Episode 563
with Laura Chinn, Mohanad Elshieky, and Jenny Conlee
Writer and director Laura Chinn (Florida Girls) discusses her memoir Acne, which tackles her racial identity, Scientology, and of course... very oily skin; standup comedian Mohanad Elshieky riffs on embarrassing encounters with TSA and Uber drivers; and multi-instrumentalist Jenny Conlee, of The Decemberists, performs "Hawk" from her solo album Tides: Pieces for Accordion and Piano. Plus, host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello hear from our listeners about what they obsessed over as teenagers.
Laura Chinn
Writer, Director, and Actor
Laura Chinn is a writer, comedian, actress, and director who has established herself as a creative mind to watch through her extensive catalog of work across multiple different mediums. Her debut memoir, Acne, follows Chinn as she hilariously remembers her struggle of growing up on the west coast of Florida as a mixed-race girl whose appearance doesn’t necessarily match her identity. Chinn recounts her life with a combination of laugh-out-loud recollections and heart-wrenching moments of introspection and self-love that expand beyond the typical memoir. Other themes in her work include humor, beauty, insecurities, and abandonment. Chinn also created and starred in Pop TV's beloved comedy Florida Girls. She was previously a producer and writer on the popular Fox series The Mick, a writer on Grandfathered, and made her directorial debut with Suncoast, a movie drama based on her adolescence. Website • Instagram
Mohanad Elshieky
Comedian and Humor Writer
Mohanad Elshieky is a New York-based comedian who is a complete joy to listen to. He also knows how to get down to business! He has made his national tv debut on Conan, has been featured on Comedy Central, and toured with the beloved POP UP Magazine. He has appeared in an episode of Epix’s “Unprotected Sets” and was listed as one of Thrillist’s "50 Best Undiscovered Comics." Mohanad, who most recently worked as a digital producer on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, has a special skill for making you laugh at the seemingly unlaughable. The Libyan-born comedian combines a deceptively laid-back demeanor with his whip-smart perspective on politics and culture. The Portland Mercury called him “an undisputed genius of comedy,” and he's been featured on podcasts such as Lovett or Leave It, Pod Save The People, and Harmontown. Elshieky zeroes in on topics that seem off limits - then surprises you with how hard you’re laughing. Website • Instagram • Twitter
Jenny Conlee
Multi-Instumentalist
Jenny Conlee, the multi-instrumentalist best known for her 23-year tenure as a member of indie icons The Decemberists, is stepping once more to center stage with the release of Tides: Pieces for Accordion and Piano. The humble yet deeply emotional album of instrumentals finds Conlee pulling from her vast well of influences and knowledge to work in a more neo-classical mode. Written during a week-long artist’s retreat on the coast of Washington State, Conlee found inspiration within the natural environment she was surrounded by: the ocean, sand, dune grass, wind, and a hawk she spotted hunting along the beach. The finished compositions are like an oil portrait of a seaside scene — multi-colored, richly textured, and able to draw on sense memories buried deep within the mind and body. Website • Instagram • Twitter
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Luke Burbank: [00:00:00] Hey, Elena. [00:00:00][0.2]
Elena Passarello: [00:00:01] Hey, Luke. How's it going? [00:00:02][0.9]
Luke Burbank: [00:00:02] It's going real well. It's nice to see your shining face and to quiz your sparkly mind with a little Station Location, That's right. Your glittery brain. Are you ready to do a little Station Location Identification, Examination? Okay, This is where I quiz Elena. About somewhere in the country where live was on the radio. She's got to figure out where I'm talking about. In this city, it is apparently illegal to throw an item across the street. This is not giving you any useful information, but it's just an amazing, dazzling detail. [00:00:35][32.3]
Elena Passarello: [00:00:35] I know it's a place with streets, so that [00:00:37][2.0]
Luke Burbank: [00:00:38] Okay, sure [00:00:38][0.0]
Elena Passarello: [00:00:38] Narrows something down. [00:00:38][0.0]
Luke Burbank: [00:00:39] Sure, sure. It is the fifth least populous state capital in the U.S. So it's a state capital, but it's a place that doesn't have a tremendous number of residents. [00:00:49][10.6]
Elena Passarello: [00:00:50] Juneau, Alaska. [00:00:51][0.5]
Luke Burbank: [00:00:52] Oh, you're in the sort of sort of right quadrant of the country. You're like, it's better than if you said Florida. Okay, how about this? This city was once home to several notable people, including L. Ron Hubbard, actors Gary Cooper and Dirk Benedict, and the musician Charley Pride. They all lived in this place. [00:01:14][22.1]
Elena Passarello: [00:01:15] Is it Helena, Montana? [00:01:16][0.9]
Luke Burbank: [00:01:17] Oh my gosh! [00:01:17][0.0]
Elena Passarello: [00:01:17] Did I get it? I was going to say that. Or South Dakota. [00:01:19][1.7]
Luke Burbank: [00:01:19] I am genuinely shocked. Helena, Montana, where we are on the radio, on KYPH radio, part of the Yellowstone Public Radio Network. So shout out to folks out there. Are you ready to keep riding this high right into the actual show? [00:01:34][14.3]
Elena Passarello: [00:01:34] I am amped. [00:01:35][0.4]
Luke Burbank: [00:01:35] All right. Take it away. [00:01:36][0.6]
Elena Passarello: [00:01:37] From PRX. It's LIVE WIRE. This week, writer and director Laura Chinn. [00:01:49][12.9]
