A talk with film writer Kat Sachs. We discuss how her love of cinema was born at drive-ins in Ohio, auteur theory, our odd cultural moment, and more. Learn more about Sachs at Cinefile and the Chicago Reader. Read her great essay on Jane Campion too.

Theme music by Bill MacKay, as ever.

A talk with musician Emmett Kelly about Chicago, LA, art, the state of the recording industry, and much more.

Check out Kelly’s cassette label and his old band, the Cairo Gang. Kelly also plays with Will Oldham, Ty Segall, and many others.

Theme music by Bill MacKay.

I talk to podcaster, pharma trade guru, and novice artist Gil Roth about podcasting, his day job, getting into visual art at 50 and more. Listen to Gil’s great Virtual Memories show and see a bunch of his drawings and paintings.

Theme music by Bill MacKay.

I talk to writer, farmer, and cassette-label mogul Adam Gnade about writing, living, off the land, releasing cassettes, and more. Learn about him at his site  and all the usual social media places.

Theme music by Bill MacKay.

I read some poems in Russian. Selected a few dozen that my father sent me during the plague.

1. 00:00— “New Year’s Eve” by Boris Ryzhy
2. 01:00— two poems by Boris Ryzhy
3. 02:51 —”A Winter Night” by Boris Pasternak
4. 04:00—untitled poem by Sergey Gandlevsky
5. 07:30—several by Lidia Zaozerskaya
6. 12:00—”Neznakomka” by Alexander Blok
7. 15:00—”Mirror” by Arseniy Tarkovsky
8. 17:57—”From a Poet” by Arseniy Tarkovsky

Take a look at the limited edition folder of typed-out Russian poems with notes in English, illustrations, and collaged covers.

Recorded readings (circa 2020) of rough drafts of chapters from my 2021 book, Old Style.

• 00:52 —”Flyover” (music by the Dick Slessig Combo)
• 08:30—”Don Lived Upstairs from the Blue Light (music by Mute Duo)
• 11:34—”Dead Rae” (music by Arvo Part)
• 19:57—”Can’t Recall” (music by Ran Blake)
• 31:45—”Ask for Rose” (music by Thelonius Monk)
• 41:07—”Innocent When You Dream”

Four excerpts from Don DeLillo’s Underworld, which I reread during plague lockdown in 2020.

00:00—”Waste” (music by Charles Mingus)

06:00—”An American Sort of Thing” (music by Miles Davis)

10:50—”Quotidian” (music by Ornette Coleman)

17:25—”Denizens” (music by Endless Boogie)

I talk to one of my oldest friends, Chicago painter Frank Spidale. We talk art, music, jobs, living in Chicago, and more. See Spidale’s work at his site and follow him on Instagram.