Advertise on podcast: Pilot Waves

Tristan and Alex examine how work and creativity shape our lives, from time spent at a feel-goodery factory to the experience of arranging your own mother's funeral. They ask whether wealthy and poor people face the same struggles and why healthcare remains tied to a 40-hour workweek. The episode includes two recorded poems by Debasery (A Friend of Yours Has Other Friends and Luxury Lobotomy), a story from Alex about anarchy in action, and reflections on how nostalgia, free time, and past employers influence what drives us to keep going, make art, or step away. We sample Tristan's track Economic Fear from the album Ambient Distress, you can hear the full version on Bandcamp. All transition music is by Fat Kneel, also on Bandcamp and used with permission.   Fat Kneel - https://fatkneel.bandcamp.com Tristan - https://tristanwelch.bandcamp.com Debasery - ig: @debasery   

Maybe today we remember pets or animal companions that have touched us deeply. Perhaps today we live in honor of them. We remember the way they made us feel, or moments we shared both beautiful and tragic. We are so lucky to have animals around us all the time, working alongside us to keep this ball rolling up the hill.   At this moment, let us recognize that perhaps even Sisyphus had a companion. Is this artistic license yes, but one must imagine Sisyphus happy, no?  

Good morning world. Today we all have choices, what shall we do with those choices? And if you know someone who doesn't have access to choices, let's start there.     

Every moment is an opportunity to connect. Every interaction with the world, be it an exchange of smiles, a quick glance, or a hello. Even the breath you take in from our beautiful mother earth and return to her carbon dioxide, an interaction that is perfect, simple, beautiful and so automatic. It is done without purposeful thinking, but the magical flip side of that is when we deeply think of this exchange with mindfulness, we are granted insight beyond our wildest dreams, provided we do it often and be respectful of the knowledge and wisdom bestowed on us. We choose love over fear because, pleasure over pain, connectedness over isolation. And if you dig deep, past all the garbage that has been brought to you that you have turned into, a beautiful and wonderful existence, if you dig deep past all those layers of progress, achievements, triumphs and treasures, you don't have to choose love is the default, it is natural, it is where everything emanates. All that pain, all that uncertainty has been brought to you to try and motivate you, but now you don't need it. The knowledge that pain exists is enough but to understand how deeply it is rooted in what we call the human experience is beyond clear and we must work to help those in pain. You don't have to choose love, it's always there. You have to turn it off sometimes or re-direct it, not turn it on. Pleasure is what we feel all the time when we want to and it is impossible to isolate yourself, you are sharing this world at all times with everyone you know. So, you know what, give someone a call, text or check in on a video chat. Life is short and there is so much to be done.

You can find more about Charles on Quora. His specialties include phenomenologically informed sociology of knowledge, pre-k to 12+ education, astrology, Tarot, dream analysis and more generally helping traumatized children and adults. His educational background includes doctoral credits in sociology from Brandeis University and a masters degree in elementary education from U/Mass, Boston, And everything he does is informed by a 6th sense which became active during his 12th year of life.

Debasery is a very nice writer and multi-media artist from South Florida who recently moved from Brooklyn, NY to Portland, OR (whoah). Their most recent poems and visual art can be found in Ethics, exquisites, SCAB, Moral Crema, and forthcoming in Lurch Zine and Post No Bills. Their first short film, "Wisdom in the Land of Fort Lauderdale," is available on Vimeo. You can find them irl hosting a reading series called Intrusive Thoughts.  ig: @debasery 

You can find more about Charles on Quora.  His specialties include phenomenologically informed sociology of knowledge, pre-k to 12+ education, astrology, Tarot, dream analysis and more generally helping traumatized children and adults.  His educational background includes doctoral credits in sociology from Brandeis University and a masters degree in elementary education from U/Mass, Boston, And everything he does is informed by a 6th sense which became active during his 12th year of life.   This is a call to everyone:   Everyone works. Everyone. We would love to feature your poem on our podcast about work.  Work is what we do to thrive, survive or sometimes to just get by.  A job, a gig, a discipline, a responsibility. You know...the work a.k.a. not play Email: [email protected]    Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/PilotWaves

