Electric Enthusiasm

Drag is not just men dressing as women - it's a playful and enthusiastic art form that messes with our preconceived notions of gender and identity.

Katie - who is about to do drag herself for the first time - shares the history of drag, the most iconic performances and which seasons of RuPaul's drag race to avoid.

BTWs include best drag names, backronyms and why there is nothing more fake than reality TV.

In the moment of meta Alex proposes a new enthusiandment: It's OK to be enthusiastic about something that is flawed.

Get the full show notes and links or leave a comment at electricenthusiasm.com.

This amazing song took 7 years to write and was then roundly ignored. Only after a cover version and the untimely death of an artist did the song finally become popular.

Since then, Leonard Cohen’s masterpiece has been covered at least 300 times and was used in The West Wing, Scrubs, Watchmen, Shrek and much much more. Everybody treats it like a sad song, but it’s not – Cohen’s intention was much more joyful.

BTWs include death of the author, communication in relationships and ice cream chords.

Get the links and show notes or leave a comment at electricenthusiasm.com.

Cynthia Gaba was a celebrity in 1930s high society in New York. Hatsune Miku is a singer with a global fan base who has even gone to space. But here's the twist: Cynthia was a mannequin and Hatsune is 100% digital!

How did two women, who are clearly not "real" in the traditional sense, become so successful and what does that say about the nature of celebrity and even of reality? What is real?

BTWs include William Gibson's 1996 novel Idoru which predicted Hatsune Miku, men who fall in love with fictional women, Thor Ragnarok and ragging on Game of Thrones. As usual.

In the moment of meta we propose the next enthusiandment: You don't have to participate in something to be enthusiastic about it.

Get the full show notes and links or leave a comment at www.electricenthusiasm.com.

Mark Dowds was out of shape and nearing 40 when he discovered ultra-marathons and has now run several dozen of them. 

Mark tells us what it's like to run 50km (or more!) in steep terrain and challenging conditions, the extreme emotions you experience and how he maintains his enthusiasm for both training and competing.

BTWs include Guinness, gummy bears and the monarchy.

In the moment of meta Katie gives three tips for how you can enjoy being bad at stuff.

See the full show notes and links or leave a comment at electricenthusiasm.com.

Our guest in this episode is Agent Colbert, a very enthusiastic cosplayer who's known for her vintage aesthetic, rocking Agent Carter and the marvelous Mrs. Maisel cosplays but she has also done everything from Ty Lee from Avatar the last Airbender to Velma from Scooby Doo.

Learn what it takes to cosplay, what it's like to go to conventions with 1000s of other cosplayers and how to find out what character you should cosplay as!

BTWs include perfectionism, badass Asian women and The Lake Wobegon Effect. Also - The Muppets!!!

In The Moment Of Meta we talk about being enthusiastic about yourself even though you're not perfect.

Get full show notes and links or leave a comment at electricenthusiasm.com.

Alex gets his hometown pride on and celebrates the life of fellow Copenhagener Niels Bohr, who revolutionized physics twice over. He may be the smartest person in physics... and he was definitely the nicest!

Hear about Bohr's epic feud with Einstein (drama!) and get a (very short) intro to the weird and freaky world of quantum physics. It will blow your mind.

BTWs include: Nerd humor, the world's smartest cat and dead people. So many dead people.

This episode was co-written by FDC Willard.

In the moment of meta we talk about intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation and which one is better for enthusiasts.

Get full show notes and links or leave a comment at electricenthusiasm.com.

Now that Villeneuve's Dune movie is finally coming out in America, it's time for Alex to try to convince Katie to read a book that is notoriously long and complex... but ultimately so worth it.

Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time. It was written by American author Frank Herbert, and came out in 1965, over 50 years ago, but contains themes and ideas that make it relevant to this day.

This episode has NO SPOILERS for either the book or the movie.

BTWs include: What Tolkien thought of Dune - Connections between Game of Thrones and Dune - What went wrong with David Lynch's AWFUL 1984 Dune movie - Why it's a good thing that Ridley Scott's attempt to film Dune failed.

In the moment of meta we talk about the concept of FLOW and how it relates to enthusiasm.

Get full show notes and links or leave a comment at electricenthusiasm.com.

In this episode we talk food and that gets Katie REALLY excited as she shares her enthusiasm for Hong Kong's Cha Chaan Tengs - cheap informal diners that serve a bizarre but delicious Asian take on the western food that the British served in their restaurants.

Hear about the pineapple buns that contain zero pineapple, the deep fried peanut butter french toast and Katie's mom's favorite midnight snack: macaroni soup.

Katie even gets Alex to make some Hong Kong milk tea and try it on the show... hear how he likes it.

BTWs include: Why you never drink the first tea they bring you in a Cha Chaan Teng - The most disgusting food Anthony Bourdain ever tasted - Impulsive tattoos

In the Moment Of Meta we talk about the research that shows that enthusiasm is good for you and can lead to more happiness and a better sex life. Katie and Alex also take a test that reveals their top strengths and biggest weaknesses.

Get the links and full show notes or leave a question/comment at electricenthusiasm.com.

Jonathan Stout is incredibly enthusiastic about preserving the legacy of swing guitar and honoring the people who created and developed the genre.

Swing music is amazing but real swing music that actually sounds like it did in the 30s and 40s is depressingly rare these days. Modern jazz musicians tend to look down on swing jazz and even when they do try to play it, they don't do it right and it ends up sounding more like modern jazz.

Jonathan is a band leader and guitarist specializing in pre bebop jazz guitar. He leads eight different bands, but is best known for Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five and the Jonathan Stout Orchestra, both of which he co-leads with Hilary Alexander. His bands have been heralded as some of the world's premier swing dance bands.

Hear about how Jonathan went from heavy metal electric guitar to jazz music, his incredible collection of vintage guitars and what "white whale" guitar he dreams of getting his hands on and the time he got the thumbs-up from Norma Miller, one of the original swing dance performers

BTWs include racism in jazz and the producer who discovered Billy Holiday, Count Basie, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and MANY others.

In our Moment of Meta we talk about the fourth enthusiandment: Thou shalt not fake enthusiasm!

Get the links and full show notes or leave a question/comment at electricenthusiasm.com.

Avatar The Last Airbender is on paper a kids cartoon show... but it's also so much more than that.

Over three seasons it tells a story that is poignant, thrilling, funny and - above all - hopeful. Pretty good timing of Netflix to get it onto their service in 2020, just when we all needed a dose of positivity.

Hear all about this amazing show, including:

BTWs include:

And yes, we do end up ragging on Game of Thrones. Again.

In your moment of meta, we explain the 3rd. enthusiandment: Make sure to share your enthusiasms.

Get the links and full show notes or leave a question/comment at electricenthusiasm.com.