The (Blind)Man in Black

My guest Co-Host/Brother (Shane Snyder) and I have a joyful conversation with retail master and dear friend, Kleon LeFever. We discuss Kleon’s formative years growing up with loving parents, having a corporate lawyer father, moving often as a child, studying/performing theatre, not growing up, performing a play in Rikers Island Prison, working in a hospital, fainting while observing a childbirth, not wanting to take his shirt off to get into Studio 54, having a Buddhist wedding ceremony, moving to San Francisco, Gammy’s caramel pudding, doing the two-step with Shane at Rawhide in San Francisco’s Castro District, working at famous retail stores in New York City/San Francisco, going down memory lane with Shane, experiencing the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, collecting toy robots, and much more. Recording Date: Wednesday, May 11th, 2022.

My Co-Host/Wife (Rachel Snyder) and I have an exciting conversation with Indiana Fawcett, the Co-Founder of CHOBO (a new podcast production and studio rental company) and Randy Lee Owen, the Producer/Editor of our new podcast based on our TikTok channel entitled, “The Exhausting Snyders.” Come discover with us how we are creating a new show about living with loss, cancer, blindness, love, comedy, and sexy awkwardness. To learn about CHOBO or contact Indiana, please visit: www.chobo.co

I have a lovely conversation with Hair Stylist, Actor, Playwright, Japanese Language Translator, Fiction Writer, Poet, and dear friend, Teddy Matthews (also known as “E.H. Matthews”). We discuss Teddy’s memories of being raised by well-known stage/film actors, touring in theatrical productions as a child, Annette Bening visiting his home, stealing the book entitled “The Joy of Gay Sex,” his family warmly embracing his sexual identity, our time together at CalArts, teaching English in Japan, experiencing the devastatingly destructive 2011 Tohoku earthquake, translating Japanese entertainment into English, becoming a hair stylist, using a terrible ski accident as an opportunity to express himself creatively, writing a new ghost story, me overwhelmingly surprising Teddy with affection at a CalArts art opening, and much more. Recording Date: Saturday, March 26th, 2022. To learn about Teddy’s current writing projects, please visit: www.ehmatthews.com To learn more about me, please visit: www.blindmaninblack.com

I have a profoundly thought-provoking conversation with Director, Artistic Producer, and Professor of Theatre History/Directing, Michael Hackett. We discuss Michael’s formative years in a military family in Washington D.C., being mesmerized as a child by a televised production of the Nutcracker, wanting to be a dancer at a young age, being encouraged by his Marine Corps father to pursue a career in the arts, being inspired to become a theatre artist after seeing Peter Brook’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, falling in love with his wife (Claire) during his production of The Tempest, teaching at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), learning how to create a safe/supportive space for his actors, working with Robert Wilson on his version of King Lear, creating theatre in Poland shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, our time together at UCLA, working on a new project to make plays from around the world more accessible, and much more. Recording Date: Wednesday, March 16th, 2022. To learn more about Michael, please visit: https://www.tft.ucla.edu/blog/2011/09/08/faculty-michael-hackett/ To learn more about me, please visit: www.blindmaninblack.com

My Co-Host/Wife (Rachel Snyder) and I have an adorably fun conversation with Dancer, Visual Artist, Musician, Storyteller, Impressionist, Mopar Mechanic, Comedian, and our beloved son, WeeBee Zee. We discuss how Rachel learned simultaneously that she had breast cancer while being pregnant with WeeBee, processing the disappointment that he did not receive radiation giving him super powers, how he did not want to leave Rachel’s comforting womb, my guide dog snoring through the entire conversation, his dramatic entrance into this world, how WeeBee made it difficult for his brother (Marcelo) to put on his diaper as a baby, how he angrily barked at me when I first met him, WeeBee not remembering meeting me, things that bring him joy, a stuffy dragon soap opera, changing my name to “Barbara,” the mysteries of extraterrestrial Siren Head, the horrifying saga of Huggy Wuggy, discovering “Cows” also known as YouTube, spending quality time with Grandma Judith, the trials/tribulations of 1st grade, loving singing/dancing, being Santa Claus’ personal advisor, favorite things/people, and much more. Recording Date: Monday, February 21st, 2022.

