Swoon has been one of my heros for almost 20 years now... I first found her work when I was living in and spending a lot of time in NYC and the surrounding areas from 2000-2002.

Known initially for her prolific wheat paste prints that were plastered all over the city and then quickly transitioning into a well known gallery artist who specialized in public installation works.

She collected a group of friends and collaborators, built these amazing rafts out of garbage and found objects and literally sailed all over the world, bringing art and performances and creative communion everywhere they went. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swoon_(artist)#Swimming_Cities_of_Serenissima,_2009

She went to Haiti after the earthquakes and helped villages learn a method of building structures that not only could they live in but would withstand further environmental destruction.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swoon_(artist)#Konbit_Shelter

She has constantly pushed the envelope with her unique blend of whimsical folk fairy tale imagery, expressive portraiture and hands on humanitarian applications.  Most recently she has begun to tell her own story as a survivor of trauma & her journey of healing it through psychedelic therapy and art.  I couldn't be more proud and excited to share this conversation with you.

TRIGGER WARNING : We go in depth about drug addiction, physical neglect/abuse of adults and of children, and things of this nature.  It is by no means a dark conversation, it is full of hope, light and inspiration but I felt like a warning was necessary. We also talk a lot about the power of the subconscious and its connection to art making.

I recommend watching her incredible talk at Horizons before or directly after this episode.  Just in case, I have attached the full audio of it to the end of the episode.  We reference it quite a few times as it was the impetus of this conversation occuring in the first place.  It is so powerful and it's a testament to why I am equally passionate about the healing power of art and the need to destigmatize psychedelics.

Follow and learn more about Swoon!

Swoon's Website

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Kenny and I go way way back to our days as little punks trying to figure out how to make this music thing our lives.  We both did just that! Over the years our paths have continued to criss and cross and I couldn't be happier that they do.  You may know Kenny from his various projects Vacationer, The Starting Line and or Person L. This chat was so lovely and even know we are totally buds, I am such a big fan of his music that I was a bit giddy to pick his brain here about his creative journey. Enjoyyyyyyyyy it! photo by : Matt Schwartz ( @shehitpause )   Quick note : This interview took place in September and we talk very briefly about his beloved dog Waldo who was going through a bit of a mysterious health problem at the time and sadly Waldo passed away about a few weeks later from cancer.  So RIP Waldo this one's for you. Happy Graduation, You are so loved and you did such a wonderful job here buddy. Hope you're running amuck skateboarding in the afterlife.     follow Kenny   Vactioner Website   Kenny on instagram   Kenny on twitter   Join The Cosmic Nod's brand new Patreon!   Donate To The Show   Would you please take a minute to give the show a rating and review on apple podcasts? Pretty Please? I love you.   Follow The Cosmic Nod on Instagram   Follow The Cosmic Nod on Twitter   Follow Colin on Instagram   Check out Colin's Art Store <3

 

Courtney Coles & Erica Lauren are both incredible artists and community organizers that I spoke with back in late September...    They are the founders of To The Front ,  A traveling art show that showcases women and non-binary creatives in the music industry. We had such a great chat about community, creativity, imposter syndrome, invisible fans, punk rock, DIY ethics and so much more. Follow them both!   Courtney on Instagram   Courtney on Twitter   Erica on Instagram   Erica on Twitter   To The Front on Twitter   To The Front on Instagram   To The Front Website  

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Sequence 2 continues with the amazing Kevin Tong!  Kevin is one of the most sought after and well known illustrators out there. He does everything from gig posters for bands, super detailed experimental infographics to boutique posters for films and TV series as well as cover art for novels and comics.   If you are a Circa fan, you may have come across Kevin's work while watching the show New Girl as the poster he did for the LA date of our 2010 tour makes an appearance in just about every episode of the show. Kevin even tells an amazing (and hilarious) story about that very poster.   He tells us all about his journey from traditional 9-5 design gig to becoming the self made king of poster illustration that he's become, his early use of psychedelics, how he mixes fine art technique with traditional illustration, the WTF moment of getting asked by Netflix & The Jim Henson Company to design a poster for the new Dark Crystal series and more.  follow Kevin !   Follow Kevin on instagram   Follow Kevin on twitter   Kevin's Website   One of My Fav Process Videos From Kevin is his poster for the film Watchmen which I reference in our talk   Here is his Process Video for the Circa Poster we discuss as well.   Here is the awesome Nasa site that Kevin recommends you check out too!

 

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First Episode from Sequence 2 is the wonderful artist Bronwyn Lorelei !  You'll come for her world of psychedelically exploding heads, droopy flowers, hybrid creatures and bodily functions but you'll stay for the powerful, honest and vulnerable ways that she connects with her ideas.      She is so incredibly fun to talk to.  We had a very raw convo about the realities of creative life and being a full time artist.  TW: we also talk about politics, depression/anxiety, intrusive thoughts, poverty, and religion... (I promise it's actually quite light hearted and fun but just wanted to give a heads up)   Follow her on instagram Check her website out here and her patreon here  !  Enjoy!

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My dear friend Michael Phillip joins me for a philosophical tango. He is the host of the endlessly inspiring Third Eye Drops podcast, a writer and public speaker.  He is also the godfather of The Cosmic Nod as he was the one that suggested the name to me after we danced with the spirits of ayahuasca and infinity together!

We talk about the monomyth archetype AKA The hero's journey, the conundrum of the mystery, the duality of western life, the importance of discomfort, reasons to be hopeful, saving our sytem versus destroying it and starting over, righteous anger, repressed rage and blackouts (my first real fist fight as a kid), Santa was a shaman, and the dark matter of consciousness. 

As if to summon the magnetic pull of fate, Michael placed a copy of his future book into the Imaginal Time Capsule.

Follow Michael! 

thirdeyedrops.com

on twitter @THIRDEYEDROPS

on instagram @third_eye_drops

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Drug Journalist Michelle Janikian and I have our vey first conversation! We discuss her new book "Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion : An Informative Easy To Use Guide To Understanding Magic Mushrooms." ( Available Everywhere Now )

Topics Touched include psychedelic journalism, wreckless younger selves, cannabis, looking in the mirror on mushrooms, drugs vs medicine, antidepressants, the aftermath of Michael Pollan's How To Change Your Mind, living the dream , taking drugs like an adult, Michelle's experience at a Psilocybin Mushroom retreat in Mexico, overcoming imposter syndrome and more! 

In the longest intro of the show's short history I tell the tale of my first Psilocybin experience which happened over 17 years ago!

Michelle Janikian is a journalist focused on drug policy, trends, and education. Coming from the legal cannabis industry where she’s helped to shift the plant’s image from “destroyer of youth” to legitimate medicine and acceptable pastime, her interests naturally led her to the healing powers of psychedelics. She writes a column for Playboy about psychedelics and cannabis, was a staff writer for the cannabis publication Herb, and has also contributed to High Times, Rolling Stone and Teen Vogue.

Michelle studied writing and psychology at Sarah Lawrence College before traveling extensively in Latin America and eventually settling down in southern Mexico.

Go to Michelle's website to read her work and learn more about her!

follow Michelle

@michelle.janikian (Instagram)                                            @m00shian (twitter)                                            michellejanikian.com

Sophia is an ultra kind new friend and a wealth of information on plants, medicine and amazonian shamanism. 

Topics touched : cultural whiplash, collaborations, her new book "When Plants Dream" , life in the amazon , sustainability &  ayahuasca tourism, critique vs cynicism, new rituals, romanticizing all things old, finding a connection to the land, walking barefoot, facing your own end level bosses and leveling up, why we should leave the shire, becoming the medicine vs becoming an evangelist, and how personal transformation = global transformation. Sophia places a mysterious seed into the Cosmic Time Capsule. 

Sophia Rokhlin is an author, speaker and nonprofit organizer from New York City. She holds a BA in anthropology and religious studies from The New School and a MSc in Ecological Economics from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB). She is a Program Coordinator at The Chaikuni Institute and currently directs the sustainable ayahuasca cultivation program at The Temple of the Way of Light, a traditional plant medicine retreat center in the Peruvian Amazon. She is the co-author of When Plants Dream: Ayahuasca, Amazonian Shamanism and the Global Psychedelic Renaissance (Watkins, 2019) on the global spread of ayahuasca. She has worked with several psychedelic harm-reduction programs including KosmiCare, and serves as an advisor on the Ayahuasca Community Committee for the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She is currently based in Peru.

Follow Sophia

www.sophiarokhlin.com

@sophiarokhlin (twitter)

@sophiarokhlin (instagram) 

Surprise double episode drop! 

My friend Shane Mauss and I have a zany conversation about "the biz" (aka show business). The impetus to release this episode along with Sophia Rokhlin's (EP 08) is because they are on tour together RIGHT NOW doing a cool show called "Head Talks". All the info on that will be clear once you listen to these episodes and or go to Shane's website . 

Topics touched : leaving gear in venues, living on the road, being single, Shane's prog comedy shows Stand Up Science & Head Talks, regular jobs vs the never ending uncertainty of art life, my first con job, Magic Mushroom retreats, Life feeling meaningless, what Late Night spots feel like for a comedian these days, thinking in tweets and grams, running out of pink himalayan sea salt, DIY ethics, why an assistant is probably better than a manager or agent, why Sophia Rocks-lin and Shane puts a case of psilocybin into the Cosmic Time Capsule!

       Originally from Wisconsin, Shane moved to Boston in 2014 to pursue his childhood dreams of being a comedian.  He is now an award-winning stand-up comedian who has done many TV sets including five appearances on Conan, multiple appearances on Comedy Central and a variety of other shows.  You may know him best from his recent appearances on podcasts like Pete Holmes ‘You Made It Weird’, Duncan Trussell’s Family Hour, The Joe Rogan Experience, and Marc Maron’s WTF.

        Midway through his career, this former factory worker who skipped college for comedy followed his natural curiosities and started the science podcast ‘Here We Are’ where each week he travels to interview a different scientist about their work and the meanings of life.  In 2019 he started touring with his live show ‘Stand Up Science’ which combines two comedians and two scientists on the same stage for a night that is equal parts aha and haha.  Due to the success of this tour, he has decided to add a psychedelic version of the show and ‘Head Talks’ was born.

       He is a psychedelic advocate and explorer whose 111-city comedy tour about psychedelics ‘A Good Trip’ was the inspiration for the documentary ‘Psychonautics: A Comic’s Exploration of Psychedelics’.  Available now on Amazon Prime & iTunes, the documentary combines perspectives of some of the top researchers with Shane’s personal journey in a fun, enlightening, and somewhat turbulent adventure. He has even been a guest facilitator at several legal psilocybin retreats run by MycoMeditations in Jamaica.

 follow Shane

www.shanemauss.com

@shanecomedy ( twitter)

@shanemausscomedy ( instagram ) 

 

Matt Saincome and I talk about the history of The Hard Times, a satirical news site for punk, metal and hardcore scenes. We get into the nitty gritty about the new Hard Times Book (out now) , the struggles of modern journalism, his new payment service for writers and how punk rock & comedy overlap. 12341234 - > GO

Matt Saincome is the co-founder and CEO of Hard Times and OutVoice. He’s the former music editor of SF Weekly And has written for Rolling Stone, Vice, and SF Weekly. He played in the straight edge hardcore band Zero Progress. 

@mattsaincome (twitter & instagram)

@REALpunknews (twitter) 

@hardtimesnews (instagram) 

thehardtimes.net

outvoice.com