15 Minutes: a podcast about fame, with Jamie Berger

Hello Listeners, It’s been going on two years since the last new episode, and I really wasn’t sure if there was going to be another one, but I came across someone whom I just had to invite on, and she said yes, and we had a lovely chat in July, and here we are! Whether this will be a coda or a reboot, we shall see - I’d love your input on that From Ayun Halliday’s website: “I was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and came of age at the height of the preppy craze. For some unfathomable reason, my grandparents had a subscription to The New Yorker. Every week, I’d paw through it, daydreaming of a glamorous future in which I’d be a celebrated stage actress, living in sin with some hot, devoted trumpet player in a Greenwich Village loft with a skyline view I’ve since learned is possible only from downtown Brooklyn or the western shores of New Jersey.” Ms. Halliday is a writer, actor, performance artist, zinester, the list goes on and on! She pubilshes the Zine The East Village Inky. It was and still is written and illustrated entirely by hand. I could spend a good while longer discussing some of her many other theatrical and publishing achievements, but what brought her to my attention this spring was the publication of her latest (7th) book, Creative, Not Famous: The Small Potato Manifesto, a compendium of Halliday’s words and illustrations along with input from a variety of creative people (I just can’t get myself to take the noun “creatives” seriously) who comprise “99.9% of all humans who … have not been and will never be rich as a result of their art. Nor will we be famous…at least not as famous as we deserve.” I heartily encourage you to look up any of the artists mentioned in our conversation and, especially if you’re a lil spud, to pick up a copy of the Small Potato Manifesto, available through Ayun’s site or wherever books are purveyed. For all episodes of this show, from small fries to Sedarises, please find us on the social mediae (insta/twitter) at 15minsjamieb, on facebook by just looking for the name of the show, or at 15minutesjamieberger.com, or email me at 15minutesjamieberger@gmail.com -Jamie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In celebration of the end of the Trump era, here's an old favorite from just a few months in, George Saunders, from back in early 2017. Belated Happy New Year and continuous happy (or at least way less sad) post-Trump to all! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Sedaris and I talk about celebrity, grace, inappropriate jokes (this episode is NSFTG, not safe for Terry Gross, btw), being recognized in airports, our mothers, going on Colbert, agents, what’s good on pizza, Stormy Daniels, George Saunders, John Updike’s quote that “Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face,” getting laughs, the preciousness of anonymity, being mistaken for a woman, and MUCH MUCH MORE. Enjoy, and after you enjoy, please pass this one on. A much happier 2021 to all! -Jamie (Image by Anja Schutz) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello friends. No time to talk. It’s 11/2/20 and I need to get this up today. I talked with A.R. Moxon, essayist, novelist, and twitter godsend these last four years, about Trump, Trumpism, the future, twitter virality leading to finding a publisher for his novel The Revisionaries, published last year and coming out in paperback in December, piano practice, 538, America, the future …. Find A.R. Moxon at http://armoxon.com and or @JuliusGoat on twitter. Deep breaths, everyone, deep breaths. -j http://15minutesjamieberger.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was a guest on the Meat for Tea Cast after my essay "Itch Itch Itch" was published in the stellar literary magazine of the same name earlier this year. Now I understand why some of my guests hesitate to post about our episodes. It leaves them in the position of writing to friends, family, and fans saying “Hey everyone here’s a conversation focused on ME! Awkward. With that in mind, Meat for Tea is a great magazine with a nifty podcast and host/publisher/editor Elizabeth MacDuffie and I had a long and enjoyable talk, for the two of us anyway. So Hey everyone here’s a conversation focused on ME! (and here's a link to the essay, which I read out loud at the end of the episode) https://psiloveyou.xyz/itch-itch-itch-8934f97ed7ed Stay Safe. Vote. BLM xox -Jamie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here’s my conversaion from back in February (2020), aka a zillion lifetimes ago, with podcaster, Maximum Fun creator, and, perhaps most publicly, Judge John Hodgman bailiff Jesse Thorn. That's him with the glorious facial hair, above. (photo: Ibarionex Perello) It’s nice, you’ll like it. Re: my callout to you all in the intro, you can reach me at info@15minutesjamieberger.com or find me on Insta or twitter at @15minsjamieb. Thanks! -jb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2016, aka a zillion horror-movie lifetimes ago, my friend