Getting Better Acquainted

In GBA 322 we get better acquainted with Oliver. He talks about the cathartic experience of failure, sounds and shows that influenced and inspired him and making the new podcast Kane and Feels: Paranormal Investigators. We compare our experiences of making audio and making audio drama, discuss the landscapes of podcasting and radio, and reflect on both the isolation and the community that can be found from messing around with sound. Oliver plugs: Kane and Feels: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/kane-and-feels-paranormal-investigators/id1291486608?mt=2 https://twitter.com/kaneandfeels A Poem and Mistake: https://poemistake.bandcamp.com/ https://twitter.com/poemistake https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL-9IEGkN9R6RUjJprIJg7g I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea

In GBA 321 we get better acquainted with Helen. She talks about the worst job she ever had, training to be a teacher, art, finding a new career path after leaving teaching, photography, her podcast Flixwatcher that reviews the films available on Netflix , how she came to love film, hating Adam Sandler films and more. We also talk about watching and loving films in the context of #MeToo. The conversation was recording while swinging on a swing in the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. Content Note: Bullying, Toxic Work Environments, Domestic Violence, #MeToo. Helen plugs: Flixwatcher: http://flixwatcher.tv I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ We mention: Tate Modern: http://www.tate.

In this Getting Better Acquainted Extra I continue the tradition of beginning the new year with a round up of how the last year panned out for me. And I talk about my plans and resolutions for 2018. Next week the format of the show will be back to normal! I mention: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast My series of personal essays about my dad: Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad https://medium.com/goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Restart Project: https://therestartproject.org/podcast/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/camerynmoore https://www.facebook.com/smutslamlondon/ http://www.camerynmoore.com/ GBA 300: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/gba-300 Help more p

In GBA 320 we get better acquainted with Christmas (again). It's the 2017 Christmas Special! This episode is contains three visits from clips of nearly Christmas past as I consider Christmas from the perspective of my 6 year old self and my 36 year old self. It also features my brother when he was 12 and my dad when he was 63. I mention my series of personal essays about my dad: Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad https://medium.com/goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 And this piece by the brilliant Meg-John Barker: Rewriting the Rules of the Festive Season http://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/self/rewriting-rules-festive-season/ Image for the episode by Paul Williams: http://www.sketchymagpie.com/ The episode ends with a Christmas song I wrote a few years back called "Time to be Nice" Here it is in video form: http://youtu.be/UiPXNO7WJAQ This is my other Christmas song in video form: Ghosts of... http://youtu.be/XqCKfOwA9vE Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year! (Ther

It's another episode of GBA Replayed which showcases some of the conversations recorded in the early years of Getting Better Acquainted. This episode is being re-released because Eric sadly passed away last Saturday and I wanted to mark his passing by remembering his life. After the replayed episode 33 there are some clips from episode 34 featuring my dad and Eric talking about their friendship. ---------------- In GBA 33 we get better acquainted with Eric. He talks about his extensive BBC career, film making, writing, how he met my father, the effect of national service and the physical and sensual process of typing. And a lot more. He also has a very interesting approach to the process of being recorded. Eric deconstructs the process and purpose of plugging. And in GBA 34 we get better acquainted with both Eric and my father. It's late at night after dinner and we’ve had a few drinks. We talk about their friendship (which is older than me) and how Eric influenced me when I was a young writer. I plug

In GBA 319 we get better acquainted with Laura and Sarai from the JewCL podcast. They talk about making the podcast and doing the research which inspired it. The concept of the podcast is: "Three Jewish students and their teacher chat about their research project into Jewish life at UCL, what they discovered, how they discovered it and what they think about it all." Laura and Sarai plug: JewCL podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-jewcl-podcast/id1288986374?mt=2 Reading more about the history of other people, specifically the history and experiences of Jewish people. Listening better to each other. I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ We mention: Liberating the Cu

In GBA 318 we get better acquainted with Dexter. He talks about combining goth and cabaret influences to create the drag queen Count Addiction, navigating sex, gender and sexuality, being an Amanda Palmer mega fan, how being the son of a funeral director influenced him, finding friends, creating communities and so much more. Dexter plugs: Count Addiction: https://www.facebook.com/CountAddiction https://twitter.com/CountAddiction Bitter Sour Presents: Jingle Hell 9th December - bymonthly: https://www.facebook.com/events/1588517787870952/ The Tuck Shop: Back Up - Last Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/185211392040308/ I plug: Smut Slam: Next Smut Slam: 13th Jingles and Tingles: https://www.facebook.com/events/663459157190793/ What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-