Laura Chinn: [00:01:50] I mean, I've never met anyone who was like extremely funny and had like a great life and like, great parents and like a great dad. I've never seen that. [00:02:00][9.6]
Elena Passarello: [00:02:01] And comedian Mohanad Elshieky. [00:02:02][0.9]
Mohanad Elshieky: [00:02:04] And then he was like, Are you into NFT and crypto? And I was like, honestly, I would rather, if you said something racist, like why? [00:02:13][8.9]
Elena Passarello: [00:02:15] With music from Jenny Conlee and our fabulous house band. I'm your announcer Elena Passarello, and now the host of Live Wire: Luke Burbank. [00:02:26][10.6]
Luke Burbank: [00:02:28] Thank you so much, Elena Passarello. Thanks to everyone for tuning in from all across America for this week's episode of Live Wire, which is going to be a good one. We've got a listener question that we posed earlier in the week. We asked our listeners what's something that took up a ton of brain space for you as a teen but you no longer think about. This is kind of tied to Laura Chinn's memoir called "Acne." She was someone who dealt with that, and it was pretty much all her brain could think about as somebody who also had that same problem in high school, I can very much identify with that. So we're going to hear the listener answers to that question coming up in just a bit. First, though, it's time for the best news we heard all week. This is our little reminder that there is good news happening out there in the world. Elena, what's the best news you heard? Oh. [00:03:18][49.7]
Elena Passarello: [00:03:19] You are going to love this. First of all, did you know Luke Burbank that not every state has its official state fruit declared? [00:03:26][7.7]
Luke Burbank: [00:03:28] No, but I see an opportunity for us to maybe lead the charge in. One of these states were on the radio. [00:03:33][4.9]
Elena Passarello: [00:03:33] Right. Well, we're definitely out of luck here in Oregon, where the state fruit is decidedly the pear. But there was actually an article about this in a magazine for kids called Scholastic and a fourth grade class in Madison, Mississippi, was learning about, I think, the state of Kansas, which last year dedicated its first state fruit, the sand plum, which that charge was led by some elementary school kids. And the students of Mannsdale Upper Elementary in Madison, Mississippi, were like, well, if they got to play a part in naming their state fruit, we want to have everything to do with the Mississippi state fruit. And these are fourth graders and their fourth grade teacher, Ms. Lisa Parenteau was out with them at recess after they discussed the article and she heard her fourth graders going, I want watermelon, I want apples, I want grapes. [00:04:24][50.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:04:24] They're like arguing about or let's just say discussing which fruit should be the Mississippi state fruit. [00:04:29][5.2]
Elena Passarello: [00:04:30] Yeah. And she just saw her teacher nose started twitching and she saw an opportunity to make an incredible lesson in physics. Listen to what they did. They contacted the Mississippi state extension, which is some kind of agricultural entity and learned about fruit production in the sovereign state of Mississippi. And they learned that maybe watermelon isn't the best choice, but blueberries are the most grown fruit in the state. They learned that blueberries are great because they can be grown industrially or at home in people's private gardens, which they thought was a wonderful kind of egalitarian choice. And then they had to learn how to get this under the noses of the House of Representatives. They called their House rep who showed up and did a class visit on how a bill becomes law. And then they wrote House Bill 1207. She suggested they send handwritten letters persuading lawmakers to pass this bill. And as of February 2023, blueberries win. The new official state fruit of Mississippi is the blueberry thanks to these adorable kids and they all put on blue shirts and grabbed blue balloons and they went to the state capitol. And in the governor's office, they all stood around the governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, while he signed the bill into a law, and he posted a photo of it on his social media and said, this is all thanks to the initiative of these fourth grade students. They led the way and rallied the legislature to their cause. [00:06:02][92.1]
Luke Burbank: [00:06:03] That is such a cool story about these young people learning that they actually can have an impact on the world that they're living in. The story that I thought was the best news I heard all week, it actually happened a while ago, but I just sort of found out about it. It actually involves this boat race that I've been very interested in since I watched a Netflix documentary about it. It's called The Golden Globe Race. They started it in 1968, and it was a race around the world. It was sponsored by this newspaper. And the rules were you couldn't stop anywhere. You couldn't get towed by anyone and you had to sail solo. And a bunch of people left out on this race. Some people lost their minds. One guy did two laps. The winner guy just was like, I'm doing another one. He got too cool with being out there. So the race went away, but they revived it in 2018 and they've been having it again. And so in this latest incarnation of the race, there were 16 people who competed, including a South African woman named Kirsten Neuschafer. She has had this incredible life. She's only 41, but she's lived in all these amazing places. She's ridden her bike up and down these continents. She's just one of these people who is just fearless. So she's out there. She's sailing along. Things are going well. What she