Eugene and I had a late-night conversation about fame, comedy, having a newborn baby boy, and much much more. I re-edited it to put it back out here on the occasion of the streaming release of the wonderful documentary "It Started as a Joke," which follows the decade long run of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival along with the parallel story of Eugene and his wife Katie's battle with her cancer. That may sound like a rough juxtaposition, but it's extremely well done. You'll laugh, you'll cry - see it, it's not like you don't have any free time right now. http://prettygoodfriends.com/it-started-as-a-joke Best to all in these strange, tough times. -j Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Re-edit reboot of my 2017 two-episode conversation with Beth Lisick on the occasion of the publication of her great new and first novel, "Edie on the Green Screen." Congratulations, Beth! The episode starts with a serious #metoo conversation before moving on to lighter topics. So if you're needing light in these heavy times, after the intro, jump ahead about a half an hour. Best to you all, I wish you the best lives you can possibly live right now! -jamie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2017, I spoke to actor/writer/comedian Michael Ian Black for this show. At the time, I broke our conversation up into two episodes, each preceded by a long rant by me about the political and social injustices of the day. Well, it's the end of the year, and I'm exhausted by injustice, and decided to re-edit the conversation into a single, more entertaining whole. I think you'll enjoy it. We talk about fame of course, and about our mothers, about toe fungus, his feud with Marc Maron, the list goes on. Listening back, I found this, on how what's better than being a lead, the famous one, on a TV series, is being somewhere around 5-7 on the call list: "“If I knew that I would have an acting job for the next five years on a network show, where I didn’t even really have to think, it was just showing up, doing some scenes, having a free lunch and collecting a fat paycheck, I would like to do that for the next five years with the full knowledge that at the end of the five years I’d have enough money in the bank to write a novel, devote myself to the podcast, five years of being number 5-7 on the call sheet. There’s a sweet spot there that’s just ideal. I don’t want to be in every scene, I don’t want to solve the crime.” *** I wish us all better times, and a free and fair election, in 2020. -Jamie B. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My dear friend and former San Francisco Public Library colleague, skater, certified arborist, actor, adventure traveller, and raconteur, on how he brought punk and skateboarding together; the splendors and hazards of trimming Sharon Stone's trees; and other gems. A perfect example of the hardest-to-lure guest: the decidedly non-famous person who wants to come on a podcast and dig into the topic. It's still one of my favorites, back from when I didn't know what I was doing at all but sometimes it worked. Enjoy! -Jamie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you listened to Episode 72, with John Hodgman, or even if you didn't (you should), here's Episode 1, as promised, with same. Warning: there's a lot of ambient, though not unpleasant, noise (of a busy bar) in the interview, and then rather low sound quality for the Judge John Hodgman meetup, which ostensibly wasn't being recorded for the podcast, but which I wanted to include here for the true JJH Stans out there jonesin' for a deep cut. Image is a pic from the poster for the event at the Rendezvous in Turners Falls, MA, back in 2015 (yes I dithered an entire nother year before launching the show - don't do that!), designed by Anja Schutz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Hodgman (returns!) - Episode 72 Hello Everyone! The very first guest on 15 Minutes was John Hodgman (and we’ll be reposting that episode right after this one). Back in Fall of 2015, we spoke for a nearly exact 15 Minutes (the only full episode with a guest that’s actually anywhere near that short, most are around an hour - yes, yes, but the name of the show, we know, we know). When I heard about his new book Medallion Status (pub. date 10/15/19!), which John describes as “your basic minor fame to no fame Hollywood memoir with some peeks into the secret clubs and hidden rooms that celebrity allowed me briefly to peek into,” I knew it was time to have him back, and this time we talked a whole lot longer. For those of you who don’t know him, and yes, Hodgmaniacs, there are those folks out there: JOHN HODGMAN is a writer, comedian, and actor. Most recently, he is the author of the acclaimed collection of funny true stories called VACATIONLAND. He also wrote three books of fake facts and invented trivia, all of them New York Times Bestsellers, and his writing has also appeared in The Paris Review, This American Life, The New Yorker, and Mad Magazine. After an appearance to promote his