Podcast: Notes From A Void - Ajai Raj

It was both an honor and a pleasure having comedian Alyssa Limperis as my final guest on Notes From A Void. It was also oddly fitting, because if this podcast has been about anything, it has been about staring into "the void"— the mystery, the darkness, wherever suffering and death come from, and perhaps also humor and beauty. This conversation with Alyssa contains all of that in abundance. Enjoy! And stay tuned— I'm re-launching this podcast soon, with a new name and a new mission.

Besides looking fine in a Speedo, this episode's guest is a damn fine comedian. Patrick Holbert is also a sober human, a condition into which I permanently transitioned a couple months ago. We had a great, if too short conversation about what this journey has been like for Patrick and for me. This is the second-to-last episode of Notes From A Void before I re-launch it with a new name and a new mission. Enjoy, and stay tuned!

Jordon Ferber has a career more sharply defined than many, divided between the two masks of the ancient Greeks: comedy and tragedy. The comedy part is obvious; the tragedy part is what we dig into here. Jordon produces a podcast called "Where's The Grief?" in which he and his guests dig into bereavement in a way that I haven't heard elsewhere. Not light listening, but as real as it gets. So maybe check that out after you listen to this conversation, which, I should add, turned before long to the discussion of avant-garde glass urns and and a Jewish Undertaker who sounds more like an inscrutable spirit than a man.

John Rosenberger, my guest this week on Notes From A Void, spent several years working at an outpatient mental health facility. He doesn't miss it, and he wouldn't want anyone he cares for to be in similar care. We had an interesting conversation about why. Enjoy!

Joseph Rocha is a beast offstage but a pussycat on the mic. Did I say that right? Or did I just get ROCHA'ed! I don't know. But what I do know is that this was a great conversation, and an unusual one for this podcast, in that we just kind of let it rip. We did manage to dig into some themes— in particular the immigrant experience, depression and madness, and the Panopticon. (I dropped that one in there because I read a thing once in college. I'm smart.) It was fun! Check out Joe onstage if you get a chance, and listen to his forthcoming podcast, The Hate Club! Enjoy the episode! The song at the end is called Worm Turns.

Sometimes, a person's words or actions on one day can trigger a chain of events that alters the course of their entire life. As much as that almost sounds like the tagline for a bad movie, Kip Geddes is profoundly aware of its truth. Kip's reaction to an elementary school bully— and the subsequent reaction of his parents, the authorities, and the mental health professionals in whose charge young KIp was placed— thrust him into a surreal, almost Kafkaesque world of therapies and medications he didn't understand...and ultimately, decided he didn't need. What more do you need to hear? Fire it up, baby!

Kristy Belich is truly one of a kind, and in my experience, she's never been shy about opening up about the darkness she finds in herself or in the world. In this episode, we have an interesting conversation that spans both of those topics, along with standup comedy in New Zealand, and a lot of what Kristy self-deprecatingly refers to as her "woo-woo" side. Have a listen! The original song at the end is called "These Lifeless Things."

Benny and Griff (Michael Bunin and Griffin Hennelly) have a good thing going— specifically a musical comedy act that blends insight, whimsy, dark humor, and catchy tunes into a delightful package. We sat down to talk about the genesis of their act, the interplay and conflict between the two of them, lizard brains, and the darkness within all of our hearts. It was a lot of fun. Be sure to check out their debut album, So Far So Wonderful, and check out their podcast on iTunes! And in case you haven't heard, there's flowing water on Mars! 

Welcome to a very special episode of Notes From A Void. Not because it contains any hokey lessons, but because my guest, Alex Upatov, is an international guest whom I had the honor of hosting for his first visit to the US of A. As you can see from the picture, he had a good time.Alex is a comedian from Berlin— or to be more precise, a comedian born in Siberia, raised in Russia, and living in Berlin, who came to America to do standup comedy at the behest of the Dutch government. Don't think too hard about that. Just listen to Alex and I talk about comedy in Berlin and around the world, experience New York City through the experiences of a first-time visitor from overseas, and get dark at the end, because that's (a part of) what I do.The song at the end is called "Omen." 

In this week's episode of Notes From A Void, I talked to the one and only Phil Stamato! Well, the only Phil Stamato that I personally know. Phil is a funny, smart fellow who knows many languages. He's also my partner in producing Six-Fingered Fist, a monthly standup showcase that mixes pros and up-and-comers into a delightful and entirely metaphorical stew.Phil and I talked about the Great Chain of Being, a philosophical idea with roots in the theology of Thomas Aquinas. And it only got WACKIER from there! We might have even high-fived at the end!  Phil is the tits, and you should check him out on the Internet and follow him on social media, and also down the street and into places where he's performing, and then follow him home and dig through his trash! I'm just spitballing here.The song at the end is called Janus, because it seemed fitting to end a conversation about Greek philosophy with a song that takes its name from a Roman god. Enjooooooooiiieeeeeee

This one is short and sweet (?), for National Suicide Prevention day. So this message is, too.

Drew Whitney Morgan and I had a fine time puffing cigars in the Financial District, while children cavorted around us for some unknown reason. Drew is a great comic as well as an insightful human, and you get a real sense of both of those aspects in this conversation. We talk about Drew's previous career as a public defender, and how that's shaped his idea of justice. We also get into how he and I felt about our respective experiences in a sensory deprivation tank. It's a fun conversation, so enjoy, and also check out Drew at averagedrew.com! The original song this week is called "Zero Centimeters Out," and I think it's appropriate for this episode in more ways than one. Like, two, maybe. Enjoy!

