Across the Margin: The Podcast

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.

In this episode of Across The Margin : The podcast, host Michael Shields sits down with New York City-based composer, producer, and audio engineer E Scott Lindner to discuss his forthcoming album In Flowers Through Space, as novel a piece of art you will ever come upon. In Flowers Through Space is an experimental concept album based around the mathematical Fibonacci sequence, a spiraling numerical concept often found in nature and associated with beauty and harmony. Recorded at Lindner’s Pinch Recording studio, the number of classical and jazz musicians on each song increases to mirror the Fibonacci sequence — beginning with 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21. The result is a diverse collection of tracks that blend classically-inspired musical forms with contemporary jazz performance, creating an evolving and cinematic listening experience that calls to mind the work similar innovators such as Kamasi Washington or Johnny Greenwood. In this episode listeners will come to know E Scott Lindner’s influences and musical background before being led into the heart of In Flowers Through Space through an in-depth deconstruction of how this fascinating piece of art was brought to life. In Flowers Through Space will be released on February 28th via Ropeadope record’s Infinity Gritty imprint. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Across The Margin: The Podcast offers up a career-spanning interview with G. Love, famed frontman of the band G. Love & Special Sauce, now on the cusp of his latest album release, The Juice. Born Garrett Dutton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, G. Love grew up equally enthralled with folk, blues, and rap, devouring everything from Lead Belly and Run D.M.C. to John Hammond and the Beastie Boys. After migrating to Boston, he and his band, Special Sauce, broke out in 1994 with their Gold-selling self-titled album debut, earning widespread critical acclaim for its bold vision and adventurous production. Over the next twenty-five years, G. Love would go on to release seven more similarly lauded studio albums with his band the Special Sauce (plus four solo albums on his own), solidifying his place in music history as a genre-bending pioneer. On January 17th, 2020 G. Love & Special Sauce release their latest album, the bluesy, political-fueled The Juice. Recorded in Nashville with co-writer and co-producer Keb Mo, The Juice features appearances by a slew of heavy hitters in the music industry, including Robert Randolph, Marcus King, and Roosevelt Collier. G. Love is also currently celebrating the anniversaries of two milestone albums — the self-titled G. Love & Special Sauce (1994) and Philadelphonic (1999) — and this episode takes a look back on his diverse and successful career while looking forward to an exciting future to come. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this latest episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast, host Michael Shields interviews director Mark Hayes and producer Gabriele Hayes, the filmmakers behind the recently released documentary Skid Row Marathon. Skid Row Marathon tells the tale of a criminal court judge who starts a running club on L.A.’s notorious skid row and begins training a motley group of addicts and criminals to run marathons, and soon lives begin to change. The deeply affecting documentary follows four runners as they rise from the mean streets of L.A. to run marathons around the world, fighting the pull of homelessness and addiction at every turn. Their story is one of hope, friendship, and dignity. In this episode, Michael, Mark, and Gabriele discuss at length the benevolent, inspiring judge at the heart of the film (Judge Craig Mitchell), the many challenges it took to bring the documentary to life (particularly in gaining the trust of the subjects from skid row), the many moving and encouraging life lessons one can learn from the documentary, and much, much more. Skid Row Marathon is available now! At Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango Now, and Vimeo Now! More information at SkidRowMarathon.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast presents an interview with singer, harmonica player, producer, and all-around exemplar of American roots music, The Reverend Shawn Amos. Amos, a fascinating and insightful personality with deep knowledge of blues & roots music, has been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, ABC News and Good Day New York, among others. As a performer, Amos has been on a mission to unite people while speaking truth to power through the blues for the past decade. Before that, he made a name for himself as a producer for artists like Quincy Jones and Solomon Burke. Throughout his illustrious career, Amos has been an evangelist for the American musical tradition of the blues in all its forms. His commitment to this populist, down-home approach to his craft has been showcased throughout his long-running Kitchen Table Blues Youtube series. Since 2018’s acclaimed, politically charged The Reverend Shawn Amos Breaks It Down, Amos has been on the road nonstop with The Brotherhood — a band of legit stars including drummer Brady Blade (Dave Matthews, Indigo Girls), bassist Christopher Thomas (Norah Jones, Carly Simon, Macy Gray), and longtime guitarist Chris “Doctor” Roberts. In this episode, host Michael Shields and The Reverend Shawn Amos explore Amos’ childhood growing up in 1970s Los Angeles, his diverse musical influences, his forthcoming album (Blue Sky) 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 sits down with longtime Across The Margin: The Podcast contributor Georg Guidotti to examine the latest release from Paul Selig, Beyond The Known: Realization. As the story goes, in 1987 a spiritual experience left Paul Selig clairvoyant. Since then, Selig has established himself as one of the foremost spiritual channels in the self-help world. Expanding on and transcending his previous work, the first volume in the Beyond the Known trilogy, Realization, is composed of the pure, unedited words of “The Guides” as they share their wisdom and knowledge through Selig. It serves a psychological-spiritual guide to take readers beyond the perceived limitations of accepted reality and open their minds to ultimate manifestation. Throughout the episode, which marks George Guidotti’s 6th appearance on Across The Margin: The Podcast, Michael and George reveal how they personalized the timeless teachings found in Realization while expounding upon the ways the message of The Guides can be interpreted and applied to everyday life. Before the episode comes to its conclusion, a comparison is made between the weighty themes in Realization to Phish frontman Trey Anastasio’s Ghosts of The Forest project, which leads to an in-depth discussion concerning friendship, death, and the potential of an afterlife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this latest episode of Across The Margin: The Podcast, host Michael Shields converses with author and researcher Samuel Miller-McDonald about Climate Change, exploring its intricacies from a vast array of crucial and compelling angles. Samuel Miller-McDonald is a regular essayist at such notable publications as Current Affairs, The New Republic, and The Baffler (to name but a few!). Currently, Miller-McDonald is working towards his PhD at the University of Oxford, researching the intersection of grassroots movements and energy transition. Through a deep dive into Samuels hard-hitting, timely, and important articles, this episode explores the absurdities of our current fossil-fueled food system, the under-discussed scandal of the U.S. bipartisan commitment to fossil fuels, how a new generation of authoritarian leaders are using Climate Change to seize power, what millennials can do to fight Climate Change, and ultimately, what decarbonized, climate-resilient, and equitable cities of tomorrow could look like. Learn more about Samuel Miller-McDonald at www.samueljmm.com and follow him on Twitter at @sjmmcd! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently The War and Treaty — the husband and wife duo of Michael and Tanya Trotter — were named Emerging Act of the Year at the 2019 Americana Music Association Awards in Nashville. In the wake of this prestigious honor, Across The Margin : The Podcast is proud to feature an interview with the extremely talented duo that comprise this exciting act. In what amounts to a celebration of the soulful, heartfelt gospel-inspired music of The War and Treaty, this episode draws you into the world of a remarkably talented act that appear to be just warming up. As The War and Treaty, Michael and Tanya serve up funky bass lines, keys, lap steel, acoustic strings, and stripped-down percussion to create a swampy Southern soul bed for the couple’s superior vocals. Their latest album, Healing Tide, is an enchanting testament to the group’s talents, and an inspiring tour de force of a release rife with themes of unity, devotion, and above all else, love. In this episode, Michael and Tanya Trotter reveal the details behind their fateful meeting and discuss their musical and personal influences all while expounding upon their remarkable backstories (which includes the extraordinary tale of Michael’s time in the U.S. Army and at war in Iraq which unbelievably steered his life toward a career in music). Join in on a tribute to one of the most intriguing and affecting up and coming bands in all of Americana music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.