books on “The Daily Show,” he was invited to return as a contributor, serving as the show’s “Resident Expert” and “Deranged Millionaire.” For the past nine years, he’s also been the host of the popular Judge John Hodgman podcast, where he settles serious disputes between real people. He also contributes a weekly column under the same name for The New York Times Magazine. He’s also the host of the viral Instagram-live sensation Get Your Pets! with John Hodgman in which he talks to animals and their people in a live broadcast, while perhaps occasionally plugging his new book Medallion Status (http://bit.ly/MEDALLIONSTATUS) every so often. Over nearly an hour and a half, we talked a lot about the book and those rooms and clubs, his previous book, Vacationland, fame as addiction, adjusting and appreciating life as one’s status inevitably declines over time (We also go into how white men are handling the reality of their/our inevitably declining status), and why it’s really important for authors that readers pre-order their books if possible, and which you should do if you’re so inclined and you’re reading this before 10/15/19, and you should be so inclined, because Medallion Status and John Hodgman will make your life better. Where can you go to pre-order, you may ask? Why http://bit.ly/MEDALLIONSTATUS, that’s where! My short plug: Like Vacationland, the book (and this 15 Minutes episode) is funny in ways many know John to be, as well as moving and contemplative in ways you might not expect. I gave it five starts on Good Reads. Early praise for Medallion Status: “This funny, sometimes delightfully absurd book offers sharp meditations on status, relevance, and age, and fame—or at least being fame-adjacent.” -PW “Hodgman offers thoughtful musings about human nature and our drive for status. An entertaining and endearing entry from the author of Vacationland (2017).” -Booklist (Note: this is one of those episodes with a false ending, so when you hear us saying bye, stick around for more!) But enough plugging, enjoy the episode! Oh, and when you do enjoy it, PLEASE PASS IT ON - you'll be helping a worthy author sell books, and an independent podcaster get listeners, both very difficult tasks in supersaturated markets. Thanks! -Jamie (Image: detail of Medallion Status cover by Aaron Draplin) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mari Naomi is a graphic-memoirist, a term I just made up. That is, she’s a cartoonist who writes personal nonfiction. At least in her adult work, that’s what she does. I first encountered her cartoons on the Rumpus. I ended up following her on Twitter and patroning her on Patreon, and she has thoughts about fame! We talked about that and career and San Francisco and trolls and dating someone famous and living in LA and seeing stars and running into Bud Cort and fangirling out in Gelson’s and … well, come listen and you’ll find out! You can find her at http://marinaomi.com. Here’s some of what you’d learn about her there: “MariNaomi is the award-winning author and illustrator of Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22 (Harper Perennial, 2011), Dragon's Breath and Other True Stories (2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014), Turning Japanese (2dcloud, 2016), I Thought YOU Hated ME (Retrofit Comics, 2016), and the Life on Earth trilogy(Graphic Universe, 2018-2020). Her work has appeared in over eighty print publications and has been featured on websites such as The Rumpus, LA Review of Books, Midnight Breakfast and BuzzFeed.” “She is the founder and administrator of the Cartoonists of Color Database, the Queer Cartoonists Database, and the Disabled Cartoonists Database. She is the cohost of the Ask Bi Grlz podcast with author Myriam Gurba.” *** You can find all episodes of this podcast at http://15minutesjamieberger.com and a really old site of my writing at http://jamiebergerwords.com, which I mention for the first time since starting this podcast because I’m starting to write a little after about a decade hiatus. Episode 72 will mark the return of Episode 1 guest John Hodgman, whose new book, Medallion Status, the follow up to his supergreat memoir Vacationland, will be out in mid-October. Thanks for listening! -jb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Todd Barry and I talk a little about fame, but more about exercise, diet, doors that open out, and kittens! For the pic of Todd and Charlize Theron, please see the episode page on our site Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 69 - Robyn Hitchcock. Among the topics and people discussed with the legendary British singer-songwriter are self-promotion, the Beatles, Elvis Costello and a whole lot of other 80s music, the idea of leaving a small-lizard-sized legacy, the need to make one living, not two, having Ethan Hawke sing your song in a movie, - and a whole lot more. But you’re not here to tell me what I talked to Robyn Hitchcock, you’re hear to listen to Robyn (and I) talk. Enjoy! P.S. I meant to include Sonny Smith's new record label, Rocks-In-Your-Head