TJ (Tanael Joachim) is an interesting, admirable dude, in addition to being a hilarious comedian. He and I talked about a great book he recommended to me, The Silence of Animals by John Gray. The throughline of the book is that humans have always needed myths, and that human progress— the myth most in vogue in modern liberal society— is nothing more than a fiction that fills that need. The idea of a "perfectible" or "better" human than the kind that has always existed, Gray argues, is as much of a fantastic creation as the burning bush. And less poetically satisfying, even. So we talk about that, as well as TJ's journey from Haiti, to Long Island, to the desert in Utah (!), and finally to New York City. It's a fascinating journey. Join us!And be sure to check out TJ's website, Twitter, and Facebook, as well as his free monthly show, Jest For Fun, at Lucky Jack's if you're around New York City— next one is Thursday, September 10th!The song this week is called "Seven Years," and it's thematically on point. I've gone every which way on the circle of belief, and have wound up right where I started: the void. Which is actually pretty Hindu of me. But that is a tale for another day. 

SHOW NOTES I had fun talking with Emil DeRosa! We talk about skeumorphism, rage, therapy, medication, and especially the reluctance to try those last couple of things. As well as the books I've been yammering about on the last couple of episodes. This was a great conversation and I look forward to more to come. Follow Emil on Twitter and Instagram, why don't you?The song at the end is called "Still Raw," and it's the closest thing to a punk song I ever wrote. Enjoy! Get show updates and new episodes in your inbox! It'll feel great! First Name Last Name Email Address Oooh yeah! No spam, never! Spnever! Thanks!

SHOW NOTESListen, lizard people are people, too. I have to say that before the lizard-loving PC brigade sends its scaly stormtroopers to my mammalian den. In this episode of Notes From A Void, I ramble about the evolution of our triune human brains, inspired by this astounding book: A General Theory Of Love by Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon.Excited to have Emil DeRosa on the show next week, talking about adventures in depression and therapy, and also about lizard brains and the "do's" and "don'ts" of suicide. Well, only the "don'ts." And really, just the one "don't."  The song featured at the end of this one— have I mentioned these all feature original songs at the end? Well they do!— is called "Grendel's Song," and I'm particularly proud of it. Listen to hear why. Or to wonder, if you, like Grendel himself, are some kind of MONSTER.Enjoy! Subscribe on iTunes and/or Stitcher, even if you don't use them, so I know who's listening! Drink good coffee! (That last one's just for you.) I'm Not A Lizard Person! Get your fix of Notes From A Void every Monday, along with updates on shows and whatever decidedly mammalian and neocortical wisdom I've decided to drop on yo' butt. First Name Last Name Email Address Puppies and Kittens and Snakes! Only lizard people spam. Limbic brains, unite!

Any resemblance between the title of this episode and the debut EP of Guns'N'Roses is purely coincidental. Well, not so much that as precisely the opposite. Keep it under your hat, okay? In addition to my inability to accurately pin down dates for things, this episode of Notes From A Void is all about suicidal thinking and its discontents— which, by definition, is everyone.I don't mean everyone is suicidal, but that suicide in its nature implies discontent. Maybe that's not true of everyone. Since I recorded this episode, a perfectly healthy British nurse decided to peacefully end her life, having borne witness to the harsh indignities of too-long-life. But that's not what I'm on about here.You can read more about the book I'm talking about, here: Stay by Jennifer Michael Hecht.The song at the end is called "Speak," and it's on SoundCloud. I may put these episodes up there at some point, too. Finally, if you want to see me in a show, here's where you can do that this week:Wednesday, August 12th, at New York Comedy Club at 10:00! (My set will be around 10:30, but come for the whole show, the lineup is always great!)Friday, August 14th, at Grisly Pear (107 Macdougal St, down the street from the Comedy Cellar) at 8:00 for the Chemical Candy Comedy Show!Saturday, August 15th at Point Break NYC at 7 PM for BAEWatch!Sunday, August 16th at Broadway Comedy Club at 8 PM for Man Cave Comedy Night!Don't kill yourself, mmkay? And if you like what you hear, please share it with a friend, an enemy, a stranger, or to all and sundry on social media. Thanks! I want to see, man! Find out about new episodes as soon as they're up, what shows I'm in each week, and more*!*random Ajai thoughts First Name Last Name Email Address Sign Me Up! Rest easy, kemosabe, I won't spam you. Yeah buddy!

From the ashes of a video channel that I abandoned rises a podcast that I plan not to abandon. In fact, I plan to release a new episode every Monday, and doing things on Monday is the exact opposite of abandoning them.The first few of these are all me, baby. But I'll mix it up with guests sometimes. Notes From A Void will be weird, funny, deep, silly, eclectic, and perhaps even offensive sometimes. But so help me God, it will never be boring. Enjoy! Share it with someone! Remove a stranger's headphones, tell them their music is garbage, and then put your headphones on them so they can listen to me talking instead! Don't hold me liable for the consequences of doing that! You get the idea. Thanks to Nicole Palma (IG: n33njArt) for the art!