15 Minutes: A Podcast About Fame, With Jamie Berger

Second up in 5 from '18 is performance poet Ansel Appleton:http://www.15minutesjamieberger.com/news/2018/10/31/ut7e8v0a42fxh464sg7ponwmyq6nvhIt's noon on New Year's Eve - the countdown is on! Have a great one, all! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hello All,We'll be back in the new year with new episodes, but wanted to repost a few favorites you might have missed. Here's, #5, which is the second half of my conversation with writer/performer/friend-of-show Beth Lisick. http://www.15minutesjamieberger.com/news/2018/2/22/episode-54-beth-lisick-pt-2Since then, Beth trekked up to Western Mass to participate in our first live show, AND got signed by a great publisher (I'm blanking on who it is right now) for her first novel, which will be out sometime in 2019!(In part one of our conversation, http://www.15minutesjamieberger.com/news/2018/1/19/episode-52-beth-lisick-part-1we wrestle with more difficult stuff such as men learning how to reckon with their actions and how to successfully apologize - this one is the lighter half of the conversation)Below are the original notes for that episode, from back in January.Happy New Year, all!***Here's part two of my conversation with writer/performer, old San Francisco friend Beth Lisick. (And here's Part One)

(This is the second half of a conversation that begins in episode 56, from back in March)Christopher Napolitano is an old college friend. When we graduated, I headed off to work for literary presses Grove Press and New Directions, while Chris started working at Playboy, where he eventually rose to be Editorial Director for many years. After his 20 year tenure at Playboy, he became the Creative Director at Indian Country Today Media network.In the earlier episode, we talk about editing in general, editing one's heroes (Norman Mailer and John Updike, among them), Chris’s decision to take a sharp turn away from the glitz and glam of Playboy in the early 2000s, and much, much more. This episode is the somwehat less literary of the two. Among the topics we discuss are Chris's first-hand impression of Donald Trump (they met in the Playboy offices, near Trump Tower, on several occasions), #metoo and the legacy of Hugh Hefner, Playmates’ odd celebrity, and a story about Perry Farrell’s party at the Mansion. Find all

A conversation with writer and slam poet Ansel Appleton, along with a story recorded from Ansel’s performance at our two-year anniversary show in June. Among topics that came up are the slam poetry scene in Cambridge and beyond in the late 90s and early 2000s and Ansel’s preference to perform only for strangers rather than for friends or family colleagues or heroes. ***Find us at http://15minutesjamieberger.com or wherever pods are cast! Thanks! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Daniel Oppenheimer and I talked about Stephen Elliott’s essay and lawsuit (filed last week) against Moira Donegan and the “Shitty Men in Media” list that Elliott was named in a year ago this week.This one was put together on short notice, and made in part because I couldn’t find written words to express my thoughts on this and it was making me crazy. Here are some stories mentioned in the episode: Elliott’s “How An Anonymous Accusation Derailed My Life”: https://quillette.com/2018/09/25/how-an-anonymous-accusation-derailed-my-life/The news story about the lawsuit: https://www.thecut.com/2018/10/stephen-elliott-sues-moira-donegan.htmlOther “shitty men” respond to the lawsuit: https://www.thecut.com/2018/10/stephen-elliott-moira-donegan-men-respond.htmlWriters respond to the lawsuit: https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/writers-condemn-author-stephen-elliott-after-he-sues-creator-of-s-ty-media-men-listOn the possible effects of the suit:https://www.thecut.com/2018/10/stephen-elliott-lawsuit-moira-donegan-spre

Hello All, My guest this week, in our now-annual visit, is WFMU radiomaker (also available in podcast form!) and 15-Minutes-inspirational-icon Hearty White. This being his third visit (see Episodes 8, 31, and 32 for more!), we’ve pretty much dispensed with the formality of talking about fame and just chat about whatever comes to mind, which this time included Timothy Leary, sanity, The Rockford Files (of course), rings, heroes, the Attention Economy, Black Stalin, Sundar Popo, Chutney Music, how he makes episodes of “Miracle Nutrition” (his show), the cultural obsession with recording/preserving memories, and much much more! Find him on WFMU.org or by searching for "Miracle Nutrition with Hearty White" on your favorite podcasting application.Before that, though, I rant for a while about how infuriating it is how many dudes such as this clever fellow (picture of a tweet you won’t see on the podcast apps so go to 15minutesjamieberger.com)and most most recently, long-since-relevant comedian Norm McDonald, insist

This episode is the first of several featuring recordings from our live show in Greenfield, MA at Hawks and Reed, back in June. Sarah Wisby, writer and recent transplant to Western Mass, and I, talked, a couple months after the show, about performance, writing, what success means to an artist as opposed to what it means to the public who perceives/judges artists, about being a character in someone else's (in her case, Michelle Tea's) work and a movie and meeting the person who played you in the movie based on that work, and so much more. You'll also hear the two swell stories Sarah read at the show. (You can find episodes with two of the other performers, Beth Lisick and Myra Bartok, in our archive, and episodes with the others, Old Pam, Ansel Appelton, and Zak Trojano are soon to come.)Here's the bio from Sarah's website. Sarah Fran Wisby writes poetry, short fiction, memoir and essays, preferring always to deepen and subvert genre by way of the hybrid form. Her book Viva Loss was published in 2008 by S

