In the Corner Back By the Woodpile: Recent Episodes
Spun Counterguy
After World War II, the city of Berlin was divided in four sections with one finding themselves closed off with concrete and barbed wire. A wall was built that separated the free from the enslaved. In the 1970s, Georgina Liu found herself living on one side but getting to venture into the other. Liu shares with us those experiences and observations in living in the city divided.
It is well known that Harry Houdini had an interest in the afterlife and the paranormal. What if the magician pulled off the greatest trick of his life by escaping the bonds of death? Our guest Charlie Young, along with his sister Cheryl Young, have written a work of fiction called Houdini’s Last Handcuffs which seeks to explore the possibility of the master illusionist reappearing to the world of the living. As you will learn from Mr. Young, the book contains as much historical fact as fiction.
Derek Luptak talks with author Spun Counterguy to talk about the inspirations behind the horror anthology Nest of 'Em. Including Skeleton Key, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Picture of Dorian Gray, Southern Gospel, Chinese folklore and more.
In the early 1800’s when America was debating what to do about those still enslaved and the many black Americans that were gaining their liberty, one solution was to return free people to the continent from which they were bought from: Africa. The American Colonization Society was an organization that embraced this idea and began the process of aiding blacks who wished to return to their place of origin. While some African Americans were sympathetic to the plan, most were not. Dr. Robin West comes Back by the Woodpile to help us understand what were the intentions of this movement and why ultimately it failed.
Though with the 1896 case of Plessy verses Ferguson, American local and state governments forcing racial segregation was upheld as legal, individuals also chose to enforce the separation even if there were no laws. But all over the nation one can find instances where individuals and groups quietly associated together in spite of the times and in one place that happened on occasion was the recording studio. Author and jazz historian Stephen Provizer has painstakingly investigated the recording logs and records and made a comprehensive discography of recordings where blacks, whites and others made some wonderful truly American music together. His book is called As Long As They Can Blow and Mr. Provizer has come Back by the Woodpile to talk about his experience in putting the book together and gives what backstories he can about some of the specific recordings.
During the 1970s and 1980’s there was a flourishing of musical blending and innovation in the nation of South Africa that infected the whole world. All of this occurred in spite of the violent oppression of the then Apartheid government. One man who not only lived through those times but was an active participant was Benjy Mudie, he working for various record labels including Warner and Tusk and signing some of the most legendary names to come out of the rainbow nation. Listen in as Mr. Mudie talks about his experiences with such artists as eVoid, Johnny Clegg, Malcolm McLaren, Paul Simon, Mango Groove and others in addition to giving us a bit of history lesson of those both wonderful and troubled times.
Musician Mike Roe (77s, Kerosene Halo, Lost Dogs) came by for a short chat about a handful of topics, including his involvement with Robert Vaughn’s 1991 album “Songs from the Riverhouse”, his friendship with Alternative Records’ Randy Layton and then some musings on existential crisis’s that most creative spiritual folks go through.
Randy Layton of Alternative Records comes on to talk about the story behind Robert Vaughn's Songs from the Riverhouse record and the campaign to have it re-released on vinyl!
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The conversation with Soup the Chemist continues, he talking about sharing the stage with KRS-One, the last days of Brainstorm Artists International, watching fellow artists leave the faith, his own regrets, his book Through My Windows and brand new material!
Rapper Soup the Chemist aka SFC aka Chris Cooper joins Todd and Spun for this first episode of Orphans of God to talk hip-hop, Brainstorm Artists International, Gene Eugene, Adam Again, faith and so much more!
Filmmaker Jaime Prater returns to talk about his newest film Love Song, which further documents the Jesus People USA commune in Chicago, Illinois.
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Jazz music collector Dave Greer tells all about his quests and chance encounters with all kinds of musicians ranging from King Oliver to Jabbo Smith to Louis Armstrong to Nipper the dog to Victoria Spivey and her prostitute friends.
In the history of early recorded music, one label stands out as a kind of unlikely blessing. A recording studio in the unassuming town of Richmond Indiana would end up making some of the first recordings of now legendary artists in the blues, hillbilly and jazz genres. To help us get a grasp of the contribution that Gennett Records gave to music history is the former president of the Starr-Gennett Foundation, Bob Jacobsen.
Welcome to another edition of That to Which We are Tethered, a discussion of belief and disbelief in light of ever-changing times and trends. On this episode we are joined Pastor Daniel Bradford, the professor of Systematic Theology, Philosophy and Christian Ethics for Kentucky District School of Ministry. Dan helps up parse through the confusion over authority and scripture, the claims of fundamentalists and deviations of progressives.
In 1846, a slave by the name of Dred Scott after several attempts to buy his own freedom from his master Eliza Sanford, sued. In one Missouri court Scott won his freedom but then in the appeals process pursued by Sanford, his liberty was taken away. Through a long process the case ended up before the US Supreme Court where a devastating decision delivered by Chief Justice Roger Taney in 1857 said that not only would Scott, his wife and children remain slaves, but in fact the rights of man as defined in the Declaration of Independence had never applied to those Americans of African descent.
Dr. Dennis Boman comes Back By the Woodpile to explain the days leading up to the monumental case in addition to its nuances and aftermath.
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Oswaldo Paya attempted to bring Cuba closer towards all the broken promises of Fidel Castro by peaceful, democratic means, which in the end cost Paya his life. Pulitzer Prize winner David E. Hoffman has written a biography call “Give Me Liberty” which tells both the story and thinking of Oswaldo Paya. Join us as we talk with the author about both Paya and the situation of Cuba before and after the communist takeover in 1959.
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The Federalist Papers argued on why the Articles of Confederation needed to be ditched for the United States Constitution. On this episode we learn about what were some of those reasons.
(Finster with Keith Haring)
Welcome to our third and final installment of our series on folk artist and preacher Howard Finster. If you haven’t heard the first two episodes, these recordings were made in the late 1990’s at Finster’s Paradise Gardens in North Georgia.
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Originally published in 1961, Houdini’s Fabulous Magic was written by Walter B. Gibson and Morris Young, both of which knew and worked with the said most famous magician of all time. The two authors were able to write the revolutionary book because they not only had had access to Houdini himself but his personal notes and the assistance of friends and family of the performer. The book fell out of print for many years but has finally been reprinted by Vine Leaves Press. Morris Young’s son Charlie Young comes Back By The Woodpile to talk about the contents and history of the book and his own personal memories of growing in a setting where magic and wonder was appreciated and embraced.
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Here's part two of filmmaker Todd Zeller's talk with Spun Counterguy regarding his 1980s fantasy homage, The Ten Tracks Mixtape Tasks!
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Your host Spun Counterguy wrote a book called The Ten Tracks Mixtape Tasks and filmmaker Todd Zeller talks to him about it, including questions from readers.
On this third installment of our series on singer, songwriter and musician Una Mae Carlisle we talk with Charlie Young, the nephew of music publisher Barney Young. We will learn about Barney Young's life and career as it intersected with such figures as Machito, Harry Blackstone, Gloria Parker, Artie Shaw, Mez Mesrow and of course Una Mae Carlisle.
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Music journalist and author Bill Adler is Bac by the Woodpile to talk a little more about his memory of the history of hip hop. In this episode we’ll touch on Salt n’ Pepa, Run DMC, Fat Boys, Boogie Boys, Whodini and others in addition to the issues of mob activity in the music industry and anti-Semitism. Adler was the director of publicity at Def Jam Recordings and is the author of Tougher Than Leather: The Rise of Run-DMC
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Before the United States Constitution, Americans lived under the government of the Articles of Confederation. So why the overhaul? This episode tries to explain the crises that created the American's second government.
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We’re back with another installment of our talk with Reformation scholar Carlos Eire. This time we discuss the joys of historical research and discovery, the devil getting credit for miracles and The Blues Brothers and Oh Brother Where are Thou as films of faith.
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Uncle Paul is back for a third chapter regarding his interesting life and experiences. This time we talk about climbing into a girl’s dormitory to deliver kisses, literarily demolishing a girls dormitory, a sleeping projectionist, a whooper eating contest, falling from grace and finding restoration but what it was like to working a sour kraut cannery.
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In early 1980, a city bus crashed into the Peruvian embassy in Havanna Cuba. Somehow this incident would lead to the mass exodus of over 100,000 Cubans mostly via small boats from the communist Island to the democratic United States. But there were a lot a lot of anticedents that brought the peoples of the two nations to that point. Here to helps fill in some of those gaps is historian Victor Triay, author of Mariel Boatlift: A Cuban American Journey.
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Franklin Pierce is not one of the better known presidents in U.S. history but is still worth examining if for anything the lessons that can be learned on how not to run a country or a political party. Dr. J. David Alvis comes Back By the Woodpile to explain.
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Franklin Pierce is not one of the better known presidents in U.S. history but is still worth examining if for anything the lessons that can be learned on how not to run a country or a political party. Dr. J. David Alvis comes Back By the Woodpile to explain.
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The 1920’s were a time marked by new and more affordable technology, massive economic growth, a renewed push for civil rights and relative peace, its daily life beating along to a new music genre called jazz. But one element of the roaring 20’s that is lost on most of us these days is how it contrasted with the decade previous. To help us compare the 1910s to the 1920s, is historian Dr. David F. Krugler who has written and taught extensively on those early 20 years of the 20th century.
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The 1920’s were a time marked by new and more affordable technology, massive economic growth, a renewed push for civil rights and relative peace, its daily life beating along to a new music genre called jazz. But one element of the roaring 20’s that is lost on most of us these days is how it contrasted with the decade previous. To help us compare the 1910s to the 1920s, is historian Dr. David F. Krugler who has written and taught extensively on those early 20 years of the 20th century.
