The Play Typer Guy

Joining me today is my friend Lisa Tolin, author of fiction and nonfiction for children. Her latest work is the picture book, Can You Imagine? The Art and Life of Yoko Ono.

Lisa and I go way back. We met in New York when I worked at SPY and she worked at another magazine in the same office. She was a student at Barnard College at the time, and I lived not far away in Morningside Heights so we often hung out at Tom’s Diner and the Hungarian Pastry Shop. I’ve been quite impressed with her success over the years. She’s worked at the Associated Press and was Head of Special Projects for TODAY Digital. She’s now Editorial Director at PEN America.

In 2005, Lisa interviewed Yoko Ono at her home in the Dakota apartment building (famous for its appearance in Rosemary’s Baby but unfortunately also for John Lennon’s tragic shooting death outside in 1980).

It was a delight to catch up with Lisa and discuss her book, which you can purchase at the usual online locations but I highly recommend visiting your local bookstore for this one. Portland, Oregon, artist Yas Imamura is a perfect match for Lisa’s moving prose.

You will hear:

• The inspiration for Lisa’s books
• Why Yoko Ono?
• Yoko’s influence and contributions that were completely separate from The Beatles and John Lennon
• How women, particularly foreign or POC, are often blamed for “taking the man away” from whatever - and how damaging that narrative is
• The process of picture book creation and how it differs from other forms, like comic books, where you don’t necessarily know or interact with the illustrator on the project
• Banned books and influential authors like Judy Blume and the difference in book banning from the moral majority to actual laws
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Lisa Tolin is an experienced editorial director, journalist, and content strategist who is passionate about storytelling in all its forms. Currently the editorial director of the literary and free expression nonprofit PEN America, Lisa has led teams covering arts and entertainment, lifestyles, health and breaking news for major news organizations. At NBC, she was Head of Special Projects for TODAY Digital, focusing on content strategy 

Lisa was inspired by her family to pursue a longtime dream of writing fiction and nonfiction for children. Her debut picture book, How to Be a Rock Star, was illustrated by Daniel Duncan, and published in 2022 with G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Her second picture book, Can You Imagine? The Life and Art of Yoko Ono comes out in 2025 and is illustrated by Yas Imamura and will be published with the Atheneum imprint of Simon & Schuster. 

Links:  

Lisa’s Website: https://www.lisatolin.com/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

I’m happy to welcome back to the podcast theater maker Jasmine Joshua, one of the brilliant minds responsible for the new world premiere musical Here and Their, which runs at 12th Avenue Arts in Seattle from June 13th to June 28th.

I had the pleasure of working with Jasmine on the Curiouser and Curiouser production at Cafe Nordo, and they were a wonderful steward during those early days back on stage after Covid hit.

You will hear:

• How the story came to be and how the character of Sam is similar to Jasmine’s own experience (kind of)
• Why it is totally ok to burst into song on stage (If you can’t say it, sing it!)
• The importance of representation in the arts (if you see it, you can be it)
• How the casting process worked for Here and Their
• Info on the ins and outs of financing a show
• How the team was selected
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Jasmine Joshua is a Seattle writer, producer, actor, and director. They are the Artistic Director of the award-winning Reboot Theatre Company whose mission is to test new interpretations of established works through nontraditional casting and design. Jasmine founded Reboot in 2014 while pregnant with twins and produced the nation's first ever all-female (at the time) production of 1776. Since its founding, Reboot has grown from a one-person operation to a nonprofit with a working board and has produced five productions, all nominated for Gregory Awards and winning several!

Links:
Website: https://www.jasminejoshua.com/aboutme

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/executive_enby/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasmine.joshua/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

Joining me to discuss this year's Tony Award is my friend Raven Snook, editor in chief and digital services manager at TDF and a theater critic for Time Out New York. She is also a Drama Desk nominator, which she describes as “sort of the Golden Globes to the Oscars.”

*Note: This episode was recorded before the Tony Award show aired in June 2025

You will hear:

• Thoughts on nominations for this year’s awards
• Addressing biases within the theatre world when it comes to gendered awards
• Is it “Drag” or just playing a woman?
• Best plays to catch
• And so much more!

Guest Info: 

Raven Snook is a writer, editor, performer, mom and all-around diva (in the positive sense of the word) who’s currently the Editor of Creative Content for TDF and a contributing theater critic for Time Out New York.

Raven's work has also appeared in New York Magazine, Yahoo Parenting, the New York Post, The Village Voice, Bon Appétit, Better Homes & Gardens and Parents.com, among others.

Links:  

www.ravensnook.com

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

Joining me today is Mirella Stoyanova, a Seattle-based writer, therapist and international adoptee from Bulgaria of Bulgarian and Iraqi origin. She discusses her experience growing up in a less-than-diverse environment and how she’s worked to reclaim her identity.