After finishing off his collegiate tenure as president of the Harvard Lampoon, Simon Rich became one of the youngest writers ever hired on Saturday Night Live and has written for Pixar and “The Simpsons.” He is the creator and showrunner of “Man Seeking Woman” (originally on FXX, now available on Hulu) and “Miracle Workers” (TBS), which he based on his books. His other collections include Spoiled Brats and Ant Farm. He is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker. “Hits and Misses” is, as his publisher puts it, his “new collection of stories about dreaming big and falling flat, about ordinary people desperate for stardom and the stars who are bored by having it all.” Inspired by Rich’s real experiences in Hollywood, Hits and Misses chronicles all the absurdity of fame and success alongside the heartbreaking humanity of failure. From a bitter tell-all by the horse Paul Revere rode to greatness to a gushing magazine profile of everyone’s favorite World War II dictator, these stories roam across time and spa

Sonny Smith is an old San Francisco friend I hadn’t spoken to in fifteen years. Here’s what Mother Jones had to say about his new album:“On his own, or as leader of Sonny and the Sunsets, the engaging Sonny Smith specializes in finely observed vignettes about everyday people that showcase his wry, slackerish voice. For all its rough edges, though, there’s nothing casual about his scruffy garage pop, which tempers a streak of melancholy with offhand, self-aware wit. Produced by Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach (who knows a thing or two about making eccentricity accessible), Rod for Your Love is Smith’s most commercial effort yet—it’s all relative—boasting a brighter sound and sunnier vibe than before. Witness the jaunty, toe-tapping optimism of the irresistible “Lost,” where he chirps, “I know the way this time,” or the romantic drama “Burnin’ Up,” featuring Angel Olsen’s tangy harmonies. While Smith may never top the charts, he’s never been more entertaining or more deserving of mainstream attention.”We talke

Click for other ways to listen:SpotifyiTunes(or search "Jamie Berger 15 Minutes" on Google Play, Stitcher, you know, all the places.)Hello All! Getting back in the groove after our first live recording (episodes to come in August) and the big ole 2nd-anniversary David Sedaris episode!Episode 60 is a conversation with comedian Keith Lowell Jensen, whom I started following on twitter last year, because of tweets like this that make me feel better and worse about life in America:I had Keith on my list of people to contact to see about having him on the show, and when his latest album of new material, "Bad Comedy for Bad People," hit #1 on the iTunes charts this spring, it seemed like the time. It was the time! And now is the time to bring that conversation to YOU!We talk about: calling out pervy middle-school teachers, letting go of his grudge on Julie for throwing his BDP cassette across the cafe, Keith's friendship with Robin Williams, and the time he performed for him in the parking lot after a show, TMZ

Episode 59 - David SedarisThis is the podcast where David Sedaris gets to (okay, is strongly encouraged to) tell the dirty jokes he can’t tell Terry Gross! (This both a warning and an invitation.) But we talk about serious stuff too.This episode marks the 2-year anniversary of 15 Minutes, and I was so happy to have our guest from right around our first anniversary return. (Episode 38 is where you can find our first conversation)David Sedaris is a multiple NYT-bestselling author/humorist. But chances are really good you already knew that.Stuff we talk about: Aging; Success; his diaries and his new book of essays, Calypso; denim shirts; Stormy Daniels; what’s funny and what isn’t; letting a stranger who isn’t a surgeon take you to her office and perform surgery on you; David Rakoff; bitterness; being confused for a woman; and much, much more!***All episodes of this podcast can be found at http://15minutesjamieberger.com, and on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and pretty much wherever pods are cast.Ed Patenaude engin

Annie Duke (annieduke.com) was the first person I recorded for this show, back in 2014, nearly two years before I got done deliberating/procrastinating and launched this thing. Here's what I wrote about my friend of 30+ years for Episode 5, where you can find that first conversation. "Annie Duke is a poker legend - winner of a WSOP bracelet, the WSOP Tournament of Champions, and of the NBC National Heads’-up Poker Championship in 2010, among other accolades. She was also runner-up to Joan Rivers on Season Two of Celebrity Apprentice. Among other charitable endeavors, Annie is co-founder, along with Don Cheadle and Norman Epstein, of Ante up for Africa. Our first first guest who's been over the Wall of Fame and climbed back, Annie is now retired from both poker and TV and is now a professional speaker, decision strategist, and one of the founders and directors of How I Decide, a nonprofit dedicated to helping youth become skilled decision makers, both in school and out. You can find them at howIdecid

Whitney Reynolds is a writer, podcaster (“I Haven’t Seen That” with Mark Popham) and, most important, in terms of this episode, inveterate tweeter. A recent tweet of hers, which was a response to not only a previous tweet, but a response to a response to said tweet, Whitney's "new twitter challenge" to "describe yourself like a male author would" led to thousands of responses and retweets, which led to press coverage ranging from a Huffpo article to a New Yorker piece and a BBC radio interview. She was also asked to do a TV interview for BBC, which she declined, and, in fact, decided to move on from this kind of attention. I was honored to be the last person she agreed to talk to about this. On top of learning about the splendors and terrors of Twitter virality, Whitney tells us about Twitter as a place not just to look for audience, but also, (as many of us have treated Facebook for years, and now treat Instagram, but are ignorant of re twitter) for community. I haven't used twitter in that fashion