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Spun Counterguy sets out to present the most thorough biography to date of jazz singer, songwriter and pianist Una Mae Carlisle, including her adventures in Europe just as the clouds of World War II were gathering, the world’s spotlight put on her thanks to Fats Waller, her recording careers with Leonard Feather and Joe Davis and her desperate attempt to record and perform as much as possible before her looming death.
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The singer and songwriter Una Mae Carlisle is a name tragically lost to modern memory. On this first of two episodes, Spun Counterguy talks about how he discovered the woman and her music and the places it’s taken him.
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Former Cuban political dissident Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo is now a writer and blogger advocating for his home country’s liberataion from the current oppressive regime. We’ll hear many of Orlando Luis’s views on the current state of the island naion in addition to some of his own personal life experiences.
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We’re going back to Europe, specifically France and Switzerland, and five hundred ago on top of that. Serving as our tour guide is once again Carlos Eire, who wrote the book Reformations and he’s going to introduce us to a few figures- notably John Calvin- and how he and others still affect us today, both in positive and negative ways.
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Seth and Nirva Ready not only have their own musical career as a duo and host a theological/cultural podcast called FreeMind but they have also sang for folks like Kirk Franklin, Toby Mack, CeCe Winans, Rachael Lampa, Chris Tomlin, Donnie McClurkin and many others. On this episode the couple pull their lawn chairs up to the Woodpile to talk about their own personal histories, music industry insights and adventures, struggles to navigate the conflicts of the day within and outside the church while maintaining grace for their fellow man and several other topics that meander in and out of our free-flowing conversation.
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America’s separation from Britain is often simplified by both those with enthusiastic and cynical motivations. But the years leading up to July 4th, 1776 were complicated, replete with hope, disgust and sacrifice. On this episode we talk about the Stamp Act and other actions on the part of Parliament that ultimately pushed the often fractious American colonists towards unity, rebellion and finally revolution.
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Part two of our talk with artist and preacher Howard Finster, this one got him talking about Hank Williams Sr., Elvis Presley, chewing tobacco and singing an original banjo tune talking about being a tack in the shingle of a roof!
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Back in the late 1970s a new music genre exploded on the world stage: rap. This episode’s guest Bill Adler was right there near the beginning, first as a fan and music journalist, and then working for Def Jam Records and Rush Management. Adler recently donated his enormous treasure trove of hip-hop related artifacts to Cornell University, of which has become digitized and is available online for public use. We used some of the materials found there to talk about everything from the film Wild Style, rap pioneers like Busy Bee, Fab Five Freddy, the Funky 4+1, the massive career of LL Cool J to even the controversy over the presence of anti-semitism in the Public Enemy organization and how it touched Adler personally.
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Recently there’s been a lot of different tellings about how America’s founding was tied to slavery. American History professor Dr. Dennis Boman comes Back By the Woodpile to give the whole story, including the state of slavery on the rest of the planet, the Founder’s views and actions for and against slavery and strange phenomenon of some modern progressives basing their views of the American founding by adopting the views of pro-slavery forces of the past.
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Back in the late 1970’s, computers programs called “Text Adventures” would appear. These were interactive games where players had to read, problem solve and then type in commands to complete the puzzles and tasks. Their popularity dominated the home computer market for about a decade and though they would be later overshadowed newer game innovations, text adventures are still being produced and played. Author, blogger and game designer Aaron A. Reed comes Back By the Woodpile to give us some snapshots of the history of these games, the industry and individuals that produced them and then talk about his own adventures at creating games.
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Howard Finster was a folk artist preacher whose work reached out all over the globe. On this recording from the 1990s, Mr. Finster talks about other preacher's differing theology, sex vs. relationships, the history of Japan, fellow artist Keith Haring and the several literal angels he saw.
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On July 11th of last year protests broke out all over Cuba over several issues, ranging from lack of food and medical access to the general state of oppression. For a moment the world’s eyes were on the island and the prospect of a free Cuba seemed to be within grasp. But as humans tend to do, they quickly lose interest and turn their gazes to other matters and distractions. The Cuban dictatorship became more brazen in their oppression of the Cuban people, especially of those who embarrassed them on the world stage. To help us to put names and faces on just a few of those who as I write this are enduring prison, beatings and worse, is Vicky Collado. Vicky wears many hats but one of them she wears is while trying to get the true condition of Cubans out to the worlds ears.
(Rosa Maria Paya, Vicky Collado and Vanessa Garcia before the US Congress)
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Filmmaker Todd Zeller comes Back By The Woodpile to talk about his experiences with Gene Eugene and the band Adam Again while working on his upcoming documentary This Band Is Our House.
(BAI roster at Cornerstone)
(Todd Zeller and Greg Lawless)
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Uncle Paul is back a second time by the woodpile to share some more stories and thoughts from his life. This time around we talk fainting trumpet players, creepy evangelists, a broken legged chicken, the fine art of dumpster diving and how a good spit can help anyone sing better!
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Welcome to part four of our conversation with Dr. Carlos Eire, historian, Yale Professor and author of Reformations, a history of the reformation era of Europe. Today we’re going to talk anabaptists, Mennonites, torture, and the mystery of why prostitutes get so disappointed with modern historical conferences.
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It didn’t take long for the people of Cuba to realize after the "revolution" of 1959, they were now under the rule of an even more cruel dictator. In an attempt to protect their children from indoctrination, persecution and being sent to the Soviet Union for “special training”, many parents looked for a way to get their young off the island until at least this newest dictatorship was overthrown. So a plan was hatched by an Irish priest in Miami and with the help of many others, including the Eisenhower administration, a British woman who had helped Jewish children exit Nazi-occupied Europe and even a Kentuckian working in Havana. When it was all said and done, over 14,000 Cuban children were flown to a safe but uncertain future in the United States. The first historian to write a book about this incredible feat- eventually known as Operation Padro Pan- was Victor Triay. The book is called Fleeing Castro and he’s Back By The Woodpile to talk about some of the finer points and mysteries of this modern day exodus.
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Henry Clay was an American statesman of the 1800’s that was so vital to the survival of the Republic that it was assumed by many in his time that the man would at some point become president. But as of this moment we have yet to have had a President Clay. So, who was this man largely forgotten that the whole world might owe much to? To help us answer that question Dr. Jason Stevens, a professor of history and political science at Ashland University joins us Back By The Woodpile!
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Music journalist and insider Bill Adler comes Back By the Woodpile with a big bag full of musical Christmas goodies, including tunes by Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, Sonny Boy Williamson, Irma Thomas and others. We also discuss the publication of his chat book "The Making of Kurtis Blow’s Christmas Rappin’".
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Uncle Paul Buchanan comes Back By The Woodpile to talk about fire alarm candy, weenie water, misplaced children, a dog called Icky Sticky Stombo for short and much more!
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Poet Juana Rosa Pita returns to the Woodpile to talk about and read selections from her new compilation of poems, The Miracle Unfolds. In addition, the book’s translator Erin Goodman also shares some of her favorite pieces of Juana Rosa Pita’s verses while talking about how the release came together.
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On July 11th of this year, the streets throughout the island of Cuba erupted with chants of “Libertad! Libertad!”. Immediately, both Cuban communist state media and their leftist allies in the free democracies framed the protests as actually being about such issues as Covid 19 or opposition to the US embargo. Historian and author Victor Triay comes Back By the Woodpile to give us the bigger, clearer picture of what lay at the heart of the peoples’ cries.
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Mike Roe of the 77s and Randy Layton of Alternative Records come Back By the Woodpile to talk about the music and work of Robert Vaughn, including the up coming re-release of the seminal album Love and War.
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Dr. Carlos Eire is back at the Woodpile to talk about cooperation between church and state in governing, the government helping the ‘deserving’ poor, Charles the 5th’s days of hunting down Protestants before going fishing for the rest of his life and how different political ideologues see their own passions and causes in aspects of the Reformation period.
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Singer-songwriter Jeff Graham shares his music and story Back by the Woodpile, telling stories of the legendary Jack's Guitar Bar, the miracle of Dunkirk and that time the police commandeered a guitar amplifier.
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In the early 1960’s as the Castro regime began to transform Cuba into a socialist, militarist regime, part of that including training children to become atheist Marxists soldiers. And so a plan was quietly hatched by those on and off the island to get as many children out as soon as possible. The result was Operation Padro Pan, an exodus of Biblical proportions that helped over 14,000 children flee the increasingly ruthless communist party rule. One of those children, Dr. Carlos Eire, wrote of his experiences in the books Waiting for Snow in Havana and Learning to Die in Miami and joins us Back By the Woodpile to talk about both his experiences and the future of his suffering homeland.
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Welcome to the series where mostly old guys share their stories from the 1980s when we were trying to figure life out, with varying degrees of success. This time around we’re talking fashion, crushes and technology with a few D&D tales tagged on
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We’re back with another conversation about the Reformation with Dr. Carlos Eire, who not only teaches this time period at Yale University but wrote a thick book called Reformations which seeks to tell the whole story of all the changes religious, social and political that started in the 1500’s. This time around we talk Zwingli vs. Luther, eating sausage as an act of religious devotion and how thought mobs seem to show up in every generation.
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On this episode we talk judging and bail bonding in upstate New York and a GI in South Korea.
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If you fancy yourself a revolutionary, we've got a nice primer and introduction to the path you've set out on. You'll get to hear about your heroes including Che Guevara, Fidel and Raul Castro, Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky, Chairman Mao, Peng Dehuai, Huey Newton, Maximilien Robespierre, Antifa, Black Lives Matter and so much more!
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Five hundred years ago a guy nailed a sheet a paper with a litany of gripes on it, which changed world civilization in dramatic ways that are still with us today. Dr. Carlos Eire comes Back By the Woodpile to tell about what lead up to that man- Martin Luther- causing the event we call the Reformation and other figures both before and during this time frame that also had similar aims.
