Misfit Stars: Recent Episodes
Shannon Curtis and Jamie Hill
On this week’s episode: surprising data on how marital status correlates with the amount of sleep that moms get; an amazing breakthrough happening with one profound psychiatric condition; the grueling and fun process of making our latest “80s kids” recording; and the story of how 15-year-old Jamie got kissed and heard a song that changed …
Continue reading "“Jamie McKissyface.” 😚"
The post “Jamie McKissyface.” 😚 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: all the awesome things that progressives can do when we give them power (way to go, Minnesota!); how orcas might be auditioning to carry on the John Wick vengeance franchise; all you never knew you needed to know about knowingness; and details about the best public toilet Shannon’s ever encountered.
The post “So good! So good! So good!” ⚾️ appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we celebrate the first instance of actual legal accountability for the disgraced former president; what it means and doesn’t mean that the WHO ended the Covid-19 emergency declaration; how the name David illustrates the absurd level of gender inequality in business; white supremacists’ shocking (how are we still shocked?) and gruesome love affair with a murderous dictator; and how kindness cuts through all the bullshit.
Here’s that DNI annual threat assessment: https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ATA-2023-Unclassified-Report.pdf
Today’s a great day to subscribe — on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts — so you never miss an episode. (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review — so thank you!)
Our work is supported in large part by direct monthly small-dollar subscriptions on the part of people who believe in what we’re doing and want to see it continue. Does this describe you? If so, visit misfitstars.com/support today and become part of our squad!
On this week’s episode: good news on gun legislation in our home state; a bonkers study about in-group dynamics and the implications it has for the fate of humanity; a recap of our very fun Good to Me theater debut; and the infallibility of actions that are centered in joy.
Today’s a great day to subscribe — on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts — so you never miss an episode. (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review — so thank you!)
Our work is supported in large part by direct monthly small-dollar subscriptions on the part of people who believe in what we’re doing and want to see it continue. Does this describe you? If so, visit misfitstars.com/support today and become part of our squad!
On this week’s episode: conflicting court opinions regarding medication abortion, and the continuing assault on bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom in the US; holy corrupt courts, Batman!; baby surrender boxes (what the hell?); water, water … nowhere?; and a double dose of inspiration station (‘cause we really need it, y’all).
It’s our last episode for a few weeks since we’ll be traveling for our big show debut! See ya on the other side.
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
On this week’s episode: yes, we’re talking about that infamous guy who was arraigned on a few dozen felony crimes this week, and since we’re not legal experts, we’re talking about the thoughts and feelings we have about it from the perspective of regular people who believe that no one is above the law; the truth about inflation; the liberating gift that trans and nonbinary people give to all of us; and a reflection on belonging and purpose.
LINKS:
Katie Brotten’s very moving piece of writing about purpose and belonging, as considered through the lens of her relationship with her recently-deceased dog companion Vinnie: https://www.facebook.com/katiebrotten/posts/10228693302050003
🚨 Buy tickets for our Sacramento theater show April 22: https://bstreettheatre.org/music/shannon-curtis/
Listen to our new song “Drive”! https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/drive
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
On this week’s episode: the vulnerable feelings that are inherent in creative work / being human; the unsolved mystery of decreasing life expectancy in the United States; a helpful perspective on the origins of America’s unique-in-the-world gun culture; a fiery conversation about what can be done about all the damn gun deaths; and a published poem by one of our very own Misfit Stars supporting members.
Here’s where to subscribe to James Turner’s (wonderful) newsletter: https://turnercreative.ck.page/one-creative-moment-signup
Here are ideas for what you can do right now to help combat our gun death epidemic: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/firearms-what-you-can-do-right-now
Here’s Misfit Star Jennifer Henry’s wonderful new poem: https://www.consilience-journal.com/issue-12-excavate
🚨 Buy tickets for our Sacramento theater show April 22: https://bstreettheatre.org/music/shannon-curtis/
Listen to “Wouldn’t It Be Good”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/wouldnt-it-be-good
Listen to “Good to Me”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
On this week’s episode: the fact that Fox News lies is (finally!) getting through to some of its viewers; how we’ve gotten the historical meaning of being a Luddite all wrong; how some revolutionary South Korean women aren’t smashing the patriarchy, but rather opting out of it; a helpful metaphor of entrepreneurship as a rigged carnival game; and how when things feel like they’re spinning out of control, they might actually be falling into place.
🚨 Buy tickets for our Sacramento theater show April 22: https://bstreettheatre.org/music/shannon-curtis/
Here’s that Cory Doctorow piece, which is well worth reading: https://doctorow.medium.com/gig-work-is-the-opposite-of-steampunk-463e2730ef0d
And here’s that piece in The Cut about South Korean women opting out: https://www.thecut.com/2023/03/4b-movement-feminism-south-korea.html
Listen to “Wouldn’t It Be Good”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/wouldnt-it-be-good
Listen to “Good to Me”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
On this week’s episode: taking a win for human rights in Michigan; why the head of the Federal Trade Commission deserves a superhero cape; how the social construct of tipping sucks and everyone would be better off if we did away with it; the latest in how the worst people in America are trying to grab power by destroying people’s faith in our election system; and how sitting with the idea of death can be life-giving.
🚨 HEADS UP: the date for our Sacramento theater show has changed! It’s been moved one day back, to Saturday, April 22. Get your tickets here: https://bstreettheatre.org/music/shannon-curtis/
Listen to “Wouldn’t It Be Good”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/wouldnt-it-be-good
Listen to “Good to Me”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
“Get out of the whirlpool of doom.”
On this week’s episode: practical, call-to-action advice from a trans activist about how to stop being an unwitting spreader of fascist propaganda and actually make a difference; the ten stages of genocide — guess where we are in that progression here in the U.S.?; and how reclaiming our personal power invites peace in our spirits.
LINKS:
Listen to Wouldn’t It Be Good!
Find Emily Gorcenski here.
Donate to the Transgender Law Center here.
🚨 Buy tickets for our Sacramento theater show April 21: https://bstreettheatre.org/music/shannon-curtis/
Listen to “Good to Me”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our patron supporters make our work freely available to everyone — including people who aren’t in a position to pay for it. If you’re not able to support our work, we hope that it brings you meaning and joy. If you are in a financially stable place and are able to support our work, you can do that here: misfitstars.com/support. Thank you ❤️
On this week’s episode: how skepticism is abused by fascists to protect power structures that uphold their fragile wittle egos (poor babies); the four-day workweek revolution; how buses and trains and roads are all public transportation, and should all be free to use; and Jimmy Carter … what an absolute legend.
