How geeks can get involved in politics (and why they should) —

Thomas Gideon, host of the Command Line podcast and technical director of the Open Technology Institute at New America Foundation gave a great speech at the Northeast Linux Fest. His talk, which is outlined in detail here, was about getting free software geeks involved in political activism, and was a thoughtful explanation of the differences between the way free software stuff gets done and the way that Congress gets stuff done. (MP3) — Cory •

Jeff Baham from HauntedMansion.com sez, "March 30 marked the centennial of the birth of Marc Davis, one of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men" who was responsible for both the creation of some of Disney's iconic characters (Tinker Bell, Maleficent) and iconic theme park attractions (Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion). The Mousetalgia podcast is noting the life and work of Davis with a special episode dedicated to his career, including a never-published interview with Davis himself and a recent conversation with his widow and fellow Disney Imagineer, Alice Davis. Of special note are Marc and Alice's recollections about Marc joining the Disney Studio in the '20s, where he worked on Snow White."

Mousetalgia Episode 230: Remembering Marc Davis with Alice Davis

MP3 link

(Thanks, Jeff!)

Sodajerker, a British podcast devoted to songwriting, produced a great one-hour episode with Disney songwriting legend Richard M Sherman, half of the Sherman Brothers team that gave us everything from "It's a Small World" to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (and lots more). Hearing Sherman talk about his work is fascinating.

As one half of The Sherman Brothers, along with his late brother Robert, Richard M. Sherman is responsible for co-writing the most memorable Disney songs of all time. From the Academy Award winning compositions for Mary Poppins such as ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’, ‘Feed the Birds’, ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’, ‘Jolly Holiday’, ‘I Love to Laugh’ and ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’, to other landmark Disney works such as The Parent Trap, ‘It’s a Small World (After All)’, ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ (The Jungle Book), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Winnie the Pooh, the Sherman Brothers have enchanted people of all ages for half a century. In this hour of conversation, Richard M. Sherman joins Simon and Brian to talk through the writing of many of these classics in his own inimitable style.

Episode 38 – Richard M. Sherman

MP3 link

(Image: "it's a small world" holiday, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from harshlight's photostream)

As I mentioned in my March Locus column, I'm celebrating the tenth anniversary of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by planning a prequel volume. As part of that planning, I'm going to read aloud the entire text of that first book into my podcast, making notes on the book as I go. Here's part one.

Mastering by John Taylor Williams: wryneckstudio@gmail.com

John Taylor Williams is a audiovisual and multimedia producer based in Washington, DC and the co-host of the Living Proof Brew Cast. Hear him wax poetic over a pint or two of beer by visiting livingproofbrewcast.com. In his free time he makes "Beer Jewelry" and "Odd Musical Furniture." He often "meditates while reading cookbooks."

MP3 link

Podcast subscription link (RSS/XML)

Thomas "Command Line" Gideon came out for the DC stop on my Homeland tour, at Busboys and Poets, and mic'ed me up for the event. He's mastered the audio and posted it. It's a 40 minute talk about the promise of technology to improve our lives, the risks from allowing technology to be used to surveil and control us, and the contributions Aaron Swartz made to this cause and to the book. There's also about 20 minutes of Q&A.

TCLP 2013-03-13 Cory Doctorow on the Themes of “Homeland”

MP3

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Thanks to Soundcloud for hosting Boing Boing's podcasts!

This is episode 3 of Boing Boing's newest podcast, Tell Me Something I Don't Know. It's an interview podcast featuring artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creative people discussing their work, ideas, and the reality/business side of how they do what they do.

In this episode Jim, Jasen, and Ed interview Eric Skillman, a Brooklyn-based graphic designer at the Criterion Collection. He also does freelance design (Comics Journal 301, The Playwright, Leaping Tall Buildings) and writes crime comics including the anthology Egg, the graphic novel Liar's Kiss, and the webcomic, Suckers. You can see more of his work here and here and follow him on Twitter @EricSkillman.

It's produced and hosted by three talented cartoonists and illustrators:

Jim Rugg, a Pittsburgh-based comic book artist, graphic designer, zinemaker, and writer best known for Afrodisiac, The Plain Janes, and Street Angel.

Jasen Lex is a designer and illustrator from Pittsburgh. He is currently working on a graphic novel called Washington Unbound. All of his art and comics can be found at jasenlex.com.

Ed Piskor is the cartoonist who drew the comic, Wizzywig, and draws the Brain Rot/ Hip Hop Family Tree comic strip at this very site, soon to be collected by Fantagraphics Books.

Follow TMSIDK on Twitter

Subscribe to the Tell Me Something I Don't Know podcast | iTunes

Risk! is a podcast where people tell true stories "they thought they'd never dare to share," usually recorded in front of a live audience. The stories are sometimes confessional, sometimes X-rated, sometimes about criminal behavior, often moving, often tragic, and yet almost always funny. I love this podcast, and I'm happy to announce that Kevin Allison, the producer of the Risk! podcast and live event series, has just released The Best of Risk! #4, which is an excellent introduction to the kinds of stories you'll hear on the podcast.

In addition to having unforgettable stories in each episode, Kevin always picks a couple of songs from little-known bands to play between stories, and I think his taste in music is exquisite.

STORIES ON BEST OF RISK! #4

Foxy Ladies by Allison Moon
Allison throws a lesbian orgy. The women put on animal masks and race around the loft in a game of "Fuck the Fox." Allison's roommate's mom just happens to stop by.

The Seven-Toe Minimum by Lisa Lampanelli
Lisa falls in love with a 400-pound Italian man with mobster-like ways but a very kind heart. But when the doctor says he's committing suicide with his over-eating and he refuses to change, Lisa leaves.

Get Cool Fast by Sam Mullins
At 13, Sam just wants to impress girls. At a birthday party by a lake, he heroically offers to go get a girl's ball that's strayed into the water. Because of a freak accident, Sam ends up bleeding, nude, and hanging upside down off a pier with his face in the water.

The Other Side of the Story by Lee Harrington
Lee was once a 14-year old girl who got raped by a boy a few years older. 15 years later, after changing his sex, Lee is at a BDSM club and runs into the guy who once raped him. They sit down and chat, Lee learns of the rapist's motivations, and Lee finally forgives him.

Transcendent by Becca Trabin
At 20, Becca does a lot of mushrooms and opium and has a psychotic breakdown, wherein the voice of God tells her to kill her mother. Becca stabs her mother dozens of times with a steak knife in a shocking outburst. It is her mother's forgiveness that helps Becca to become whole again.

Best of Risk! #4

History of punk podcast —

The nice folks at the Tank Riot podcast did a great job with their new punk episode, reviewing the early history of punk and some of its later mutations (MP3, subscribe) — Cory •

Aaja sez, "The great Disney fan Podcast Wedway Radio has an interview with the cinematographer of the controversial film "Escape from Tomorrow". It's interesting to hear more about the film making experience and the relationship the film makers have towards the Disney parks."

On this episode we are lucky enough to be joined by someone who has seen the controversial film set at Walt Disney World, Escape From Tomorrow at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. We also got the opportunity to discuss the making of the film and some of the controversial elements of the film with the cinematographer of the film, Lucas Graham.

Escape From Tomorrow - show notes for NOW! #28

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