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We're back in the 1980s talking summer camps and trips, dancing, the film Scarface and the Mariel Boatlift.
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Korean-American Sophia Johnson comes Back By the Woodpile to talk about her family's experiences and faith especially in light of the #StopAsianHate news narrative.
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We're back sharing stories from the 1980's, this time involving pranks, mishaps and the various organic material that exits one's body!
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On this episode we further the discussion on the tension between traditional and progressive Christianity, where they may both be right and wrong, the Richard Rohr factory, whether violence used in self-defense or defense of others Christ-like and both the evil and goodness that's in us all.
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Artist Natalie Plasencia comes Back By the Woodpile to talk about her work, faith, the oppressed, her family's escape from Castro's Cuba and that time she met a very congested Bono.
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Fan Wu is the Chinese-American author of February Flowers and Beautiful As Yesterday. She comes Back By the Woodpile to talk about how different audiences react to her books, what core Chinese elements an immigrant might transfer to their American-born children, the influence of 20th century writer Lu Xun and other topics.
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Musician, poet and writer Steve Scott returns to talk about selected pieces of his spoken word recordings and story behind their compositions.
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Comic book legend Don Chin comes Back By the Woodpile to talk about The Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, The Unfunny X-Cons and his recently rebooted X-Farce!
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Rosa María Payá is a human rights activist and founder of Cuba Decide, an initiative that is attempting re-introduce democracy to the Cuban island. She is also the daughter of Oswald Paya who founded the Christian Liberation Movement and ultimately gave his life while attempting to better the future of his fellow Cubans.
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(Oswaldo Payá and Harold Cepero)
(O. Paya and Cepero's crashed car)
(Rosa María Payá and Vice-President Pence)
We're out riding around, picking up stories and getting the lay of the land, this time in Boonville, Indiana. And here to give us a tour of this place you never heard of is Spun Counterguy's own father. He'll tell us about the lengths folks will go to eat a Long John Silvers meal, a small town sport that happens to be a federal offense, a murder connected to a massage parlor and the crises of getting ripped off for 7 cents.
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(Silverio Portal Contreras blinded by Cuban police beatings and currently imprisoned for protesting against the communist regime)
The American left's hatred for minorities who think for themselves, the love affair between Black Lives Matter and oppressive regimes, the '13 de Marzo' Tugboat Massacre and the kidnapping of Elian Gonzalez- Alberto De La Cruz of Babalublog.com comes Back By the Woodpile to explain it all!
(Black Lives Matter founder Opal Tometi (right) with Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro)
(Victims of the 13th of March Tugboat Massacre)
(A US Federal agent preparing to take Elian Gonzalez from his Miami family)
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Our 4th conversation with musician, poet and thinker Steve Scott where we learn the back stories of a few more songs, hear a tribute to Exit records’ Randy Layton, talk about Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombing inspired-art and get a quick history lesson on old English gospel mystery plays.
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Under the clouds of cigar smoke Pastor Joshua Stump comes Back By the Woodpile to talk cancel culture, rest, prayer, the eyes of the dead and flowers springing from cow turds.
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R.J.M. Blackett professor of history at Vanderbilt University and a historian of the abolitionist movement in the US. He’s written several books including “Building an Antislavery Wall”, “A Thousand Miles for Freedom” and “The Captive’s Quest for Freedom”. But today professor Blackett comes on the podcast to talk about his work “Making Freedom: The Underground Railroad and the Politics of Slavery.
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Mr. Stephen Scott is Back by the Woodpile to talk about his long career in the arts, this time speaking about his move from England to sunny California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We get to hear about his encounters with such legends as Larry Norman, Mark Heard, Keith Green, Louis and Mary Neely, Charlie Peacock, Mike Roe and the 77s in addition to giving some insight into the recordings of a few of his own compositions.
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Musician Jerry Chapman and Alternative Records' Randy Layton come Back By the Woodpile to talk about the upcoming releases of unearthed recordings of Two Pound Planet!
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Journey to the West researcher Jim R. McClanahan returns to the Woodpile, this time to talk all about Zhu Bajie aka Pigsy! Origins, history, accessories, names and his faint relation to Indiana Jones.
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Musician and poet Steve Scott is back, this time to talk about the cultural and spiritual developments that he got to witness in 1960's and 70's Britain.
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Musician and poet Steve Scott comes Back By The Woodpile to talk about not only the messages and history of the Gospel of John but the artistry found in the book as well.
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Documentary director Jaime Prater talks about his film “No Place To Call Home” which explores the over 70 children and teenagers who claimed to have been abused at the Jesus People USA commune in Chicago, Illinois. Prater relays his own experience of abuse, the making of the film, the fallout of its release and the current condition of his own faith.
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We're back in the 1980s talking baseball, football, soccer, karate and one family's escape from communist Vietnam.
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We're back in our favorite decade to talk Prodigal, Bourgeois Tagg and Steve Scott, all with help from TrueTunes.com's John J Thompson!
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Artist and musician Jace Seavers tell his epic story of living nearly a decade in the Jesus People USA commune in Chicago. Consisting of good memories and nightmares both, the experience would affect his thinking and art for the rest of his life. Includes stories of Steve Scott, Daniel Amos, Cause and Effect, Crashdog, The Crossing and Rez Band.
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(Jace with one of Rez Band's original bass guitars)
Law and Liberty's Brian Smith joins us to talk about religion, government, history, objectivism and integralism, how they can get along and how they often don't.
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On this episode we hear from one man who watched his church attempt to reach a historically discriminated against group of folks, which apparently required a discrimination of a new kind.
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The nature of silence, not being fond of children, recognizing one's own deficiencies, the laying-low wisemen and much more are what we get up to talking about on this philosophical discussion Back By the Woodpile.
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Knowing others through their written words, trapped inside of time within a small room, enemies using your past words against you and other troubles are what's at hand on this philosophical episode of In the Corner Back By the Woodpile!
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The 1980's had their share of parties, fights and bullies, of which we're going to get a earful via another ensemble guest episode!
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We're back in Evansville, Indiana getting a tour of an long-gone electrical motor shop where the characters, life lessons and laughs were plentiful.
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There's so many charities and government programs that might give some aid but in the process foster dependency or encourage fraud. One organization has become successful of helping some of the most hopeless folks transform themselves and escape the cycles of drugs, poverty and low expectations. Peggy Gardner of Greater Faith Community Action Corporation shares both stories of failure and success but some of the formulas they've found that works. Mrs. Gardner also shares what happens when a black woman decides to have breakfast with klansmen.
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Educator Derek Luptak lets us ride sidecar in alongside Ulysses and his crew as he gets in a tangle with cyclops, sirens, goddesses, bad weather, time, terrible decisions, just to name a few. In the process we learn about heroes, home, cancel culture, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, Juana Rosa Pita and so much more.
(Penelope by Matt Andrews)
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Author Lisa See comes Back By the Woodpile to give us a history lesson on the Jeju Island, the Haenyeo women divers and how it ties to her book The Island Sea Women.
(Memorial to the victims of the 4.3 Incident)
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We're going back to school, sharing mostly stories of teachers- the good, the bad and the foxy- we had back in the 1980's!
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Lin Zhao was an enthusiastic member of the Chinese Communist Party but in time her comrades would sentence her to death. Professor Xi Lian comes Back By the Woodpile to tell the story of this important figure for the hope of democracy in 21st China.
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Brenton Dickieson of A Pilgrim in Narnia comes Back By The Woodpile to talk about C.S. Lewis, his work The Great Divorce and how it factors to Christianity's challenges of today.
Professor Ricardo Pau-Llosa returns back to the Woodpile to share some of his poetry, his thoughts on some of his art collection and on the default politics of artists.
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Stories of working in the 80’s! On farms, in restaurants, grocery stores and in even at space camp.
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(Meal with sinners by Sieger Köder)
Travis McCool of Table Gathering joins us using the previous In The Corner Back By the Woodpile episode to talk about where the ground lays between being engaged with the world without losing one's soul in the process.
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Talking about two histories: the progressive Christians of the early 20th century compared with the progressive Christians of now. It's a bit of a grim get together featuring Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Charles Darwin, Walter Rauschenbusch, Henry Emerson Fosdick, Leopold and Loeb, Helen Keller, Richard Rohr, U2 and a whole lot more!
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Deferred dreams, liars enslaved by their words and the tyrants in all of us is what we're talking about on this philosophical episode!
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Taneya Koonce comes on the podcast to talk about her adventures in genealogy. We'll talk about shaking stories out of the family tree, the challenges of getting information of those with ancestors that had been enslaved, Alex Haley and much more.
(Jim and Carrie Turner family)
(Searching for gravestones)
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Randy Layton of Alternative Records talks about his times with the 77's, Steve Scott, Keith Green, 2nd Chapter of Acts, 2lb Planet, Robert Vaughn and more!
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Marcell Felipe the both founder of the Inspire America Foundation- an organization dedicated to promoting democracy in Cuba and the Americas- and the Chairman of the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in Miami, Florida which showcases and documents the history, culture, and contributions of the Cuban exile community.
Join us as we get some insight into those organizations in addition to learning of individuals important to the cause of human rights and liberty, such as Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh, Jorge Mas Canosa, Dr. Óscar Elías Biscet and many others.
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Racism- where it is and where it isn’t is what Checo Perryman comes Back By the Woodpile to discuss on this week episode!
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Jim R. McClanahan of Journey To the West Research returns to the Woodpile to talk all about Sun Wukong! Including his many accessories, weapons, names, link to the Hindu god Hanuman, the classic novel Outlaws of the Marsh and his appearance in Gene Yang's American Born Chinese.
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Dr. Jaime Suchlicki of the Cuban Study Institute comes Back By the Woodpile to talk Jose Marti, Eduardo Chibás, Jewish-Cuban History, the current state of Cubans on the island and more. To hear on Stitcher, click here!