Debasery is a very nice writer and multi-media artist from South Florida who recently moved from Brooklyn, NY to Portland, OR (whoah). Their most recent poems and visual art can be found in Ethics, exquisites, SCAB, Moral Crema, and forthcoming in Lurch Zine and Post No Bills. Their first short film, "Wisdom in the Land of Fort Lauderdale," is available on Vimeo. You can find them irl hosting a reading series called Intrusive Thoughts.  ig: @debasery 

I wonder if you listen to these, wondering or longing? I wonder if you listen to these with even a glimmer of desire to participate?  Ivan Himanen: Born in Helsinki in 1987 to a Finnish father and Russian mother. Learned to draw before he learned to walk. Once spent an afternoon playing violin in the streets because he didn't have enough cash for an ice cream. Moved to New York City in 1993 and has dwelled there ever since. Studied fine arts at LaGuardia High School, architecture at The Cooper Union, and cities & technology at The Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia. Believes in technique, adaptability, patience, storytelling, that touching cold stone or dry wood will never cease to delight, and that no single person has the power to build a community.

Hello there, what are you waiting for? We NEED your poems for this to work. Work...get it? This is a podcast, that at this moment in time and space (right here, right now) is focused on poems, about work and labor. We are pleading with you to participate. [email protected]. The stakes are high.    From Merriam-Webster, the etymology.  Old English werc, weorc "work, activity directed toward accomplishing something" Middle English, from Anglo-French labur, from Latin labor; perhaps akin to Latin labare to totter, labi to slip — more at SLEEP 

Listen up friends. We NEED your participation to save this world. Reach out and drop us a line, we would love to feature your poem about work on this podcast. [email protected]   Brief Bio | Lizz Straight Lizz, a native of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, is a prominent figure in the national spoken word community. A 3-time winner and 9-time finalist at the Southern Fried Poetry Slam, the largest active slam in the U.S., she is also the founder and former host of Poetry Is…, the world's longest-running poetry radio show having aired weekly on on 88.5 FM  in Tampa and world wide via wmnf.org for the past 20 years. Voted Programmer of the Year in 2008, Lizz's multifaceted artistry extends beyond poetry. Her work with StoryCorps and NPR's Morning Edition, as well as her Poetry Is…Prison Tour, which brings music and poetry to incarcerated adults and juveniles, showcases her diverse creative impact. She holds a BA in English, Creative Writing/Poetry and is pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry at Queens University of Charlotte, where current U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon is on faculty.  Lizz is also an accomplished choral singer, performing at Carnegie Hall in November 2019. A single mother and dynamic educator, Lizz has enriched the Palm Beach County educational landscape for 14 years, teaching language arts, creative writing, and mindfulness.  A video of this performance is here.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HITYtURBAPI   

Another wonderful person who is willing to share a heartfelt poem about their work. Won't you join us on this mission? We are trying to better our situation. Words are magic. For example, the words purple monkey. Now where did that purple monkey you imagined just now come from? The magic of language.     

Here is a poem from a person who feels a certain way about their work. We invite you to particpate in this ongoing series, we will keep uploading them until someone forces us to stop. Reach out at [email protected] and let's make some magic...wait, stop, reverse that...let's make some wizardry.  Here is the original call:    Everyone works. Everyone.  We would love to feature your poem on our podcast about work.  Work is what we do to thrive, survive or sometimes to just get by.  A job, a gig, a discipline, a responsibility. You know...the work a.k.a. not play Email: [email protected]    Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/PilotWaves

Sometimes we are faced with circumstances and events that take us out of the mindset that a lot of us often take solace in. It's just a ride. In these moments, it helps to play a role or to vent or to make art. Or all three.    

No fancy edits, no retakes, no removing of the ums or mistakes. This is art in a pure form and it demands your attention. If you want a fancy presentation, move on to the next show because we aren't for you.  We would love to feature your poem on our podcast about work.  Work is what we do to thrive, survive or sometimes to just get by.  A job, a gig, a discipline, a responsibility. You know...the work a.k.a. not play Email: [email protected]    Oh and happy Valentine's Day, eat some chocolate and let's all get laid.    Music by Fat Kneel