Episode 664 - Glenn Kurtz
The Virtual Memories Show
Who were the men who built the Empire State Building? returns to the show to tell their story with (Seven Stories Press). We talk about how he accidentally fell into this project, how "turn every page" led him to a key discovery about 's photos of the Empire State construction, how his experience researching and writing helped him with this book, his childhood connection with the Empire State, and how identifying their subjects affects the mythic aura of Hine's photographs. We get into the corporate perspective of the building and how it dehumanizes the workers who built it, and similarly...
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Episode 663 - Jennifer Hayden
The Virtual Memories Show
Who knew that olive oil makes head lice sleepy? rejoins the show to celebrate her new graphic memoir/anti-cookbook, (Top Shelf), share comedic tales of domestic mess, and rebel against the expectations of wife/motherhood. We talk about the lifetime of bad cooking that led to this new book, the revenge of turning her bad experiences into comedy, how she found a unique form to tell her story, and how a youthful reading of Babar left her with a lifelong phobia of mushrooms. We get into how she was reverse-inspired by Lucy Knisley's , how watercolors gave her a color toolbox for her comics, what...
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Episode 662 - Rian Hughes
The Virtual Memories Show
Multi-hyphenate rejoins the show to celebrate his new Kickstarter, (closing November 20, 2025)! We talk about designing and publishing a catalog-collection of every font he ever designed for , how the Kickstarter has proved a lot more successful than he was expecting, seeing one of his fonts showing up on , and how typography means designing a form without content. We get into the history of type design and how he approaches new design with respect for his precursors, the serendipity that led to one of his best-known fonts, how he balances commercial work with pushing the limits of design in...
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Episode 661 - Josh Neufeld
The Virtual Memories Show
Comics journalist joins the show to talk about the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the legacy of his fantastic graphic reporting of the lives upended by that catastrophe, (Pantheon). We talk about his new 'zine followup, , how the storm inspired him to become an emergency response volunteer and what he learned when he was stationed in Biloxi, what it was like to learn journalism and reporting on the fly and integrate those with his comics storytelling skills, and why his goal with A.D. was to make a people's history. We get into how he viewed the anniversary, whether he's gone back...
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Episode 660 - Dean Haspiel and Whitney Matheson
The Virtual Memories Show
Cartoonist-playwright-filmmaker rejoins the show for the homestretch of his new Kickstarter, (finishing Nov. 3, 2025), and brings his studio mate along to talk about her new story collection, . We talk about how Dino got the idea for a one-man anthology to contain all the characters & stories of his Dino-verse, new models for funding creative projects, and how promotion can be tough when you accidentally get banned on . They give me creative advice to help me get through my own book project, talk about their lessons from crowdfunding and self-publishing, and come up with a great idea...
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Episode 659 - Ron Rosenbaum
The Virtual Memories Show
One of my fave writers, , returns to the show to celebrate his amazing new book, (Melville House Press). We talk about how his lifetime fandom of Dylan led to this book, why he opted for a biographical meditation over strict biography, the week he spent with Dylan in the '70s for , what our response to Dylan's songs say about us, and how he got over his sense of betrayal when Dylan joined a Jesus-cult for a few years. We get into his insight into Dylan's Nobel acceptance and the Rosebud-moment therein, the question of theodicy (radical evil) and Dylan's argument with God, Ron's experience...
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Episode 658 - Lance Richardson
The Virtual Memories Show
Writer rejoins the show to celebrate his magnificent new biography, (Pantheon). We talk about his youthful introduction to Peter Matthiessen via , how this project grew beyond his (& his publisher's) original concept, the health risks of following PM's trek through Nepal to the Crystal Monastery and the fleetingness of his time there, and which of PM's many hyphens he focuses on (novelist-naturalist-Zen roshi). We get into Matthiessen's journey into American Zen, the problematic nature of race and gender in PM's life and work, PM's fixation on Bigfoot and how that shifted to the...
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Episode 657 - Tom Tomorrow
The Virtual Memories Show
Political cartoonist (a.k.a. Dan Perkins) is back as we celebrate his new Kickstarter project, (closing Oct. 30, 2025, so ), collecting 5+ years of weekly cartoons! We talk about how he keeps his sanity (well, tries to), what it was like to look back at the past half-decade week by week, why he decided not to go down a rabbit-hole of extra material for the project, and what it means to have a bookshelf of his strips (and not just pixels on a screen). We get into the importance of his as the media landscape keeps withering away, his writing process and how the, um, of this administration...
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Episode 656 - Kayla E
The Virtual Memories Show
With her debut graphic novel, (Fantagraphics), artist and designer explores and investigates the trauma of her upbringing, the fragments of her memories, and the process of reintegration. We talk about why comics were the perfect form for this project, how she found her iconography and the postwar children's comics style for it, what it was like to uncover her memories and get them on the page, how it feels to give her story to her readers, and how she's learning to respond when her readers share their trauma with her. We get into her comics-roots, what it was like to hit up her comics...
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Episode 655 - Hunter Prosper
The Virtual Memories Show
ICU nurse joins me this week as we celebrate his wonderful new book, (Simon Element). We talk about the ICU experiences that led him to start talking to strangers in public and asking them deep questions about their lives five years ago, how those conversations have changed him, why he started sharing them online, how he figured out the questions he wanted to ask, and how long it takes just talking to someone before they're both comfortable with him recording the questions. Along the way, we get into how we each approach the dance of having a conversation with someone we've never met, what...
info_outlineWith his phenomenal debut memoir, FRIGHTEN THE HORSES (Roxane Gay Books/Grove Atlantic), Oliver Radclyffe takes us on a journey into trans-selfhood. We talk about the gap between a trans narrator and a cis-het reader, the importance of trans visibility, how his understanding of masculinity and being male have changed, and how he faced down the risks and sacrifices in his life as he transitioned, despite the uncertainty of what lay ahead. We get into how he found the perfect voice for his memoir, the importance of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy on his writing process, his life-defining moment of seeing Justin Vivian Bond, why being raised in privilege explained why he knew so little about the queer world, the surprisingly wonderful support his (conservative Christian) parents gave him throughout his journey, and why the book focuses on his pre-transition life. We also discuss whether he looks at photos of his pre-transition self, how testosterone has affected his life, how gender can shift with age, how the joy of publishing his first book has transformed him (and how he hopes it leads to a long mid-to-late-life writing career), whether he's ready to be an empty-nester, what it means to find validation through performance and defining oneself through relationships, why he identifies as a gender-irrelevant transsexual, and a lot more. Follow Oliver on Instagram and Bluesky and subscribe to his Substack • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Stripe, Patreon, or Paypal, and subscribe to our e-newsletter