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More theological talk regarding mystery, certainty, progressive Christianity, culture, politics, Richard Rohr and God.
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Another weird tale involving creatures eating out of rural burn barrels, a boy preacher and electronically measurable hate directed at Woodrow Wilson.
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Degarmo, Key and The Altar Boys get championed on this 80’s (mostly) look-back episode. And John J Thompson of TrueTunes.com is the funky fresh feller to help us!
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Cigar Snob Magazine’s Nicolás A. Jiménez joins us to talk the history of cigars, Cuba, politics and a little about his own adventures both outside and within the publication.
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The Commonwealth Policy Center an organization which organizes around particular legislative issues such as abortion, religious liberty and fiscal responsibility. Executive Director Richard Nelson comes Back By the Woodpile to talk not only about the Center’s philosophy and accomplishments but also of his own “adventures” so to speak in having a giant a target on his back by many in disagreement with his work.
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Haitian history is what we're learning all about on this episode and the Haitian Heritage Museum's Eveline Pierre is our professor! Join us as we talk the Arawak, slave revolt, Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Frederick Douglass, Haitian-Americans and much more!
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Bay of Pigs Veteran Bill Muir reflects on his life in Cuba before Castro, his work in the underground while the Communists ruled the country, the invasion itself and the years since.
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Nicolas Guitierrez is a Cuban American lawyer who was directly involved in the drafting, passage and enforcement of the Cuban Liberty & Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, aka the Helms-Burton law. As President of the National Association of Sugar Mill Owners of Cuba, Mr. Guitierrez comes on the podcast to educate us on not only the history of Cuban sugar, but the theft and mismanagement of the industry on the part of the Castro dictatorship, in addition to other related issues.
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Radio personality Bill Lurwick comes Back by the Woodpile to talk Joe Walsh, Rich Mullins, Tim McGraw, Danny Gokey, U2 and more!
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The final installment of our exploration of the old Shanghai pop music from the 1930's and 40's. This time Laszlo Montgomery of the China History Podcast helps us know better the stories of Zhōu Xuán (周旋) Lǐ Xiānglán (李香兰/Yamaguchi Yoshiko/山口淑子) and Yáo Lì (姚莉) and how they intersected with Yao Min, Chén Gēxīn, Yán Huá, Frankie Laine, Robert Stack, Deforest Kelly, Wolfgang Fraenkel and the Palestinians.
Poet, writer, professor, art collector and critic Ricardo Pau-Llosa comes Back By the Woodpile to talk all these things and more!
(A young Ricardo with Rufino Tamayo)
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We're back with China History Podcast's Laszlo Mongomery in early 20th Century Shanghai to talk about the singers Lí Lìlì (黎莉莉), Jiang Qing (when she was 藍萍), Bái Hóng (白虹), Bái Guāng (白光), Gōng Qiūxiá (龚秋霞) and Yīngyīn (莺音).
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Laszlo Montgomery of the China History Podcast comes Back By the Woodpile to talk the music scene of 1930's and 40's Shanghai. Li Jinhui, The Bright Moon Song and Dance Troupe, Teddy Weatherford, Buck Clayton, Li Minghui are just some of the major players we feature who made that city above the sea swinging sound!
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A few more stories from the Second-Hand Planet, including "The Cold Man and Old Head" and "Jota's and our lack of introspection".
(artwork by Huxley King)
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A brief history of Cuba including Spanish rule, the revolutionary work of Jose Marti, the dictatorships of Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, Operation Peter Pan, author/historian Carlos Eire, Chinese-Cubans and Twitter censorship. Guest Alberto de la Cruz of Babalublog.com explains all!
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Hip-Hop music during certain time periods has conveyed various messages and beliefs. Professor Kalonji McClellan gives us a run through as to where some of these ideological sources emanate, such as Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Dubois, The Nation of Islam, Moorish Temple, Nuwabians, Gods and Earth and more.
In addition, musicologist Dirk Allman shares a personal story involving a red Moorish fez.
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An essay followed by a discussion regarding God, mystery, agnosticism, desert monks, heresy, race relations and a bunch of other stuff all set off by a quote by Friar Richard Rohr.
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Journey to the West is an epic piece of Chinese literature of which researcher Jim McClanahan comes Back By The Woodpile to give us a thorough introduction!
Help Jim by participating in his Journey to the West Survey!
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Keith Harris comes Back By the Woodpile to talk car restoration, Southern Gospel, Satanists and school bus driving!
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Evansville, Indiana is located on the bottom of Indiana and we're going to take a tour of the town via some of the personalities from back in the day!
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Transforming and transmitting pain, grateful for the moments, lamenting the finite, aping other’s spiritual actions, forgiving the undeserving and the towel people are all discussion in this episode’s philosophical exchange!
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(artwork by Lost7)
Audio engineer Matt Hamilton comes Back by the Woodpile to talk about his work in the film industry, his adventures around the world, the philosophy of Viktor Frankl, experimental guitar work and getting schooled by Robert Fripp.
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Simple Minds, Flock 14 and The Choir are what's on tap on this episode of 1980's music we're dusting off! And to help us do it is TrueTunes.com's John J Thompson!
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Reverend Marvin Hightower returns Back By the Woodpile to talk about his involvement with the Door of Hope crises pregnancy center, the time his mother tried to abort him, his views on the pro-choice/pro-life debate, American race relations and the joy and pain of fatherhood.
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Forgotten jams from the like best ever decade! This time around Cat Taylor helps us discuss the careers of The Professionals, Q-Feel, Divinyls, EG Daily, Guadalcanal Diary and Diesel.
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Welcome to Brick Bulb Town where you'll meet folks like Swuandy Howtoefah, Farnky Smearcake, Clunk Shoetoucher the Jerk Kicker General, Ting Tap the tinker twister and the adorable Plubby. But against the nightmares of scraping sounds, all is not all is right in the town and Swuandy is determined get to the bottom of it!
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Martha Stevenson, a volunteer counselor at Door of Hope crisis pregnancy center, talks about helping those recovering from poor choices, sexual abuse, drug addiction, abortion and much more.
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Philisophical haggling of ideas! On this episode we talk the safety of loneliness, the last thoughts before execution, courage to protect others at one’s own risk, the rotten meat of nightmares, the arogance of youth, the energy of youth and much more.
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The exciting conclusion of the events that set off the American Revolutionary War, in addition to some insight into life around the Lexington Tourist Center and the uncanny of correlation between the infamous day and a recent immigrant to the United States.
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The events of April 18th and 19th 1775 around the Boston, Massachusetts area set off events that would shake the world order and enshrine the concepts of liberty and democracy within the minds of nearly all peoples afterwards. June Baer of the Lexington Historical Society relays for us this epic story hurling seemingly ordinary soldiers, farmers, radicals and businessmen into extraordinary circumstances.
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A story of one woman's journey from Mao's Revolutionary China to rural Kentucky.
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Cri Cri El Grillito Cantor was a Mexican musician who sang to millions of children, telling stories of mice, ducks, ants and many other creatures who had problems not unlike humans. Guest Grace Guerra comes Back by the Woodpile to recall the Little Singing Cricket and how it colored her adolescence in Southern Mexico.
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Tanya Bowman of Plans 4U Youth Organization talks not only her time working for The Door of Hope crises pregnancy center but how they ended up helping her deal with a dark secret.
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Artists in Cuba are unable to express themselves freely without fear of reprisals from the Communist government. To help us learn their names and stories Babalublog.com’s Alberto de la Cruz tells us about such individuals as El Sexto, Tania Bruguera, Lia Villares, Luis Manuel Otero, Yanelys Nuñez and others. In addition we talk the New York Times propagating Cuban propaganda, the Cuban influence in Maduro’s Venezuela and the Democratic Socialists of America.
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To hear Amplifying the Muted Voices of Cuba II, click here
To hear Amplifying the Muted Voices of Cuba II, click here
A story about a hunter charged with overthrowing a kingdom of wolves located within the caverns of a large mountain covered by bark.
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(artwork by artist unknown)
Derek Sorrells returns to conclude the story of his drumming career, including his stints with The Frantics and London Calling (with Jaime Rowe) and his meeting with a tall caped demon named Gene Simmons.
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Drummer Derek Sorrells drops By the Woodpile to talk about his time keeping the time for artists Johnny Q Public, Miss Angie, The Frantics, Homesick and others.
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[Correction: We stated that Oran Thornton wrote "Jesus Freak" when in fact he played on "Jesus Freak". Lo siento.]
Door of Hope is a pregnancy center which welcomed us in to talk about their services to both women and men finding themselves in the midst of parenthood. Director Mack Wells gives us the history of the facility, some stories of success and failure and discusses the polarizing issue of our times: abortion.
Vintage Christmas records and the history behind them are on the Corner Woodpile turntables today! Boogie Woogie Santa Claus, Buon Natale, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Silent Night and a few others are explained by our old friend Dirk Allman!
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Jamaica Plain is a unique little neighbor of Boston where some major American Revolutionary action went down, national politicians were (and still are) knighted at a local bar, reformers were made and a craft brew named after a Son of Liberty was born. And to help us learn all about the place is Jamaica Plain Historical Society president Gretchen Grozier!
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Aaron A Train Smith returns to talk of his education in drumming, his stints with The 77s, Romeo Void and Rich Mullins and of his faith and philosophy.
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Legendary Drummer Aaron A Train Smith stops by the Woodpile to talk about the early days of his career involving The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, Norman Whitfield, Chuck Jackson, Miroslav Vitous, Wah Wah Watson, The Jackson Five and others!