has brought along for entertainment, right, are a bunch of books in different languages because she's already a polymath, right? She speaks multiple languages, but she's trying to learn some other, maybe less well known languages. She's got novels in these various languages. And one of the books that she's reading while she's out there is by a Finnish guy named Tapio Lehtinen, who had actually sailed in the race years ago. And he wrote a book about sailing in this race. And she's out there in the middle of nowhere in the Indian Ocean. She's reading the book written by this Finnish guy, and she hears over her radio that this guy, his boat has sunk in the Indian Ocean, the guy whose book she's reading, and that he is in a lifeboat and she is the closest person to him. So she takes her cell phone out of this locked compartment where it was supposed to be, turns it on, gets the GPS going, sails all through the night and finds this dude in his lifeboat in the Indian Ocean. [00:08:14][130.8]
Elena Passarello: [00:08:15] O-M-G. [00:08:15][0.0]
Luke Burbank: [00:08:16] Right. And then he gets on board. They drink rum and celebrate. Eventually, this cargo ship is coming by, so they put the Finnish guy on the cargo ship. She locks her phone back up and keeps racing. Elena, would you believe she won the race? What? Oh, she totally assumed she lost after making a detour to save a Finnish guy. She pulls into the same town in France that I won't try to pronounce because my French is spotty at best. She pulls into the same town that she had left from some eight months earlier, and all of her friends from all over the world are along the lake dock and the banks of the water because she is one and she had no idea she won the race around the world. So shout out to Kirsten Neuschafer for an incredible, incredible accomplishment. And that is the best news that I heard all week. All right. Let's get on over to our first guest. She's been making TV for over a decade as an actor, writer and director, including the show "The Mick" and also "Children's Hospital." And she created and starred in the critically acclaimed and beloved show called Florida Girls, which was on pop TV. Her debut memoir, "Acne" tackles family, happiness, love, loss, Scientology, very oily skin. BuzzFeed calls it an engaging and touching journey, which it really is. This is Laura Chinn, recorded at the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland. Hi. Hello, Laura. We're so happy to have you on the show. [00:10:05][108.6]
Laura Chinn: [00:10:05] I'm so happy to be here. Hi. [00:10:07][1.5]
Luke Burbank: [00:10:08] This book is really incredible to me. Like, you know, there are there's the celebrity memoir that comes out and, you know, it's fine, but it's just kind of a recitation of events in their life. And then there's what you've done with this book, Acne, which is just take us on a journey. Just every chapter surprised me. It was so funny and so heartfelt. I really enjoyed it. [00:10:31][23.2]
Laura Chinn: [00:10:31] Because I'm not a celebrity. [00:10:32][0.6]
Luke Burbank: [00:10:33] That's the problem. Yeah. Have you been to many celebrities? [00:10:35][2.0]
Laura Chinn: [00:10:38] Thank you so much. Thank you. It was a journey to write a lot, a lot of sharing, maybe oversharing, maybe TMI, maybe mild panic attacks after turning it in, maybe mild panic attacks, still knowing that it's out in the world. [00:10:52][14.6]
Luke Burbank: [00:10:53] One of the things that you talk about early in the book is the fact that you're mixed race. Your father is black, your mother is white, but you don't maybe physically appear the way some people might expect that to look. How old were you when you figured that out? And what was that like for you? [00:11:07][13.8]
Laura Chinn: [00:11:08] Well, my parents didn't tell me I was half black. And I know that seems like something that you can maybe figure out on your own. But if you're if you're I was born into a household where every single person had a different skin color, so I never questioned it and no one ever talked to me about it. So I assumed it didn't mean anything, which like it shouldn't. But then, yeah, as I got older, my parents moved me from Los Angeles, where you could maybe get away with having that belief system to Florida, where. Yeah, yeah, where that belief system doesn't fly. So I quickly when I was nine years old, I went to public school and quickly learned that skin color is a really big deal. And I came home and asked them all about it and she was like, We should talk to you about this a long time ago. So I think back then it was less about figuring out my racial identity and figuring out what racial identity meant, you know, and like trying to catch up with that. [00:12:05][57.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:12:06] Your mom spins you a fantasy about what Florida is going to be like, and you're moving out there, I think, to Clearwater, Right. Which is a big center of Scientology. A lot of people may not know that that was something your family was involved in when you were young. And then when you got to Florida, it did not align with the stories that you were being told about what Florida was going to be like. [00:12:25][19.0]
Laura Chinn: [00:12:26] Yeah, they sold us on like that. It was a beach town and that we would be making sandcastles all the time, you know, like it was very much sold as like this magical place. And then we showed up at a house that was condemned, like there were condemned stickers on the windows and, and there was like, there was no kitchen in the house. Like, there was like a room where a kitchen used to be that smelled like food had been cooked in it, but there was no sign of like a stove or fridge. So it was, it was tricky. I definitely felt like I'd been conned, but. And it was hot, like, so hot. Yeah, it's it's traumatizing. I think people need to have more empathy for Florida, honestly. [00:13:04][38.1]