You’ll hear:

• How much changed when Mirella came to America
• Cultural complexities and identity
• The pressure to conform to as many conventions as possible
• Promoting cultural awareness for adoptees
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Mirella Stoyanova is a writer, speaker, and therapist. Much of her early adulthood was spent healing from trauma. She became a therapist in her late twenties to use what she learned through her own healing in the service of others. She wrote a book after she realized that no amount of self-work could protect her from the inherent vulnerability of life. 

Links:  

Mirella’s Website: https://www.mirellastoyanova.com/

Mirella’s Therapy Website: https://www.mirellawarren.com/

Business Insider Article: https://www.businessinsider.com/my-family-cant-pronounce-my-name-correctly-2025-2

Mirella’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirellastoyanova/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

In this week’s episode, after watching Governor Gretchen Whitmer step on a political rake by being photographed shaking hands with Trump, I am speaking again with my colleague Noah Berlatsky regarding an article he wrote last month on the different responses Republicans and Democrats have in treating with their political opponents after a loss. When Republicans lose, they tend to say “we were cheated!” rather than “we did something wrong,” and double down, whereas Democrats tend to abandon their base and try to appeal more to the middle.

You will hear:

• The election landscape is tilted toward Republicans (especially in the Senate)
• Communications challenges held by the Democratic party
• The effect COVID had on how voters see politics and the world
• Democrats need to stop focusing on trying to win over Trump’s base and focus on fighting fascism because there’s really nothing to lose at this point
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Noah Berlatsky has worked as a writer for twenty years, focusing on a wide array of topics for audiences including academics, popular audiences, high school students, and children. 

Noah’s book, Wonder Woman: Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peter Comics, 1941-1948 was published in early 2015 by Rutgers University Press.

His reviews and essays have appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, NBC Think Online, Pacific Standard, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the LA Times, the Guardian, Media Matters, Salon, the Awl, Slate, the Chicago Reader, The Escapist, Esquire, Reason, the Dissolve, the Baffler, and many other publications. 

Links:  

Everything is Horrible: https://www.everythingishorrible.net/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

Democratic National Committee vice chair David Hogg announced his support last week for primary challenges against incumbents in safe seats who he felt aren’t rising to the occasion during Donald Trump’s second nightmare term. This is an obviously controversial position for a DNC official, and it resulted in predictable backlash. Charles Pierce at Esquire wrote, “The one thing that this time in history doesn’t need is a well-financed primary campaign against safe incumbents.” In this episode, I am joined by political analyst and previous podcast guest Cliston Brown to give his thoughts on the matter.

You will hear:

• How doing what we have always done WILL bring us what we have always gotten - How can the Democratic party shake things up?
• Why the party seems to be losing support within its own ranks, especially with younger voters
• How under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t recommend running a primary against a sitting president, unless that president is 82 years old and isn’t always “with it,” and maybe do it more than three months before the election
• How can we make changes within the party to get away from the career, dinosaur politician…or does the entire party need to go up in flames and start fresh?
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Cliston Brown is a political analyst and communications executive. He writes on U.S. politics at ClistonBrown.com, having previously written for the New York Observer and the California Globe. Additionally, he was a regularly scheduled weekly guest (“Listen to Cliston”) on The Hal Ginsberg Morning Show on Radio Monterey, and also has appeared on “Inside Story” on Al Jazeera English; A News (Istanbul, Turkey) with Andy Boyns, Zaviar Ahmed and Mark Mourad Hammami; India Ahead with Neha Khanna; “Left, Right, Center” with David Webb on the Sirius XM Patriot Channel; “The DeMaio Report” with Carl DeMaio on KOGO-600 AM San Diego; the CY Interview with Chris Yandek and Jay Bildstein; and “Millennial Talk” with Chelsea Krost. He has been mentioned in the Boston Herald, Newsweek, The New Republic, The Huffington Post, in Reason magazine’s “Hit and Run” blog and on Vox.com, among others, and he has spoken before numerous business and trade groups on U.S. elections.

Follow Brown on Twitter: @clistonbrown

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

Joining me today is Lindsey Boylan, who in 2021 was the first of several women to accuse former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. Cuomo would eventually resign, under collective pressure from Democrats at the state and national levels. Now, Cuomo is running for mayor of New York, where he’s leading in most polls. This might seem a shocking turn of events in a reality where Donald Trump — a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist — hadn’t just returned to the White House, but Lindsey isn’t sitting silently while Cuomo stages a comeback. She’s doing everything she can to stop it.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why is was less surprising for Cuomo to stage a political comeback than where he chose to make that comeback, as he spent most of his career taking resources away from New York City by leveraging it’s politicians and attempting to take power away from its mayor
• The cowardice within the Democratic party where party leaders who once called for his resignation are now backing away with a “let the people decide” attitude, rather than addressing the horrific actions people have taken
• Why it is so important for Lindsey and others like her to stand up against people who abuse their power, especially in today’s political climate
• Ranked choice voting — how it works and the 5 Good Apples
• And more!