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Philosophical hashing outs Back by the Woodpile this episode, talking hating in others what we despise about ourselves, jump starting self awareness, clean moon observations, dancing with the divine via creative acts and noisy humanity. (artwork by Henkkab)
Domestic violence, domestic terrorism, coercion, intimidation, manipulation and everything in between is what we’re going to dive into Back by the Woodpile on this episode. We’ll do so with guest Checo Perryman, the director of Human Empowerment and Leadership Programs (HELP), an organization dedicated to the research, design and installation of safety management training programs for compassionate verbal and physical intervention techniques.
Black American history is on tap Back by the Woodpile this episode! Helping us is Kalonji McClellan who talks Hubert Harrison, Booker T Washington W.E.B. Dubois, Birth of a Nation, pseudo history and much more.
Randy Scruggs was a seminal musician, producer and songwriter touching so many many lives and careers in his sixty-something years on this planet. His daughter, Lindsey Scruggs comes back by the Woodpile to share some of her better memories of her father, whom passed away earlier this year.
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Bill Monroe's got a new museum honoring his life and music and so we bring the Woodpile over to Rosine, Kentucky to have a look-see!
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Something sinister is pulling 1950’s Mid-South farmers and teenage girls down towards carnel ruin and using gospel music to do it. Find out how by listening to an original tale by Spun Counterguy just in time for the creepy month of October.
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Reverend Marvin Hightower comes Back by the Woodpile to discuss some of the issues covered in his book “Overcoming Identity Crisis” including finding our true purposes, putting other people's agendas ahead of our destinies, the wild goose chase pride gets us off on, getting out when the getting is good and how Mr. Hightower’s mother tried to kill him twice.
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John J Thompson talks about what fed into the writing of his book "Jesus, Bread and Chocolate: Crafting a Homemade Faith in a Mass Market World"!
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Alberto de la Cruz of Babalublog comes Back by the Woodpile to talk the plight of musicians inside and out of Cuba's repressive regime, including Celia Cruz, Arturo Sandoval, Buena Vista Social Club, Pitbull, Los Aldeanos, Amaury Gutierrez, Porno Para Ricardo and Paquito D'Rivera among others.
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Songwriter Bill Luther comes Back by the Woodpile to talk about the struggle and the songs that come of it, ultimately landing him hits by Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Mark Wills and others.
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Randy Stonehill rocked and crooned throughout our favorite decade and radio promotions wizard Chris Hauser is Back by the Woodpile to tell us about his time working with the singer-songwriter!
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Taoist Scholar Livia Kohn returns Back by the Woodpile to talk about her new book Taoist China, which is a look at the current state of the practice and wisdom tradition as it lives under the eye and fist of the Communist Party.
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The side-benefits of having a crappy wife, ignoring the knocks at your front door, the widsom in stupid and hanging with stupid are all discussed in this philosophical workout!
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How to dismatle a country, how to co-opt a religion and how to rewrite history. It's all here as Joshua Philipp of the Epoch Times talks a particular history of subversion and how it still affects the world today.
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Classic gospel hip-hop is on the menu Back by the Woodpile this time around, with True Tune’s John J Thompson sharing memories of The Dynamic Twins, SFC, Freedom of Soul, D-Boy and MC Ge Gee.
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A mechanic's memories of the Gulf War, a cursed city block and ruminations of how the govenment can misplace so much sand. All here in this hodge podge episode of In the Corner Back By the Woodpile!
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The Dream Car Museum in Evansville, Indiana welcomes us to their showroom, giving us a tour and some stories behind some of their more super cool finds!
To hear the Mike Spark's Wheels, Deals & Forgotten History episode, click here!
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And via Stitcher here!
A perfect Steve Nicks beast, an animatronic moose, three lost sacred friendship beads and a quest for a bedpan. It's all here in this final (for now) episode of the Brouhaha in Boonville module of Epic For the Like Totally Epic Journey Quest.
To hear episode I, click here!
Episode II
Episode III
Episode IV
Episode V
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII
To hear on iTunes, click here!
And for Stitcher, here!
As the mystery of the Brouhaha gets even more perplexing, our heroes Roxy Forrest, Nick McNasty and Corey McFly are sent on a side mission by Deputy Stewart Copeland to interrupt a planned assault on the local petting zoo. Corey will use his hot bod as a distraction, Roxy will pull water from the sky using her flashdancing skills and Nick will get a big unpleasant whiff of what's coming in the air tonight.
(To hear this episode on iTunes, click here!)
To hear episode I, click here!
Episode II
Episode III
Episode IV
Episode V
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII
Tennessee State Representative Mike Sparks comes Back by the Woodpile to talk about his passion for history and the trouble it brought him, in addition to the opportunities.
(To hear this episode on iTunes, click here)
(To hear Representative Sparks' original interview on episode 46, click here)
The Chinese Communist Party without a doubt affects our daily lives without us knowing it. Epoch Times’ Joshua Philipp comes Back By the Woodpile to explain this problem as it regards technology security and education, our Western complacency, the Chinese Social Credit System and his own journey from anarchist to authoritarian watchdog.
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The Choir, Tonio K and Phil Keaggy are all artists who recorded great records in the 1980s and radio promoter Chris Hauser helps us look back at their best tracks while throwing in some personal stories.
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Overlooked and forgotten tracks from our favorite decade! DJ Mindub joins Spun Counterguy to talk 80's tunes by The Twins, New Musik, The Essence, Quincy Jones, Chaz Jankel and Fiat Lux.
(To hear this in iTunes, click here!)
Alberto de la Cruz of Babalublog.com comes back by the woodpile to talk about the plight of persecuted Cubans, including Damas de Blanco, Oswaldo Paya, Rosa Maria Paya and others.
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Philosophical sifting on this episode talking up the fallacy of “experts”, agreeing too quickly with friends, assuming ill motives in disagreements, moral matrixes, Mississippi accents, Aryan supremacy wedding cakes and Dr. Thomas Sowell.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Professional wrestlers tried to contribute to the high art of music back in the 80's, of which guest Cat Taylor pontificates eloquently on for us lowly turkey necks. Hulk Hogan, Jerry Lawler, Junkyard Dog, Jimmy Hart, Vince Mcmahon, Cyndi Lauper, Captain Lou Albano, Rick Flair and a whole stadium full of fierce characters enter the ring on this special throw down edition of Songs From a 1980s Roller Rink Dumpster.
(To hear this on iTunes, click here)
Final chapter of Spun Counterguy's Taoist adventures in China and America! This time around: sleeping on belts and dreaming of snakes, your value based on where you're standing, America's romance with dictatorship, one eyed massages and desire for the unattainable.
To hear this iTunes, click here!
Radio promotions legend Chris Hauser comes back by the woodpile to talk about a few great artists he got to work with in the 80's, including Amy Grant, Russ Taff and Steve Taylor.
(To hear on iTunes, click here!)
(Chris auditioning as a dancer for Amy's next tour)
Phil Keaggy comes Back by the Woodpile to talk over 25 years later about his masterpiece album Beyond Nature. The life events surrounding it's composition and recording, the philosophical origin behind the project, exclusive performances and explorations of the songs and the record's impact on everyone involved are all discussed.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Ready Player One has to be one of the best gifts to 80's fans in a long time and it's about to be a movie. On this episode we talk about what makes it so great, the memories it jump starts and even some of it's weaknesses.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
More tales of an American in the Taoist wonderland of China! This time around, encounters with swinging Buddhists, faux Catholics, underground Christians, a Jewish well, a Muslim hug and over confident parades.
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More adventures of an American in China trying to find the meaning of the Tao! This time around, Zhuangzi’s butterflies and romance on the Meng Mountain, scholars in their short-shorts, suggestive broken I-Ching lines and the superiority of Chang six-packs over Emperors.
To hear this on iTunes, click here!
Loneliness, taking the temperature of the room, crying fish in the heart of water, greed, the opportunism of compassion and so much more are discussed in this philosophical workout podcast!
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Poet Juana Rosa Pita comes Back by the Woodpile to share not only her poetry but glimpses into her life's story, her lost homeland of Cuba and of the miraculous entanglements she's shared with other humans.
To hear this episode on iTunes, click here!
Dining with a queen or jamming with Count Basie, evangelical peg legged pirates, expecting more from low-expectation children and wills verses wishes. It’s all here on this hodgepodge episode of In the Corner Back By The Woodpile!
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Taoist adventures in China! The is the second part of an American's quest in the Middle Kingdom to learn more about the Tao Te Ching, Laozi, Liezi and the gang. On this episode there's snack-stealing karma monkeys, slackers vindicated by fate, exposed old lady parts and choking on thief food.
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John J Thompson of True Tunes News wraps up the story of the magazine- began in episode 125- picking up at the publication’s zenith, it’s collapse and what’s become of the tribe since those final days.
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Back in the late 1980’s, a little magazine began to be passed around by discouraged and disenfranchised music loving, truth seeking believers on the back pews of churches. The mag was called True Tunes and what it did was send up flare to those folks who were looking for music with meaning and integrity, both of which unfortunately for many did not exist in the mainstream Christian music industry of the times. The visionary of the publication was a kid-at-the-time by the name of John J Thompson who joins us to tell us of the rise, the fall and possible resurrection of True Tunes.
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Ronald Reagan's years as US president during the 1980s is commented on and discussed by armchair history watchers Mac Daddy McWilliams and Spun Counterguy. The Marine bombing in Beirut, Reagan's assassination attempt, jump-starting the economy, the air traffic controller strike and Iran-Contra are some of the main points the boys ramble on about.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Jason Hargrove is a street artist based near the Paducah, Kentucky area whom uses the jarring marriage of normalcy and nuclear imagery to provoke thought about the several radiation energy and storage facilities around the Middle South. Hargrove comes back by the woodpile to explain his vision and his own experience working within the atomic industry.
www.jasonhargroveart.com
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Randy Stehle has returned back by the woodpile with a milk crate full of 78s to share some of his favorite finds of late! Jellyroll Morton, Bennie Moten, Louis Armstrong and a bunch others are all top on this jazzy scratchy episode!