Luke Burbank: [00:13:06] Right, I agree with you. [00:13:06][0.3]
Laura Chinn: [00:13:06] I do. I think when you're that ***in hot, it's hot. It's you. It's hard to be normal and make, like, rational decision. Yeah. And I don't I don't hear that talked about enough. Right. Like there's a lot of like Florida man, Florida woman, you know, like there's a lot of like finger pointing at Florida, but there's not enough empathy for what we're going through temperature wise. [00:13:34][27.7]
Luke Burbank: [00:13:35] I spent a summer in Miami, and it was the craziest summer of my life. Just based on humidity. Yeah, It's like it bends reality around it and. [00:13:43][8.6]
Laura Chinn: [00:13:43] You're suddenly like, maybe I could do meth in my car. [00:13:46][2.2]
Elena Passarello: [00:13:46] Yeah, With an alligator. [00:13:47][0.7]
Laura Chinn: [00:13:47] With an alligator! Yeah. [00:13:47][0.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:13:48] On that note, we should probably take a quick break here on Live Wire. We're talking to the writer Laura Chinn about her book "Acne." We're going be back with more with Laura in a moment here on Live Wire. Welcome back to Live Wire from PRX. I'm Luke Burbank here with Elena Passarello. We're at the Alberta Rose Theater in Portland, Oregon, this week. And we are talking with the writer Laura Chinn about her book "Acne." Now, one of the things that I noticed in this book was that you had a lot of moments in your in your growing up life and even in your adulthood where something kind of embarrassing was happening and you sort of converted that into humor, like you were trying to laugh along with everyone to sort of stay one step ahead. And you're also a very funny person. This book is funny. Your TV stuff is funny. Do you think there's any truth to the idea that, like, trauma and tragedy makes somebody funny, builds into comedy, or is it just bad things happen to everyone and some people unrelatedly happen to be funny and you're one of them. [00:16:16][147.2]
Laura Chinn: [00:16:16] I mean, I think it's a coping mechanism for sure. I think it's, you know, it's a protection. You don't have to ever get too serious with anybody because you can joke around with them, you know, like it's like a mental illness that people enjoy is kind of. Yeah. I mean, I've never met anyone who was like, extremely funny and had, like a great life and like, great parents and like, a great dad. I've never seen that. Right. But I also think there are people who go through, like, extensive trauma and aren't hilarious, right? So, yeah, I don't think it's a rule. [00:16:52][35.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:16:53] The title of this book is "Acne," and it deals a lot with your skin when you are again a teenager and into your adulthood. When did you first notice something different was going on for you then the like, typical teenager, you know, hormonal stuff? [00:17:06][13.1]
Laura Chinn: [00:17:07] Oh, it always felt like I was the only one who had. And I know that's not true. It's just narcissism, I guess. But like, it just it always seemed like everyone else around me had like an occasional pimple, and I was like a face full of acne. But I think like maybe year five or something, you know, like maybe my, like second round of Accutane, I was like, What the hell's going on? But yeah, I mean, I think it was that it was like trying things and having it not go away. And, and then the older I got, then you start to, you know, everyone else starts to really grow out of it and you're like kind of growing more into it somehow. [00:17:40][33.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:17:41] I had not great skin when I was in high school, and it was the centerpiece of my whole life, you know, just thinking about all the time. And one of the things you do in this book I think that's so interesting is you really describe how central to your life it can be, particularly when you're a teenager and you're insecure for people who have had the luck to not know what it's like. Can you kind of describe what it was, what it was like for you to have this going on? [00:18:02][21.3]
Laura Chinn: [00:18:03] I don't want to talk to those people. I don't like talking to people who have never had acne. It does. It takes over your whole everything, every conversation, everyone who's you know, if you're looking at somebody, you're thinking they're staring at your skin everywhere you go, everything you wear, you know, there's all these, like, insane rules about, like, you can't wear red if you, you know, like you become obsessive about this thing. And and even, you know, in your mind, it's so much, you know, it's so awful for other people like you think other people are having a bad day because you have acne, which is, you know, insane. And when I see somebody else with a breakout on their face, I think nothing of it. I don't think anything. I think people are gorgeous and all skin is gorgeous. And I'm like, it's nothing. But when it's me, I'm like, I'm a monster. So yeah, I mean, it's tough. [00:18:52][49.4]
Luke Burbank: [00:18:53] You write in the book that you had a face for TV, but the skin for radio, to which I would say, How dare you, Laura Chinn? [00:19:01][8.5]
Laura Chinn: [00:19:06] I have set off lot of radio deejays with that. [00:19:08][2.0]
