Chaos: The Story of BC Studio is a documentary about Martin Bisi and the iconic recording studio that he runs in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. The film was released in 2014 and was directed by Ryan Douglas and Sara Leavitt. Ryan and Sara met while working for a promo company in New York and decided to strike out on their own to make a documentary film. They join Billy via Zoom from opposite ends of the country to talk about their experiences making the documentary as well as their takes on the current climate in filmmaking and distribution. They also find time to talk about cartoons and politics. 

Peter is originally from Montreal, Quebec. He is an actor who has appeared on shows such as Seinfeld, The Newsroom, The Red Green Show  and Murdoch Mysteries. He has appeared in the movies Ginger Snaps and Sex After Kids. These are but a few of his many credits. His 2017 documentary Once an Immigrant tells his parents' immigration stories and ponders the deeper meanings of what home is, and what it means to be Canadian.
He joins Billy via Zoom to give a bit of Canadian history, talk about his work on The Newsroom, the current state of Canadian culture, why immigrants are important and the significance of good hair.
You can watch his movie Once an Immigrant here

Bliss is from Omaha, Nebraska and moved to Houston where she emerged herself in the local punk music scene and along with Scott Ayers formed the industrial/experimental rock band Pain Teens in 1985. After the band broke up in 1995 Bliss moved to New York where she started the band The Moonlighters in which she plays the ukulele and writes songs in 20's/30's jazz fashion. She joins Billy to talk about her upbringing in Nebraska, her loathing of conventional office jobs, her lack of reverence for CBGB's and serial killer Dean Corll among many other topics.
You can listen to her music here
Check out Pain Teens live at CBGB's here 

Immigration lawyer and activist Tahmina Watson joins Billy via Zoom to talk about immigration law and the many hurdles to making it more fair and comprehensive. Billy remains cynical while Tahmina brings the hope that a Biden administration may clear up some of those obstacles. They discuss the anti-immigrant sentiments within the American culture and the little things that individuals can do to make the conversations about immigration a little easier to have. 

Tahmina is from England, where she started practicing law, who spent part of her childhood in Bangladesh. She lives in Washington state and is a passionate activist, author and podcast host. You can learn more about Tahmina and her work on her website https://watsonimmigrationlaw.com

www.convoexnihilo.com

Karla is a true friend of the podcast. She is a historian and currently works to help people, in the throws of addiction, find treatment. She joins Billy via Zoom to talk about individualism vs. communalism, white disgruntlement, poverty and despair, the 2020 Christmas bombing in Nashville and her experiences in its wake as well as all other manner of cheerful things.