Libsyn Directory

S2 Ep.18: Jay Ruttenberg – Editor of the Lowbrow Reader + Connoisseur of Tasteless Humor

Release Date: 07/29/2020

S2 Ep.18: Jay Ruttenberg – Editor of the Lowbrow Reader + Connoisseur of Tasteless Humor

MAKE MOVES

Jay Ruttenberg – Jay's love of the movie Billy Madison prompted him to start a zine dedicated to lowbrow humor, and in the process he invented a new cultural space for the finest journalists in America to write about comedy.

S2 Ep.17: Guerrilla Girls – Feminist Arts Activists. Creative Complainers. Hashtag Heroes.

MAKE MOVES

Guerrilla Girls – Anonymous, but hilarious, female artists tackle discrimination and equity issues in the art world. Their super power – creative complaining – has moved the needle and may be a model of effective protest and activism for many of the troubling issues of our time.

S2 Ep.16: Ben Monder – Enigmatic Guitar Hero & Black-box for Beautiful Music

MAKE MOVES

Ben Discusses: Acceptance of being a really slow worker; working on David Bowie’s final album; musicians he admires; feeling like he needs to catch-up; privileges and responsibilities of being an artist; thriving on comfort; perfectionism; how creative risks aren’t really risks if taking them isn’t optional.

S2 Ep.15: Bob Oswaks – Sr. Entertainment Exec. turned Master Artisan Baker

MAKE MOVES

Bob discusses: his transition from VP of Sony Pictures Television to Proprietor of Bob’s Well Bread Bakery & Café; leaving at the top of one industry and rising to the top of another industry; a conversation he had with Norman Lear about change; research and 104 weekly homework assignments to write a business plan; grieving losses and moving on to a more satisfying life; when his friends in the bakery world told him he was crazy for starting his own bakery… but he did it anyway; feeding people’s soul

S2 Ep.14: Michael Brubeck - The King of Cannabis, CEO of Centuria, & Author of Tipping the Scale

MAKE MOVES

Michael discusses: The conditions of the $200B worldwide cannabis market; how his company, Centuria, scaled up to be the largest cannabis manufacturer in North America; his approach to enrolling the smartest minds in the world to develop state-of-the-art growing techniques; what it felt like when the US Attorney General was threatening him with life in jail; the advantages and disadvantages of creativity in business; tow the worst day of his life was the best day of his life

S2 Ep.13: Daniel Zhu – Founding Member of Stance Social Media & Broadcasting, Digital-Creative & BBoy

MAKE MOVES

Daniel discusses: Running a social media company dedicated to hiphop dance, breaking, tricking, & parkour; being an outsider who fell in love with breaking; the idea of BBoy culture being underground + maintstream simultaneously; how music shapes dance; ways Bboy culture brings people together; the parallel between breaking and skateboarding; the role respect plays in accessing the best dancers; which dancers are pushing boundaries; balancing Stance and working a real job; the power of social media.

S2 Ep.12: Roger Durling - Santa Barbara International Film Festival Exec. Director

MAKE MOVES

Roger discusses: film as an educational tool; visual culture; the communal function of movies; film as the great equalizer; the culmination of experiencing any type of art; his pathway to running a film festival -- a perfect fit; how he reshaped SBIFF from a community event to a major stop on the Oscar campaign; being an introvert with an extroverts job; working in isolation, burnout, finding support, and being renewed

S2 Ep.11: Maiza Hixson & Ingrid LaFleur - Artists, Curators, & 2017 Mayoral Candidates

MAKE MOVES

Maiza & Ingrid discuss: their careers as artists/curators and transitions into politics; utopian activism and the power of imagination to fuel change; Afrofuturism; the paradise of Detroit; the limitations of institutions; how lessons from curating art inform their political lenses

S2 Ep.10: Adam Levy - Guitar Slinger, Musical Alchemist, Educator + Journalist

MAKE MOVES

Adam talks about: being a regular collaborator & touring musician with Norah Jones and how the first song with words he ever wrote was on her multi-million selling album; how his first studio session was spent working with Tracy Chapman recording Give Me One Reason to Stay, which one multiple Grammys; his shift from a jazz focus to song writing; his path of accidental opportunities; working in very diverse musical situations; & his Youtube Channel Guitar Tips & Guitar Tips Pro.

S2 Ep.9: John Lee Dumas - Podcast Jedi, Host of Entrepreneurs on Fire, Can-Do Kinda Guy

MAKE MOVES

MAKE MOVES S2 Ep.9 feat. John Lee Dumas, podcast Jedi, host of Entrepreneurs on Fire, and can-do kinda guy. JLD discusses: starting the top-ranked podcast Entrepreneurs on Fire; what went through his mind when taking the big leaps; celebrating small wins; wow a podcast led to 13-revenue streams and $4M/year in revenue; Podcasters' Paradise - the largest podcast community in the world (3,000+ members); life after financial security and location independence; freedom; and the big question: WHY?

More Episodes

Jay Ruttenberg – Editor of The Lowbrow Reader and Connoisseur of Tasteless Humor. Jay's love of the movie Billy Madison prompted him to start a zine dedicated to lowbrow humor, and in the process he invented a new cultural space for the finest journalists in America to write about comedy.

Jay discusses:

How the movie Billy Madison changed his life
How he transitioned from writing about indie rock to starting a comedy zine
How the rough exterior of punk rock was a trojan horse for smart culture, and how comedy works the same way
The difference between working with friends and famous people
Interviewing one of the Beatles
How he got connected to Drag City, and how the Drag City aesthetic influenced his thinking
Why the Lowbrow Reader has to be great or it isn't worth doing at all
Balancing a two-decade zine project with his day job of writing for publications like New Yorker magazine
Lessons learned the hard way
People who changed his life but didn't know it