Luke Burbank: [00:19:10] Now, another part of this book, a pretty substantial part, is your relationship with your brother and your brother's illness. Who's your older brother? And when he was pretty young, like late, maybe late teens. He was he was diagnosed with a tumor that ultimately robbed him of his sight and his sound and eventually his life. The book really kind of walks the line between I mean, I guess maybe, again, using humor as a coping mechanism. And you write about this, this point where you're sort of admitting your brother to hospice. Yeah. But he's always wanted to go to this place called Freedom Village, which was like a place where where people could live with assistance but live on their own. And he asks your mom if you're at Freedom Village. And she has a really hard because he doesn't have sight or sound at this point. So he has a your mom has a really hard decision to make. [00:20:00][49.7]
Laura Chinn: [00:20:01] Yeah, well, yeah, because he couldn't hear or see and he was bound to a wheelchair at that point. He lost the ability to walk and he really. Yeah. He had this dream of living in an assisted facility, and he was 21 at the time, and he really wanted to move out and get a place of his own. And, you know, the doctors told us he has like a couple of months left, you know, So they were like, it's time to move into him, into hospice. And when we were at hospice, he being in a new place, he kind of sense to you somewhere new. And he asked my mom, am I at Freedom Village? Like, did I finally get my own apartment? And she looked at me and we're like, Oh, God. And. Basically like we can either try to explain to him with like sign language and his like a very small amount of his like brain that's functioning, that he's dying, you know, going into hospice. It might have taken us months to to tell him this. Or we could just say, Yeah, you're in Freedom Village and you're in your own apartment, you know? And so my mom and I looked each other at. My mom was just like, Yeah, you're in Freedom Village, buddy, you know? And he was so happy that he got his own apartment. And it was like this. It was this, like, incredible moment of, like, him feeling like he'd gotten away from home and he was free. And then my mom and I being like, Is there like, a place in hell for us now? Like, what is this? What is the what are the morals here. [00:21:16][75.0]
Luke Burbank: [00:21:16] Called containment village for people that lied to their [00:21:19][3.1]
Laura Chinn: [00:21:19] Ultimately was like so wonderful because he spent the last, like, you know, remaining weeks of his life, like thinking that he had gotten out and was independent and and it became more and more clear to him that he was dying, you know, like he he sort of he went out and was able to process his death as well. But it was like much better than telling him he was in hospice. But yeah, kind of dark. [00:21:41][21.7]
Luke Burbank: [00:21:41] Was it was it hard for you to revisit this stuff in your life? Because it is it's really intense and then you're kind of excavating it to to write this book. [00:21:50][8.4]
Laura Chinn: [00:21:50] Yeah. I mean, I definitely cried a lot while writing it. It definitely was like, you know, cathartic. But also stuff that I talk about in therapy all the time, you know, like my therapist got like a break. They're like, Thank God she's writing a book. [00:22:03][12.4]
Luke Burbank: [00:22:08] I love that idea of misdirection from a therapist, like throwing a ball for a dog; get a book deal. [00:22:14][6.4]
Laura Chinn: [00:22:16] Maybe you should write this down so I can stop hearing about it. But yeah, it was. It was really healing. But it wasn't. I didn't write about anything that was so tender that I was like, I can't, you know, like, I, you know, there's there's far darker stuff that I'm saving for my next book. [00:22:33][17.0]
Luke Burbank: [00:22:33] Really. I sure hope not for you, because there are some very serious, you know, moments in this book, which is also, I want to stress a very funny book like it's not please don't get the wrong idea. [00:22:44][10.8]
Laura Chinn: [00:22:44] Don't be scared. [00:22:45][0.3]
Elena Passarello: [00:22:45] What I love about it is that it reminds me of things from my own life where when you describe the situation, it sounds really dark, but when you think about the things that happened inside of it, there's absurdity, there's levity, there's joy, there's like a lot of tenderness. And so the dark stuff has so many layers to it, which I think that takes a lot of work to be able to really hit all those levels because people immediately, when they read about the situation, they go, Oh, this is sad. Yeah, right. Yeah. Did you have like a like a strategy for I know you write comedy and you know how to tell stories on television. [00:23:20][35.0]
Laura Chinn: [00:23:22] I think I just think things are funny that are sad, you know, like, I think it's just I think I just genuinely find a lot of humor in things that I laugh a lot more at, like movies that have, like, deep emotional through lines, you know, than I do. I'm a sociopath. I'm realizing it right now in real time. Like I if I care more, if I'm emotionally invested in something, like, I'll laugh a lot more. And and then I feel like there's like a really thin line between, like, hysterical laughing and hysterical crying. And I experience that for such a large part of my life. You know, if I'm in in the audience somewhere and something's taking itself too seriously, like I get church giggles and I have to excuse myself. Yeah, like I get really intense, like hot sweats. And I'm like, Oh, no. Like, if the play if I'm watching a play and the person's like, on their deathbed and everyone's really serious on stage, I'm like, Oh, no. Like, I'm going to laugh and I can't help it. And, and I have to leave, I have to leave. [00:24:17][55.7]
