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Soft Revolution

Ali Momen and Torquil Campbell

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The intersection of art, culture and politics. Hosted by Torquil Campbell and Ali Momen. Each week Torquil and Ali get together with fellow musicians, actors, and artists to discuss the latest in the world of art, society, culture, and politics. The conversation is lively, free of crap, and with a unique perspective that only these two guys can bring. Send your comments to softrevcast@gmail.com! Join us on Patreon and get BONUS EPISODES, EXTENDED INTERVIEWS, and MORE! www.patreon.com/softrev ...
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Holly Hazelwood, Eric Mellor, and Spectrum Culture’s editor-in-chief David Harris gather ‘round the mics twice a month to talk about music, movies, books, and TV but mostly just end up talking about music.
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At a live performance at KQED in San Francisco, bestselling author and New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean tells a story about homing pigeons, and the heartbreaking implications of their extraordinary intelligence. Researcher Dr. Laura Simone Lewis shares her work with bonobos and chimpanzees, and the ways that their intelligence guides their unde…
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Bonus episode! News of the mildly delayed season six, as well as some upcoming live shows, including: 5/11 Joyce Carol Oates + Ali Sethi with special guests Tony Trischka and Dr. Allison Applebaum at LeFrak Concert Hall in Queens, NY 6/13 Susan Orlean + Diana Gameros with special guest Laura Simone Lewis at KQED in San Francisco 7/10 W. Kamau Bell …
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Bestselling author David Sedaris reads an excerpt from Theft By Finding, a collection of his diaries from when he was a young artist. Jacob Ewald of the pop indie band Slaughter Beach, Dog (and formerly Modern Baseball) recounts how reading the book backstage at a college show had the effect of giving him permission to call himself a songwriter, an…
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Bestselling author Raven Leilani reads an excerpt of her short story “Breathing Exercise,” and talks about art, racism, and carnality in her work. Raven shares how her brother – who died of ALS – introduced her to art, as well as her favorite bands. Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields explains that she has been a Raven Leilani fan since her debut no…
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This is part one of a two-part episode featuring "Sea Oak" by George Saunders. Part one contains a song written by Ben Arthur, Vienna Teng, and George Saunders; Part two contains a new song written by Craig Finn. Bestselling author and MacArthur genius George Saunders reads a comic-but-serious zombie story called “Sea Oak” – which was made into an …
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This is part one of a two-part episode featuring "Sea Oak" by George Saunders. Part one contains a song written by Ben Arthur, Vienna Teng, and George Saunders; Part two contains the song written by Craig Finn. Bestselling author and MacArthur genius George Saunders reads a comic-but-serious zombie story called “Sea Oak” – which was made into an Am…
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Bestselling author, screenwriter, and founder of McSweeney’s, Dave Eggers reads an excerpt from his short story, “The Museum of Rain,” and talks about the way music informs his creative process. Dave says the song Vienna wrote for the episode, “hit him like a truck,” and expresses his delight that Vienna decided to make the song a fundraiser for th…
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Andrew Sean Greer won the Pulitzer Prize for his comic novel, Less. For this episode he reads an excerpt from the follow up book, Less is Lost, and describes how he thinks of the book as more serious than many readers. For the songwriter in this episode, Andrew requested Torquil Campbell of the band Stars, and Torq secretly invited Andrew’s close f…
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Sally Rooney’s bestselling novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You? is a follow-up to her wildly successful novel Normal People, which was made into a popular series on Hulu. The newest novel is about falling in love in the digital age – her exquisitely-drawn characters struggle to connect with each other, and slowly expose their vulnerabilities to e…
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Kevin Allison is a storyteller, the host of the wildly popular RISK! podcast, and a former member of MTV’s The State. He tells a story about meeting his future husband in the days after 9/11, and talks about how late he came to dating and self-acceptance, and wrestles with a recently broken heart. Carolyn Kendrick is herself a star in the podcast w…
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Author and illustrator Dolan Morgan reads an excerpt from his story, “The Quartering Act,” which combines fantasy and emotional realism to explore self-loathing and trauma. Melissa Faliveno and John Walsh from the band Self Help talk about their reactions to the story, and share their new song, “3A.” https://SongWriterPodcast.com Twitter.com/SnogWr…
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Charlie Gilmour reads an excerpt from his bestselling memoir, Featherhood, which connects the story of raising an abandoned magpie with explorations around his father, noted actor and poet Heathcoate Williams, and his stepfather, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. British musician and podcaster Matshidiso shares the story of coming to grips with her own …
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Bestselling author Jean Hanff Korelitz reads an excerpt from her recent novel, The Latecomer, and talks about the connections and disconnections she feels between her job and the movies and tv shows that are made from her work (Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman, Tina Fey). Jean reads from The Latecomers – a rambling multi-generational picture of a family d…
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New Yorker staff writer, Russian dissident journalist, and author Masha Gessen (@MashaGessen) tells the story of being called in for a death-defying meeting with Putin, and how it confirmed the dark conclusions in their bestselling biography of him, Man Without a Face. Ukrainian American musician and scholar Maria Sonevytsky (@MarusiaSays) talks ab…
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New York Times writer Dan Bergner reads an excerpt from The Mind and the Moon, which explores the lives of three people coping with serious mental illness and the pharmaceutical and medical systems brought to bear on their treatment. Dan’s brother Bob is one of those featured in the book, and he describes his journey and the very inspiring way that…
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Bestselling author and storyteller Neil Gaiman (@NeilHimself) talks about his long collaborations with the FourPlay String Quartet (@FourPlaySQ), and their new album, Signs of Life. Neil describes how he first wrote a letter to a friend who was suffering a series of miscarriages, and how that became the song "The Wreckers," and discloses his own pa…
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Cheryl Strayed (@CherylStrayed) returns to SongWriter to read another letter from "Tiny, Beautiful Things" (which is now a series on Hulu!), a lovely and very personal meditation on the subject of self-forgiveness. Dr. Suzanne Freedman of the International Forgiveness Institute talks about the scientific mechanics behind the often misunderstood pra…
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In this episode, we sit down with David Maggs of the Metcalf Foundation to discuss his recent report, "Art and the World After This." David delves into the ways in which the pandemic has affected the art world, both in terms of the financial struggles of artists and institutions, as well as the shift towards digital and online mediums. He also touc…
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Compass Artist Management has stopped paying their clients to the tune of over $500k and it's time we step up and change the system. Please help these affected artists at www.compassactorsfund.comOther topics : Torq thinks throwing oil on Van Gogh is amazing while Ali thinks it's merely a first draft, and what to do when we get so caught up in iden…
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Former Google engineer Blake Lemoine (@cajundiscordian) describes how he came to the conclusion that LaMDA, an AI developed by Google, is sentient. Blake details what LaMDA is, how he tested its capabilities and limitations, and what LaMDA fears most. Songwriter Jonathan Mann (@SongaDayMann) talks about writing a song every day for 14 years, some o…
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