My Co-Host/Wife (Rachel Snyder) and I have an intense, but also humorously lively conversation with Storyteller, Writer, and friend, Seana Miracle. We discuss Seana’s early childhood trauma, being raised by law practicing parents in New Mexico, her parents producing erotic versions of well-known plays at parties, being in a terrible car accident, the challenges of chronic pain/amnesia, revisiting why “Facebook means a lot to Rachel,” serving Bryan Cranston coffee, living the punk rock lifestyle, getting married/divorced, grieving the loss of her relationship with her son, putting out a literal dumpster fire, being a survivor of violence, meeting Rachel at Odd Salon in San Francisco, how we are impacted by suicide, not believing in conventional hope, the magic of how Rachel transforms her hardships into gifts for others, me not getting into Harvard Law School, and much more. Recording Date: Wednesday, February 16th, 2022. To learn about Rachel, please visit: www.rachelsjames.com To learn more about me, please visit: www.blindmaninblack.com

My Co-Host/Wife (Rachel Snyder) and I have a fascinatingly fun conversation with Author, Skateboarder, and my dear brother-in-law, Sean M. Sanford. We discuss Sean’s early years growing up on a haunted ranch within Northern California’s Gold Country, seeing paranormal activity as a child, Rachel wearing an aluminum phallus on her head, Sean aspiring to be like his punk rock goddess sister (Rachel), feeling like an outcast, being recognized as a gifted writer at a young age, playing in a band, getting his first skateboard, surviving a horrific car accident, recovering from two severe traumatic brain injuries, reviewing horror films, assisting with disaster recovery after hurricane Katrina, finding love at first joke, and much more. Recording Date: Saturday, February 12th, 2022. To learn about Sean’s work, please visit: www.seanmsanford.com To learn about Rachel, please visit: www.rachelsjames.com To learn more about me, please visit: www.blindmaninblack.com

I have a highly anticipated conversation with Educator, Activist, Fellow at the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution, and friend, Meleiza Figueroa. We discuss Meleiza’s formative years growing up in Los Angeles with artistic parents, exploring her Filipino roots, loving musical theatre as a child, feeling acknowledgement as a human being through performance, depression due to being exploited from working in an internet company, discovering the writings of Karl Marx, becoming a social justice activist, working in academia, living within the precarious era of climate change, being an ally for indigenous land stewardship, how to rediscover hope in this uncertain world, her work with the Chico Traditional Ecological Stewardship Program, and much more. Recording Date: Wednesday, February 9th, 2022. To learn more about Meleiza’s current work, please visit: www.tekchico.org To learn more about me, please visit: www.blindmaninblack.com

Artist, Graphic Designer, Green Party Member, Foodie, and dear friend Nicole Raglin hilariously interviews my Co-Host/Wife (Rachel Snyder and I about our exhausting journey together. We discuss the possibility that I may have had a stroke recently, Nicole cockblocking me, how Rachel and I met, ending the (B)MIB podcast, Rachel and I announcing starting a new podcast in late 2022, Rachel’s screenplay about her father’s band (Searching for Absalom), how Nicole and Rachel hate the word “Lovers,” Nicole finding me obnoxiously polite, how Rachel makes me feel alive in the midst of vision loss, blind serial killers, Rachel observing my weird OCD rituals, adapting to vision loss, discovering my desire to be a comedian, Rachel stating “It’s hard to be a (social justice) organizer when you hate people,” how becoming a stepfather has changed me, Rachel recovering from breast cancer while caring for her dying father, Nicole flipping me off with an accessible emoji, Rachel being passive aggressive towards deer, Nicole finding me creepy, Rachel reminding me that the universe does not want what I want, and much more. Recording Date: Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022. To learn about Rachel, please visit: www.rachelsjames.com To learn more about me, please visit: www.blindmaninblack.com

I have a thought provoking reunion with Director, Educator, and friend, Jonathan Gellert. We discuss Jonathan’s early years growing up within a Jewish family in New York/New Jersey, finding his love for theatre at the age of seven through musicals, transitioning from playing baseball to acting, being inspired at French Woods (a performing arts summer camp) with Brian Kite, discovering his desire to direct, our time together in UCLA’s MFA directing program, my love for Jonathan’s cockapoo (Barnaby), mentors that guided him on his theatrical journey, starting a theatre company, hearing Vaclav Havel’s commencement speech at Harvard University, watching the Twin Towers fall from his rooftop on 9/11, building a family, Theatre in Quarantine, becoming an educator, creating supportive spaces to nurture his student’s creativity, and much more. Recording Date: Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021. To learn more about me, please visit: www.blindmaninblack.com