Christopher Napolitano is an old college friend. When we graduated, I headed off to work for tiny literary presses Grove Press and New Directions, while Chris started working at Playboy, where he eventually rose to be Editorial Director for many years.We talked about editing in general, editing one's heroes (Norman Mailer and John Updike, among them), and a bunch of other stuff. Part one is the more literary of the two.Part 2, coming soon, touches on the other stuff - visits to the Playboy Mansion, the treatment of women both in editorial and in front of the camera, at the magazine, Chris's first-hand impression of Donald Trump, #metoo, and more.At the top of the show, I gripe for a few minutes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Episode 55 - Laurie KilmartinLaurie Kilmartin has been a Staff Writer for “Conan” since 2010 and a stand-up comedian for three decades. Her new book, “Dead People Suck,” (which she’s calling her second, and last, book) is a simultaneously heartwarming and biting comedic memoir about her father’s death and a tongue-in-cheek how-to about dealing with the death of a loved one.She also co-hosts “The Jackie and Laurie Show” podcast with fellow comic Jackie Kashian.***Laurie and I talked about the book, about writing for Conan, the life of a stand-up, the joys and hazards of making jokes about her living mother and dead father, and of course, about fame and what she sees as her place in the comedy world.And because you all know I have that magical gift of making funny people unfunny by asking them serious questions, I’ve included a couple of clips from her album “45 Jokes about My Dead Dad.” (which you can also find on Spotify, etc.)You can find Laurie Kilmartin athttp://www.kilmartin.com/and “Dead People Suck” whe

Here's part two of my conversation with writer/performer, old San Francisco friend Beth Lisick. (And here's Part One)Before the conversation, I read a shortened version of an essay of mine called "Peep Show", that Beth was instrumental in getting me to write, a pretty long time ago., when she asked me to perform at her (And Arine Klatt's) legendary San Francisco storytelling series, Porch Light. If you want more of a bio of Beth, go take a look at Episode 52, where you can find the first half of our conversation. Among the topics we dive into here are: Moving to New York City in one's 40s, writing/writer career stuff and how we define success therein, "Punk-Rock Damage," asserting/enjoying one's own successes, making sure you get to do your own own audio book if you have the chance and want to!, working with a writing partner, avoiding becoming a “brand,” connecting with strangers in Trump Year One, #metoo and Louis and Harvey and fame and sex and power and whether it’s time

Daniel Oppenheimer 2Hello All,Part 2 of my conversation with Beth Lisick will be next up. For now, here's a timely interruption. You may recall, in the last episode, I mentioned that (to quote, well, me) :"This week I took a huge, manic, obsessive dive down the Aziz Ansari/#metoo rabbit hole, and like to think I have takes that haven't yet been took. But after writing about 18 (single space) pages of notes and compiling dozens of articles and audio and video (google Samantha Bee and Aziz for one of the most recent, and best, responses), when I went to record ... well, I'm just not skilled enough yet to say what I need to say as concisely as would make me feel comfortable to share with the world."It just so happened that right after that, Dan Oppenheimer (Episode 11) called me up wanting to talk through that same stuff and what he sees as the frustrating toxicity of most ostensibly serious discourse on social media. So I asked if I could use his need to both satisfy my own AND make an episode. So we talked ...

Happy 2018 All! This week I took a huge, manic, obsessive dive down the Aziz Ansari/#metoo rabbit hole, and like to think I have takes that haven't yet been took. But after writing about 18 (single space) pages of notes and compiling dozens of articles and audio and video (google Samantha Bee and Aziz for one of the most recent, and best, responses), when I went to record ... well, I'm just not skilled enough yet to say what I need to say as concisely as would make me feel comfortable to share with the world. My first two tries at recording the intro ran over half an hour, longer than the actual conversation with Beth, which is just not what this here show is about.That personal failure out of the way, I think my guest Beth Lisick is super swell and the episode is more than just fine. But before I get to Beth, I would like to share with you, though, the best writing I've read this week on the Aziz stuff, by Katie Anthony. Discovering KA's work (http://www.katykatikate.com) has been worth all of the reading an

Back next week to start off 2018 with Beth Lisick, but here's one more favorite from back in 2016, with fiction writer/rocker (Erase Errata, etc.) Sara Jaffee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wrapping up the year with a replay of one more fave from earlier this year - a couple of local-becoming-more-than-local heroes, sibling musicmakers Matt "The Suitcase Junket" and Kate Lorenz, who made beautiful both together and separately this past year. ***Find us on iTunes and a bunch of other podplaces, and on twitter and insta @15minsjamieb and on Facebook. ***Better times to all in 2018! - we'll be back in a couple weeks with #52, author/performer, old friend, Beth Lisick, and then former Playboy Editorial director Chris Napolitano, and then . . . . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.