D Magazine's EarBurner

This episode is an experiment we're calling an EarBurner Quickie. No guest. It's just Tim and Zac in the podcast kitchen, cooking up a special dish together. For an amuse-bouche, they discuss monster pickup trucks that don't belong in the Whole Foods parking lot. Then the main course: why the mayor of Dallas approaches Twitter like a fifth-round draft pick with a chip on his shoulder. He picks fights. He roasts his "haters." And he makes a fair number of sophomoric references to "Big Dallas Energy." (P.S.: Tim mentions a Cowboys player who tattooed a potato chip on his shoulder, but he couldn't recall his name. It was cornerback Anthony Brown.)

Jay started Cane Rosso with his first restaurant in Deep Ellum 12 years ago. Now the dude employs 520 people in his pizza empire. He's got a salty mouth. He loves dogs. And his two daughters force him to spend a lot of time in airports. Fun connection: the EarBurner guest from the previous episode, Frank Campagna, has done some mural work for Jay. It's almost like we planned it. In terms of show notes, Tim was right about puntata. Please know that. In terms of everything else, this was a banger. Five stars.

If you've lived in Dallas for any length of time, chances are you've encoutered Frank's art. He estimates that he has done more than 1,000 murals in Deep Ellum (many of them to promote performances at the old Gypsy Tea Room). On February 11, he'll have his annual "For the Love of Kettle" show at his Deep Ellum gallery, Kettle Art, with works from dozens of artists, each of which is 9 by 12 inches and priced at $50. Doors open at 7 p.m. for what Frank calls "competitive shopping." We also talked with Frank about the 150th anniversary of Deep Ellum and about the time the South Korean pop group BTS created worldwide headlines when a few of its members dropped in to the gallery.

GNO is a poet who not long ago put out a collection titled "101 Break Up Poems." In this EarBurner, he explains why he nicknamed himself GNO (pronounced "Gino"), what happened when he told his mom Prince wasn't a girl, and how poetry can save young people's lives. Oh, also, he tells the story about how he wound up doing a McDonald's commercial for the Filet-O-Fish. (If you're reading these words in time for it, you can catch GNO at a poetry-and-cocktails gig on 2/10/23 at the Dallas Institute, where he'll read a selection of his break-up poems.)

Rev. Peter Johnson came to Dallas in 1969 on a mission: to secure distribution for a documentary about Martin Luther King Jr., the proceeds from which would provide for his widow and family. Of the 800 cities around the world where organizers hoped to show the movie, Dallas was the only place that said no—initially. We started our conversation with Peter explaining why he took the assignment so personally and telling the story about the magic moment, with only three days left to spare, when a beneficent stranger walked into his office and brought him to tears. After that, Peter told us about dragging a sack of snakes to Dallas City Hall, cussing out the rapper D.O.C., and getting arrested at a protest just a few years ago. This man is a leader and a legend. WARNING: In describing historical events, the Reverend at a couple points uses the N-word in this podcast.

Victor's bio sounds like a fabrication: he has summitted the seven tallest mountains on earth, and he built his own submersible to dive solo to the bottom of all five oceans. Oh, and he has traveled to space. We talk about why James Cameron has a beef with him, how bumping into the Titanic got him dragged into federal court, and what we possibly need with a genetically reincarnated wooly mammoth that talks like Ray Romano.

Mark "Hawkeye" Louis has done the morning show on 96.3 KSCS for more than 30 years. He is radio royalty in North Texas. He's also a runner who has been involved with the BMW Dallas Marathon (this year on December 11) for more than a decade, which is how we got to talking about his nipples and the best way to protect them on long runs. We also talked about jeans, stand-up comedy, why radio stations still broadcast traffic news, and the ship of Theseus paradox. Be forewarned: he swears exactly once in this episode of EarBurner. If you have children, consider abandoning them at a fire station.

Ken is the guitarist for the Old 97's, which is about to celebrate its 30th year together. The man himself is about to turn 60. We talk about his plans for outliving his bandmates, why he owns more than 400 board games, why high school kids don't cruise anymore, and whether Peter Billingsley is actually a gun nut. Oh, and one more thing: we talk about how the band came to star in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which begins streaming on Disney+ on November 25. That last thing seems important. Almost forgot to mention it.

Mark is the architecture critic for the Dallas Morning News and a two-time EarBurner guest. We invited him on to talk about a new plan for Dealey Plaza that he has concocted with some of his smart friends. Mark says the space has become tawdry, and we need to prioritize people over their cars. We also talk about whether Dallas is still a "can do" city, why the Mavericks should rethink their branding design, and our favorite movies ever filmed in Dallas. To prepare yourself for this episode, please first watch this trailer for the 1988 action comedy sexploitation thriller It Takes Two. You won't regret it.

Julie wrote the young adult novel Dumplin' that became the 2018 Jennifer Aniston movie of the same title. Now she's branching out into some spicy romance with her new book, A Merry Little Meet Cute, about a pornstar who is cast in a wholesome Christmas movie. It's funny. It's raunchy. It's perfect for the season. We talk about whether she is the most famous living person from Arlington, why the water tastes bad in Dalworthington Gardens, if Dolly Parton (who wrote the music for Dumplin') might have sleeve tattoos, and her friend who has hypnagogic hallucinations. Also, she attempts to recall as many euphemisms for genitalia as she can in 30 seconds.