Amanda sits down to discuss art, life, why goth matters, and the process behind star TED speaker and author Susan Cain's new #1 Bestseller, "Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole".

A crowdsourced episode! You asked, we answered with this episode: A collage of the best moments so far.

Sherry Turkle is an empathetic technologist.

Dr. Rola Hallam is a punk rock doctor.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Clare Bowditch, recorded March 6th, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Madison Young, recorded June 11, 2019 in Portland, Oregon.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Rachel Jayson, recorded September 10, 2019 in Woodstock, NY.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Wayne Muller, recorded July 15, 2019 at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Fred Leone, recorded March 6, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Fred Leone is a musician with Australian Aboriginal, Tongan, and South-Sea Islander heritage. One of the few Butchulla song men, he is a cultural custodian preserving their language through music. He the front man for the hip hop group Impossible Odds. Fred is also a passionate community activist and a First Nations advocate. He is committed to passing down the cultural knowledge of his ancestors by passing on traditional songs and dances to younger generations via his work as a song man. In this episode we talk about Fred’s surprise hit song, growing up with a Robin Hood mentality, what it means to be a “song man” in his culture, saving his dying native language, the importance of passing on knowledge, the politics of land rights, the sterility of anthropology, how to be a better ally, and traditional burning methods that can prevent brush fires. Twitter: @impossible_odds Music: https://www.impossibleoddsmusic.com https://amandapalmer.bandcamp.com/track/solid-rock-with-fred-leone No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Masarat Daud, recorded October 29, 2019 in London, England. Masarat Daud is an alumnus of Cambridge International School, Dubai. She later studied at the American University of Dubai and also completed a certificate course in Tech Tools and Skills in Emergency Management through TechChange. Masarat is the Founder of 8 Day Academy, a global education movement with a mission to make education accessible and relevant to all communities. She has also worked as a columnist for the Khaleej Times and as Deputy News Editor for CPI Dubai. She is the curator of TEDx Shekhavati; a conference that takes place in rural Rajasthan. In her TEDx talks, she discusses how to break stereotypes and how she learned to love her burka. In this episode we talk about the importance of stoking your curiosity about people different from you, the power of core values to bring people together, keeping a world view of abundance, Masarat’s dinners with Twitter friends, the cult of feminism, the importance of visibility and taking up space, nudity, and not taking responsibility for other people’s ignorance. Twitter: @masarat TED: https://blog.ted.com/why-i-wear-the-burka-masarat-daud-at-ted2014/ 8 Day Academy: https://www.facebook.com/8dayacademy/timeline No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Tim Flannery, recorded July 23, 2019, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Tim Flannery is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer and public scientist. He has discovered more than 30 mammal species including a new type of tree kangaroos. Tim served as the Chief Commissioner of the Climate Commission, a Federal Government body providing information on climate change to the Australian public. In 2013, Tim announced that he would join other fired commissioners to form the Independent Climate Council. Tim is a professorial fellow at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. His books include The Future Eaters and The Weather Makers. His TED Talk is entitled, “Can Seaweed Help Curb Global Warming?” In this episode we talk about the power of seaweed to draw down large greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, the vastness and unexplored nature of the Australian Outback, the death of The Great Barrier Reef, how different countries view the climate crisis, the convict roots of Australia and its effects on modern politics, the lack of climate change coverage in the mainstream media, how to be a leader on climate change in your own community, and the battle against tribalism and skepticism. @FlanneryTex Books: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/27157.Tim_Flannery TED: https://www.ted.com/speakers/tim_flannery No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Tim Minchin, recorded February 20, 2020, in Sydney, AUS. Tim Minchin is a world-renounded Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, composer, lyricist, and director. He is the composer and lyricist of the Olivier Award-winning, Tony Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated show Matilda the Musical, based on the book by Roald Dahl. His musical Groundhog Day, based on the 1993 film, opened in London in 2016, winning his second Olivier Award, and opened on Broadway in spring 2017. He is the subject of the 2008 documentary, Rock N Roll Nerd. Tim played the role of rock star Atticus Fetch on Showtime's Californication. In this interview, we talked about expanding your empathy, exploring your self-loathing in order to find peace, decoupling intellectualism from emotion, the power of The Internet to share the stories of the disenfranchised, combining radical honesty with compassion, how a safe space can people help heal, the gift of being told that you are not special, and how our job is to do what we want on stage. @timminchin www.timminchin.com No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Dan Savage, recorded June 4, 2019 in Seattle, WA. Dan Savage is an author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He is the long-time writer of Savage Love, an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column and the author of books such as, “The Commitment,” “The Kid,” and, “American Savage.” Dan is also the host of his own hit podcast, The Savage Lovecast, and also serves as the editorial director of the weekly Seattle newspaper, The Stranger. In 2010, Dan and his husband, Terry Miller, began the It Gets Better Project to help prevent suicide among LGBT youth. Dan also coordinates the annual Hump Pornography Festival, which is made up of clips on any pornographic topic, submitted by viewers. In this interview we talk about the power of the mute button and marijuana, weeding out toxic critics, how open relationships need to constantly be renegotiated, lessons from monogamous hospice care, the problems with compartmentalizing feelings and sex, the complications of being polyamorous, and the logistics of being openly married with children. Twitter @fakedansavage Instagram @dansavage Savage Love Podcast: https://www.savagelovecast.com Web: https://www.thestranger.com/authors/259/dan-savage https://humpfilmfest.com No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Tim Ferriss is a best-selling author, speaker, early-stage technology investor, advisor, and host of one of the most popular podcasts in the world, The Tim Ferriss Show.

