Portrait of a Struggling Artist as a 38-year-old man on the eve of destruction →

November 5, 2024

Greetings from the B-Side Brewery! Have you drank enough water today? Gotten out of the house? Walked down to the polls? Taken five deep breaths? Smashed your phone against the wall? Okay cool just making sure.

If you still need a distraction from *gestures broadly at the world*, I invite you to check out the latest episode of the Struggling Artist Podcast, featuring yours truly! Host Trev Allen invited me onto the show to ostensibly talk about the history of the Roland High Life, and also how the hell to exist in the world as a creative person. Inevitably, our conversation also spirals out into a talk about ADHD and why Hawkeye is the best Avenger, as these things are wont to do. I like to think our chat has some nice glimmers of hope as well, as we talk pretty earnestly about how to balance artistry and all the various demands of “real life.”

If that’s not enough of a distraction, the fact that the New York Times Tech Guild is currently on strike could also help stop you from constantly refreshing your browser. The Wirecutter Union, of which I am a part, is technically separate from the Tech Guild, but we do stand in solidarity with our colleagues’ goals. While I can’t tell you what to do about or how to respond to this strike, I can encourage you to check out Strikle instead, or maybe soothe yourself with the dulcet tones of Billy Bragg. Or check out some unionized Chippendale dancers, idk.

My Teenage Dreams Come True April 12 →

March 29, 2024

On Friday, April 12, my band the Roland High Life is playing in the prestigious Rock & Roll Rumble — and it’d be genuinely awesome if you came out to support us. The Rumble is the longest running Battle-of-the-Bands-type industry showcase in the country, and has helped break bands like Letters to Cleo, Powerman 5000, the Lemonheads, the Dresden Dolls (i knoooow), and many, many more. And while sure, the music industry is in a very different place now than it was back when the event was still sponsored by a major rock radio station — it's still pretty cool! As I told the folks at Cambridge Day…

Exploring the lurid life of Armie Hammer on BADLANDS

August 11, 2022

My script for the Season 5 premiere of the Badlands podcast could not be more opposite from the script I wrote for the Season 4 finale. Okay well maybe that’s not entirely true — they both involved a lot of sensitivity and careful wording. In the case of Robin Williams, that was because of the tragedy surrounding his suicide. In the case of Armie Hammer, that was, uhhh, because of ongoing legal matters and some really dark sexual fetishes that I don’t want to kink-shame but also went to some pretty disturbing places.

So, ya know. Tread lightly and all. But in very, very different ways.

Here’s the synopsis for the Badlands Season 5 premiere, written by me, titled “Armie Hammer: Dirty Texts, Bloodthirsty Fetishes, and a Cannibal Kink”

With his chiseled jawline and matinee idol good looks, Armie Hammer could have been another leading man like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. But Armie Hammer was not most movie stars. He wasn't even most people. On the surface, his life was perfectly curated and appeared picture-perfect, with no major public scandals or dirt-digging by the press. But his increasingly bizarre appearances in interviews and on social media, not to mention leaked videos and texts, led to shocking revelations about what was really going on behind closed doors. And what was going on was more wild than the untamed dreams of a Hollywood screenwriter.

You can listen to the episode below, or wherever you get your podcasts:

Hear me talk for 3+ hours on CEREBRO about Irishness, DILFs, and Mutant Superheroes

April 11, 2022

Connor Goldsmith's CEREBRO podcast — "where a homo and his friends dive deep into the history of Homo Superior," also known as the X-Men — has been one of my favorite podcasts over the last two years. And I'm not alone: Ezra Klein is a fan, and Entertainment Weekly even named it one of the 10 best podcasts of 2021. I've shared a few episodes here as well, including Spencer Ackerman's wonderful exploration of the radical politics and Jewishness of Magneto.

I had the privilege of speaking to Connor for an episode focused on the X-Men's token Irishman, Sean Cassidy AKA Banshee. A three-hour deep dive into mutants and Irishness is basically what I was born to do, and I had a wonderful time doing it (which I hope comes through in the episode!).

In addition to being an absolute Himbo DILF, Banshee is also the long-time paramour of Moira MacTaggert, who was recently revealed to be the most important character in the Marvel Universe — a complicated but fascinating retcon that we got into on the episode, which recasts their relationship in an intriguing new light. We also talk about the difference between Irish and Irish-Americans, and breakdown some of the stereotypes that have plagued the character, including the IRA and Banshee's cop past, as well as his castle full of leprechauns who were the first to reveal Wolverine's real name. And of course, no discussion of Banshee is complete without bringing up his cousin, Black Tom, whose long-standing relationship with Juggernaut hasn't been canonically acknowledged as gay on-page, but like, c'mon, the subtext is even less sub than Juggernaut himself.

You can hear for yourself on your preferred podcast network.