WDEK Podcast Ep. 68: Samantha Nye, Courtney Fearrington, Jemima Williams and Benjamin Scheuer - 3/26/19

It's March, it's springtime and it's still cold in NYC but we'll warm you up with our fabulous guests.  Nice, huh?  Special guests include painter, video artist Samantha Nye; stand up comedian Courtney Fearrington; illustrator and writer Jemima Williams; and performer, musician, playwright Benjamin Scheuer!  

Christian and Shonali discuss spring attire in the cold and Christian's ability to draw random people towards him wherever he goes.  Could it be it's his name?

The first guest is painter and video artist Samantha Nye.  She started had a professional career as a little girl which was being a child model.  When the work dried up, she found her way to art after leaving a massage therapist instructor career behind.  Samantha's art is powerful, compelling and lesbian focused. She delves into family relationships and the inherent sexuality found within those relationships.  Find out how she crossed the line with her supportive parents via her provocative art....she was an undergrad at the time. Check out Samantha's work at SamanthaNye.com

Christian and Shonali discuss Women's History Month and the invisibility of women's work. Shonali wants everyone to know Sister Rosetta Tharpe.  Look her up now.  Also some data points regarding the amount of women vs. men's leisure time. 

The second guest is comedian and writer Courtney Fearrington. Maybe you saw him on a new Boost Mobile commercial that came out a few weeks ago.  He has on some great Air Max sneakers bc it's Air Max day.  Courtney is a former Marine  who found his way to stand-up comedy during security briefings.  Shonali and Courtney  connect on the concept of not allowing friends to waste your paper towels. 2019 is the year of Courtney's most honest self. Are you honest?  Courtney has a show called Somm Like It Hot which is a wine tasting paired with a favorite comic.  Go to his shows! 

Our hostess bartender at Red Room, Lori Schwarz joins us for Get It Off Your Chest!  Christian has issues w Shonali's lack of Facetime etiquette. Shonali realizes that her inclination to always embrace the elderly may not be on point.  Find out what happens to Lori when she commiserates with a bar patron about a #MeToo story about his wife.

Our final guests are married couple, new parents and artistic collaborators Jemima Williams and Benjamin Scheuer. Jemima Williams is an illustrator and writer. Benjamin Scheuer is a musician, playwright and performer.  They recently collaborated on a children's book called Hibernate With Me which was published in February 2019. Jemima is from England and moved to NYC to be with Benjamin.  Her transition from giving up her life in England to living in the US  did not go as smoothly as she expected.  It was this that inspired Benjamin to write the song Hibernate With Me for Jemima.  We discuss divorce o'clock, the credit given to a dad vs a mother for carrying a baby and their upcoming children's book. Benjamin sings 3 songs for us, Hibernate With Me, a song from his Drama Desk Award winning musical solo show The Lion called Weather The Storm, and Hello Jemima.