Weirdly Helpful (formerly The Best Advice Show)

Zak is excited to present Weirdly Helpful, the spiritual successor to The Best Advice Show. On this first episode, Zak talks to artist and therapist, Laura Hawley whose advice from 2020 inspired the new show title.

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This episode is brought to you with support from Uncommon Goods. To

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Welcome to Weirdly Helpful. It's like The Best Advice show just weirder. In each episode a different contributor offers an odd experiment, a silly ritual, a curious practice that you’ll find weirdly helpful. Stuff like howling when you're despondent, eating oranges in the shower and metaphorically flushing your adversary down the toilet!

What are you finding weirdly helpful during these trying times? CALL ZAK ON THE WEIRDLY HELPLINE and spill your guts @ 844-935-2378

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This is an episode of a new podcast I really like called Gen X at Midlife. The show was created by TBAS contributor, Courtney Daniels. In this episode she talks to her longtime friend Tess Hawes about her experience of midlife crisis, Courtney's self-rejecting ambition, Tess' divorce and career pivot, and how to get out of depression. They touch on the book "Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life" by James Hollis, "Mind Your Body" by Nicole Sachs, and Courtney's therapist, Lisa Chen, whom she highly recommends!

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Today's episode is based on Mason Currey's piece, John Cage on the true meaning of discipline. You should subscribe to Mason's essential newsletter, Subtle Maneuvers. And here's his piece about totally insane, unhinged, helpful strategies.

Mason's book, Making Art and Making a Living is available for pre-order here.

The John Cage interview excerpts come from The Internet Archive. Hear the whole thing @John Cage interviewed by Jack Hirschman in Los Angeles, 1963.

Mason was last on TBAS talking about procrastinating properly.

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Leora is a doctor and dog lover and berry lover. This advice originally aired back in August of 2020.

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Susannah Goodman is an artist and potter and community organizer in Detroit.

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Leftovering with Susannah Goodman

Noticing with Susannah Goodman

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I originally interviewed Jonathan Goldstein, creator and host of the greatest podcast of all time, Heavyweight, back in 2017 for Transom.org. I'm playing it here to celebrate Heavyweight's grand return.

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Malaka Gharib is a writer, journalist, and cartoonist. She is the author of I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir, winner of an Arab American Book Award and named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, and the New York Public Library. By day, she works on NPR’s science desk, covering the topic of global health and development. Her comics, zines, and writing have been published in NPR, Catapult, The Seventh Wave Magazine, The Nib, The Believer, and The New Yorker. 

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Mason Currey's Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

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Brad Stulburg on not needing to feel good to get going.

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Lilly Turmelle is a Maine-based creative and lifelong explorer. After calling many different countries home, she now lives on the Maine coast with her partner and their two-year-old son, embracing a simple life by the sea.

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Naja, Sebastian, Asia, Jessica, Lenzia and Zora were just finishing 8th grade when this episode aired in 2022.

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