Truth be told, there’s not really an artist that does what Tamara Lindeman does. With her project, The Weather Station, she’s figured out how to weave personal stories with universal themes that touch….well, all of us, really. What intrigues Tamara above all else is humanity, the ways we’re connected through this planet we live on, and the highest of highs and deepest of lows that come with being a human being. Her latest album is called Humanhood, it's one of the most creatively inspired albums I’ve listened to in a long while, and this conversation you’re about to hear has made me appreciate that body of work even more. Naturally, we chat about the way Tamara and her band fuses sounds of folk, rock, baroque, and stream of consciousness across the album, while also talking about her persistent passion towards climate advocacy and how caring about that is more personal than you expect.

Stop me if you heard this one before: a group of four friends form a band, create music that initially people don’t understand but ultimately they win the hearts of a nation, inadvertently becoming THE biggest band of their country. And then suddenly the beloved lead singer decides to quit and start life anew. Ok, you’re right, I also haven’t heard of such a story, but that’s the unique story of Dutch musician Eloi Youssef, ex-frontman of the rock band Kensington (or at least the story so far).

It’s mentioned within this episode, but this one came about from a beautiful place of serendipity: me wanting to talk to Eloi about his post-Kensington life and Eloi arriving at a place where he wanted to talk about it. Along with discussing how his life has changed, we also talk in-depth about the tour he embarked on with the orchestral group Kamerata Zuid, a very first for Eloi. If this is your first time listening to the podcast, I’m happy to say that this is a perfect place to start and welcome.

(Thanks for the help on this one, Todd Owyoung!) It’s kind of wild how intoxicating the idea of “quitting your day job to chase your dreams is.” As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that the glow of that idea becomes brighter rather than dimmer for many of us. But what about the realities of doing such a thing? Well, that’s something that photographer Deanie Chen knows all too well. Deanie is a photographer that largely focuses on musicians, traveling with them and documenting their moments both on stage and off. She’s toured with the likes of Lizzy McAlpine, Lawrence, and Mumford and Sons as they play some of the biggest stages around the world. Prior to dedicating her life to this, Deanie also studied law, passing the bar exam and working at a law firm. Though it might seem like a fantasy dripped in more glamour than you can imagine, the realities of such a path are far from easy; which is exactly what we chat about on today’s bonus episode.

You know those moments where you feel a sense of gratitude towards the people who’ve been in your life for a long time? That’s how I feel about today’s guest, Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon. I’ve been very lucky to have crossed paths with her throughout the years, but beyond that, I’m also a massive fan of the music that she makes. There’s a sincerity, confidence, and resolve that comes across her art that constantly leaves me astounded, and those feelings have reached critical mass when it comes to her debut solo album, For You (which is out now). On today’s podcast, I chat with Yukimi about what the album's songs largely center around: the unexpected necessity of experiencing ego death and how it allows you to better serve society, especially in the context of making art. The songs of For You are some of the most emotionally rich and revealing songs that Yukimi’s ever written, and I really wanted to explore “why” with her; why she needed to write these songs and put them out into the world.

It’s not lost on me that the title for today’s episode might seem heavy-handed, but when you stop to think about it; what a perfect time to be reminded of the vitality of comedy. People generally agree that we’re living through unprecedented times in every corner of the world. The best comedy doesn’t shy away from that, rather it jumps headfirst into poking fun at the madness of life, which is something that Munya Chawawa understands brilliantly.

The Zimbabwean-British satirist/comedy writer is on an insurmountable rise, dominating social media and television at a pace that’d make your head spin. But beyond the millions of views on TikTok (or Instagram if you’re a millennial like me), is a guy who wants to say it as it is, who wants to plant a flag on what matters most to him. And that’s what we discuss on today’s bonus podcast, along with exploring why comedy means so much to him.

(Thanks for the help on this one, Bartees Strange!). Personally, I haven’t found that old saying of “never meet your heroes” to be true. This latest episode is a beautiful example of that and it doesn’t take long for me to share my appreciation to this guest while we’re talking. Today’s pod is with the one and only Tunde Adebimpe, leader of the legendary indie rock band, TV on the Radio. Beyond that, he’s also a cartoonist, art director, music video director (go check out the video for Pin by Yeah Yeah Yeahs), and an actor; most recently appearing in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

Simply put, he loves to explore his imagination, and doing so has been the prominent fixture of his life for as long as any of us can remember. This has culminated in his debut solo album, THEE BLACK BOLTZ (out this Friday via Subpop). The album features Tunde trying to make sense of the human condition, highlighting the big and small stressors of life that we can all relate to. It also (in typical Tunde fashion) sounds really fucking cool and on this latest episode of the podcast, we chat all about it.

Also, by request of Tunde, be sure to check out the works of legendary visual artist Gary Panter (through his website and Instagram).

Something that comes up quite a bit on this podcast is how particular the job of a musician is. It’s easy to focus on the sold-out shows and the admiration of fans across the world, but let’s take a sec here to really pinpoint what happens: musicians are people who go into rooms to write down how they feel, and the longer their careers go the more depth they have to utilize to achieve this task. It’s something we don’t often think about when it comes to the mechanisms and how just the sheer mental weight of doing such a thing….is actually kind of insane. These aspects of songwriting were heavily on the mind of today's guest: Lauren Mayberry, the frontwoman of Scottish synth-pop band, CHVRCHES. Both while working on the upcoming fifth CHVRCHES album and her recently released solo album, Vicious Creature. Her solo album contains so many multitudes of what it’s like to be a human being, especially one dealing with grief, anger, sadness, and the persistent desire to dance above all. We chat about all that and crucially: why does Lauren continue to write music?

The reasons for this are numerous, but in 2025, being in a rock band feels like an absurdly radical idea. In a time where people are becoming more divided, where the music industry is in shambles, one could be forgiven for thinking “Why a band?” But the beauty of that framework of a band, of four people coming together to work on a shared vision….it feels beautifully vital and poignant during a time like today. UK rock band October Drift are a shining example of this, especially with how they inadvertently subverse the ideas of what a rock band should be. They’re a band that isn’t afraid of being vulnerable, of not shying away from sensitivity and tenderness. Their latest album, Blame The Young, explores the euphoria that can come from singing your lungs out raw and being steadfast in what you believe in. Across this episode of the pod, I chatted with frontman Kiran Roy and guitarist Dan Young about the who, what, where, and why of October Drift.