LINKS:
That fantastic Scott Adams-inspired essay: https://armoxon.substack.com/p/the-case-for-shunning
🚨 Buy tickets for our Sacramento theater show April 21: https://bstreettheatre.org/music/shannon-curtis/
Order our “Good to Me” book on Amazon (we get a small commission if you use this link to buy the book!): https://amzn.to/3WearA1
Listen to “Good to Me”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our patron supporters make our work freely available to everyone — including people who aren’t in a position to pay for it. If you’re not able to support our work, we hope that it brings you meaning and joy. If you are in a financially stable place and are able to support our work, you can do that here: misfitstars.com/support. Thank you ❤️
On this week’s episode: the healing magic of observing our feelings; how science busts the myth of a gender binary; the person we have to thank for ice cream; the two realities lived by immunocompromised and non-immunocompromised people; and the growth that can come with a narrowed focus.
Buy tickets to our Sacramento theater show April 21: https://bstreettheatre.org/music/shannon-curtis/
Link to order our “Good to Me” book on Amazon (we get a small commission if you use this link to buy the book!): https://amzn.to/3WearA1
Listen to “Good to Me”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our patron supporters make our work freely available to everyone — including people who aren’t in a position to pay for it. If you’re not able to support our work, we hope that it brings you meaning and joy. If you are in a financially stable place and are able to support our work, you can do that here: misfitstars.com/support. Thank you ❤️
The post “Don’t put the baby in the CRISPR.” 🧬 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: a fun fact about letters; the scientific discovery of a protein that might become a covid-killer; the benefits of free lunch; why and how we must all get invested in the human rights of transgender people; and transcendental inspiration from a total brainiac.
LINKS:
Buy tickets to our Sacramento theater show here!
WA State transgender protection bills: click to add your voice in support if you are a WA resident!
Here’s that excellent Jamelle Bouie op-ed on trans dignity.
Here’s where you can order our “Good to Me” book on Amazon (we get a small commission if you use this link to buy the book!).
Listen to “Good to Me” here.
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Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Patron supporters of our work make our work available for everyone, including people who aren’t able to support our work financially. If you’re not able to support our work, we hope that it brings you meaning and joy. If you are in a financially comfortable place and are able to support our work, you can do that here: misfitstars.com/support. Thank you ❤️
The post “Ok, Einstein.” 🤓 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: a win for racial justice in future presidential nominations; bad habits we need our journalists to break for the sake of democracy; free bus rides to the future; allyship as a near enemy; and the gifts of mistakes and closed doors.
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Patron supporters of our work make our work available for everyone, including people who aren’t able to support our work financially. If you’re not able to support our work, we hope that it brings you meaning and joy. If you are in a financially comfortable place and are able to support our work, you can do that here: misfitstars.com/support. Thank you ❤️
The post “Fewer allies, more accomplices.” 🦸🏻♂️ appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: some good, updated advice on how to use covid rapid tests; the shocking disparity in training hours required for various non-potentially-lethal professions as compared to those required for the police; in the wake of the murder of Tyre Nichols, a challenge for each of us to begin imagining how we build a safe, healthy society without police; and — oh yeah, one more item related to the police — how a pivotal study shows that power doesn’t corrupt, it attracts.
Tyre Nichols’s photography: thiscaliforniakid2.wixsite.com/tnicholsphotography
Listen to our new album: songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Link to order our “Good to Me” book on Amazon (we get a small commission if you use this link to buy the book!): amzn.to/3WearA1
And here’s that covid rapid test article: www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/do-rapid-tests-still-work/
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Patron supporters of our work make our work available for everyone, including people who aren’t able to support our work financially. If you’re not able to support our work, we hope that it brings you meaning and joy. If you are in a financially comfortable place and are able to support our work, you can do that here: misfitstars.com/support. Thank you ❤️
The post “What are we gonna do about the police?” 🚔 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: the encouraging news about covid trends as we approach the pandemic’s third anniversary; a perspective-enhancing view on the population of planet Earth; why it matters for all of us that a small-minded, insecure, control freak, power-lusting, opportunistic governor is taking his state full authoritarian (did we overstate how reprehensible this person is? 😂); and a thought exercise to bring us a little closer to our understanding of ego.
Link to order our “Good to Me” book on Amazon (we get a small commission if you use this link to buy the book!): https://amzn.to/3WearA1
Listen to “Good to Me”: https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please pitch in: misfitstars.com/support.
Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️
On this week’s episode: how it’s always been hard times, and how acceptance has always been the key to thriving and progress; why facts don’t stand a chance against a person’s dearly-held mental shortcuts, and how we can use that knowledge to have more productive debates with each other; the un-whitewashing of MLK Jr; and how the smallest moments of gratitude can have the biggest impact on our spirits.
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Listen to our new album:
songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Brian Klaas article on schemas:
https://brianklaas.substack.com/p/schemas-and-the-political-brain
Link to order our “Good to Me” book on Amazon (we get a small commission if you use this link to buy the book!):
https://amzn.to/3WearA1
—
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please pitch in: misfitstars.com/support.
Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️
The post “Kitten-poster moments.” 🐈⬛ appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about saving the bees; how the story of a sketchy 18th-century doctor relates to our present-day epidemic of science denialism; how Shannon is attempting to rewire her brain away from scarcity-based thinking and toward thoughts centered in possibility; the inspiration we got from a tv series about a visualization technique for self-knowledge and -love; and the very big difference between 99 and 100 percent when it comes to commitment.
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please pitch in: misfitstars.com/support.
Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️
The post “100% commitment.” 💯 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about the welcoming power of inclusive language; the 10-year anniversary of Sandy Hook, and some breathtaking statistics regarding guns and gun policy in the US; the astonishing upward transfer of wealth that’s happened in the last 50 years, and how we could all be doing so much better in myriad practical ways if that hadn’t happened (or if we changed those bad policies!); the personally transformative opportunity we create when we make new friends; and how some teens are inspiring Jamie to maybe resurrect his flip phone.
We’re on break until the new year! See you in 2023.
Listen to our new album: songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Free Covid tests: special.usps.com/testkits
Links:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/19/happy-holidays-christmas-inclusion-exclusion/
theintercept.com/2022/12/12/inflation-covid-war-joseph-stiglitz-ira-regmi/
nytimes.com/2022/12/15/style/teens-social-media.html
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode of our new season! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.
Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️
The post “Snow vibes.” ☃️ appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about how the future’s looking a little brighter for marriage equality, how scientists are recreating the power of the sun to get us closer to a sustainable energy future, how the information environments we’ve lived through have evolved, how we can be more evolved in how we each communicate, and the power of both teachers and music.
Click here to listen to our new album Good to Me on your preferred service:
https://songwhip.com/shannoncurtis/good-to-me
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode of our new season! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.
Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️
The post “Thank you, Mr. Murray.” 🎧 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about the emotional roller coaster of releasing a big creative project into the world, how the world is changing for independent artists and how we’re changing with it, more wonderful words that aren’t translatable in English, and the magic of a “hinge moment.”
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode of our new season! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.
Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about this week’s big win for marriage equality, a danger of volcanic eruptions we had never heard of before, how eggplants got their name (but remain gross — fight me), words from non-English languages that are untranslatable (but very cool and useful), evidence that karma might be catching up to a certain political party that’s been trying to cheat their way into minority rule, and the kickoff for our “Good to Me” release celebration.