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Storm Large, recorded June 11, 2019 in Portland, OR. Born in Southborough, MA, Storm graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York before moving to San Francisco and later to Portland, which she now calls home. Storm is the co-lead vocalist for the band Pink Martini along with China Forbes. Her band, Storm and the Balls, has toured the world, playing mash-up covers of rock hits of the ’70s and ’80s. In 2006, she appeared as a finalist on the CBS show Rock Star: Supernova Her musical one-woman show, Crazy Enough, premiered to rave reviews in 2009 and spawned her autobiography of the same name in 2012. In 2014, her band, Le Bonheur, released a self-titled album of classics from the American Songbook. In this episode Storm and I discuss growing up in Massachusetts, the isolating horrors of writing a book, our shared obsession with Madonna, imposter syndrome, and parallel parking as a feminist statement. For everything Storm go to StormLarge.com Support the Performers Emergency Fund at gimmeshelterpdx.org @Stormof69 No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with KT Tunstall, recorded October 15, 2019 in London. KT Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. Her award winning debut album, Eye to the Telescope, was released in 2004. Her latest album, WAX, was released in 2018. In total, she has released 6 albums which have all been met with critical and commercial success. KT has toured the world and has performed on talk shows in the US and Europe. She also composes music for film and television including the movie Bad Moms. We talked about hidden rooms in your inner world, our shared love of Tom Lehrer, being narcissistically hungry, our pet peeves as performers, KT’s hearing loss and how it changed her life for the better. Support KT on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/KTTunstall @KTTunstall www.kttunstall.com No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Jamil Zaki, recorded remotely on April 11, 2019 in Woodstock, NY and Stanford, CA. Jamil Zaki is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory. By combining psychology and neuroscience, Jamil and his colleagues study how empathy works, and ultimately how we can empathize with each other more effectively. Jamil is the author of "The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World." Jamil’s 2017 TEDxMarin Talk is entitled “BUILDING EMPATHY: How to hack empathy and get others to care more.” His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic. We talked about how to flex your empathy, art as a performance enhancing drug for empathy, post traumatic growth, and the high wire act of having empathy for those who cause us harm. @zakijam The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World https://www.warforkindness.com TED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DspKSYxYDM Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab: http://ssnl.stanford.edu No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Nadya Tolokonnikova. Recorded October 4th, 2020. Nadya Tolokonnikova is a Russian conceptual artist, political activist, and co-founder of Vladimir Putin’s least favorite band, Pussy Riot. In 2012, she was convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" after a performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and served two years in prison. She is the author of “How to Start a Revolution” and “Read & Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism.” Her prison correspondence with philosopher Slavoj  Žižek was compiled into the book, “Comradely Greetings: The Prison Letters of Nadya and Slavoj.” In this interview we talked about coping with a pandemic, Putin’s never-ending reign, storming the Russian Parliament, the influence of riot grrrls, female empowerment, the advantages of being a multimedia artist, building an institution as a statement of punk, creating your own rules, rebelling against expectations, reuniting with your parents, and the importance of reading books when you have lost your freedom. @tolokno on Twitter @nadyariot on Instagram. Check out everything from music videos to anti-surveillance makeup tutorials on Pussy Riot’s YouTube www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYcCfKYfYMcuCsem8z5CyQ Read & Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism www.harpercollins.com/products/read-riot-nadya-tolokonnikova? Comradely Greetings: The Prison Letters of Nadya and Slavoj www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/20819758-comradely-greetings Get your Destroy the Patriarchy merchandise at pussyriot.store Support Nadya and Pussy Riot on Patreon: Patreon.com/pussyriot No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Leslie Salmon Jones, recorded July 5, 2019 at The Omega Institute. Leslie Salmon Jones is a professional dancer, yoga instructor, wellness coach, public speaker, and community activist. Along with her husband, Jeff W. Jones, she is the cofounder of Afro Flow Yoga. The pair work with community organizations to help develop mastery over their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-beings. AFY offers weekly classes, monthly workshops, teacher trainings and outreach programs to promote diversity and inclusion in Boston, New York, and worldwide. AFY workshops and retreats are also offered at The Omega Institute, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Festivals, Schools, Colleges and Universities, private events and at studios worldwide including Hawaii, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Bali, and Canada. Leslie’s work has been featured in Yoga Journal, Black Enterprise, Essence and Oprah Magazines, NPR, NBC, and ABC News. In this conversation, we talk about Leslie’s amazing family, growing up Black in an affluent Toronto neighborhood, learning how to speak your truth, The Cloud Club, how one’s body remembers trauma, the importance of self-compassion, finding your light in the darkest of times, and why the best way to mend your mind and body is through your breath. @AfroFlowYoga lesliesalmonjones.com afroflowyoga.com No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast

Amanda Palmer presents an intimate conversation with Eli Pariser, recorded July 24, 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Eli Pariser wants to make technology and media serve democracy, instead of the other way around. He is an author, activist, and entrepreneur who became executive director of MoveOn.org in 2004, where he helped pioneer the practice of online citizen engagement. Eli is also the co-founder of Upworthy, a website for meaningful viral content, and Avaaz, a global citizen's organization. His book, “The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You” not only introduced the term “filter bubble” to the world, but also kicked off a conversation about online discourse that has only become more pressing. He is the author of two TED Talks that focus on social media’s responsibility to the greater good. He currently co-directs, with Talia Stroud, the Civic Signals Project, which aims to support the creation of more flourishing digital public spaces. Check out his recent piece in Wired about how to create public spaces online. In this episode we talk about how we should attribute people’s actions to their situation instead of their character, controlling your environment to change your behavior for the good, applying urban planning theories to The Internet, inviting in the things you want in your life, why it is so hard to be an artist in America, having empathy for people you don’t agree with, the struggle to raise children with the right amount of determination and grit, and how shame is a cultural tool to create conformity. @elipariser https://www.elipariser.org TED: https://www.ted.com/speakers/eli_pariser Civic Signals: http://civicsignals.io/ Wired: https://www.wired.com/story/to-mend-a-broken-internet-create-online-parks/ No ads. No sponsors. No censorship. We are the media. Exclusive content is available to Patrons only. Go to Patreon. Become a member. Get extra stuff. Join the community at amandapalmer.net/podcast