Across the Margin: The Podcast

In this latest episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast host Michael Shields converses with American composer, percussionist, visual artist, educator and record producer Billy Martin. Best known as a member of the musical trio Medeski Martin & Wood, Billy Martin recently released an album entitled Guilty, which displays a vast array of his dynamic talents. Co-produced by Rob Reinfurt (aka Night Marcher) Guilty finds Martin playing his own bass riffs for the very first time with the album including outstanding contributions from such musical savants as Marc Ribot (guitar), John Medeski (keyboards), Alexandria Smith (trumpet), Jen Liu (harp), and Martin Dosh (electronics). In this episode Michael and Billy discuss the ins and outs of the album, his important work with the Creative Music Studio, the crafting of the music video for “Geek Love” off the album Guilty (which Martin directed), coming up in the NYC music scene in the ‘80s, and much, much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this latest episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast, host Michael Shields addresses the current conversation pulsating throughout the United States regarding defunding the police. Defunding the police means different things to different people, but this episode attempts to get to the heart of the matter while also, through an interview with writer and editor D.D. Guttenplan, exploring what a police department would like in an America disarmed. Guttenplan is Editor of The Nation, previously covering the 2016 U.S. presidential election as the magazine’s editor at large and, for two decades before that, was part of its London bureau. His most recent book, The Next Republic: The Rise of a New Radical Majority (Seven Stories Press), which has just come out in paperback, is an extraordinarily intense and wide-ranging account of the recent fall and incipient rise of democracy in America. Recently, Guttenplan penned an article for The Nation entitled “It’s Time To Disarm The Police,” which becomes the focal point of the episode, wherein he condemns the use of unnecessary lethal force on unarmed civilians while probing the lengthy history between armed police and racism. Guttenplan, in his article and throughout this episode, lays out examples where unarmed policing controls crime and minimizes loss of life. Ultimately, this episode envisions a world where the resources and government officials of the people work for the people, and where countless lives are saved from reinventing the way in which society, and in this case, policing, works. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This latest episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast finds host Michael Shields in conversation with composer, musician, and performer Danielle Eva Schwob. Originally from London but based in New York, Schwob is a “notable cross-genre composer” (The New Yorker) and “worldly musical chameleon” (TimeOut) with “deep roots in rock music” (NY Times) who writes concert music, avant-garde pop, and film scores. Schwob, who helms that art-pop experimental band DELANILA, recently put forth into the world a captivating album entitled Overloaded, an inventive work of art with cinematic genre-bending flavorings. Co-produced by Schwob and three-time Grammy-winning super producer David Bottrill (Muse, Tool, Peter Gabriel), Overloaded serves as DELANILA’s stunning debut where complex electro-pop arrangements swirl under her bell-like soprano that slips between conversational clarity and eerily angelic musings. In addition to Bottrill, the list of DELANILA collaborators on Overloaded is impressive, including Grammy-winning engineer Emily Lazar (Sia, Coldplay, Haim), top beat programmer and producer Pearse MacIntyre, drummer Aaron Steele (Portugal, The Man), Nick Semrad and Adam Agati of Cory Henry’s Funk Apostles, Jim Orso (Hot Chip), Jennifer Choi (John Zorn), Cornelius DuFallo (FLUX), and more. In this episode, one which contemplates what it means to be a musician and artist in these rapidly changing times, Shields and Schwob expound upon the weighty themes present in the album that confront humankind’s relationship with technology and grapple with feelings of isolation in today’s modern world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast we find host Michael Shields in conversation with clinical psychologist and anxiety disorders / OCD specialist Dr. Eric Goodman. Dr. Goodman, a lecturer in the Psychology and Child Development department at California Polytechnic State University, is the author of Social Courage: Coping and Thriving with the Reality of Social Anxiety as well as Your Anxiety Beast and You: A Compassionate Guide for Living in an Increasingly Anxious World, the book which serves as the foundation of this episode. In Your Anxiety Beast and You, Dr. Goodman offers a novel and kinder treatment approach for people suffering from anxiety. Rather than living with an enemy inside your mind, Dr. Goodman encourages people to see anxiety for what it really is — an inner hero. This concept suggests that your anxiety is always trying to protect you from threats, however, it is completely confused about what are true threats in the modern world. Ideas and thoughts about how to make peace with the reality of your anxiety are explored with zest in this episode, with the ultimate goal of re-focussing on making your anxiety a better life companion. Following the interview with Dr. Goodman, and to conclude the episode, Shields gets personal and reads an essay (33:30 in) he wrote entitled “ICU,” (originally published at Organic Coffee Haphazardly) that illuminates his intimate battle with anxiety attacks, a side-effect of his father's own traumatic health problems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast we find host Michael Shields in conversation with Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, producer, and visual artist JT Daly. Daly previously fronted the Nashville-based band Paper Route and more recently co-produced K. Flay's wildly successful album Every Where Is Some Where, including the hit single "Blood in the Cut" (for which Daly received Grammy nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Engineered Album). Daly is onto his next project, a new band called The Voodoo Children who are releasing their debut album this spring entitled Instant Nostalgia. The Voodoo Children could be looked at as a collective, a team of talents that JT has worked with throughout his career. The phenomenally talented lineup includes his partner Jo Meredith (Sad Penny), Daniel Tashian (producer and co-writer with Kacey