Episode 378
with Hanif Abdurraqib, Nora McInerny, Nore Davis, and Alela Diane
Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello discuss what it means to be “Buggin’ Out” in their forties; music writer and New York Times bestselling author Hanif Abdurraqib explains how music is a vehicle for writing about life on the periphery; grief expert and podcaster Nora McInerny comments on the intersection of grief and desire; comedian Nore Davis riffs on the secret lives of school teachers; and singer-songwriter Alela Diane performs “Albatross” from her latest album "Cusp."
Hanif Abdurraqib
Author
If good writing gives us life, then Hanif Abdurraqib’s work is like oxygen – refreshing and vital. His 2017 collection of essays, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was named a book of the year by NPR, The Los Angeles Review, and The Chicago Tribune, among others. Abdurraqib’s wide-ranging lyrical prose and poetry encompass music, history, politics, pop culture, and sports, and his take on the things that comprise our current culture will make you wonder how you never saw it that way before. Website • Twitter
Nora McInerny
Podcaster & Author
Laugh so you don’t cry? Self-proclaimed “notable widow” and reluctant grief expert Nora McInerny believes you can (and should!) do both. Following a hellish six weeks in 2014 where she miscarried her second baby, lost her dad to cancer, and also lost her husband, Aaron, to a brain tumor, McInerny began to turn her personal grief into creative action. She wrote the critically-acclaimed memoir It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too), hosts the award-winning podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking, and founded the non-profit organization Still Kickin. Her follow-up memoir, "No Happy Endings", will be released in March of 2019. Nora McInerny is a master storyteller who combines heart and humor to spark a bright light in the darkness. Website • Twitter
Nore Davis
Comedian
If you take your stand-up straight, spiked with razor-sharp quips and pointed punch lines, then Nore Davis will be your comedy cup of tea. The New York-based writer and comedian has appeared on Comedy Central’s "Inside Amy Schumer", HBO’s "Last Week Tonight", and crushed his stand-up set on Conan. His self-produced Amazon special You Guys are Dope is out now and you can snag his freshly-released album, Too Woke, on the Blonde Medicine label. Socially conscious and consciously hilarious, Nore Davis’s high energy stage presence is the comedic brew we need to help us wake up. Website • Twitter
Alela Diane
Songwriter
Alela Diane is too busy creating to worry about your stereotypes around motherhood and art. The prolific Portland-based musician created the basis for her fifth album, Cusp, while on a three-week artist's residency when her first daughter was two years old. Alone and with the mental and emotional space to create, she was drawn to try and create space for music driven by the experience of motherhood. Diane moved away from her signature finger-picking guitar and generated the most piano-driven album of her career. She recorded the majority of the songs while pregnant with her second child, and her near-death experience birthing that daughter lead her up to the “cusp” of the album title. Artistic taboos be damned - Alela Diane is occupied with birthing more beautiful music into the world. Listen • Twitter
