If I Knew You Better

In the last week I’ve been a guest on THREE shows I love, so instead of releasing new interviews of my own, I wanted to take a break and acknowledge / share the shows that folks were nice enough to invite me on. Special THANKS to all involved with making the Grey Space Podcast, The Cinematography Podcast, and the CinemATL Podcast. Links below to check them all out!    Grey Space Podcast: https://youtu.be/VSKCGHftiX8 CinemATL Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/ycyuhxan The Cinematography Podcast: http://camnoir.com/podcast/ep71/  

Today’s show has been a long time coming. Actor turned TV producer CHRIS SANDERS (“My Ghost Story”) joins me for a long talk about his adventurous life. He was raised in Austin and moved to LA after stints in Japan and London, but his journey was just beginning. We’ve been close friends and business colleagues for 15 years, which made it easy to do deep dives on the city of his youth, his serendipitous and symbolically charged entry into Freemasonry in LA, and how his “social media anxiety” is playing out against the backdrop of the pandemic response.    CHRIS SANDERS online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xofersanders IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3221646/ Insta: misterxofer

This week, JONATHAN GARRISON and I discuss: running an international business during a global crisis; invaluable insights from his time at Goldman Sachs, Dalian Wanda Group, and elsewhere; the pros and cons of operational diversity; finance, securities, debt; structural and cultural issues in the US and China; plus what’s really happening now, what might be coming next, and more. Jon offers executive-level insights on global business presented clearly and plainly, wrapped in a fun chat between friends. Recommend!   EnRoute Global: http://www.enroute-global.com/   Jonathan Garrison on previous podcasts:  Original interview - http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/046-from-punk-rock-to-international-business-jonathan-garrison   Punk Rock - http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/068-big-fish-side-dish-punk-rock-jonathan-garrison   At the US Embassy in Beijing - http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/103-the-state-of-migration-in-2018-event-the-bac-december-2018-mike-shaw-chrislyn-choo-cara-gleeson-jonathan-garrison-brendan-davis

Solar City. Tesla. Climate change, sustainability, and environmental consciousness in action. Independant filmmaking. Corporate media. BILLY SAMOA SALEEBEY has worn many hats, and he’s integrated lessons learned from his diverse experiences into his production company as well as his podcast, “Insight-Out”. Billy and I first met in 2007 at the Dances With Films Festival with our respective first feature films, and it was really great to catch up with him in such detail after all those years of change for both of us. Links below!    BILLY SAMOA SALEEBEY links: insightoutshow.com billysamoa.com   BRENDAN DAVIS connect:  Twitter: @VeritasInLux  Email: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-us

Film and TV writer-director BEN ROCK (http://benrockonline.com) is an old friend, and we discuss all of this and more: Parenting and working while quarantining at home in Los Angeles. Building a career both before and after a lottery win (The Blair Witch Project). One of the best talks I’ve had lately about many things, including US politics, science, Faust, religion, China, the potential long-term implications of COVID-19 in all directions, and how we move forward to whatever the new normal ends up being - y’know, a good lighthearted chat. DMs are open on Twitter @VeritasInLux or write me at https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-us

In this week's episode - cross-posted on both "If I Knew You Better" and "Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom"! - I discuss the BFMK reboot, a new layer for KNEW, the great new episode of “How China Works” done by my partner Yingying Li, and much more. KNEW is adding a feature that I think of as “Marc Maron hosts The Daily”, while the revived BFMK will take my solo China-centric chats in a new direction. Please check them all out via the links below, SUBSCRIBE and SHARE if you enjoy, and stay safe and sane while we head into the next exciting chapter of global humanity.    Show libraries: “If I Knew You Better”: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com  “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com “How China Works”: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com

This week’s guest has had a profound influence on modern comedy. STEVE KAPLAN is creator of the HBO Workspace, the HBO New Writers Program, and was co-founder and Artistic Director of Manhattan Punch Line Theatre. He’s the author of The Hidden Tools of Comedy and The Comic Hero’s Journey, and the creator and host of the 2-Day Comedy Intensive - happening THIS WEEKEND in Burbank, and later in the year in NYC, London, and elsewhere. Great, funny talk with a master!   Steve Kaplan online: https://www.kaplancomedy.com “The Hidden Tools of Comedy”: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1615931406/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_DqXyEbPTBMF02 “The Comic Hero’s Journey”: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07KCSPNTZ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_-sXyEbAPQBT0K 

This week I’m cross-posting an episode of my OTHER podcast, “How China Works”, that I thought was worth sharing even wider. David Thomas has a very special history with China. His father Michael was the Attorney General for Hong Kong in the early-mid 80s charged by the UK government with creating what ultimately became known as the Basic Law, and he had a front row seat as it all unfolded. David has been deeply involved with China ever since, and today - in an interview recorded before Covid-19 became a household word - he shares some of his insights from four decades of engagement with the Middle Kingdom. Also: we fill you in on the impact of the current situation on us, and the show. 

Fred Taylor’s entertainment career approach exemplifies the concept of long-term thinking. In this show, we dig into the complicated legacy of Kobe Bryant, the empire of Tyler Perry and “Hollywood” as both a concept and a place, race and class in and the future of the US (and China), and on winning by playing your own game. We really let it fly, holding nothing back - and I’m sharing it all in its uncut glory. Hope you enjoy!   Tomorrow Pictures: https://www.tomorrowpictures.com Fred Taylor’s previous episode: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/002-frederick-taylor contact me: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/contact-us