In this episode, the band reports from Marfa, TX for a chat. Topics discussed include SXSW, consuming media, pop music, billionaires, and more! Honestly, a pretty good discussion. Join us.

"I'm always writing and always creating. I relate to the world by writing," Eva Hendricks of Charly Bliss told me on the podcast. Besides songwriting, she's written a YA novel and is a big journaler. Heck, Hendricks even gets inspired while she's hanging laundry! And when those songs are close to fruition, they need to be perfect: Hendricks estimat…

Will and David discuss new releases by Los Campesinos!, Lowmoon, and Personal Trainer, plus live reports and bonus songs.By Will and David

Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura has a superpower: she's able to write entire songs in her head before putting them to paper. If Campbell gets an idea and can't write it down immediately, she'll repeat the words over and over to herself until she can grab a pen and pencil. This superpower comes in handy when driving is an especially rich source…

Will and Nicholas discuss new releases by Bibi Club, Big Yawn, and Robber Robber, plus the loss of Martin Phillipps of the Chills and bonus songs.By Will and Nicholas

Matthew Koma of Winnetka Bowling League stops by the podcast to talk about how writing a song is like solving a crossword puzzle, why he doesn't like to dig through discarded melodic and lyrical ideas for new songs, and how he gets inspired by being among the stores. Winnetka Bowling League's debut album Sha La La is out now. I'm a big fan.…

Will and Anurag discuss new releases by Bacchae, King Hannah, and Goat Girl, plus a live report and bonus songs.By Will and Anurag

At a time when campus conflict and protest is in the national spotlight, we revisit an important moment for Middlebury College - the March 2017 visit of Charles Murray - through the voices of ten Middlebury students. This episode was created in 2019 and hosted by Sarah Stroup. She interviewed a group of students with different experiences and persp…

Will and Craig discuss the latest releases by Whitelands, the Proctors, and Camera Obscura, plus live reports and bonus songs.By Will and Craig

Will and David discuss the latest releases by Laughing, English Teacher, and Annabel, plus live reports and bonus songs.By Will and David

Ashton Irwin, drummer for 5 Seconds of Summer, often writes songs out of necessity. While he likes to journal, Irwin finds songwriting a much more effective vehicle for maintaining his mental health. And there's a routine to the songwriting process: from 11a-3p when the caffeine is at its peak, with a Moleskin journal and a black ink pen. Irwin lik…

Will and Jeremiah discuss the latest releases by Been Stellar, Bullion, and Cardinals, plus live reports, music news, and bonus songs.By Will and Jeremiah

ED NOTE: This is from 2021, before this was a podcast and I was posting the video interviews to YouTube. I've taken the audio from that interview and turned it into podcast form. As you can tell at the beginning, we did this in the middle of the pandemic, hence our discussion about the creative process during COVID. Mike Doughty believes that disci…

This is a recording of diiv in conversation with producer Chris Coady in front of an audience, moderated by Bryan Ling.

Will discusses the latest releases by Vessel; the Reds, Pinks and Purples; and Mary Timony.By Will

Will and Jason discuss the latest releases by DIIV, Kelley Stoltz, and Cola, plus bonus songs and miscellaneous banter.By Will and Jason

In this episode, we talk with longtime Middlebury partner, the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP). SHECP assistant director Jen Handy invited CT leaders Kailee Brickner-McDonald and Sarah Stroup to join the "SHECP Talks" podcast to discuss how the CT lens can enhance experiential learning opportunities for students concerned ab…

Will and David discuss new releases by Good Looks, Dog Park, and Lightheaded, plus multiple live reports and bonus songs.By Will and David

Will, Barrett and Craig discuss the latest releases by Neutrals, Enjoyable Listens, and the BV's, plus live reports and bonus songs.By Will, Barrett and Craig

The circle is complete. I’ve had recent interviews with Anais Mitchell (together with Charlotte Cornfield) and with Eric D. Johnson, but now that we’ve added Josh Kaufman, this is a full-on Bonny Light Horseman episode. I enjoyed this conversation immensely because we dove into their collective process, not just their individual processes. And list…

Will and Reece discuss the latest releases by Dehd, Cloud Nothings, and Crumb, plus live reports and bonus songs.By Will and Reece

All four members of DIIV (Zachary Cole Smith, Andrew Bailey, Colin Caulfield, Ben Newman) joined me to talk about their individual songwriting processes. This interview could've gone on forever because they are so passionate about creativity. What's interesting is that their individual songwriting processes don't have too much in common, but perhap…

Will and Jason discuss new releases by Bodega, Sharp Pins, and Yea-Ming and the Rumours, plus a live report and bonus songs.By Will and Jason

Does the mind of Eric Earley from Blitzen Trapper ever rest? I think not. After all, he told me that he liked to solve math problems in college while he was making breakfast. Earley is a voracious reader who just finished his self-proclaimed "Time of the Tomes," in which he read nothing but, well, tomes. (The longer, the better. Infinite Jest? Plea…

Democratic institutions can serve as a powerful mechanism for channeling constructive conflict, which makes a recent wave of democratic decline particularly concerning. In this episode, we hear from Sebnem Gumuscu, associate professor of political science and head of the undergraduate "pillar" of the CT Collaborative at Middlebury. Gumuscu is an ex…

On this episode the band talks about the lyrical themes of our song Everyone Out, such as accelerationism, traveling, and being delusional. We also discuss Animal Collective, outliers in a band's catalog, and Minecraft.Come see us on tour this summer! http://diiv.net/tour

Will and David discuss the latest releases by Janelane, Royel Otis, and American Culture, plus Steve Albini, live reports, and bonus songs.By Will and David

Deerlady is Mali Obomsawin and Magdalena Abrego, and their debut album Greatest Hits is my favorite album of the year, and this is also one of my favorite interviews because we had so much fun. I first heard Deerlady while listening to my old college radio station, WTHS at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. They played "Bounty," and it was one of t…

Will and Nicholas discuss the latest releases by Corridor, S:Bahn, and Krautwerk, plus bonus songs and more.By Will and Nicholas

On today’s episode, we are excited to share a story of an experiential learning opportunity for exploring peacebuilding and intercultural competence (ICC). The CT interns lead a conversation with professor Thor Sawin. At the time of recording, Sawin was associate professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and has si…

Will and Anurag discuss new releases by Waxahatchee, Oort Clod, and Drahla, plus live reports and bonus songs.By Will and Anurag

In this episode, the boys talk about going to parties, celebrities, American exports, going to the grocery store on acid, breakbeats, the Saturn time cube, and how all these things relate to the song and world of SOUL-NET

Aaron Lee Tasjan has a pretty simple writing process: he gets up around 8am, has a glass of water, and pets his cat. Then he writes. But not every day. "I only write when my body tells me to, when I can go off yesterday's fumes," he told me. And in one of the best rituals I've ever heard, Tasjan always writes with a pencil--but never uses the erase…

As we have started teaching "Conflict Transformation Skills" at Middlebury, we have been fortunate to have a leading global mediator as a guest speaker and teacher. Francisco Diez is senior mediation advisor at the United Nations (UN). He has contributed to the UN’s efforts to foster dialogue and reconciliation in Bolivia, and provided expert advic…

In this episode, the band discusses their 3 year break from the podcast, touring with Depeche Mode, influences for the song Brown Paper Bag, 'ripping off' other artists, and writing songs for the new album Frog in Boiling Water (out May 24th on Fantasy Records)