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Former diplomat, Director of the Foreign Service Institute and Al-Qaeda target Nancy McEldowney joins us to talk about her career in the State Department and the unfolding historical events she got to witness up close. The Cold War, reunification of Germany, the Middle East crisis, the break up of the Soviet Union and so many other issues that effect our current events are all commented on by Mrs. McEldowney.
(To hear on iTunes, click here)
Frederick Douglass was a runaway slave, writer, preacher, abolitionist leader, accomplished violinist and eventual advisor and friend to President Abraham Lincoln. For this episode of In the Corner Back by the Woodpile, we get a special tour inside and out of the Frederick Douglas house in Washington DC, and in the process get a better picture of the man who changed American history.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Gather near the speakers ya'll, it's time for more spooky stories told round the graveyard bonfire! On this episode of In the Corner Back by the Woodpile we've gathered tales from Guatemala, Korea, Zimbabwe and the American South about tree chattering, bursting coffins, grabby doorways, cooking children, library witches and snakes coughing up cash.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Musicologist Dave Robinson has us over and down in his basement of treasures to talk jazz recordings, history, bottlecaps, woodpeckers and piano rolls!
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More philisophical adventures! This time talking the strength of forgiveness, humility revealing need, irritating mothers, the not-so-good ole days, Christian parents loving homosexual children, drug dealer’s welcome wagons and crimes where the cameras aren’t.
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Adventures in China all in pursuit of the Tao! Spun Counterguy tells stories and proverbs both ancient and modern all in his quest to know less than he already knows.
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On this episode of In the Corner, we’re back up in Indianapolis hanging out with all the record collectors at the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors record bash. Manning the Victrola on this episode is Sonny McGown telling all about his love of the music and all the lucky treasures he's scored in his digging!
iajrc.org
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If the 1980’s had a president representative of it’s spirit, it was Ronald Reagan both symbolically and literally. With some help from Brother Mac Daddy McWilliams, we chat on this episode on everything leading up to The Gipper’s election in 1981. His days in Hollywood, being both a union boss and union fighter, tangling with Berkeley campus activists and communists, wrestling with abortion are all here plus much more.
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We’re back rolling around Hopkins County Kentucky talking the tyranny of preservation, teachers who made a difference, Obama phones, debaucherous riverboats and Klu Klux Klan hotdogs and pop.
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We’re riding around another locale and getting all the good stories! This time we cruise the hills and hollers of Hopkins County, Kentucky to talk the ways of deer, growin up in a gun shop, black powder hunting, confederate school mascots, the war stories of veterans, nasty spring water, training the Pittsburgh Pirates and the exotic potted plants of one particular high school.
Peter Horse is back ready to talk about all kinds of things that could get us carted off to prison, including Liu Xiaobo, Taylor Swift T-shirts vs The Chinese Communist Party, the hidden world of the Taiwanese pop/rock industry, Lin Yutang, enormous typewriters, Christianity and that “incident” that went down at Tiananmen Square.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
We had so much fun with Ronnie and David, we decided to have on another member of the Collegiates/Good Time Singers! Jim Loving comes on to add to the treasure trove of stories, including bus fires on bridges, hair steaming, accidently writing great songs and drawing smiles on faces…literally. Plus a tribute to such legendary groups as The Happy Goodmans, Jake Hess and the Imperials and The Couriers.
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We go back to another 1980s episode with some stories and performances from The Alarm, embarrass ourselves in front of Melissa Manchester and revisit the song where 3 of the 4 Ramones took issue with President Reagan.
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Poet Mario A. Pita (Lyrical Emissary, Image Marriages) comes back by the woodpile to not only share his verses but talk everything from science and spirituality, to sea turtles and flashlights, idolatry, molecules and so much more!
Our woodpile is over in China again! This time around Peter Horse brings over his chair and mouth to talk writer Lu Xun (鲁迅), Chinese underground hip-hop, Jews in Shanghai during WWII, the ET generation and all kinds of other random topics.
Our favorite Salvadorian girls are back to help us learn some of the key Spanish words to songs by Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe, Salsa Clave and Alvaro Torres. Not only do we laugh at ourselves and our respective language skills, we get some insight into the current crisis in Venezuela, the devestating earthquakes in El Salvador and the resilient human spirit.
To hear on iTunes, click here
Keeping it in the family, Spun Counterguy interviews his father about all his adventures and mishaps in the mid-1960s while being in the Southern Gospel group, The Collegiates. Junky tour buses, breaking into churches, waking the ferryman and recording in funeral homes and water wells- it's all there!
To hear the interview with Collegiates' Ronnie Vaughn, click here!
To hear this and other episodes on iTunes, click here!
1980’s racism is what’s on tap on our look back podcast this time around. Specifically how it played out in two spots on the globe: the city of Chicago and country of South Africa. Our guests remember the sad ugliness and inspiring triumphs of humans during those times.
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The 1980's are back, at least in our minds. This time around we rap re-issuing early Hip-Hop, dreams of meeting Lena Zavaroni, flying high in the US Air Force and slaming that one Polynesian pop group we loved.
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Author Lisa See comes Back by the Woodpile to talk about her new title The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, which centers around a Chinese ethinic minority woman’s destiny as tied to her people’s particular strand of tea, both sacred and highly sought after in the outside world. Added to this is the woman’s longing to find her lost daughter, adopted away on the other side of the planet in America. While digesting the story, we’ll get to learn a lot about tea, Chinese adoptees, identity and how to dance with happenstance.
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Trying to learn another language is frickin' hard! But since rocking along to sweet music ain't no chore, why not bop and cram at the same time? That's what we try to do by learning some of the key words of our favorite Spanish language songs by Carlos Vives, Kika Cayito y Mike, Tito Puente and Climaco Sarmiento.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Chilly fradulent fuzzy worms, Darwinistic romantic calculations, Salvation Army pickings, Cover Your Hind End Insurance...it's all here as Roxy Forest, Nick McNasty and Corey McFly wander around their hometown looking for cassingles, scratch-n-sniff stickers and their purpose in life!
To hear on iTunes, click here!
To hear episode I, click here!
Episode II
Episode III
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Episode V
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII
Snapshots into the lives of ordinary Chinese folk, ranging from doctors to students to the spiritually minded.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
The walls do speak- and sometimes wail- of which musicologist and tour guide Phil Pospychala can hear them. So on this episode of In the Corner Back by the Woodpile we talk jazz records, breweries, recording studios, the St. Valentines Day Masacre, Bix Beiderbech, Earl Hines, Black Patti Records, Fat Babies and so much more!
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Come to find out Gina McGaha is a lying tease! But she does put our heroes onto a mystery and cash reward involving someone wiping their filthy mouths on the brand new clothes featured at the Opossums and Pinafores boutique. Along the way they run into broken hearted and crusty footed teenagers, a journalist from Tiger Beat and local legend Filthy Fingers Farnsworths. All here on Legend of the Like Totally Epic Journey Quest!
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To hear episode I, click here!
Episode II
Episode III
Episode IV
Episode V
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII
Corey McFly has finally cornered the iron pumping boyfriend of the object of his affection- Gina McGaha- on the town square lawn. This encounter somehow leads he, Roxy Forest and Nick McNasty into hiding in a Salvation Army dropbox, climbing fences to check out purported beauties, a hot pizza trivia battle and very powerful Sony Walkman. It's all here on Legend of the Like Totally Epic Journey Quest!
To hear this on iTunes, click here!
To hear episode I, click here!
Episode II
Episode III
Episode IV
Episode V
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII
Philosophical banter, this time around inspired by the words of John Hughes spoken by Leah Thompson, Mary Stuart Masterson & Eric Stoltz via 1987’s Some Kind of Wonderful. Alienation, class envy, complacentcy in relationships and prejudice all get a look-see jaw-jack Back by the Woodpile!
(To hear on iTunes, click here!)
The crew are in town and have acquired some mysterious Scratch n Sniff stickers, cassingles and Rubiks cube. Corey McFly is ready to give his heart to Gina McGaha but he's first got to retrieve her class ring from Buddy Childress. Our hero is detirmined to do what it takes to snag the prize, whether it's rumbling with godless heathens, completing a bear claw recipe or protecting an innocent soda machine, with help of course from his comrades foxy Roxy Forest and nerdy Nick McNasty.
To hear on iTunes, click here
To hear episode I, click here!
Episode II
Episode III
Episode IV
Episode V
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII
Nick McNasty is still imprisoned in his bedroom, Roxy Forest is trapped between a wall of fists and a radio full of ghosts, Skirdette is still drunk dancing in the front yard, all while Corey McFly is playing with a remote control that activates who knows what? The adventure continues complete with more Rush-inspired pitfalls, mysterious pinafore boutiques and sultry ladies trying to lure boys + 1 into their Mercedes.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
To hear episode I, click here!
Episode II
Episode III
Episode IV
Episode V
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII
A role-playing game set in the 1980's! Music lover/aspiring dancer Roxy Forest, football jock Corey McFly and computer geek Nick McNasty join gamemaster Spun Counterguy for a trek into the heart of the neon decade. Join them as they seek love, music and liberation from tyrannical older sisters!
To hear on iTunes, click here!
(courthouse photo courtesy of Ken Alvey/graphics by Mindub)
To hear episode I, click here!
Episode II
Episode III
Episode IV
Episode V
Episode VI
Episode VII
Episode VIII
To hear on iTunes, click here!
And for Stitcher, here!
Thoughts, words and responses are flung here and there on this latest edition of Tryna Herd Cats, the philosophical dialogue podcasts Back By the Woodpile! This time around we talk alibis for failure, so empty nothing can offend, laying down metaphorical arms and getting mind punched by David Carradine.