It’s our first fundraiser in two and a half years! Please become a small-dollar monthly supporter of our work — whatever “small-dollar” means to you — at https://misfitstars.com/support. (If you are already supporting our work, and would like to support it more, you can just go to the above link and make a new pledge; they will coexist harmoniously.) Thank you! ❤️
The post “The Hindi word for ‘DIY.'” 📎 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about all the feels accompanying our upcoming album release, unexpected places in which we’ve lately found a sense of belonging to something larger than ourselves, the role we all have in battling hate speech, how Tucker Carlson is a loser and a terrorist, and the mechanism by which a …
Continue reading "“I just can’t help but say ‘f*ck!’” 🤬"
The post “I just can’t help but say ‘f*ck!’” 🤬 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about what Shannon means when she says it’s “barista season,” the very good news about US election results, how 8 billion people on planet Earth feels different depending on where you live, how someone got cancelled so hard 150 years ago that we all know his name today, and …
Continue reading "“Jagger Java!” 👅"
The post “Jagger Java!” 👅 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about how connecting with people on the Fediverse for only one week has started to free our brains from the lies of corporate social media, how colonialism rears its ugly head within the details of music copyright laws, why kidney transplants are perhaps cooler than you’d imagined, and how—as …
Continue reading "“The future is unwritten; we will write it.” ✍️"
The post “The future is unwritten; we will write it.” ✍️ appeared first on Misfit Stars.
On this week’s episode: we’re talking about how the people of Brazil might have saved the planet this week, how the “Fediverse” has inspired us to love the internet again, why anti-monopoly enforcers are heroes, how the disgraced former president is still trying to take a wrecking ball to democracy, and how a bit of little-known Julia Roberts trivia ties her to a major historical figure and makes us smile.
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss an episode of our new season! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
We’re officially back for Season 5! We’re talking about how great it is when the government we’ve elected actually does good stuff for us, how monopolies suck, why Shannon has become a cold-blooded murderer, why we can’t merely ignore Kanye West’s hate speech, what it feels like to go out of your depth, and — inspired by Jamie’s birthday — just how very old we all are, with a fun perspective brought to us courtesy of Seinfeld’s George Costanza.
Here's the link for Vote Save America, in case you need to get registered / learn about your local ballot issues / sign up to volunteer (HINT HINT).
Today’s a great day to subscribe—on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts—so you don’t miss a single episode of our new season! (And it helps us when you subscribe, rate, and review—so thank you!)
On this week’s episode: we’re back-ish from summer break! We’re starting a whole new season … but not for realsies until the second half of October when we’ve gotten back from a work trip for Jamie. For now, we’re just stopping in to say hi and see you soon! We’re so excited to resume our …
Continue reading "“We’re (almost) back!”"
The post “We’re (almost) back!” appeared first on Misfit Stars.
It’s our last podcast before summer break! For the first time in American history, the Supreme Court has removed legal protections for a fundamental human right. We share how we’re processing our emotions around this development, what it signals about future moves by the white christian fascist movement to cement their power and establish minority-rule …
Continue reading "“Be a soft landing place for someone else’s heart.” ❤️🩹"
The post “Be a soft landing place for someone else’s heart.” ❤️🩹 appeared first on Misfit Stars.
It’s our last podcast before summer break! For the first time in American history, the Supreme Court has removed legal protections for a fundamental human right. We share how we’re processing our emotions around this development, what it signals about future moves by the white christian fascist movement to cement their power and establish minority-rule authoritarianism here, and some concrete steps we can take to channel our energy into fighting the hell back.
We also debut the final song from our album project — “Good to Me” — which is centered on the personal commitments we’ll need to make to ourselves in this time, in order to cultivate peace in our spirits, and to access and use our power.
Links:
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abortionfunds.org
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votesaveamerica.com/midterm-madness
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fourmore.us
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mitch hedberg
We’re talking about the vulnerability hangover Shannon had after finishing the writing for the last song of her album, the sober birthday celebration of the fact that Jamie’s last actual hangover was 18 years ago, and how we think it’s impossible for someone who’s legitimately done their inner work to be a fascist (lookin’ at you, Texas Republicans — the platform you just adopted is telling on the black hole of your souls).
Links:
https://aftontickets.com/ShipwreckedMusicFestivalhttps://misfitstars.com/2021-sobriety-series/https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/the-texas-gop-just-went-full-fascist
This “been conned” theme runs through a couple of our conversation topics today: the mind-bending / heartbreaking unreality in which MAGA folks exist, and the bombshell evidence the Jan. 6 Commission is revealing about the coup attempted by the disgraced former president.
We also talk about some sexy anti-monopoly action coming down the pike, and we make the world debut of our new song, “Serenity.”
Links:https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/06/12/election-suspicion-georgia-greene-trump/https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/torpedoes-in-the-waterhttps://current.thedispatch.com/p/getting-smart-on-intelligence
We’re getting smart about topics that are painfully useful in 2022! 😭 Like what exactly do white Christian nationalists believe about America, and what implications does that have for the rest of us? What can we, as individuals, do to reduce gun deaths? How big, exactly, is a blue whale’s heart? (Ok, that one’s not painful at all.) And what do we have in common with a two-headed calf? (Also not painful, but very lovely, in fact.)
YLE firearms article: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/firearms-what-you-can-do-right-now
NY Magazine Christian nationalism article: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/06/white-christian-nationalism-is-a-threat-to-democracy.html
We are arming ourselves with facts for the gun reform debate! 💪🏻 And also with knowledge about the specific ways in which the very tiny minority of gun nuts try to confuse that debate in order to delay us and stop us from taking any action on gun control.
We also take a lovely detour into ancient language, gain some spiritual inspiration from an NBA star, and share our new song, "I Am."
• call your senators: 202-224-3121• https://votesaveamerica.com• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ultraconserved-words-ice-age-language-study_n_3228664• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-is-clear-gun-control-saves-lives/
Oof. It’s another horrifying day in a horrifying time in the so-called home of the brave. We spend a lot of our conversation doing unfiltered and honest exploration of our thoughts and feelings about the mass gun murder at a Texas elementary school, and how it connects to the broader landscape of rising fascism in America.
We also talk about the message a river had for us yesterday: how making a conscious connection to something bigger and more everlasting than this moment in history may be essential for us to survive it, and to love ourselves and each other through it.
It can often seem like we’re powerless against the horrors of white supremacist fascism on the rise here in the U.S. — like the murder of 10 Black people at a grocery store this week — but there is one small, yet vitally important and powerful, weapon that every last one of us has at our disposal: our language.