Luke Burbank: [00:24:18] Is that, is that why you had to leave Scientology? Because the church giggles? [00:24:21][2.7]
Laura Chinn: [00:24:23] Too much church giggles. Yeah. So that's that's been my my relationship with with humor, I think is that I find sad things to be quite funny. And yeah some people agree and other people are like, what's wrong with you? Yeah. [00:24:32][9.0]
Luke Burbank: [00:24:33] One of the things that I also found really interesting about this book is that you are both very suspicious of like woo woo stuff. Yeah. Like for in terms of like New Age health remedies, but you've had along with your skin, you had a like some back problems, you've had some health challenges which you also write have been help for you through stuff that has you actively rolling your eyes. Yeah, like one you call your ghost doctor. [00:24:56][23.0]
Laura Chinn: [00:24:57] Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:24:58][0.7]
Luke Burbank: [00:24:58] How do you hold these two things at the same time? Not believing in it, but feel like it heals you? [00:25:02][4.2]
Laura Chinn: [00:25:04] Well, because I go into everything very skeptical, and then I'm usually wrong. Like I go into everything being like, Oh, God, crystals. Here we go, you know? And then the woman puts crystals all over me and I'm like, Oh, my God, I've never felt better in my life. [00:25:16][12.3]
Luke Burbank: [00:25:17] You had this doctor tell you your skin was inflamed because your brain was inflamed. [00:25:22][5.4]
Laura Chinn: [00:25:23] She was like, You're furious. Yeah. She was like, [00:25:25][2.6]
Luke Burbank: [00:25:26] And that worked? You punched a pillow. [00:25:27][0.6]
Laura Chinn: [00:25:28] It worked. I mean, I punched many pillows. Like, pillows are terrified of me. Terrified. Like this woman was like, Your skin is red because your mind is red and your emotions are red and you're hot and you're angry. You need to get anger out and you're mad at your parents and you're mad at the world and dahdahdah. And at the time I was like, I'm not mad at all, actually. I'll make several jokes and I'll be fine. And then I sort of slowly through going to her and sort of realizing how incredibly furious I was. It helped my skin a ton, releasing that kind of like, pent up rage, you know? And yeah, and the more you sort of see these sort of magical things start to work, the more your, you know, the skepticism goes away. [00:26:07][39.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:26:08] I think I don't want to sound pat, but I do think that there's a big piece of this book that's about self-acceptance, about you trying to accept yourself. You know, however you are and whatever you've been through. Do you feel like you've learned how to do that for yourself? And can any of us really, truly accept ourselves? I want to end on kind of a light question. [00:26:26][17.8]
Laura Chinn: [00:26:30] That's it's a fantastic question, I think. I think I get better and better and better at it. I think writing a book about something that I carried so much shame for was extremely helpful, you know, like towards that. And I think seeing how if I'm vulnerable, other people are vulnerable with me and I connect with humans more, not less. And I'm actually safer, not less safe. You know, the more vulnerable you are, the more you show your flaws, the more you're open. And all of those things are incredibly validating. You know, you're like, I'm not a monster, I'm a freak. You know, like, other people feel these things and we're not alone. And those that helps with self-love, that helps with self-acceptance. But then, oh my God, there are days where I'm just like, I can't believe I'm allowed to breathe air. And, you know, it fluctuates, but it's definitely if it was a graph, it's definitely gone up since childhood and maybe there's like an ending, but I think it's probably in a monastery, you know, like, I don't think it's like through, you know, the entertainment industry. You reach the top of the industry and you have your Academy Award and you're like, Now, I like myself. No, I don't think it works like that. [00:27:35][65.8]
Luke Burbank: [00:27:36] You're having great success. You directed a movie with Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson. Yeah, That's coming out soon, right? It's previewing. I mean, that's amazing. [00:27:43][7.3]
Laura Chinn: [00:27:44] Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I wrote a script, finished the script during the pandemic, and then we got those actors involved and we got a studio involved. And, yeah, we shot the movie last summer, and we're editing it right now. [00:28:00][16.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:28:00] Well, yeah, it sounds like it's going to be amazing. Those are a couple of top notch folks. Laura Chinn, the book is called "Acne." Thanks for coming on Live Wire. That was Laura Chinn right here on Live Wire. Her new book, "Acne," is available now. Live Wire is brought to you in part by Alaska Airlines. Alaska Airlines offers the most nonstop from the West Coast, including destinations like Hawaii, Palm Springs and San Francisco. And as a member of the OneWorld alliance, Alaska Airlines can connect you to more than 1000 destinations worldwide with their global partners. Learn more at Alaska Air dot com. You're listening to Live Wire. Of course. Each week we ask our listeners a question in honor of the theme of Laura's book. We asked our listeners what is something that took up a ton of brain space for you as a teen that you no longer think about. Elena has been collecting up those responses. What are you seeing? [00:29:12][71.3]
Elena Passarello: [00:29:12] Oh, I love this one. From Lowenthal. Lowenthal spent a lot of time thinking about quicksand, survival techniques. [00:29:19][6.8]