GBA 317 is a Getting Better Acquainted special featuring a true story I told at Spark London about therapy, anxiety and depression, and conversations with my dad about living with dementia and my brother, Tony about making art about being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ My brother's art: http://pick-art.co.uk/ Spark London: http://www.stories.co.uk Smut Slam: https://www.facebook.com/events/663459157190793/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 316 we get better acquainted with Kas. She talks about her journey through performance, from playing the White Witch in primary school, to dancing in Pride and Prejudice, to working with Teatro Vivo to make immersive theatre that engages with locations and communities. When we recorded this conversation last week Kas was 8 months pregnant so we also talk about how that has intersected with performance and life. The conversation was recorded in a rehearsal room at the Rich Mix in Shoreditch. Kas plugs: Twistov at Rich Mix: https://www.richmix.org.uk/events/theatre/twistov Christmas Sing-A-Longs: http://www.teatrovivo.co.uk/up-next/ Teatro Vivo: http://www.teatrovivo.co.uk/ I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity

It's another episode of GBA Replayed which showcases some of the conversations recorded in the early years of Getting Better Acquainted. ------------ In GBA 51 we get better acquainted with my niece, Sonia. She talks about giving birth to her two children which were very different experiences to each other, her feelings about motherhood, having a strong friendship group, smiling at strangers, experiences of Australia, the desire to work with her hands and lots more. We touch on becoming like our parents, what that means and how it can be embraced. I'm also revealed to be a Buncle, uncover her hatred for Chickens and discuss her influence on me when I was growing up. It’s a really open and wide ranging conversation that was a joy to record. Sonia Plugs: Romance, reality and positivity! I plug: I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men?

In this GBA Extra I share two stories that I retold recently at Spark London true storytelling nights. For anyone missing the usual GBA length and format this episode of The Family Tree Cuttings may fill the gap for you: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/cuttings/the-family-tree-season-2-cuttings-2-other-lives/ I plug: Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Next Hackney night 11th November: https://www.facebook.com/events/116918258992374/ Smut Slam - Next London night 8th November: https://www.facebook.com/events/767863566747746/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thefamilytreepodcast Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear wh

In GBA 315 we get better acquainted with Andy. Since Andy works in very similar areas of audio to me, but has a very different approach to how he works, this is a compare and contrast conversation where we talk about why bassists might have an affinity for radio production, making radio and podcast comedy and drama, working with a foot in independent audio and a foot within the mainstream radio world, what it's like when you're locked in the audio cave and whether we are pond-skaters, water-boatmen or ducks! Andy plugs: Wooden Overcoats: http://www.woodenovercoats.com/ Miniaturists Podcast(launching 16th November): http://www.miniaturists.co.uk/podcast https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/577999433/the-miniaturists-podcast The Night: (next date 6th November): http://crowleynco.com/the-night/ Cleanse at The Vault Festival (not yet announced): http://www.vaultfestival.com/ I plug: The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat10

In GBA 314 we get better acquainted with Wasi. She talks about not defining marginalised groups by their traumas, #CutFromTheSameCloth a collection of essays by hijabis, getting to the point where she is comfortable calling herself a photographer, how she became a person centred therapist, the systematic elements involved in mental health struggles, growing up with parallel experiences and cultures, experiences of Islamophobia and racism, pushing back against structural oppressions, the work that Against Borders For Children (Schools ABC) have done and so much more. Wasi plugs: Cut From the Same Cloth: https://unbound.com/books/cut-from-the-same-cloth Against Borders For Children: Schools ABC: https://www.schoolsabc.net/ Wasi Daniju photos: http://wasidaniju.com/ Inclusive Mosque: https://www.facebook.com/inclusivemosqueinitiative/ http://www.inclusivemosqueinitiative.org/ Black Girl Festival 29th October: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-uks-first-black-girl-festival/ I plug: Down to a sunless sea: memor

In GBA 313 we get better acquainted with Craig. Dr Craig is an academic working in the field of critical social psychology (which has a big dash of sociology within it) whose work focuses on Masculinities. As you may know I made a show about masculinity so we had a lot to talk about. However we didn't really know much about each other before we sat down, and the conversation is certainly influenced by this. In many ways I had an idea of how the conversation would go before we started recording and so part of this episode is me slowly realising it's a different conversation to the one I imagined. We talk about Craig's areas of research which include looking at the way that dancing and gender intersect, looking at Lad Culture within Universities and analyzing the way that men's magazines talk about penises. Craig plugs: Dancing Gender: https://dancinggender.wordpress.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/craigsresearch I plug: Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-

