Harold Rogers is a novelist, Substacker, and a comedian based in New York City.

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(00:00) Columbia MFA, standup dreams & moving to New York

(03:07) Growing up between Ohio, Brazil & Antigua as a lonely reader

(04:48) Discovering serious novels: Lolita, Crime and Punishment & the power of language

(07:36) Early stories, autobiographical fiction & realizing writing can hurt people

(11:58) Drunk, depressed college years & writing through the abyss

(13:49) Tropicalia: family in Rio, plot, and learning to write a first novel

(16:33) Humility, simplifying the work & 20-day draft marathons

(22:06) Flow, exhaustion & psychography—writing as a kind of mediumship

(25:06) Boxing vs standup: high-stakes performance and the “fight vs book” metaphor

(26:47) First novel flops, expectations, airports & diversity boosts

(32:53) Publishing economics: advances, royalties & the lottery-ticket model

(36:03) Substack as practice ground, Edinburgh trip & building an audience

(38:47) Writing in New York, literary readings, misanthropy & starting BLAST

(41:46) Entering the NYC standup scene, Eric’s role & comedy friendships

(46:54) Boxing gym life, clients, CTE worries & why people fight

(54:02) Steubenville’s ghosts, shuttered mills & the 2012 assault case behind Humpty Dumpty

(54:54) Humpty Dumpty as masculine failure, regicide joke & mythic Trojan horse

(57:49) Redefining success: getting better at books & standup, and protecting time

Caleb Spaulding is a drummer based in Brooklyn, NY.

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(00:00) Driving a 2004 Trailblazer to Williamsburg with the college band

(03:12) Prog-rock frat house: how the band formed and took over campus

(06:05) Older bandmates, Jersey staging ground & choosing New York as the dream

(09:02) Beginner’s mindset, Williamsburg boom & early social media band hype

(12:10) Singing before talking: family piano nights and a childhood built on music

(15:18) Political science major, miserable law firm internship & feeling trapped on the “normal” path

(19:08) Forklift summer: warehouse monotony, hourly work and craving real purpose

(22:45) Cardboard prison, secret lyric notebooks & discovering an allergy to monotony

(26:03) Sixth-grade band class, discovering drums & Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps

(29:40) From rock stages to dance floors: first night hand-drumming with a DJ in Brooklyn

(32:55) World percussion deep dive & finding “Drumming at the Edge of Magic”

(36:22) The Ghana leap: Indiegogo, surrender experiment & flying in with no schedule

(40:05) Open-hearted Ghana: yes-and culture, communal groove & rhythm as everyday life

(43:18) Why Ghana: djembe roots, dense drumming traditions & choosing Accra as the gateway

(46:07) Kids, funerals, weddings & how Western culture shames adults out of musical play

(49:15) Everyone has rhythm: biology, entrainment & giving “no rhythm” adults permission

(52:08) Fela Kuti, Afrobeat, 90s hip-hop flows & the bands that keep him moving

(54:47) Rhythm of Happiness now: drum-powered breathwork, rhythm consulting & the next chapter

Mariel Bildsten is a trombonist based in Brooklyn, NY.

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(00:00) Childhood Visits and Dreaming of New York

(04:18) Grandparents, Ridgewood Roots, and an East Berlin Escape

(08:27) California Childhood and Hating Piano Lessons

(12:45) Joining School Band and Accidentally Choosing Trombone

(16:32) First Trombone Hero and the “Blueprint” Moment

(20:58) Moving at 18 and Falling in Love with New York Jazz

(25:21) Jazz as Black Music and the Harlem Renaissance

(29:49) New Orleans Brass vs Contemporary New York Jazz

(34:05) Betting on New York and Welcoming the Ass-Kicking

(38:02) Inside the Physical Demands of Playing Trombone

(41:37) Injuries, Posture Fixes, and Damage Control

(45:03) Dizzy’s Jam Sessions, All-Night Hangs, and Music as Service

(49:11) Teaching in the Bronx and $10 Pasta Gigs

(52:44) Balls Before Ability and Working Through Imposter Syndrome

(55:36) Side Person vs Bandleader and Making a Living

(58:22) Why She Still Chooses New York

(61:09) Favorite NYC Food, Clubs, and Trombone Mount Rushmore

(63:18) Redefining Success, Education, and the Next Chapter