We also cruise through other topics like how we can be better media consumers, how goth is a black hole (answer: so goth), and the Zen Buddhist nature of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
Here's the Washington Post article on how to spot a fake video: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/19/how-spot-fake-video/
And here's that InVID site ... just paste a video link from Twitter / Facebook / YouTube, and it'll help you figure out how trustworthy the video and the person sharing it are! https://www.invid-project.eu/
We’re still unpacking thoughts and feelings about last week’s Supreme Court disaster for reproductive rights. In doing so, we learn about the 17th-century douchebag dude whose writings the right-wing extremists on the court think are the bomb, we find practical inspiration from an 80s kids’ movie, and we debut our new song, which is 100% related to our effort to find power within ourselves during this frightening time.
We’re back from break! And it appears there is a whole lot going on in the “this feels important” category upon our return.
We talk — from a few different angles — about the impending ruling by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, and what it means not only for bodily autonomy but also for democracy. And, not to focus solely on doom and gloom, we also take fun detours into medieval timekeeping and the evolutionary importance of caring.
Here's the Politico article Shannon mentions: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/
And the number for the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121. CALL YOUR SENATORS.
We're visiting family! Might we suggest revisiting last week's episode? It was dense. See you next week, most likely, unless we return home to find that something's blown up. We'll keep you posted.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lwpS5M7hgA
Are we the only ones who have been feeling like the dumpster fire of world events seems to be particularly dumpster-fire-y lately? Well … we’re feeling it, and we’re talking about it.
Specifically, we discuss how real the pull can be toward cynicism (and how we can practically help each other through moments like that), the myriad ways in which the drama-addicted media in the U.S. really needs to get their shit together in the face of rising authoritarianism (or, more realistically, how each of us can and must be mouthpieces in our own circles about what is true), how non-mask-wearers are killing the independent touring industry, and how lies create wars (this is pretty much a Timothy Snyder fan-cast at this point). We also go in-depth about our brand-new song, “Sweat and Butterflies.”
Here's a direct link to an English translation of the Russian "Genocide Handbook," which you should absolutely read. https://medium.com/@kravchenko_mm/what-should-russia-do-with-ukraine-translation-of-a-propaganda-article-by-a-russian-journalist-a3e92e3cb64
We’ve recovered from the Great (two-hour-long) Central Tacoma Power Outage of 2022 to bring you more riveting Misfit Stars discussion! Topics this week include unions (hopefully!) making a comeback, the scientific possibility that Fox News addicts' alternate reality can be set straight (when they stop mainlining Fox propaganda), an inclusive teacher in Florida calling out the absurdity of that state’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law in a beautifully snarky letter (which may or may not be real, but we don’t care — it’s glorious), and inspiration from author E.B. White about the possibility and terror of a blank page.
To hear the first Small Dinosaurs record "Household Songs," click here: https://smalldinosaurs.bandcamp.com/album/household-songs-2
And to read the Fox News study cited in the podcast, click here: https://osf.io/jrw26/
A busy schedule required us to record this one super early this week … so if any really important things happened in the world and we aren’t talking about it here, well, we hope you’ll give us a pass. 😅
But! It’s an all-good-stuff pod this week! Including us getting deep about the new song we just released, “Be With What Is,” and the idea of radical acceptance. Come on in, the water’s warm.
In between raving about spring springing in Washington, we manage to have some good non-weather-related conversation!
Topics include: a couple of unexpected wins in the effort to protect trans kids, a beautiful and emotionally intelligent mechanism of the Irish language, the relevance of truth both in anti-authoritarianism and in having hope, and how we think this year’s Best Picture Oscar nominees could be … well, better.
We get into some good, deep stuff this week, all wrapped up neatly in roughly an hour of us on mics — which stands for microphone, and does not refer to one or more persons named Mike. Just … FYI.
Topics include: good news about California vehicle emissions standards, a brain-bending perspective on the size of the solar system, the relationship between internalized capitalism and self-worth, the great daylight savings debate, a new song about the power in admitting powerlessness, how to respond to right-wing propaganda-addled folks who (wrongly) complain that Biden is to blame for high gas prices, how anti-trans efforts are (horrifyingly) aimed at nothing short of extermination, and how the people of Ukraine are reminding all of us about our values, our humanity, and what’s worth fighting for.
Here is a good list of specific ways to help advocate for trans kids in some of the states in which they're coming under attack, courtesy of Misfit Star Bonnie R: https://20465691.hs-sites.com/rally-against-anti-trans-legislation-a-state-by-state-guide
"Try to be the pond."
There’s a thread running through a few of the topics we cover this week: how fomenting unreality can turn into real harms suffered by real people in the real world. Like how Russian propaganda led directly to Putin’s war against Ukraine; like how deregulation of media in the US has allowed a mythological “patriotism” for conservative Americans to fester, which has increasingly manifested as real-world violence; and like how Republicans' inventing an imaginary and extraordinary need for retirement funding nearly killed the Post Office. We also cover a couple of nifty new words for our vocab repertoire, and an elementary school lesson about ponds and fish that every adult needs to hear.
Hoo boy. This last week has been a long year. We’re talking all about it: 80s-kid duck-and-cover flashbacks; a supreme Supreme Court nominee; turning the perfect English phrase; the direct line between the autocrat trying to violently rebuild the Russian empire and the horrifying new anti-trans policy in Texas; and … what each of us can do about it all, in our little corners of the world.
Here's a good list of resources for where to donate to help Ukraine: https://snyder.substack.com/p/a-few-ways-to-help-ukrainians
And here are a few ways to help support trans kids in Texas:https://txtranskids.orghttps://txtranshealth.orghttps://transtexas.org
We’re powering through the final week of our carb fast-induced brain fog, and we’re covering lots of meaty topics: U.S. women soccer players getting PAID, our immune systems going to vaccine school, how simple physics alleviates a common flying phobia, how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is relevant to the survival of democracy on Earth, and the benefit of becoming a master of pain (or is it “Master of Pain?” … sounds like a cartoon villain … or a WWE wrestler … maybe both. What's even the difference. Can we have sugar yet?).
We’re gritting our teeth through sugar withdrawals to cover lots of ground — a nuclear fusion future, Jamie hogging all the gold stars, the toddler tantrum (I mean, “trucker protest”) in Ottawa, the dark side of superheroes, the debut of our new song, “Sandstorm” … and more! If you can even believe it. With no sugar!
Buckle up, because this week we’re talking about: Girl Scout cookies, congressional redistricting, the history of world map orientation, no-knock warrants, the vulnerability of uncertainty and potential rejection, unsolicited advice, and some right-on-time Buddhist inspiration. Who else do you know who is willing to tackle such a wide range of topics in one episode? Yeah, …
Continue reading "“The F stands for feeling.”"
The post “The F stands for feeling.” appeared first on Misfit Stars.
We’re still learning how to avoid stubbing our toes on the furniture in our new podcast digs, but we’re loving the new format. This week, it takes us through topics like: the good (?) news about a new covid variant, broadening the conversation about what makes someone “qualified” for a position like Supreme Court justice, Spotify’s history of being a bad actor, astroturfed book-banning efforts, what triangles have to do with god, and the goth-approved debut of the peppy first song from our new 2022 album project.