You can find Lindsey at Instagram (@lindseyboylanny) and Bluesky (@lindseyboylan.bsky.social). Her video testimony against Andrew Cuomo is devastating but important to watch, especially if you are a New York City voter. 

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

The free world is under assault by unhinged, power-mad billionaires, and we could use a powerful beacon of justice who’s also a crusading journalist. My friend Michael Mora joins me to continue my ongoing discussion about Superman, the progressive champion who happens to come from another planet.

You will hear:

• Is Superman the ultimate story of immigration fraud?
• How much of Superman’s origin story (literal alien from a dying world vs. being raised to be a good person by good people) makes a difference to who he becomes as a hero?
• Luthor the “benevolent billionaire” to the masses vs. Luthor who despises Superman for some reason (depending on storyline) and how that relates to our own storyline with a supposed billionaire in office and the damage being done to the American people, as well as around the world
• Is Pa Kent actually conservative or is the very ideal of protecting the weak a liberal value?
• How much of Superman’s acceptance by most is because he is white passing? Would that be different if he had a different skin color or appeared more “other” than the typical Kansas teenager?
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Michael Mora is your friendly neighborhood Puerto Rican Political Freelance Writer for @wonkette. When he’s not busy writing, he’s busy reading. Pop Culture observer, Amateur Movie reviewer & Comics fan. U.S. Marine veteran

Links:  

Michael’s BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/m3writer.bsky.social

Michael’s Substack: https://substack.com/@m3writer

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

It’s 1987, and a heartbroken Sam Malone (Ted Danson) has sold his beloved bar Cheers to the massive Lillian corporation — originally called Drox Chemical, Die, and Munitions with the unlikely motto “We care about people.”

Sam’s new boss is businesswoman Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley), and for the next three years, this faceless corporation where nobody knows anyone’s name would provide a new source of humor that was both topical but also eerily prescient. Sam even faces off against Donald Trump-inspired foil Robin Colcord (Roger Rees) who he defeats and helps send to prison. (We can only dare to dream.)

I had the chance to chat with Ryan Daly, host of the wonderful Cheers Cast — the podcast where everyone knows your name. We had a fun conversation about the Cheers “corporate era” and how it still has a lot to say about corporate America.

You will hear:

• Our childhood adoration of this beloved TV sitcom
• How the 6th season and corporate takeover of Cheers was almost a new series and how it differed from the previous seasons
• The pre-Me Too sentiments on how Rebecca Howe was treated as a woman in the workplace and how Sam’s conflicts changed from matters of intelligence to matters of money
• The corporation as the show villain
• And more!

Guest Info: 

Ryan Daly is the host of CHEERS CAST, and occasionally FIRE AND WATER RECORDS, GIVE ME THOSE STAR WARS, and BATMAN KNIGHTCAST. Former podcasts that he hosted include THE SECRET ORIGINS PODCAST, POWER OF FISHNETS, and MIDNIGHT: THE PODCASTING HOUR. He always ends up hating the subject of his podcasts.

Links:  

Cheers Cast podcast: https://fireandwaterpodcast.com/show/cheers-cast/

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson

In this episode, I had the honor of speaking with filmmaker Joy Davenport, whose documentary Fannie Lou Hamer’s America is a must watch. Joy and I had a great conversation about Hamer’s life and activism, as well as the personal inspiration she’s provided. You can find the documentary on YouTube.

You will hear:

• Why Joy felt compelled to tell Ms. Hamer’s story
• Why more people don’t know about Fannie Lou’s part in the Civil Rights movement
• The very real dangers of being a politically active person during this time
• Why it is important to stand up and fight against the propaganda and status quo rather than ignoring it or “being the bigger person”
• And more!

Guest Info:

Joy Elaine Davenport is a multimedia director, editor, and composer who specializes in building layered, emotional narratives from a variety of original and archival sources. She comes to documentary from a background of education and social advocacy, believing that nonfiction film should be actively engaged with restoring historically excluded voices, perspectives, and histories.

Her directorial debut, "Fannie Lou Hamer's America," premiered nationally on PBS in February 2022 and continues to screen around the world. It won the International Documentary Association's award for Best TV Documentary or Mini-Series in December 2022. Davenport also edited the short film "I Snuck Off the Slave Ship," directed by Lonnie Holley & Cyrus Moussavi, which debuted at Sundance Film Festival in January 2019.

Links:

 Joy’s Website: https://www.joyelainedavenport.com/

Joy’s Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/joydavenport.bsky.social

Full Movie: Fannie Lou Hamer’s America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h2MzXavgEg

Connect with Stephen:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy
Email: [email protected]

Join  the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson