How To Tickle Yourself

Today’s guest, Margo Steines, is the author of the recently-released and captivatingly titled memoir Brutalities: A Love Story. A professor, creative coach, and editor on the faculty of the University of Arizona Writing Program, Margo teaches small-group creative nonfiction writing classes and seminars. As she describes them, they are the classes she wishes she had found when she was a fledgling writer: warm, generative, and trauma-informed, with value placed on process before product. So she’s helping people find their voice. We are very much in favor of that on this show.Trauma, as it turns out, is a central theme in Brutalities, her memoir of a couple of decades spent in parts of the world and of life that most of us have only heard about: a former professional dominatrix, Steines takes her readers on a journey through S&M parlors, mental institutions, hospital detox wards, antidepressants, and a couple of suicide attempts thrown in for good measure. It might seem a little counterintuitive to be discussing the memoir of a former dominatrix on this show, especially one that explores, in graphic detail, what it’s like to both give and receive (with consent) the most extreme kinds of physical pain imaginable. But Margo Steines finally found the tickle on the other side of all that suffering. She’s here to tell us all about it.

Duff McDonald and Joey Moss discuss the special things in life that bring them one step closer to the tickle of existence.

Today, we bring you back to one of the most important topics in the history of mankind: Bob Dylan. Specifically, the massive and astounding and beautiful new book that is being released this month: Bob Dylan: Mixing up the Medicine. This gem of a publication comes to us courtesy of Callaway Arts & Entertainment and the Bob Dylan Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a beast, more than 600 pages with over 1,100 photographs by 90 photographers and filmmakers, as well as 30 original essays by writers and artists focusing on unseen treasures from the Bob Dylan Archive. And I can say, uncategorically, that this is the most ambitious, comprehensive, and beautifully constructed book ever published about the man. And today’s guests, these two fine gentlemen, are who we have to thank for it: Mark Davidson, and Parker Fishel.

Andrew Faust is the founder and director of Center for BioRegional Living and a permaculture designer, teacher, and activist.  Andrew is known for his dynamic teaching style and his ability to inspire people to take action and make positive changes in their communities. He’s also an advocate for social and environmental justice. He believes that permaculture can play a crucial role in addressing issues such as climate change, food insecurity, and social inequality by promoting sustainable and regenerative practices.  It all might sound very serious but believe me, it’s very ticklish stuff as you’ll hear.  

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Mandara Cromwell is the author of the book Soundflower: The Journey to Marry Science and Spirit. A veteran entrepreneur, Mandara has been on a lifelong mission to prove via science what she has always known to be true in her heart. And that is that sound, the essence of the universe, has the power to heal. To that end, she has spent several decades refining what she calls cymatherapy – healing using sound frequency with an understanding of the energetic meridians of the human body. She believes that love is a vibration and can heal all maladies. We do not disagree.

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Today’s episode is going to be a family affair. Back by popular acclaim, one of our first guests way back in Season 2 of this podcast, is Betty McKeon, who holds the triple crown of top mother (to Joey), top mother-in-law (to me), and astrologer non-pareil. Many of our listeners have had a reading from Betty. Those who haven’t should book with haste. She’s at BettyMcKeon.Net.
So what are we going to talk about today? We’re going to start with a high-level discussion about some astrological changes that affect all of us. Then we’re going to do a reading. But not a reading for me. Nor a reading for Joey. We are going to get a reading for one of the patron saints of How to Tickle Yourself – Bob Dylan. Betty’s got his chart, and she’s going to tell us what makes him tick and what he’s got in store.

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Shawn Wickens is a New York City-based futurist, casual stoner, and comedian. He co-produces Stoned Laughs, a monthly 420-friendly comedy show in Midtown Manhattan. 

His most audacious work yet, “Time Machine Blueprints, 1st Edition,” is available on Amazon. It is a work of pure genius.

All of his good friends, the ones who have his private phone number, can tell you that he doesn’t like being harassed.

But we’re not here to harass him. We are here to have him tell us how to bend the space-time continuum. And some other stuff.

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It’s not every day that you get to interview the guitarist for one of your favorite bands of all time. But the goal of this podcast is to tickle ourselves, so a few months ago, we decided to see if we could make it happen. We succeeded. Paul Langlois is a founding member of Canada’s seminal rock band, The Tragically Hip. He’s also the leader of the newly-constituted Paul Langlois Band, who just released their debut album (and his third solo album), Guess What, this past summer. Humble, thoughtful, genuine, and downright funny, Langlois shares stories about how he got his start in music, his decades playing with The Hip, as well as the challenges of moving from the side to the front of the stage. He also reveals a thing or two about songwriting in the clutch. It’s all very ticklish stuff. Listen up!

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Today we speak to Dan Tomasulo, the academic director of The Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Columbia University’s Teachers College. But that’s only one of his many talents. Dan is the author of the bestselling books Learned Hopefulness: The Power of Positivity to Overcome Depression and The Positivity Effect, among others. He’s got a PhD in psychology, an MFA in writing, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. When he’s not running schools or writing books, he edits scholarly journals about psychology. He’s also pretty damn funny, but you can judge the quality of his jokes yourself.

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Rich Cohen, Duffs favorite writer, is back with a new book called When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season. He’s talking about 1987. He tells the story of that season through the prism of four of the greatest players in NBA history: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and Michael Jordan. And he does it with his usual craft, insight, and wonderful writing.

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