New year, new podcast format! We've freshened things up for the new year and the first of the new episodes drops today.
This week we talk about the power in naming feelings, loads of good news from the last month, a fact you may not have known about squids (which Shannon now kind of wishes she didn't), saving democracy, and the inspiring intersection of French food, beauty, and revolution in the 2021 film Delicious.
We're mostly on break! But we wanted to pass along a little encouragement about holiday-related stress. As always, if we can help, send one of us a message. We're here.
It's the final episode in our series on sobriety and recovery! Shannon talks this week about specific tools she uses on a daily basis to keep her recovery on track and to reorient herself when she hits a snag.
ALSO: If you want a personal song, today (Wednesday 15 December) is the last day to ask Shannon about it!
We continue onward with our sobriety miniseries! This week: Jamie talks about the changes he's experienced in his life as a result of his recovery work.
You have one week left to ask Shannon to write you a Personal Song for Christmas. Get on it!
We're finishing up our thorough trip through the twelve steps. Today: steps 10-12, aka "the maintenance steps."
There's still time to enquire about Shannon writing a personal song for you to give as a holiday gift to a loved one; message either of us for pricing and details!
We're continuing with our sobriety and recovery miniseries! This week: Steps 5-9.
You still have time to have Shannon write a Personal Song for you to give to a loved one as a holiday gift! Message either one of us for more details.
It was our intention to talk about the next section of the twelve steps. But then the covid booster shots kicked in. Don't worry, though; we still covered plenty of good ground.
You still have time to ask Shannon to write you a Personal Song for a holiday gift! Send either of us a message for more details.
We're continuing our miniseries on sobriety and recovery! This week we start talking specifically about the 12 steps. What are they and how do they work?
There's still time to ask Shannon to write a Personal Song for you to give to a loved one for Christmas! Send one of us a message for more info.
There are some concepts around sobriety and recovery that people who have been through that process just sort of throw around, that normies might not necessarily understand in a nuanced way. So we thought we'd pause Jamie's recovery story this week to talk through some of those ideas, so when they come up subsequently you'll know what we're talking about.
It's Jamie's turn to share, as we continue our miniseries on sobriety and recovery! Jamie talks today about the "what happened" part of his journey — that critical turning point from pre-sobriety into sobriety.
Plus we dig into Shannon's Personal Song "A Letter," as part of our ongoing Personal Song Spotlight series.
If you haven't seen our 2020101 Virtual Concert, you can replay it at https://youtu.be/sKqOGhi_ODI.
Shannon continues this week with her "Benefits of Recovery, Part Two." She's so much healthier than she used to be!
Also, we have a livestream concert event THIS SATURDAY! Get details and set yourself a reminder here: https://youtu.be/sKqOGhi_ODI
We continue our miniseries on recovery and sobriety this week with the first part of the second part of Shannon's story!
Last week you heard Act I of Shannon's recovery arc … and this week it's Jamie's turn on the hot seat. Fair warning: Jamie's pre-recovery time was completely out of control.
We talk a lot on here about our recovery ... but we realized that not necessarily everyone who listens to the podcast has heard the stories of how we each came to be in recovery! So we're going to spend some episodes talking about that. First up: Shannon.
Jamie did some pretty intense personal inventory and journaling work a couple weeks ago, as a means of addressing some stuff he was working through. We thought we'd spend this episode talking about that, in hopes that it might be of some help to someone.
If you need someone to talk with about sobriety-related issues, you can message Jamie — jamie at misfitstars dot com.
There's been a lot going on in the country while we were taking our personal time ... so we thought we should talk about it! We're calling this a 'newsapalooza.'" TRY AND STOP US.
We're on a little break this week! We should be back next week. In the meantime, if you aren't fully caught up on our ongoing and evolving series on the harmful and toxic effects of America's culture of individualism, start with the June 9 episode and listen forward from there.
We're still talking about individualism; this week through the lens of a couple of related pieces we noticed in the wild.
Links:
Heather Richardson's piece (subscribe to her newsletter!): https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-27-2021
That Bloomberg article from May: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-24/it-s-not-just-up-to-you-to-solve-climate-change
Michael Harriot's very excellent history lesson on the Founding Fathers' unanimous support of vaccine mandates: https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1432060194276659203
Apropos of a piece in Timothy Snyder's newsletter this week, we continue our discussion on individualism — the angle this week being the intersections between individualism and racism, and how each idea has been used in service of the other over centuries to further the interests of the wealthy.
Here's the link to the Snyder piece, which you absolutely should read: https://snyder.substack.com/p/racial-climate
Our adventure with deconstructing toxic individualism continues apace! This week we're looking at it from the angle of "fitting in" — and what that idea implies for our understanding of and relationship to our Self.
We're playing perhaps our only show of this year this weekend! Come join us. Tickets here: clatsopunitedway.org/shipwrecked-music-festival/
After a couple of weeks of grieving, we're back to exploring more of that conversation about individualism. Don't get us wrong, we're still grieving. But we're at a point in our journey where we feel like we can think about other things too, and that feels like progress!
Links:
Tickets to the festival we're playing: clatsopunitedway.org/shipwrecked-music-festival/
Our Sunday Session with Gaelynn Lea: youtube.com/watch?v=qY3QgEs0X6c
The (fascinating) Atlantic article about why talking to strangers is actually very good: theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/08/why-we-should-talk-strangers-more/619642/
We set out to do a short episode today, because we're both feeling fairly emotionally overloaded. And, to our credit, we kept it under 50 minutes! Progress, not perfection.
If you have thoughts or feelings about Scott's passing, and you'd like to share them, please either post in the group or send one of us a message. We're here. ❤️
This was an incredibly difficult episode to have to record. (Content warning: suicide.) Our dear friend and Misfit Star Scott S. took his own life last Thursday, and so that's what we're talking about this week.
If you have remembrances, thoughts, or comments — apropos of either Scott's passing, or suicide more generally — we're here for you. Please message us in the Misfit Stars Social Network, on Facebook, or send us an email (we give our addresses toward the end of the podcast). We love you guys. ❤️
Our conversation today takes us into the culture of individualism, and the problems it poses — to addressing systemic problems, and also to societal cohesion writ large.
Here's that Timothy Snyder piece (which you should absolutely read): snyder.substack.com/p/floridas-holocaust-problem
And here's the ticketing link for the festival we're playing in August:clatsopunitedway.org/shipwrecked-music-festival/
We're back! We spent a refreshing couple of weeks away — first visiting family and friends for the first time since the pandemic, and then making our way back home via the California / Oregon / Washington coasts. And we're right back to our old tricks! Specifically, our ongoing discussion about how we evolve as a society (heck, as a species) into whatever it is that comes after the world-historic turning point we've all just experienced.