Luke Burbank: [00:29:21] Thank you. I assumed it was either going to be quicksand or hot lava that was going to take me. Right. And then that whole scene in The Princess Bride when they're in the fire swamp. Yeah. You know, I thought The Princess Bride was possibly a documentary when I was seven, so. [00:29:35][14.6]
Elena Passarello: [00:29:36] Do we need to talk about The Neverending Story? Because, yes, I think that's more my trauma lives. [00:29:41][5.3]
Luke Burbank: [00:29:42] Atreyu get stuck in there or the horse does or something. [00:29:45][2.9]
Elena Passarello: [00:29:45] Yeah, Artax the horse with Atreyu. [00:29:46][1.3]
Luke Burbank: [00:29:47] Oh, man. Yeah. What is another thing that used to take up a lot of brain space for one of our listeners? [00:29:52][4.6]
Elena Passarello: [00:29:53] How about this one From Tess. Tess says, For the six months I was learning to drive, I obsessed over backing around a corner. But who actually does that? That's true. [00:30:04][11.4]
Luke Burbank: [00:30:05] I can't think of. Yeah, I'm 47. I can't think of a time when I've actually done that. The other problem now for me, I don't know what's going on your vehicle, Elena, but I've got one of those little cameras that. That now helps me see what's going on behind the car. But occasionally I'll be in a different car or driving like my dad's truck, and it doesn't have the camera. All of my abilities to operate a motor vehicle are atrophying because of the technology that's helping me in my car. [00:30:31][25.9]
Elena Passarello: [00:30:31] Amen. I used to parallel park like a dream after ten years in Pittsburgh. I mean, I could parallel park like it was. It was like challenge accepted. And now I'm like, Oh, I better look on the television. So it'll tell me what to do. [00:30:43][11.5]
Luke Burbank: [00:30:43] All right. One more thing that one of our listeners spent far too much time in their youth worrying about. [00:30:48][4.3]
Elena Passarello: [00:30:48] Well, this one, I think, is for the younger crew members, is Merryn spent a lot of time thinking about promposals. Do you know this term? [00:30:56][8.1]
Luke Burbank: [00:30:57] I do know about this term. [00:30:58][1.4]
Elena Passarello: [00:30:59] I got asked to the prom across a crowded cafeteria and somebody just like pointed at me and then pointed at the prom banner and then made like the shrug emoji sign. But, you know, and that's how I that's how I got asked to the prom. [00:31:11][12.1]
Luke Burbank: [00:31:12] I actually got asked to the prom by somebody who approached me and said, I know you're going to say no, but would you go to the prom with me? And then I was like, Well, I have to say yes just to prove them wrong. And so I did. And we had a lovely time. [00:31:22][10.6]
Elena Passarello: [00:31:23] So reverse psychology. [00:31:23][0.6]
Luke Burbank: [00:31:24] It works. It works. So, All right. Thanks to everyone who sent in a response to our listener question. We got another one for next week's show coming up at the end of today's program. In the meantime, our next guest is one of our all time favorite comedians. He was born in Libya. He spent some years in Portland, which is where we first met him before he moved to New York City to work on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. He's currently the co-host of the political comedy podcast Reply Guys. Take a listen to Mohanad Elshieky right here on Live Wire. [00:31:54][29.6]
Mohanad Elshieky: [00:32:03] Last time I was in Portland, I called this Uber to come pick me up and this guy shows up in a Tesla. And I was like, you know, amazing. A fellow intellectual, you know? And I get in front of his car and he looks at me and he's like, This is this carry on a suitcase yours? And I'd like the ones I'm holding. I was like, Yeah, I'm going to roll the dice here and say, Yeah, they're mine. And then you're like, I don't have space for this. And I was like, What? And he was like, I don't have space for this. He should have let me know beforehand that I was like, You know what? My bad. I should have let you know that I would have those with me. I just thought that you could tell from context clues, like the fact that you were picking me up from the airport. Like, I'm like, Are you new here on this planet? Like, what's going on? Do you think I work here? I don't. I just. I just arrived. And then I got onto his car and and, you know, he saw my name on his phone and he was like, Hey, man, how do you say this? So I know how to address you? And I was like, No need to address me. Like, whatever you think it is, just keep it here. I'm sure it's correct, you know? And he insisted and I was like a Mohanad. And then he was like, What? It's Mohanad. Then he was like, That's interesting. And I was like, Keep going, I want to hear it. And then he said, They're just here in the States. It's usually pronounced Muhammed. And I was like, Honestly, a great point. You know, like it's it's not how names work, but I, I really appreciate the perspective. This is great. And then, like I remember halfway through the ride, he just looks at me out of nowhere and he's like, Hey, man, I'm going to ask you something. And I know this is going to be like maybe like a white dude thing to ask. And I was like, Yeah, you don't need to tell me like, my eyes. Give me the heads up. And then he was like, Are you into NFTs and crypto? And I was like, honestly, I would rather than if you said something racist, like, why? I was like this is the worst thing anyone has said to me. Why would you like? No. And the place he was driving me to. So he was driving me to a prison here in Portland. And. And because I used to teach a workshop there, and. But he didn't know that was the