In this episode of Voice Seeker, your host Dandelion Lakewood conducts two interviews on the road with friends Mikee Strongmen (of Twenty Thousand Strongmen) and Ozosou (a recent Kurdish immigrant to the USA).
Mikee Strongman:
00:00:00 Wackadoo
00:02:08 How we met
00:03:10 Song evolution
00:06:19 Indecent proposals and agressive roosters
00:08:46 Eating rats in Albania
00:10:17 Gut health
00:11:39 Grounding
00:13:04 Heavy bedding
00:14:53 Brand-exclusive speech
00:16:58 Bardic seed saving
00:18:19 Gingers
00:19:21 Dyeing and shaving
00:19:51 Hobbit bros
00:20:28 About the homestead
00:23:30 Trail work
00:27:22 Communities and trauma
00:28:01 Relationship candles
00:28:59 Distance and time
00:32:24 Heartbreaking distance
00:33:48 Intimacy and compersion
00:36:50 Polyamory challenges
00:41:17 Relationship anarchy
00:45:53 It takes a village
00:52:40 Musical interlude (Mikee and Dandy)
Ozosou:
00:55:58 Chorba
00:58:07 Musical interlude (Ozosou and Dandy)
00:59:52 Kitchen counter
01:01:06 Turkey, Turkiye, Hindi
01:02:56 Friends from Rainbow
01:05:58 Being Kurdish in the USA
01:10:13 The example of a lost earbud
01:12:19 The comfort of materialism
01:13:40 Property ownership: USA vs. Balkans
01:14:42 Family support
01:17:27 Plus and minus
01:22:39 Musical interlude (Ozosou and Dandy)
01:25:56 Cursing on the Silk Road
01:27:54 Musical interlude (Ozosou and Dandy)
01:28:34 More curses
01:30:11 Musical outro (Ozosou and Dandy)

Four Iranian women share their stories of Iran and beyond in this intimate and compelling tapestry of personal voice message narratives of womanhood under the Islamic Republic.

Thanks to Mr. Maddy, Honey, Dina, and a Kurdish girl.

Music and production by Dandelion Lakewood featuring Sea Priest, J.S., and Sar A.
Additional reference materials mentioned in this podcast:

⁠https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1293&context=ilj⁠
⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6I8oXPWq9E⁠
⁠https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_famine_of_1917%E2%80%931919⁠
⁠https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780761861683/The-Great-Famine-and-Genocide-in-Iran-1917-1919-2nd-Edition⁠
⁠https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat⁠
⁠https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655⁠
⁠https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Soviet_invasion_of_Iran

⁠
Chapters:

00:00:00 Introducing our storytellers
00:05:28 Voice Seeker Theme
00:06:00 How it feels to be an Iranian
00:08:54 Diversity of Iran
00:12:29 Tarof: Polite lies
00:16:37 Extinction of Iranian Culture
00:21:53 Greatest fear: the dissolution of Iran
00:25:05 Iranian American
00:29:49 Gay in Iran
00:33:30 LGBT in Iran
00:36:41 Transgender in Iran
00:38:08 Iranian bisexuality
00:41:11 Dandy response
00:45:05 A Kurdish girl born in Iran
00:49:32 Finding "The Secret"
00:51:41 8 years of adventures
00:54:59 Finding a new tribe
01:06:10 A different point of view
01:09:47 Iranian society
01:10:41 Global chess game
01:11:59 Politics as professional wrestling
01:13:50 Destruction of the family
01:16:45 Social media brainwashing
01:23:00 A civil war inside our minds
01:24:35 The abundance of Iran
01:30:34 Leave a place to know it
01:32:12 5th generation warfare
01:34:37 The advantages in Iran
01:35:26 The cost of housing
01:36:07 9 to 5 conditioning
01:40:36 The employment trap
01:42:28 Husband control of wive's work
01:44:05 What about sanctions?
01:46:28 Alcohol: Iran vs. USA
01:48.34 Iranian dealers
01:51:00 Home made liquor
01:52:53 The risks of moonshine
01:55:43 Legality of alcohol in Iran
02:00:43 Distillation as rebellion
02:03:39 Currency devaluation
02:08:10 Dreaming of visiting a free Iran
02:10:09 Return to a previous conversation
02:13:23 More on money
02:15:03 How sanctions influence Iran
02:19:40 Addenda and final thoughts

Sex, Drugs and Chorba. An international group of wayward travelers descend upon the conservative city of Sakarya, Turkiye and establish a communal house in an abandoned apartment block. This is their story...

Mad House chapters:
00:00:00 Enter the Mad House
00:01:03 Halil's Luck
00:03:12 Call for Submissions
00:07:13 Dandy Beginnings
00:08:02 Arrival Drums
00:09:08 Irene's Arrival
00:10:07 Datura
00:13:11 Public Opinion
00:14:47 Magic Cookies
00:19:00 Cookie Trip Music
00:19:43 Maryan and the Cookies
00:22:38 Eva's Stealing Story
00:26:18 Busking and Bananas
00:28:29 Cursed by a Name
00:29:13 Witches of Presence Song
00:30:34 Recycling
00:32:18 Ali to the Rescue
00:34:45 Maddy on the House Name
00:36:33 Talking Circles, Bakery Baba
00:40:32 We've Got Eggs
00:41:45 Abundance of Food
00:42:42 Internationality
00:43:36 Slow Decline
00:47:09 We're Going to Die
00:47:53 Irene on Eva's Birthday Party
00:50:26 Dandy's Departure
00:51:34 Alcohol Arrives
00:58:19 Zaid's Experience
01:01:47 Learning to earn
01:03:20 Vocal Jam
01:04:20 Hamza Drop In
01:05:22 Learning Life Skills
01:06:13 Puppy Problems
01:07:28 The Dark Time
01:10:22 Growing
01:12:05 After 3 Days, Fish Stinks
01:15:59 Grandpa Zaid
01:17:31 Desperately Seeking Space
01:19:06 Albanian Interlude
01:20:41 Maddy and the Moroccans
01:22:53 Trash Fashion Week
01:23:22 Musicians' Paradise
01:25:29 Maddy's Reflections from Thailand
01:27:42 Christina's Benediction
01:28:22 Maddy's Poetical Summary
01:30:03 Meta-analysis and Missing Stories
01:31:48 Pooping And Table Diving
01:34:16 Local Birthday Parties
01:36:07 Community Involvement
01:37:12 Honey Recounts the Yalova Sufi Derga
01:40:31 First Days in Sakarya
01:42:11 Very Good Ladino Interlude
01:42:56 Filthy House, Toilet Tales
01:46:36 Strawberries and Burek
01:47:28 Transformational Experience
01:52:09 Spiritual Lesbian Wedding
01:57:15 Payam's Journey from Iran to Madness
02:01:05 Passing the Portal
02:02:30 Dionysian Drunks
02:04:45 Importance of Iranian Perspective
02:05:44 Hamza on His Arrival
02:08:15 Bad Things and Good Things
02:09:47 About Recycling
02:10:23 Reflecting and Growing Up
02:13:35 Closure
02:14:36 Demolition
02:15:04 Long Outro: We Are Free

In this episode, our host, Dandelion Lakewood is introduced by friends and fellow travelers via voice messages from around the world.

Honey

Christina Galka

Irene Deesadjo

Elele Tiana

Yashiwa Turner

Tina Djordjevic

Bledi Budo

Aida Al Hani

Faruk

Sarah Oz

Evrensel Urum

611

Rebbag Gabbanarchy

Brook Woolf

Music by Dandelion Lakewood