Please let us know your thoughts after listening — we'd love to hear them.
And: the ticketing link for the Shipwrecked Music Festival — aka the one show we're playing this year — is here: https://www.clatsopunitedway.org/shipwrecked-music-festival/
We are STILL out and about visiting family and friends! We're relatively sure we'll be back next week? Stay tuned for the exciting resolution to this cliffhanger!
In the meantime, if you're not caught up on the extended, ongoing conversation that we've been having over the past three weeks' worth of episodes, now would be a great time to binge those and get current. You can find all our back episodes at misfitstars.com/listen.
Stop the presses — we're actually taking some time for ourselves! We'll be back in a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, if you're not caught up on the extended, ongoing conversation that we've been having over the past three weeks, that would be a fine way to fill the Misfit Stars Podcast-shaped hole in your life. You can catch up on all our back episodes at misfitstars.com/listen.
(With apologies to the late, great Mitch Hedberg for the episode title.)
The train of thought we got on a couple weeks ago has not yet reached its destination! This week, we use some thoughts from my brilliant cousin Gretchen Siegchrist as jumping-off points for our continued discussion.
Whitney Fishburn's newsletter, which we cite in this podcast, is here: https://documental.substack.com/p/decolonize-your-mind-make-up-better
Literally 30 seconds after we stopped taping last week's episode, Shannon was like, "I HAVE MORE THOUGHTS." So we're using last week as a jumping-off point, and continuing forward. THERE MAY BE A THIRD WEEK.
The Ezra Klein piece we talk about in this episode, which you should 100% read, is here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/opinion/stimulus-unemployment-republicans-poverty.html
And our friend Whitney Fishburn's 'docu-mental' newsletter, which you should 100% subscribe to, is here (the basic subscription is free!): https://documental.substack.com/p/creating-herd-immunity-to-anxiety
We read an amazing essay this week, and we wanted to talk with you about it. Here's the link for that ... please read it, and let us know your thoughts: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/post-pandemic-dont-want-to-reenter-society/619045/
Oh my gosh ... we finished 2020101! You should go spend some time with the songs and stories at 2020101.net; it's rewarding. And if you have a story of your own to contribute, send it along to Jamie.
It's fundraiser week! So this is a legitimately brief episode; if you want to hear more of us talking, please join us for our fundraiser telethon broadcasts, every night through Thursday, May 27, at facebook.com/shannonkcurtis. We're on from 7-8pm Pacific Time each night.
We're raising money to help our dear friend Michelle pay for her cancer treatments, and we're putting on a variety show each night to help make it happen — live music performances, Jamie-Oke, general silliness ... it's a good time.
See you there!
We've just started our yearly fundraiser. This year we're donating 100% of the proceeds to our dear friend Michelle, who's about to start a terrifyingly expensive treatment for an incurable cancer, in hopes of prolonging her life long enough that they find a long-term treatment for multiple myeloma. Please contribute generously, at misfitstars.com/fundraiser.
Also, we talk about Song 10 from 2020101!
Also, when the numerator is larger than the denominator, it's called an improper fraction.
It wasn't just a pandemic that we had to deal with last year ... there was also the small matter of an all-stakes election. No pressure! A lot of people found their political voice last year, or got involved in unprecedented ways. We both certainly did. Shannon's new song is about all this ... we'll talk about how that all looked for us, and what it will look like going forward.
Can we be frank with you? We're burned out. It's been a long year, and we're still sprinting. Also, we are for sure not unique in this! So we thought we'd talk about it.
We're talking about racial justice again. In our defense, this time we have a whole new song about it! Plus a digression on a conservative economic argument for taxing the shit out of corporations and the wealthy, as extemporized by Jamie. Good times all around. 😇
A lot of us have been just barely hanging on for part or all of this last year. Shannon wrote an out-of-the-box song to talk about it.
And, also: Cops, Part II — The Amends.
Honestly. The last thing we're interested in doing on our podcast is talking about the damn cops. But they keep killing people. So we have to keep talking about them. Hopefully one day this will change.
We have YET ANOTHER new song for you! It's called Breaking Ground, and it's about falling in love, getting married, and having babies in a pandemic. How audacious and hopeful.
Wow, can you believe we're already FIVE songs into 2020101? The newest song is called "These Four Walls," and it's about parenting in a pandemic. A deep topic for sure.
If you have a story about what parenting has been like for you over this last year — the good as well as the difficult — please email it to us at jamie@misfitstars.com! We want your voice to be included in our project.
Today we're talking about song 4 from 2020101: "Digging That Hole." It's about a situation that all too many of us have had to deal with over the last year: someone in your life getting sucked in by propaganda or conspiracy theories. It's tough stuff. We'll listen to the song and talk it through!
If you have a story to share with us about how someone in your life has fallen under the sway of propaganda or conspiracy theories, please consider writing it up and emailing it to us at jamie@misfitstars.com for inclusion in our 2020101 story archive. We can publish it anonymously if that would feel more comfortable.
Apropos of a Listener Question from Scott S., we spend some time in this episode talking about risk/reward, codependency, and listening to the little voice inside you. Plus digressions on vaccinations and the historical role of the Department of the Interior. Also, there's kazoo.
The songs from 2020101 are coming fast and furious! The latest is called "Extraordinary People," and, despite being about 2020, it's a celebration – of the ways in which we've showed up for each other and ourselves in this time of crisis.
The other fantastic thing that's happened this week is that the Senate has passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. There is so much legitimately great stuff in this bill, that will unequivocally help millions and millions of people who need it. We're nerds ... so we spend some talking through our excitement about this.
If you have a story to share about someone showing up for you or your community in an extraordinary way over this last year – or about you showing up for yourself – please send it to us! You can send it to Jamie, at jamie@misfitstars.com.
Our rituals around death, loss, and grieving were turned on their end over this last year. Shannon talks about this in an intimate way in the second song from 2020101, "Through the Window" – and we talk through it at some greater length in this week's episode.
If you have a story to share about your experience around death and grieving over this last year – or if you would like to share a remembrance, memorial, or eulogy for a departed loved one – please email it to Jamie at jamie@misfitstars.com. ❤️
It's a lightning-round Misfit Stars podcast episode! But we manage to tackle a shocking number of topics – including a listener question from Amanda M. on how we maintain healthy space in our relationship.
The 2020101 Project has begun! Song 1 is out in the world. It's called Precipice. It's about coming to grips with what the idea of “normal” meant in 2020. We hope you love it.
If you have a story to share about how your normal was disrupted over this last year, please email it to Shannon at skc@shannoncurtis.net; we are continuing to collect and share people's stories of 2020 throughout this project.
Eep! We have big changes in store for our Misfit Stars community. Don't worry, though, it's nothing too scary. In fact, it's going to be amazing. Come have a listen and we'll tell you all about it.
Misfit Star Scott S. recently posed us a fascinating Listener Question: What labels have we worn in the past, and why did we wear them? And what did they mean to us at the time?