In GBA 312 we get better acquainted with Pandora Blake. They talk about how they became an award-winning feminist porn producer and performer, the rise and fall of their website Dreams of Spanking that was dedicated to ethically-produced BDSM erotica that prioritised gender diversity, explicit behind the scenes enthusiastic consent, and equal pay for equal work. With a wide lens they get into some of the issues around sex work law reform, censorship, obscenity law, sexual freedom and ethical/feminist porn. And in close up they talk about emerging from a few years of turmoil, change, transformation and transition, with new possibilities on the horizon and with a new understanding of their gender. Pandora/Blake on coming out as genderqueer: http://pandorablake.com/blog/2017/10/meet-the-real-me Pandora Blake plugs: Supporting their activism (and helping them to write their book) by signing up to their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pandorablake I plug: Smut Slam London: Spooky Sex: https://www.facebook.c

In GBA 311 we get better acquainted with Jez Kemp. He talks learning how to make your own music, the danger of false equivalence in the time of Charlottesville, Brexit and Trump, being a femme cisgender man, realising that Nineteen Eighty-Four isn't as radical as you thought, creating and selling dinosaur and unicorn T-Shirts, the man who tried to trademark the π symbol and lots more. Jez plugs: Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/jezkemp Twitter: https://twitter.com/jezkemp JezKempInsta: https://www.instagram.com/jezkempinsta I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-memories-of-my-dad-d1d2d3a61360 The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ We mention: Liz: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-liz-episodes Lisa: https://soundc

In GBA 310 we get better acquainted with CJ and Arlie from The Boy Who Hasn't Lived podcast. The podcast they make is about "one friend forcing the other to read the entire Harry Potter book series for the first time" and after they tell me why they make the show I get into my issues with the Harry Potter books. From there the conversation covers problematic faves, navigating the world, calling out and calling in, dealing with individuals and with systems, looking at the intersections around gender, race and power and how everything is COMPLICATED and that's okay! CJ and Arlie plug: The Boy Who Hasn't Lived: http://www.theboywhohasntlived.com/ Sparrow: http://www.sprrw.co.uk/ Paying CJ to talk to you about gender and race I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ Down to a sunless sea: memories of my dad: https://medium.com/@goosefat101/down-to-a-sunless-sea-me

In GBA 309, we get better acquainted with Sam. He talks about making an award winning "terrible idea" podcast, his early career as a boy soprano, being an actor/musician, occasionally discarding the idea of weighing up the pros and cons of things (via a thought experiment about icecream), the history and future of comics, the influence of his grandfather on his life and so much more. Sam does lots of things including making the Song By Song podcast which discusses the songs of Tom Waits in chronological order. Sam plugs: Song By Song: http://www.songbysongpodcast.com/ https://twitter.com/songbysongpod @SamPay: https://twitter.com/sampay Key Theatre in Peterborough: Sleeping Beauty: https://www.vivacity-peterborough.com/whatson/theatre-and-arts/sleeping-beauty/ Song By Song Live: tomorrow: http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/comedy/song-by-song-a-podcast-about-tom-waits I plug: A workshop on Telling Personal Stories that I'm co-running on Sunday: http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/interact/telling-per

In GBA 308, we get better acquainted with Meg-John and Justin. They talk about how they came to be sex and relationship educators, approaching sex, relationships and sexuality in an inclusive and non judgmental way, avoiding thinking in binaries and lots more. With references that include Terry Pratchett, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Professional Cycling and Homer Simpson as well as a whole range of academics, activists and theorists, it's a fun and informative conversation. MJ and Justin plug: Enjoy Sex (How, when and if you want to): a practical and inclusive guide: https://www.waterstones.com/book/enjoy-sex-how-when-and-if-you-want-to/meg-john-barker/justin-hancock/9781785780806 Their podcast and other collaborations: http://megjohnandjustin.com/ https://twitter.com/megjohnjustin https://www.facebook.com/megjohnjustin Bish UK: http://www.bishuk.com/ Rewriting the rules . com: http://rewriting-the-rules.com/ How to Understand Your Gender: http://www.jkp.com/uk/how-to-understand-your-gender-2.html I plug:

In GBA 307, we get better acquainted with Michael. He talks about moving from stand up comedy into true storytelling, running festivals, making flashing hats and merkins, finding a voice, travelling the world and lots more. Michael hosts Natural Born Storytellers and I host the Hackney branch of Spark London and so this is a conversation between two people working in the same genre, and a lot of it is about storytelling and truth and performance. Michael plugs: Natural Born Storytellers: 3rd Wednesday of every month at the Camden Head I plug: What About the Men? Mansplaining Masculinity: https://soundcloud.com/standuptragedy/sut-presents-what-about-the-men-mansplaining-maculinity http://mansplainingmasculinity.co.uk/ The Family Tree: http://thefamilytreepodcast.co.uk/ We mention: Natural Born Storytellers: http://www.naturalbornstorytellers.com/ Spark London: http://stories.co.uk/ Tell It Festival: http://tellitfestival.com/ Shambala: http://www.shambalafestival.org/ Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.stan