(To hear on iTunes, click here!)
1980's artists fogotten, neglected or never heard in the first place. This time John J. Thompson of True Tunes fame helps us remember The Alarm, After the Fire and Steve Taylor!
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In the lead up to the world being plunged into a second world war, the Japanese invaded China and subjected the country to a living hell of destruction, mass rapes and deaths. A small group of Americans volunteered to become members of the Chinese Air Force and became known as飞虎队 or The Flying Tigers. Lead by US General Claire Chennault, the airmen with shark faces painted on their plane noses destroyed 296 enemy aircrafts in less than a year while only losing 14 of their own pilots.
Sally Fee comes back by the Woodpile this week to talk about her cousin Leonard M. Butsch Jr. who was a member of the Flying Tigers. Also known as "Mish", the serviceman’s adventures is told in a book called “Leonard M. Butsch, Jr: An Airman’s Story”, put together by Fee and another cousin named Robert McClure. Sally gives us not only some insight into Mish’s experiences and character but also of her own memories of the heroic man.
And we also end up talking bout Sally’s jazz record collecting!
(To hear on iTunes, click here)
(Mish with a young Sally)
Philosophy throwdown! Somehow between sneaky neighbors, withered trees, unaware beauty, unaware virtue, Chinese sages and missing axes, we find a little insight.
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78 RPM quests, Bix Beiderbecke’s mystery trail, Joe Bussard’s basement Mecca, digitizing history and making-me-blush blues songs. It’s all brought here by this week’s guest Back By the Woodpile, Jackson Garrison!
To hear on iTunes, click here!
A whole village under the thumb of one snake, avenging a father one never knew, the safety in being useless, piting lions against each other, yanking at crops to get them to hurry up... All of these stories and more are told to us back by the woodpile by kids and young folks in China. Learn a little culture and hopefully wisdom at the same time on this episode!
(To hear via iTunes, click here)
Nashville, Tennessee is famous for the country music industry, hot chicken and a ton of colleges. But it's also full of individual stories, of which this episode's guest Back by the Woodpile- Reckless Dave we'll call him- tells us during his tour of the city. There's Mid-Town record store characters, helping musician Daniel Johnston buy comic books, Bordeux cats named Shadowboy and Pantera, Watkins film school dreams and the self reflection we all go through.
(To hear on iTunes, click here)
1980's are back, at least in our reminiscing. This time around: high school hard boiled press hounds, fist fighting everyone from Tennessee to Chicago, club Medusa and Little Debbie's fudge round.
Solitude, books, gardens, shady trees, being defined by enemies, honesty and man-children! It's all here and discussed in our latest philosophical dialogue podcast!
Jack Teagarden, Louis Jordan, Ukulele Ike and Percy Mayfield are all names that aren't heard much on the lips of folks these days. But musicologist David D. Duncan heads back to the Woodpile to correct all of that! Join us as we talk jazz trombones, black cowboy dreams, the science of cole slaw, split skulls, singing crickets and much more!
Unconnected stories! From the back of the recording drawer we’ve got folks talking about inventing an Amiga computer for the domestic engineer, the blossom and decay of Schenectady, New York, how an adorable couple finally got it together to get together, the bottom of shoes being gathered for souls and how a relic of the final Russian Czarist family ended up in Middle Tennessee.
We're back over in China's interior for another lesson in the ways of the Taoism. This time around we're talking with a "Mr. Wu" who discusses his own history with the Tao in addition to moving mountains, extending one's life, the Tao of Victor Hugo and much more.
Foxy Chinese lady spirits, a mud-faced mexican witch, meat rain, prison haunts,oujia manipulations, Sudanese brotherly betrayals and tunnels from of the dead offsprings of fornicatingclergy. It's all down at the haunted In the Corner Back by the Woodpile! Featuring guest authors Lisa See, Steve Asher and many more.
More Patches From a Second-Hand Planet stories! These two called "When you went away" and "Worse in it's absence" involve travelers and the ghosts they pick up along the way.
Southern Gospel is an oft ignored genre that's been around since the early 20th Century and still alive and well in certain regions of the American South. One such regional act that was rocking the hills and hollers of Mid-Western churches was a group starting out named The Collegiates and eventually morphing into The Good Time Singers. One of the group's vocalists, Ronnie Vaughn, came back by the Woodpile to tell some of the band's both high and low points, Both hilarious and heartwarming, Vaughn shares stories about terrible recording sessions, discovering hairspray, Mennonite fanbases, theology showdowns and opening for The Oak Ridge Boys and Andre Crouch.
To hear this on iTunes, click here!
Mr. Mister's liturgy, Margaret Thatcher's reign and reflections on school life in the 1980s! It's all here on our 1980's podcast, Fluorescent Decade on a Hill!
To some Falun Gong is just way to exercise or meditate, to others it's brought them great inner peace and then to others it somehow poses a threat to their monopoly of political power. A Falun Gong practitioner in Southern Indiana comes back by the Woodpile to share her own story and experience as well as educate us on the faith's history and current persecution in Communist China.
Half of this episode will be in the ocean depths and the other half will be over in China; and a guy we'll call ShuǐXià LaoWai will be our guide to both. This gentleman has spent a good part of his life as a deep sea diver repairing oil platforms and other submerged machinery and another part working and having misadventures in the Middle Kingdom. You'll be guaranteed to learn a few things, get grossed out, have few laughs and cross off certain career paths.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Miami Vice, mullets, shoes but no socks, a video game starring the members of the band Journey, Flock of Seagull hair, Mexican female bodies stuffed inside gringo jeans, Hefty parachute pants, the dominance of the synth and lots and lots of fashion. It's all here on another look-back at our favorite decade!
To hear on iTunes, click here
Been a long time since you strained your brain? Come join us Back by the Woodpile for more word wrestling as we discuss saints, sinners, opposition groups within democracy, fear of power, fear of losing power, the recipe of failing nations and pop songs banned in Burma.
To hear on iTunes, click here!
Welcome to another dig through the often overlooked music of the 1980s! This time around journalist and author John J Thompson of True Tunes fame joins us to talk about the quiet but pure impact of artists The 77's, The Call, Ideola and Tonio K, of whom were within the personal and professional circles of such giants U2, Simple Minds, Peter Gabriel and many other 80's icons. Lots of great history and personal stories shared!
To hear on iTunes, click here!
While at the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors, music enthusiastic Phil Oldham talks about the state of Indiana's contribution to Jazz music. Hoagie Carmichael and Gennett Records top out the list as well as a slew of other related subjects including Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, King Oliver, Hitch's Happy Harmonists and much more.
Dr. Ming Wang is an Ophthalmologist and scientist who’s pioneered both the fields of health technology and molecular biology, having published research papers and written textbooks on a variety of subjects and helped thousands of people regain their sight. He’s also a dancer and musician, those latter skills having landed him on Dolly Parton’s record “Those were the days” playing the Chinese erhu instrument. In the film ‘God’s not dead’ the character of Martin Yip is based on Wang’s own experience at Harvard University.
Dr. Wang has just released an autobiography called ‘From darkness to sight’, chronicling his journey from hopelessness and poverty in Chairman Mao’s China to eventually finding his place in America. Dr. Wang came back by the woodpile to talk further some of the stories and ideas covered in his book.
Thieves have stolen all the arms and legs of a sweet child's baby doll collection! Who would do such an inconsiderate thing? We're not sure but they were seen running into a nearby cave, into which detectives Noodle & Macaroni are headed.
Spun Counterguy becomes a game master to his niece and nephew, where these young adventurers encounter a demon fish, lacking cheeseburgers, talking doors, a constipated cat and Taylor Swift.
DJ Ron Slomowicz has been pumping dance beats out onto the club floors, airwaves and media avenues for over 20 years now. In a moment of career reflection, Ron invites up into his DJ booth to share with us his stories, observations and his favorite records.
Another flip through our 1980s back pages, this time around: interning at one of the first hip hop radio stations ever, getting that first kiss at vacation Bible school, living around the corner from CBGBs in New York City, trying to be a punk in rural Tennessee, trying to be a punk as a dwarf and trying to waltz, while also trying to be a punk.
More philosophical tango, this time around touching on suppression of speech, everyone getting offended, riding on the fumes of past dreams, unheard words, thoughts missed at the stop light and being fired by really famous people. Also, the source of the quotes comes on to explain what he was really trying to say.
As Jews, Geralda & Yuri Zhislin's parents miraculously survived the Nazi invasion of the Ukraine only to next feel the persecution of the Soviet Union's systematic anti-semitism. But the family endured until they were finally allowed to leave out from the Iron Curtain in the late 1980's. Having to completely rebuild their lives, the Zhislins now live modestly but happily in Tennessee. The sweet couple come back by the woodpile to share their stories and their witness to history.
Tito Puente was considered hands down the "King of the Mambo", pushing and molding the genre of Latin jazz known by many names over time. To Puente whether it was called Afro-Cuban, Cubop, Cha-Cha, Boogalo or Salsa, it was all the same to him: great dance music. Jim Payne author of Tito Puente: King of Latin Music comes back by the woodpile to discuss the master's life and their time together.
Even when Charlie Coleman was a kid, hot jazz was fading from the mainstream public's musical preferences. But knowing great music when he heard it, Coleman continued to dig, collect and support the art form. Some 80 odd years later, Charlie comes Back By the Woodpile to share with us his favorite finds and something about his own life, always in orbit round the first musical genre America could claim as creating.
Master Hu is Taoist scholar who discusses the relationship between the philosophical and religious spectrum of Taoism, the attempt to incorporate Confucianism, making pilgrimages and his inspiration in ancient poet Li Bai.