We spend this episode talking about the specific labels each of us has worn at various points in our lives, and also about the more abstract role of labels as totems – given, learned, earned, and aspirational – and how they define our sense and understanding of what it means to be a human, inhabiting this strange world we share with other humans, all searching for community, meaning, and fulfillment.
Like you, we're still decompressing from the last four years. And, perhaps also like you, we're realizing that it's going to be a process! We use this episode to continue talking through our experience as we transition from what was to what's next.
Also: join us this Saturday, January 30th, for a live acoustic concert, simulcast on YouTube and Facebook! Details in the Misfit Stars private group and at shannoncurtis.net.
Wow, four years. For something that feels like it took a decade off our lives, it went by in a flash! We don't want to dwell, and we're so excited for what comes next. But, also, we understand the value in approaching transitions intentionally. So we thought we'd spend this episode remembering exactly how bad it was, celebrating the good that sprang from it, and putting good thoughts into the air for the future. Please share your own reflections and hopes in the private group!
So, ah, there was a coup attempt last week? And what else could we talk about, really. We’re appalled. How appalled? Shannon says the F word 😮
It's part two of our "how we do what we do" miniseries! If you missed the first part, rewind one week. And if you need more to listen to than that, keep rewinding, because the Misfit Stars Podcast is going on winter break. We'll be back January 13. Make good choices. ❤️
It's the first part of a two-episode mini-series about our creative process! Our Stars had questions about how we do what we do ... we are here to answer them. And also to make a serious digression regarding the role of gender in our society. It's important.
We're doing his-n-hers topics on the Misfit Stars Podcast today! Each of us just had some stuff on our minds. For Jamie it's accountability; for Shannon it's the history of democracy and the role of the individual. Spoiler alert: there's overlap.
It's Season Three! Hard to believe we've been doing this podcast for TWO YEARS. To celebrate, we're starting a new segment – Listener Questions – in which supporting members of the podcast can ask questions for us to answer on-air.
To kick things off, we're talking about previous jobs we've held – and, in Jamie's case, the various reasons he was fired from them. Some people really are cut out for self-employment.
It's Thanksgiving! And even though it's a weird one this year, that doesn't mean we can't honor the season. So, in that spirit, we spend this episode sharing personal memories of Thanksgivings past, and talking about what we're thankful for.
If you're in the Misfit Stars Facebook group, we're going to be starting a group thankfulness thread in there ... please come participate!
We're feeling some anxiety around this third wave of coronavirus! Days are getting colder and darker, everyone is out of patience, and the holidays are approaching. It's a recipe for trouble. We talk through our feelings about it.
It's all over but the shouting (and the gesture toward a halfhearted coup attempt. But you can tell their hearts aren't in it, the poor dears). Which means that we've actually found ourselves starting to decompress from these last four years! It's a strange feeling, and a lot to process. We spend this episode talking through it.
We spend an hour checking in on how we're thinking and feeling at this stage of the election process. Also, Shannon does an impromptu a cappella rendition of the Silver Spoons theme. Epic.
This is now an election podcast. Honestly, what else are we going to talk about? Shannon has some ideas on how to steel ourselves for what's coming. We'll go deep.
You know how when you did a group project in 7th-grade English class, there were some people who shouldered all the weight, and there were some people who just coasted? Our country is experiencing the same precise dynamic with regard to our politics.
Thirteen days until the most consequential election of our lifetime. Are you doing as much swing-state volunteering as you would ideally be doing? Visit https://facebook.com/groups/letssavedemocracy and we'll help you get started!
You know how sometimes there's so much going on that it's hard to focus? Well, welcome to our week. We don't have a focal topic this week! We're just processing. Come process with us. ❤️
We thought we'd wait to record this week's podcast till we'd watched the first presidential debate. Which was kind of a good idea, only because talking about anything else on this particular Wednesday would have been irrelevant. But, holy cow – neither of us was prepared for what a viscerally traumatic experience it was! We talk about that – and nothing else – for this hour. We apologize in advance.
When things get increasingly bad, repeatedly, over a long period of time, it's tempting to get fatalistic. But we need to keep imagining a brighter future; it can be ours, if we don't get discouraged and we keep putting in the work.
Also, Jamie actually remembered to put a link in the show notes for once! Here's the link to Sunday's acoustic Facebook Live concert. Grab some snacks and hang out with us for an hour and a half or so. ☺️
We're back! Staycation was ... fine? It's hard to relax during the apocalypse. We did our best. And now we want to talk with you about phone banking! No, seriously. It's really great. We'll tell you all about it. We have to save democracy, you know.
It's our second Misfit Stars Staycation Activity podcast! This week we'll walk you through how to take a personal inventory. It's like a wellness check for your insides. Good stuff.
It's the first of two Misfit Stars Staycation Activity podcasts! This week, we'll talk about how to make your very own gratitude list. It's good for your soul.
It's the final deep dive from And Her Whisper Becomes a Storm! Shannon, aka 'Ms. Curtis,' gets deep into the oh-so-science-y meaning behind "Petrichor." Also, we explain how this album title isn't a QAnon reference, for the love of god.
On the downside this week, [gestures wildly in every direction]. But on the upside ... we have music. We'll talk everything through, and also we'll do a deep dive into "Clouds," song 11 on AHWBAS. We're happy you're here.
Have you had one of those days recently where the universe just felt a little bit ... off? Same here. And you know how sometimes, on a day like that, it can feel really good to re-ground yourself in why you're doing what you're doing? SAME. So in this episode we start off with a bit of that. And then in the second half, we break down songs 9 and 10 off Shannon's new album. Thanks for listening!
When we set out six weeks ago to do our weekly song-by-song analysis of Shannon's new album, we promised misheard lyrics. And then we went a lot of weeks without any really good ones. We apologize, and we're please to announce: that changes today! Indeed, it's a veritable Misheard Lyrics Bonanza on S02E35 of the Misfit Stars podcast. Highly recommended for anyone who needs a laugh as badly as we have lately.
How on earth is it possible to start recording a podcast episode with no script and nothing specific to talk about and end up with a 50-minute episode? We swear we only intended to talk for 20 minutes.
In the second half of the episode, we do a deep dive on "This Millisecond" – song 7 on And Her Whisper Becomes a Storm.
Misfit Stars is on vacation! But we're terrible at vacation. So we recorded an hour-long podcast. Siiiiigh.
This week we dissect "Small Breath" and "Bending the Atmosphere," from Shannon's new album. Learn all about the hidden Morse code, and other insider secrets!
We watched a movie called Mr. Jones the other day, and it felt deeply relevant to some issues the country is dealing with at the moment, specifically as regards cognitive dissonance. So we spend the first half of this episode talking about that.
And then in the second half of the episode we talk about song four on "And Her Whisper Becomes a Storm" – a song called "The Reckoning" – including a very special Misheard Lyric. You won't want to miss it.