in the outro, but forgot, so here you go: http://rockshead.com/ Sorry Sonny! Find Robyn stuff at http://robynhitchcock.com -jb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 68 - Zak Trojano Hey it’s our first episode of 2019! Zak Trojano is, well, he’s a friend here in the Pioneer Valley whose music I’ve enjoyed for many years, and who’s latest album is “Wolf Trees.” He performed in our live show back in June of last year, and we finally sat down to talk fame, legacy, his tour in Germany, the color pink, social media, the joy of wearing a skirt, and apparently a great deal more stuff that at least interested one person - as this is the longest episode yet - in January. Here’s the bio from his website (zaktrojano.com): “Zak Trojano is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, a finger-style guitar player, a fly-fisherman, and a beer drinker. He watches more than he talks, the guy at the end of the bar nursing a drink while the afternoon light angles in, letting the conversation pile up around him like snowfall. He grew up in New Hampshire, outside of town in a cabin built by his parents. His father was a drummer who held down a regular country gig, and nights after work he would loosen his tie and show his son the finer points of Ginger Baker and Elvin Jones. In New Hampshire they drove around in trucks, and Prine and Dylan cassettes showed up in most of those trucks. Zak made Eagle Scout, got his knots down. Then it was college and out, wandering the country from the desert Southwest to Great Plains until he ran out of money, washing windows to work up the bus fare home. After a while it seemed like he ought to write some songs, and he did: heavy songs with a light touch; an AM radio throwback voice and an intricate finger-style technique framed by a drummer’s rhythm and sharpened by years of immersion in the work of players as various as John Fahey, Merle Travis, and Chet Atkins. In over a decade writing, recording, and performing music professionally - sharing studios and stages with his band Rusty Belle, or supporting touring acts like Chris Smither, Kris Delmhorst, Jeffrey Foucault, and Peter Mulvey - Zak Trojano has evolved his own thing: a warm baritone paired with an old Martin guitar, floating above spare lines of cello and lap steel, horns and brushes, with a deceptively simple lyricism that on repeated listening shows that the fellow at the end of the bar doesn’t say much, but he’s worth hearing.” *** Along with our conversation, you’ll find three songs from “Wolf Trees” and a live performance of a John Fahey guitar solo from the anniversary live show at Hawks and Reed last year. Coming up in April will be another musical guest, Robyn Hitchcock, whom I’ve learned either needs no introduction at all or a very thorough one, depending on whom you ask. Enjoy the show! -Jamie B. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While I don't tend to rerun episodes from year one, when, for one thing I was still talking very ... very ,,, slowly ... in the intros, and other stuff I can hardly bear to listen to now, I wanted to repost this short intro to #grabhimbytheballot and conversation with Anja (and a lovely conversation after that with Lindsay Mace, who also talks about the project, among other topics) from the day back in September (I think?) of 2016 when Anja Schutz did the first of two day-long shoots for #grabhbytheballot. I think it says a lot about Anja, the project, and the more and more apocalyptic culture of narcissism (overused but apt word these days) and attention-desperate behavior that Donald Trump both somehow succeed with and is enabling in others, one that's rearing it's head in our world because of an ugly little battle we've been forced to wage with an organization calling itself #grabthembytheballot. If you want to know more - and/but maybe you really don't - you can check my Facebook feed. -Jamie B. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's face it, so long as I get to have a conversation with this guy once a year, it's probably gonna make the top two. Ladies and Germs, a Too Hot for Terry (Gross) conversation with David Sedaris: http://www.15minutesjamieberger.com/news/2018/5/31/episode-59-david-sedaris-returns Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's one that really made me happy. One of the best parts of making this show is having an excuse to talk to people I haven't seen in a decade or so, in this case, Sonny Smith of Sunny and the Sunsets. http://www.15minutesjamieberger.com/news/2018/7/2/episode-61-sonny-smith Hope your 2019s are starting as well as they possibly can! -j Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's another favorite form 2018, with NY-er humorist and author and TV-maker who's new show, "Miracle Workers" (based on Rich's novel What in God's Name) starring Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi, will air on TBS starting in February. http://www.15minutesjamieberger.com/news/2018/7/24/episode-62-simon-rich Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.