Musgraves), K.Flay, Bantug, Abby Wright, Angela Plake (Bandit), Oran Thornton, Josh Lippi, his longtime engineer Josh Lovell, and Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals. While The Voodoo Children certainly persist as the main focus of the interview, Michael and JT embark on a career spanning interview where they expound upon JT’s early influences, his solo album entitled Memory, the soundtrack he composed for ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary film Chuck & Tito, and much, much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wouldn’t it be thrilling to go to the polls on Election Day, regardless of what U.S. state you live in, knowing your vote and voice will count just as much as everyone else's? In this latest episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast, host Michael Shields meticulously examines the role the Electoral College plays in elections through an interview with Supreme Court journalist and New York Times editorial board member Jesse Wegman. Wegman recently penned the insightful and important book Let The People Pick The President, a thoroughly researched and engaging call to arms that makes a powerful case for abolishing the antiquated and antidemocratic Electoral College. In Let the People Pick the President he demonstrates how as citizens we can at long last make every vote in the United States count — and restore belief in our democratic system.To this day, millions of voters, and even members of Congress, misunderstand how the Electoral College works. Twice in the last five elections, the Electoral College has overridden the popular vote, calling the integrity of the entire system into question — and creating a false picture of a country divided into red and blue blocks. In this episode, Michael and Jesse delve into how the Electoral College functions and the way in which it was conceived by the Founding Fathers. They also examine the many myths associated with its workings, how the Popular Vote could eventually be implemented in choosing the president (hint: The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is involved), and ultimately, what the United States would look like when the final obstacle from the imperfections and built-in equalities of the nation’s founding was eradicated for good. Essentially they ask: How can we tolerate the Electoral College when every vote does not count the same, and the candidate who gets the most votes can lose? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this latest episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast, host Michael Shields interviews author David Sweet about his latest release, Three Seconds in Munich: The Controversial 1972 Olympic Basketball Final, which recounts the most disputed contest in the history of the Olympics — the 1972 gold-medal basketball game between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). To many, the 1972 Olympics are remembered primarily for a far graver matter, when eleven Israeli team members were killed by Palestinian terrorists, stunning the world and temporarily stopping the games. This unfathomable event is meticulously detailed in Sweet’s book, laying the groundwork for an in-depth, extraordinary expose of the most scandalous sporting finish in Olympic history, where a decision made by a group of talented young athletes to shun their Olympic medals ended up haunting them for the remainder of their lives. Join in on a conversation that delves into the history of the Olympics and pro basketball, is steeped in cold war politics and, ultimately, explores the costs of standing up for what you know to be right. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a compelling discussion, journalist Amy Westervelt, Editor-in-Chief of Drilled News, reveals the shocking history behind fossil fuel public relations. She explores the devious tactics used for decades to mislead the public about climate change, drawing parallels with strategies employed by the tobacco industry. Westervelt also discusses how the manipulation of language and the rise of faux grassroots movements have distorted public perception. This conversation emphasizes the urgent need for critical thinking in combating climate misinformation.

In this latest episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast, host Michael Shields sits down with producer and director Rob Harper to discuss his latest project Journeys to the Edge of Consciousness. This thought-provoking feature is a part-animated documentary film which whisks viewers into an animated trip into the depths of the human mind with three brave pioneers of the 1950s/60s: Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, and Alan Watts. Journeys to the Edge of Consciousness features animated narrations of some of these sapient explorers most pivotal psychedelic trip reports, and intertwines interviews with modern psychedelic luminaries such as Amanda Fielding, Ben Sessa, Dennis McKenna, Gabor Mate, Rick Doblin, and Graham Hancock. The film explores three psychedelic trips that changed Western culture forever and begs the question: "What can expanded states of mind teach us about ourselves, the world and our place in it?"In this episode Michael and Rob discuss the ins and outs of the stories told in the film and then expound upon how psychedelics — while certainly not for everyone — can be a tool to not only open people’s minds to the ways of the world, the spiritual, and what really matters in life, but also potentially help people struggling with anxiety, depression, or post traumatic stress disorder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this latest episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast, host Michael Shields sits down with comedian Mike Finoia for a career spanning interview. Finoia is a standup comedian based out of NYC where he hosts the music and comedy podcast Amigos (Osiris Media). He is also a writer and producer for the hidden-camera series Impractical Jokers on TruTV. Recently, Mike Finoia and Michael Shields brought to life a limited-podcast series entitled Still Chasing, featuring a deep dive into fanaticism and obsession with a focus on the famed rock n’ roll band Phish. This episode begins with a look back at the Still Chasing project, exploring the podcast’s intricacies and reception before expanding upon Finoia’s comedy career — from its inception where a trying break-up and a badly broken arm steered him towards comedy, to recently taking the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Join in on a podcast that highlights Finoia’s introspective, honest, and always hilarious brand of comedy.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.