Due to an arcane technical glitch, the first recording of this episode didn't actually happen. The machine said it was recording! But it was lying! So we got to record it a second time. Which brings up some interesting questions related to quantum physics and the fallibility of memory. Did any of you hear the first version? Was it better?
In the second half of the episode, we listen to and discuss 'Nowness,' the third song on Shannon's new record. This is the thematic centerpiece of the album, and presents a good opportunity to talk about being present – an ever-more-applicable life skill in these turbulent times.
Even as everything feels like it's on fire, it's also tempting to let complacency take over. I mean, who doesn't want a break right now? Everyone's exhausted. But we've gotta stay vigilant. On all the fronts. And there are many.
And then after the break we'll listen to song 2 off our new album – a song called "Paralyzed in Sleep" – and we'll each talk about it! Some sugar to help the medicine go down. Hang in there.
Our country has not been dealing with coronavirus well. At all! We have feelings about this. We share them. Also, we're debuting a new three-month-long series-within-a-podcast, in which we start at the beginning of the new album and play one song each week and then talk about it! It's the behind-the-scenes album-making content you crave.
After Jamie popped off at the mouth about cops in last week's episode – and was held to account in real time by Shannon – he was also subsequently held to gentle and kind account by a few people in our Misfit Stars Facebook group. It led to some wonderful follow-up conversation, which provided a helpful jumping-off point for some continued conversation on our end. Also, we're hurtling toward our album release and Zoom tour. We'll tell you all about it.
We had a couple of online personal interactions this week apropos of the Black Lives Matter protests that did not end well. It gave us a lot to reflect on. Also, we unintentionally model how to work through a disagreement on a sensitive topic in real time!
Our country has – improbably, given where we were starting from – taken a dramatic turn for the worse over the last week. We spend the first half of this episode talking through what's been happening – and then we spend the second half talking over some things that we've been learning in this time about how to start effecting change – both systemic and personal. It's a long one ... buckle in!
We're nearing the end of our fundraiser, and we still need 23 more supporters to reach our final goal. Please make a small-dollar contribution at shannoncurtis.net if you haven't already!
Because of the fundraiser, this is a short-ish episode. We touch on Memorial Day weekend, in which our nation did not acquit itself well at all. We are doing a bad job at pandemic. We need to do much better.
There seems to have been a disconcerting shift in tone regarding the coronavirus over the last week or so – maybe you've noticed it where you live? It seems like a whole lot of people all of a sudden have decided they're sick of this pandemic situation, and are moving swiftly to put it in their rearview. Which ... that's not really how this works, in reality? But, also, dealing with people who have decided to adopt this mindset is very much a reality – indeed, a personal reality, for a lot of us. We talk through some feelings and strategies around that.
We're in yearly fundraiser mode, and already doing an hour-long Facebook Live broadcast each day, and so we had every intention for this to be a short episode. But then we got talking about media literacy. So it's actually a regular-length episode. Bonus!
We've just started our sustainability fundraiser, so this is a short one! We talk about a couple things that are on our minds this week. And, of course, the fundraiser.
Please support our fundraiser at shannoncurtis.net! It will help us keep afloat in this wild time. Thanks for your support. It means the world.
Exciting news ... we have a new single! Our first of 2020. IT'S ALL STARTING. 😳 It's coming out this Friday ... but you get to hear it first! We hope you love it. Please message us and let us know.
Also, we talk through the week. Anyone else's parents getting dangerously bored with quarantine?
This is a very exciting episode ... because it's the inaugural episode of Misfit Stars Listener Radio! 🎉
The concept is simple. We asked the people in our Misfit Stars Facebook group what songs have been a comfort for them in this strange new time ... and we play them for you, along with running commentary. It's like we're sitting around listening to records together, with the playlist chosen by you all. It's wonderful. Everyone did a great job recommending songs, and it's an uplifting listen. We hope you love it.
Here's a link to the playlist on Spotify, in case you want to listen to some of the songs again on your own: https://misfitstars.com/listener-radio-22-apr-20-playlist
With the advent of this pandemic, the Post-9/11 Era is definitively over. So ... what's going to characterize the next era? It's a time to dream big dreams. We asked our people what their dreams were for this time, and there were some recurring themes. We talk them through in this episode!
We've each had occasion in our lives to learn some tools that have been serving us unexpectedly well in this time of global pandemic. Chief among them is the concept of sorting situations out into two columns: those we do have the power to control, and those we don't. We spend this episode talking about the real-world ways in which this has been showing up for each of us lately.
We're still working on finding a balance between self-care and being there for other people. It continues to be a work in progress. Also, shopping is fraught.
Please let us know in the private Facebook group how you're doing. We'd love to check in. ❤️
We're just barely into this world-historical event, and it's already clear that everything is going to change. Which gives us each opportunities to reevaluate our priorities – both in our personal lives and in our society writ large. That's what we're talking about this week; come join us, and please share your thoughts in the private group.
Holy hell; this last week has been a thousand years long. The reality of what we're looking at as a country and as a planet is overwhelming and hard to take onboard. That's what we're talking about this episode. It may be what we're talking about for a long time to come. Come take some comfort with us, dear friends. Also, CALL YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE. ❤️
So that low-level tension we were talking about last week? Well, it hasn't dissipated. And indeed it seems to be ratcheting up! It's becoming increasingly apparent to both of us that keeping our mental wellness as healthy as it can be is going to require focused, intentional effort. And so we thought we'd share our ideas with you. Please let us know what you think; we'd love to hear your strategies also.
Anyone else feeling just a little ambient low-level tension? Maybe more than a little? We're living through some uncertain times at the moment. And the Democratic primary is absolutely not helping. We seem to be in the middle of an extended existential election-year freakout, and it's coming from all sides.
So, what can we do to deal with our feelings of generalized discomfort? We thought it worth talking through. Hopefully you'll get some value from it.
None of us stays the same. We couldn't if we wanted to, and, also, we shouldn't want to! The moment we believe that the best version of ourselves isn't still ahead of us is the moment we start to die inside.
Given this, it's probably a good idea to take a look, every so often, at the ways in which we're changing. Because we should ideally be changing in a positive direction, right? So today's Listener Topic, from Scott S., felt like a perhaps-overdue invitation to do a little digging.
Also, Shannon's completely pissed off this week. And we'll dig into that too.
Control issues are at the heart of so much personal pain. And, so often, they're intertwined with a sense of powerlessness. In a time when the news can make us feel a renewed sense of powerlessness with each passing day, it felt apropos to talk about where our feelings of powerlessness are rooted, and to explore how we can transform them into a practical sense of empowerment.
We also talk for a bit about sobriety. It's related.
Can we be honest about something? We love our parents. But they're on the opposite side of a deep political chasm from where we're at. We know this is a not-uncommon situation in this age. And it's painful! In this episode, Jamie takes a deep dive into the processing – and grieving – that he's been doing around this aspect of his relationship with his parents.