More highlighting of overlooked artists from the 1980's decade. Including Pseudo Echo, The Lazy Cowgirls, the Roxanne Roxanne answer records, 鄧麗君, 15 60 75 Numbers Band, Judson Spence & X Japan. Also a quick tribute to the film Kung Fury.
This episode features a guy named Steve C who's had a lot of disappointment in his life. Date-killing bad memory and bowels, opening for a puppet, cock roaches in the drawers and hauling lots and lots of sand. Come- let's laugh at Steve!
Another philosophical discussion, this time around on such light subjects as martyrdom, socialism, forgiveness, failure and spilling huckleberries.
More tripping backwards to the 1980's where this time around we chat about The Kinks doing it again, a Tennessee Waltz crush in Zimbabwe, hanging in a dragon's park, watching sci-fi writers compose at a window and swim team follies.
Joe Torre has been around the computing block both in soft and hardware since the 1970's. By taking advantage of his luck and pushing discipline on himself, Mr. Torre rose in the ranks of the emerging computer industry, ultimately getting to live the dream by scoring a gig at Amiga Computers in the 1990s. We get to hear all about this and more on this week's In the Corner Back by the Woodpile!
On this week's episode of In the Corner Back by the Woodpile, African-American Hattie Bruce comes from the past tells about her own simple but charmed life. Hailing from Williamson County, Tennessee Mrs. Bruce recalls of cursing without knowing it, hand-me-down dresses causing tears on the dance floor, a community seemingly sheltered from the troubles of the day and quite a bit more.
More philosophical back and forth, this time around discussing the stuff found in silence, time's changing hands and knowing perfection through wretchedness.
Not everyone in the 1980's were walking on sunshine. On this installment of our look back podcast, we talk back to bullies, go to Southern Mexico to get into a middle of a bunch of political tangles, stand in Romanian food lines, celebrate the heartache that brought about U2's New Year's Day and witness a rural inter-town break dance battle.
On this installment, jazz record enthusiast Randy Stehle shares some of his greatest recorded treasure, talks meeting Joe Venuti, Thomas Tick Grey & Ube Blake and the wide wild world of Betty Boop the other girls who talk like that.
We're over in China again and revisiting with our previous guest and friend "Peter". The young man talks about his new found faith and some of the more interesting times in Chinese history and how it compares to America's.
On June 6th, 1944, the Allied forces landed on Omaha Beach at Normandy, France, setting in motion the bloody business of retaking Northern Europe away from the Nazis. A nightmare where over 4000 Allied soldiers were slaughtered on the first day alone, one man lived through that the longest day to visit us Back By the Woodpile. Mr. Ivy Agee Jr, with some help from his wife and grandson, shares pieces of his incredible story of survival and determination to fight till the end.
Almost all the music you hear today is a descendant of jazz music. But sadly it’s time in our mainstream American culture has come and gone. But there are still keepers of the spirit, including this weeks guest Back by the Woodpile, simply known as Jazzman. Even in his youth, jazz music’s popularity was beginning to wane which might’ve been a boon to Jazzman’s quest: collecting and preserving all things associated with jazz. The archivist lets us ride shotgun in a drive by glance of the music that revolutionized the world in more ways than one.
There’s still some torch-carrying musicians out there mostly off the radar that both know the roots of the music and respect it enough to push it to new directions, much like the long-dead rule-breakers they admire. Greg Garing we believe is one of those fellers and he’s so dedicated, he’s about killed himself trying to keep it alive. In bad health, friends of Garing have set up a GoFundMe project to help this ragged troubadour get well. And on one of his better feeling days, Greg came Back by the Woodpile to share a few of the multitude of stories he’s picked up and live throughout his career.
When it comes to Taoism, there’s few bright lights like Dr. Livia Kohn. A lecturer, author, publisher and a major translator of many obscure ancient texts, Dr. Kohn dropped by the In the Corner Back by the Woodpile podcast to share a little wisdom and talk about her own personal journey within the way.
Most folks know The Ramones as a 70’s band but the guys made some great records in the 1980’s that we could say ended up in the proverbial roller rink dumpster. Not wanting to let these great tracks get forgotten, Cat Taylor comes In the Corner Back by the Woodpile to let us in on every album the Ramones put out in those glorious ten years and the somewhat sordid stories behind them.
Come listen in to more philosophical badminton In the Corner Back By the Woodpile where art might be tangled up with spiritual disability, the pros and cons of truth and choosing to die indifferent or full of love.
PhreakNIC is a hacker gathering that’s been going on for nearly twenty years strong. One of the founding organizers JonnyX comes In the Corner Back by the Woodpile to chat about the organization’s history, highlights and a couple of wild stories to make your screen shot blush.
Come on back to our favorite decade where this time around we ruminate on our major crushes and how they played out on the roller rink, China awakening and seeing the Ramones at any cost!
Part two of one woman's life journey from a village in Guatemala to eventually prospering in Alabama, USA.
On this weeks In the Corner Back By the Woodpile podcast, a woman tells the incredible- both heartbreaking and ultimately triumphant- story of her life’s journey from a village in Guatemala to Alabama, USA. And thus Guatemalabama!
DJ Emerald was rocking the 80’s on college radio back in the 90’s when most folks were ‘so over’ the best decade ever! Now she brings some of her favorite lessor known tracks and a few personal stories along with her to the Woodpile behind the roller rink dumpster.
Welcome to more philosophical explorations back by the woodpile, this time dealing with our attraction to beauty, satisfaction in the artificial and affecting those we’ll never meet. Compare the results against your own experience!
There are so many stories behind anything humans have had a hand in- including cars- that are unknown; and sadly there’s also stories behind actual humans that are forgotten. Michael J. Sparks comes Back by the Woodpile to talk about both his colorful experiences with wheeling and dealing in the automotive business and his love for lost names in history he’d like us not to forget.
Dead girls beckoning fellers in for a swim, a spirit babel fish app, a swinging summer camp noose, trying to outwit the devil, the tiniest claw marks, a dog not quite ready to leave, lost foreign ghosts in Japan and guts splattered on the road. What’s all this mean? Another episode of In the Corner Back by the Woodpile, ghost story edition!
To our ears there’s nothing creepier than Halloween songs played on scratchy old records and sang by long dead musicians. To help us mine through the fertile bone yard of said tunes, musicologist Dirk Allman of the Carolina History Project brings along a few of his favorite finds by to the Corner Woodpile podcast. Learn about swamp gas, dancing with the devil, skeletons on the rag and the singing acoustics of closed coffins.
In keeping with a spirits of the season, we present another weird short story, this one by Spun Counterguy. (Patches of a Second-Hand Planet) “Creaky Limbs, Swings and Mouths” involves a plot of land that’s ended up a graveyard more than its vegetable garden original intentions.
Sister Sung-Hae Kim is a South Korean Catholic and an expert on interreligious dialogues, having recently published a book specifically about the relationship between Taoism and Christianity entitled The Gourd and the Cross. She joins us In the Corner Back by the Woodpile to discuss both her book and her life’s work!
On this second installment of our look back at the culture, history and individual lives of those of us who lived through the 1980’s, we learn about learning English as a second-language from George Michael, having one’s own monkey, being shaped by Origin’s Ultima and the lesson of property rights in the woods!
More chats philosophical, this time getting deep in the Oxford, UK scene as well as some US presidential wisdom.
Kids that weren’t even born in the 1980s are now way into that decade and all it had to offer by way of fashion, music, movies, video games and so on. So what better way to dig deeper into the era than to talk to the folks that lived through it. On this first episode of A Fluorescent Decade on a Hill, guests chat about the perils of jelly shoes, following Duran Duran around the world, romancing a shy guy, beatmatch pioneer Farley Jackmaster Funk and ruining Halloween for a whole entire town.
DJ’s Mindub and Spun Counterguy have dug through many of funky containers to find these particular discarded joints from the Reagan era and they’ve come to share them with us on this latest podcast. This time around they bring the jams that touch on electro, teenager R&B, gospel pop queens, those Daft Punks, power chord pop and also a tribute to a new band carrying the 80’s torch.
Poet Robert Olson/Katovski returns with a fresh batch of work and the stories behind them!
Sanshiro Hanafusa shares with us his experience of being part Japanese/part American Southerner, sheds light on the difference of the Okinawan people from the rest of Japan and tells some epic legends, including that of Namazu the catfish, sisters Tsuru and Kame and talking dust thingys called makkuro. It’s all here In the Corner Back by the Woodpile, yo!
Everybody knows the classic 80’s hits we danced, rolled and cruised to. But with every single there were about 50 other tracks you never heard…until now. DJs Mindub and Spun Counterguy share and discuss their favorite of the lesser known gems found deeper into the albums, b-sides and some just outright ignored artists.
Frances Hahn, a Jew born at the beginning of Europe's darkest days, was hidden by her parents in France. She survived the war but her parents did not. Mrs. Hahn shares her story.
More mental adventures, this episode musing on wisdom from Burma, Rwanda, China, Kurdistan, Britain and deep Kentucky.
From transporting prisoners from the UK to all over the world to starting a new life and family in Asia, Mr. Semper has got some worn out traveling shoes. He tells us all about his life and wanderings and the few bits of wisdom he's picked up along the way.
As about as close as a real dungeon master as one can get, Robert Schwalb has helped write several editions and modules for TSRs Dungeons & Dragons, George R.R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire and more recently is in the midst of creating his own original role playing game Shadow of the Demon Lord. Schwalb guests on In the Corner Back by the Woodpile podcast to chat about the adventure campaign one could call his life.
Jean Roseman is a Nashville-based Jewish historian who in her research uncovered a forgotten ax murder that had all the elements of a macabre drama, including race relations, an extra-marital affair, flight, justice and a cover up. Mrs. Roseman joined us on the In the Corner Back by the Woodpile podcast to chat about the case and other unique Jewish stories in the Music City.