Head On Fire

The Writer's Guild of America is currently on strike in a union negotiation that has implications far beyond the city limits of Hollywood. Screenwriter Joshua Conkel (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Dead Boy Detectives) returns to discuss how streaming services are attempting to turn screenwriting into a gig economy job, why in the new "golden age of television" isn't so golden, and how AI became a central talking point.

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Charles Lu is a Canadian fashion designer whose work has been seen in London, Dubai, and on the hit Netflix show Next In Fashion with Tan France. The child of Vietnamese refugees, he knew his entire life he was going to be a fashion designer. He will make you rethink your relationship to hoodies, and he is my guest today. 

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

96% of Americans claim to love cheese, according to one survey. The same survey said our love of cheese outranks our love of coffee, social media, national pride, and even our beloved cell phones. Americans’ favorite dish? Mac & cheese. Almost every type of cuisine on the planet features at least one type of cheese. But what do we really know about this most beloved of foods?

Emilia D’Albero calls herself the CEO of Cheesetok, and for good reason. Her educational videos showcasing the history, preparation, storage, and myth busting of cheese have been seen by millions of people. I sat down with the cheesemonger herself for a deep dive discussion to ask all the questions even I never knew I wanted answers to about this most supreme of foods. 

For a brief time only, get signed copies of my book ‘while I wait to be a god again’ here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/784773093/while-i-wait-to-be-a-god-again-signed

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Clarkesworld magazine is a publisher of short form science fiction with the distinction of providing its prospective authors a quick turnaround on submissions. This uniqueness is compounded by the fact that, unlike most other similar publications, the magazine is always open to submissions. All of that changed earlier this year when the Neil Clarke, the founder of Clarkesworld, made international headlines for closing submissions down for the first time in the magazine's decades-long history. Why?

Because of ChatGPT. 

I sat down with Neil to have a deep dive discussion about how legacy media is evolving with technology and accessibility, how the sudden onslaught of chatbot generated content has transformed the submission process, and where science fiction goes from here. 

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Chances are if you have a racist aunt with access to social media, you've come across the term DEI a lot lately. It's the new conservative boogeyman. It's the reason why SVB closed. The reason why drag queens read books to kids. And it's what happens when big companies get dragged on social media for being run almost exclusively by cisgender, heterosexual white men making 7-figures a year.

But what is DEI - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - education? Why has it become so synonymous with corporate training? What are its uses, if any, in the world at large?

Tanorria Askew has spent decades as a passionate advocate for DEI, creating or consulting on a number of programs for an even larger number of companies. She's seen what happens when DEI training is done well, done poorly, and what promise it holds for future workers. She's also an accomplished chef - you may have seen her face alongside Gordon Ramsay on MasterChef. She's combined her background in DEI and her time in the kitchen to create Unity Tables - "a safe space for women of different races, cultures, and backgrounds to sit around a dinner table and share their heart as a way to create unity". Look for her cookbook Staples + 5: 100 Simple Recipes to Make the Most of Your Pantry everywhere books are sold.

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

The internet allows all sorts of people to come together to share their love of musicians, actors, tv shows and movies, and...anything. Everything. There are communities who share a love even specific characters from a book series, and I've even recently come across a diehard community of people who share a specific love of Uncrustables - a frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwich snack. 

But what happens when fandoms go too far? What happens when a group of people with a lot of big feelings, access to all sorts of personal information, and the anonymity of a screen name decide to turn on you? That's when fandom gets extreme. 

I spoke to illustrator and researcher Sam Aburime about the rise of Extreme Fandoms. Sam kindly provided resources for you to use as a springboard if this topic interests you:

Further Published Reading on Anti-Fans:

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

Voice acting brings life to everything from corporate training videos to tearjerker holiday commercials to your favorite characters in animated movies or video games. But the daily grind isn't as easy as sitting down and reading a few lines. Tawny Platis is a lifelong actress who has found recent success behind the microphone, and she guides us through what it takes to make it in the cutthroat world of microphone jockeys. 

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

I think you should confront the things you fear. Not me, of course, but you definitely should. I hear it's great therapy. Me? I talk to experts about the things that I fear, and I cannot think of a creature that inspires for fear, misunderstanding, and general "icky" feelings than bats. But, maybe that's because I don't know enough about them.

Alyson Brokaw is a behavioral ecologist and bat scientist who earned her PhD from Texas A&M University. She's a passionate advocate for not only education, but navigating the world around us. (Literally, her dissertation was on how bats use their sense of smell to navigate.) She uses her social media platform to teach the public about the fascinating truth behind one of the world's most maligned creatures. 

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

What's the difference between myths, legends, and folklore? Or...is there a difference? 

The winter holiday season is chock full of magic and monsters and bits of folklore abounding in everything from the colors of the season to the foods that we eat. Folklore itself - as a topic of study and discussion - has had a bit of a moment this year. Plenty of voices have made a bit of a name for themselves bringing folklore to the masses via social media, but there's a lot of nuance when you scratch the surface of the topic. 

So, I talked to my very favorite folklorist, Dr. Cory Hutcheson, about the study of folklore, its misconceptions, and what it teaches us about cultures past and present. We also talked about comic book mythology and what has to happen for the stories of today to become the folklore of tomorrow.

Find out more about Cory on his podcast, New World Witchery, or by picking up his book of the same name.

Brief housekeeping note: I'll be taking January off from producing new shows. Look for new episodes of Head On Fire in February 2023! Happy New Year everyone!

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

We know Christmas today as a time of Santa in a red suit flying around delivering presents. We know it as a festive holiday filled with plenty of food and gift-giving and light. However, throughout history, this time of year was a pretty dark time filled with mischievous spirits and ghost stories.

On this throwback episode that originally aired in 2019 I speak with art historian Susan Owens, author of The Ghost: a cultural history, about how ghosts were seen throughout the centuries and how they became the specters we know today. 

Social links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod

Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod