The Lost Podcaster: Austin Roberts: An American Tattoo Tradition

Tattooing has changed. The question is whether it has changed for the better.

In this episode of The Lost Podcaster, I sit down with tattoo artist Austin Roberts for a conversation about traditional American tattooing, apprenticeship, shop culture, and the growing gentrification of a craft that once lived largely among sailors, bikers, working people, outsiders, and neighborhood tattoo shops.

Austin has experienced different sides of the tattoo world, from working in traditional street shops and serving a formal apprenticeship to operating his own private, appointment-only studio. That gives us plenty to argue about, laugh about, and dig into.

We talk about what an apprenticeship is actually supposed to teach, how knowledge and traditions were once passed from one tattooer to another, the difference between traditional tattoo shops and today's salon-style boutique studios, social media, changing attitudes toward craftsmanship, and what may be disappearing as tattooing becomes increasingly polished, expensive, professionalized, and removed from its working-class and countercultural roots.

This conversation was recorded as part of my research for Tattooing: An American Folk Art. A transcript of the interview will appear in the book, while the complete conversation is presented here as it actually happened, including the tangents, disagreements, stories, and bullshit that don't always survive the printed page.

Real people. Real stories. The Lost Podcaster.

The Lost Podcaster with Samantha | Episode 016

Video on YouTube, search: The Lost Pocaster

For the first time ever, The Lost Podcaster steps in front of the camera.

What started as a late-night audio podcast has finally made the jump to video. This episode is our first step into a new chapter, and we're bringing you along for the ride.

Join Erick and Samantha for another unscripted conversation about movies, books, life, strange ideas, old stories, random observations, and whatever else happens to find a seat at the table. No script. No filters. Just real conversation.

This isn't a polished studio production. It's a room full of books, a couple of microphones, and two people following interesting ideas wherever they lead.

This is our first video podcast, a test run of sorts, and we're already looking forward to making many more.

So pull up a chair, get comfortable, and spend some time with us in the strange little corner of the world we call The Lost Podcaster.

Good Conversation. Solid Advice. No Guarantees.

If you enjoy the show, please Like, Subscribe, and Share.

#TheLostPodcaster #SamanthaSessions #LongIslandPodcast #VideoPodcast #Conversation #Books #Movies #WeirdAmericana #TattooArtist #Storytelling #PodcastLife

One year ago, Nick sat down at the mic and told the story of addiction, survival, and finding peace in the kitchen after years lost to crack addiction. Now he’s back.

In this follow-up episode of The Lost Podcaster, we talk about what happens after the first year clean. The highs, the setbacks, the temptations, the growth, and the strange reality of rebuilding a life after spending so long trying to destroy it. We revisit the role cooking played in his recovery, his plans for culinary school, and how the kitchen became more than therapy—it became purpose.

This isn’t a polished success story. It’s an honest conversation about recovery in real time. About carrying scars while still moving forward. About keeping the fire lit when life finally starts giving you something worth staying clean for.

One year later, the kitchen’s still burning.

Everybody Knows Her as Mom

On Mother’s Day, Erick and Samantha sat down with Samantha’s mother for a conversation about the woman behind the title of “Mom.”

Before the responsibilities, before the family, before everybody needed her, there was a young girl growing up through the late ’60s and early ’70s, trying to understand who she was in a world changing fast.

We talk about childhood, fear, music, hope, race, growing up Black during that era, the things people misunderstand today, and the memories that never really leave.

This isn’t a history lesson.

It’s a conversation about memory, survival, identity, and the life experiences that shape a person long before anyone else truly knows them.

Erick and Samantha sit down with Seven Istheman—Artist, Poet, and Madman. No script. No filter.From his book Exile in Rosedale to the forgotten corners of recording and music history, Seven moves between worlds like it’s nothing. We get into the past, the process, and the shift—where music is going, and what it means to create in a time where AI is part of the conversation. Not as a shortcut… but as a creative tool. There’s a blurry line between madman and genius— and Seven makes that place his home. This one goes deep, gets weird, and lands somewhere real.

Some wounds fade with time. Others stay with us.

In this episode of The Lost Podcaster, we sit down with a woman whose life has been shaped by trauma, survival, addiction, recovery, and the complicated journey of learning how to live with both pain and joy. After enduring abuse in childhood, years of addiction, chronic illness, and the challenges of PTSD and CPTSD, she has spent decades navigating what it means to keep going when the past never fully disappears.

Today, she’s open, warm, and surprisingly joyful — proof that a person can carry heavy memories without letting them define the rest of their life.

This conversation isn’t about neat endings or easy answers. It’s about survival, honesty, and the strange reality that sometimes the body remembers what the mind tries to forget.

A raw, thoughtful discussion about trauma, resilience, chronic pain, recovery, and what it really means to keep living.

Hard Lessons Between the Ropes: The Making of Jasper Newton

In this episode of The Lost Podcaster, Erick and Samantha sit down with up-and-coming professional wrestler Jasper Newton for an honest conversation about what it actually takes to step into the ring — and keep going when it hurts.

We talk about the grind behind the scenes, the lessons you only learn through pain and repetition, and the difference between chasing a dream and being forged by it. Jasper opens up about discipline, doubt, earning respect, and the mental toll of a life built around proving yourself.

It’s not about belts or bravado.
It’s about who you become when you choose the hard road.

It's about the grind, the setbacks, and the hard lessons learned between the ropes. No gimmicks — just the work, the mindset, and the making of a fighter.

If you’ve ever chased something that demanded more than you thought you had — this one’s for you.

The Lost Podcaster – The Samantha Sessions | Episode 5

In Episode 5 of The Samantha Sessions, things go exactly where they always do… everywhere.

We start out in familiar territory with Samantha’s usual marijuana smoky smoke, easing into the vibe before jumping into the latest episode of Primal and why it hits so damn hard. From there, the conversation takes a hard turn—as it should—into illegal immigration, ICE, and the uncomfortable realities most people either scream about or refuse to talk about honestly.

Somewhere along the way we end up ranting about assholes in pickup trucks, the decline of basic decency, and why old movies still manage to say more than most modern ones. As always, the tangents pile up, the topics collide, and the filters stay off.

And of course, Samantha does what she does best—ranting, cutting through the bullshit, and saying exactly what she thinks, whether it makes people comfortable or not.

No script. No safe opinions.
Just two people talking shit, asking questions, and letting the conversation go where it wants.

Welcome back to The Lost Podcaster.

The Lost Podcaster: The Samantha Sessions #4

We start the way we usually do — with Samantha’s Cannabis Smoky Smoke ritual — and then let the conversation wander wherever it damn well pleases.

This one doesn’t stay on track… and that’s the point.
Stories turn into tangents. Tangents turn into rants.
And Samantha does what Samantha does best: says the quiet part out loud.

From Christmas movies and the strange joy of leftover holiday food, to Bob Bitchin’s Biker, Ozzy Osbourne, and stories that live somewhere between memory and myth — this episode is pure Samantha Sessions energy.

Expect laughter, side quests, unexpected wisdom, and at least one of Samantha’s now-famous (or infamous) rants that somehow ends up making way too much sense.

Laid back. Unfiltered. No bullshit.
Just conversation the way it actually happens.

On this episode of The Samantha Sessions, Erick and Samantha light up a conversation that goes everywhere. As usual, we kick things off talking about Samantha’s evening “smoky-smoke" — then dive straight into the new Frankenstein movie and why modern horror either hits hard or falls apart. From there we get into the strange anomalies of the 3I Atlas, and of course… we drift off into the kind of unexpected tangents only we can pull off. It’s part stoner chat, part movie breakdown, part conspiracy-flavored curiosity, and all the authentic back-and-forth that makes The Samantha Sessions what it is. If you like conversations that wander in the best possible way, you’re all in on this one.