Creative Pursuits Podcast

Episode 39: Shubhangi Kuchibhotla is a stage and screen actor. We talk the DC theater scene, the relationship between coffee and art, Black Lion Cafe - a coffee shop that bangs and slaps, treating people to coffee as love language, working at arena stage in Washington DC, open call casting, moving to New York, dynamism of Harlem, Shakespeare, creating on tik tok, filming your family, twin energy, psychic links between siblings, quirkiness and Asthma as identity, weird indie film, side hustles, volleyball anime, meme pages, Song of Achilles, Rockville, MD vs. Italy for best pizza in the world, Nando’s, putting the rockville food scene on the map via podcast.

Episode 38: Part 2 of 2. Superstar designer Aaron Lowell Denton, whose worked with some of the biggest names in music as well as media institutions such as the New York Times, is still on the pod for Part II. Things talked about on the pod: Saweetie x McDonald’s, my soccer travails, Pig, 100 Foot Wave, Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler, Aaron's merch game, collaborating with a moment, Ollipop, working with Twin Shadow for his new self-titled album, deep dive into details of design process, studying art history, Bloomington, IN museum scene, John Mayer and typefaces, serif vs sans serif, vegan breakfast, beyond bacon, pizza toppings, High maintenance, changing attitudes toward Larry David, and the greatest show of all time—I Know This Much Is True.

Episode 37: Part 1 of 2. Acclaimed designer Aaron Lowell Denton is on the pod! We talk Slowdive opening for War On Drugs, the current ALD mixtape (Ginger Root, Black Marble, John Carroll Kirby, The Marias, Khruangbin), Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska, getting started with design, the relationship between work and identity, band practice, veg/vegan talk, working in a restaurant, cats and indoor plants, freelancer routines, worker realities in modern day America, art/lifestyle as a balm for anxiety, taking photos of cats, cleaning the house everyday (literally and figuratively), working in the middle of the night, enjoying mundanity, tending vs. grinding, directness, and mindfulness. A lot more to come on next week’s pod.

Willie Macc himself is on the pod talking about real estate and investing, his new HGTV show, Macc Boyz Properties, Office Maccs, Dunkin Donuts, the LA standup grind, his ‘fit, funny, and financed’ ethos, crafting an iconic look, achieving Tik Tok superstardom and the pressure that ensues, dealing with depression, making the transition to Zoom during the pandemic, the key to sustaining sixpack abs, anime, He Got Game 2, and being thwarted (multiple times!) by Dave Chappelle. Recorded in Los Angeles, CA and St. Louis, MO via Zoom.

Episode 35: Liv Ferguson whose resume boasts stops at the World Bank, de Young Museum, and GreenPeace comes on the pod to talk the evolution of her photography work, documenting protests during the Trump era, astro photography, Snow Monkeys in Japan, her almost frostbite experience in Finland, why Nikon is better than Canon, and, of course, perfecting the fine art of Zoom and WebEx screenshot photography during the pandemic. Recorded in Los Angeles, CA and Washington, D.C. via Zoom.

Episode 34: Crypto Wendy O is on the pod to hash out a slew of topics. How she got her start in the crypto space, navigating the dark side of Crypto Twitter, building community online and IRL, Elon Musk, proof of stake vs. proof of work, and, finally her thoughts on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Cardano, Vechain, and, of course, SafeMoon. Definitely not intended to be investment advice. Recorded in Los Angeles, CA via Zoom.

Be forewarned: this instant classic episode contains spoilers. Salon writer Kylie Cheung joins the pod to talk the viewing habits of a professional critic, Mare of Easttown, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the erasure of women’s sexual pleasure on screen, and dismantling the ‘nice guy’ trope vis a vis Netflix’s SEX/LIFE. Recorded in Los Angeles, CA via Zoom.

Episode 32: Debra Barsha is on the pod today to discuss her incredible career—from signing a Columbia Records contract as a teenager to writing a musical based on the life and work of Keith Haring. We also talk some astrology, Buddhism, and 90s Springsteen. Recorded in Los Angeles, CA and Hudson Valley, NY via Zoom.

Marcus Nel-Jamal joins the pod to talk about working on HBO’s The Wire, coming up in the world of wrestling, and giving his own take on iconic comic book characters in his film The Black League of Superheroes.

Episode 30: Joey Travolta talks about his Jersey roots, rising through the ranks of Hollywood, and what drew him to launching Inclusion Films. Recorded in Los Angeles, CA and Bay Area, CA via Zoom.