Islands of Coherence

This weeks guest is Matt Furie! Artist and author of the Boys Club comic, Night Riders, and the newly released Mind Viscosity. Matt blew onto the scene when one of his beloved characters, Pepe the Frog, turned into the biggest viral memes of the 2010s and was eventually appropriated by alt-right and white supremacist groups. The recent documentary 'Feels Good Man' covers this sordid tale from Matt's perspective as he enters the dark underbelly of the internet to save his intellectual property. This episode covers a little bit of that harrowing tale but goes beyond Pepe into the wild and strange world of Matt's other work. We talk about his approach to facing darkness, his inspirations, goals for the future in a post-pepe world, and David Bowie's codpiece from Jim Henson's 'Labyrinth'. 

Joining us this week is Kate Lewandowski and Christopher Ray of Be Well Marquette. Between the two of them they have a total of 30+ years in bodywork, with Kate focusing on breath and Christopher utilizing a range of massage techniques, they help clients step into more spacious versions of themselves. In this episode we dive deep into the influence of breath on our waking consciousness and how to work with it to create lasting change. 

Joining us this week is the silversmith, Benjamin Ripley! In this conversation we cover the intimate and high risk process of crafting beautiful and expensive jewelry. From this foundation we explore ultimately what it takes to maximize your artistic output while first and foremost taking care of yourself. From navigating the dreaded 'pit' of feeling uncreative, to balancing the other elements of your life, to working with clients on a project that is then going to be used as a spiritual talisman to navigate rites of passage. It's a really meaty conversation that is relevant to anyone pursuing an artistic endeavor. 

Joining us this week is the project manager and content curator from the Love, Serve, Remember Foundation, Mangala and Ganesh Das. These wonderful humans are helping us explore the path of Bhakti Yoga! Alongside their work at the LSRF, they also write and maintain The Sloppy Bhakti blog that explores the intersection of music festivals and the path of love and devotion. In this episode we talk about Bhakti Yoga, Kirtan, Ram Dass, and their own spiritual journeys from righteous atheists to falling in literal love with a path of devotion. The Hindu god of Bhakti and strength, Hanuman also makes an appearance near the end! 

This weeks episode is with the one and only Anthony Thogmartin of Papadosio and Earthcry! Both a talented musician as well an incredibly effective teacher, Anthony has spent his life exploring unique sonic soundscapes through playing guitar, singing, and producing electronic music through Ableton. His band Papadosio has spent the last 15 years touring all across America playing over 150 shows a year in every major city and a majority of the larger music festivals that you've likely heard of. When he's not touring or creating music, he's likely producing online content for his Seed to Stage music academy and mixing/mastering tracks for clients. In this episode we talk about the experience of spending 15 years on the road, managing the ego while amassing a large fanbase, finding a proper orientation in an increasingly shifting world, the role of the musician on stage, and tuning into the version of yourself that you admire. 

Joining us this week on 21CV is the intellectually stimulating Phoenix Wright! 

Joining us this week is my meditation teacher David Nichtern. David is a senior meditation teacher of forty years! Having studied under the legendary Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, David has gone on to author two wonderful books, mentor thousands of students, and still have time to win an Emmy and be nominated for a Grammy. He's been a guest on some of the top podcasts in the spiritual scene such as Duncan Trussel's Family Hour, and Pete Holmes 'You Made it Weird' as well as being featured in Netflix's The Midnight Gospel. In this episode we dive into some core Buddhist principles as well as investigate the importance of tradition and lineage while still embracing your unique individual expression. 

Sean Dunne and Cass Greener join us this week on 21CV to talk about psychedelics! Independent filmmakers and fellow podcasters, Sean and Cass are stewards of the chill and incredibly insightful on the path of self exploration with plant medicines. We cover proper intention setting, integration post trip, the importance of dying before you die, what big lessons we've learned from our experiences, and ultimately the value of plant medicine in our radically shifting world. 

Joining us this week on 21CV is Alone Ft. Company, a spoken word poet and activist from the Grand Rapids scene here in Michigan. Alone's mission is to speak openly and freely about the varying injustices of the world, from dismantling white supremacy, to trans rights, LGBTQ rights, and ending police brutality. In this whopping two hour episode we talk about the psychological nature of whiteness, cultural appropriation, assimilation, access to public spaces, and traveling as a person of color. 

Multi-instrumentalist Ashton Robertson joins us on 21CV to talk about his spiritual bass focused electronic music project, Spaceship Earth! We also spend a good deal of time talking about the importance of celebration, accountability in the music scene, and maintaining a political awareness. A big takeaway from this conversation was how crucial it is for artists to wear many hats and to stay engaged with empowering their fans through every means possible.