reason I was going there. So he asked me if I had any plans for the day, and I was like, My man, I don't have any plans today or the next 10 to 5 years. Hopefully I. I just decided this morning, I'm just so tired of running. And I think it's time for me to see of consequences, you know, sort of some justice for the families and. And then he stopped talking to me. So I think it worked. And I love that he thought I was walking into a prison. What a carry on will just be like, Oh, hello. You got to get room service here. What's the vibe, huh? Not the worst car ride I've ever had, you know, like, well, like because maybe like ten years ago or so, I was driving my car back home, and I'm originally from from Libya. Not to brag. And back then, you drive your car and you were like checkpoints everywhere. And what if these checkpoints were controlled by these like, like religious and like militias and stuff like that? And when I say, like, religious militias, I mean groups like ISIS. I'm not sure if you guys remember them. They used to be big on like YouTube and stuff. I haven't posted in a while and I think about them sometimes, you know, I'm like, did they make it through the pandemic, you know? Which I'm sure they did. You know, like, those guys always wore masks, so. So I'm sure ISIS is doing fine. But so last time I was traveling, I was going through the TSA. And sometimes when you go through the TSA, you see something in your bag that you don't recognize. So they have to take it out and look at it. And the thing that they saw my carry on was this notebook. You know, and if you're listening to this on the radio, imagine a notebook. And the agents were like, mesmerized by them like this. We've never seen anything like this before. And one of them opened it and he was looking inside and I was like, What are you doing? And he was like, Oh, I just want to see what's inside, you know, like inside the notebook, probably words, you know, like, are you not familiar with words? They're like speech that you hear with your eyes. Yeah. And then we had some back and forth, and then he finally, you know, gave it to me. And the only reason I didn't want to look inside is because I write my jokes here, and I don't write them fully. I just, like, write one line to remind me what a joke is. And on the way at the airport, this is a new notebook. So I wrote like this line that I was like, I should tell this line. It would be so funny. So this notebook was new. It was empty. And all it had was. I'm sure ISIS is doing just fine. And I don't know how to explain that to homeland security. You know, I can't be like, No, you guys don't get it. I just think it's funny. Also, after the pandemic, I under lockdown. I felt like my my small talk skills have became bad. So I decided to, you know, work on them and I was like, there is no better place than the next time I take an Uber or Lyft or something. So I did that in New York City and I get into over the last month and 2 minutes and the guy starts playing music and every song he played was something I either recently listened to or something I really liked. So, you know, I had to let him know. You know. So after each song he played, I would say, What a great song, man. Or I'd say, Oh, wow, look at that. He's doing it again. You know, just a fun guy in the back. We've all done it. And I. I didn't do that for long. I'd say like 20 minutes. And he did not apply it to me once the whole time. And I was like, I'm on a mission, you know, I'll get to him eventually. But then the music stopped, and what started playing next was my standup comedy, just like blaring on the speakers. And I was so terrified and I was like, Hey, man, do you know who this is? And he was like, What? And I was like, the guy doing stand up on the speaker is like, Do you know who that is? And he was like, No. And I was like, It's it's me. And he was like. Okay, cool. And I was like, My man, are you kidnaping me and gaslighting me? I don't like I don't like this. What are you doing here? What does that mean? And. And I was so terrified. I was like, something bad is going to happen. You know. And then I got to my destination and he was like, okay, man, good night. And I was like, My man, I don't know if this is a prank or something. I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it. And he was like, I don't know what you're saying right now. And I was like, I'm going to I'm never going to forget this. And then I opened the door and I, you know, started leaving. I took my bag out. I pulled my phone out of the charger, which didn't realized was an AUX cord. So just to clarify, it's it's been my phone connected to the speakers this whole time. And now there's a guy in New York City who thinks I'm a psychopath. I think what happened was I got into this man's car, the strangers car, and I played my own music for 20 minutes. And then after each song that I played. I said, What a great song, man. Oh, look at that. He's doing it again because psycho D.J. And then did not stop there. Oh, no. And then I played my own standup. And then I said, Hey, do you recognize the voice? Yes, the guy in the back. It's me right here. The voices are matching. It is definitely me, I can assure you 100%. Do you have their cameras around or something? Is this going to be on YouTube ads? May I just small talk working from you now. Okay. I haven't talked to people since. Anyway, thank you so much, everyone. I hope you have a good night. Thank you. [00:41:54][591.3]
Luke Burbank: [00:42:07] Mohanad Elshieky everyone! That was Mohanad Elshieky right here on Live Wire. You can find Mohanad on Instagram. He's at Mohanad Dot Elshieky. For more information on his shows and podcasts. I'm Luke Burbank, right here with Elena Passarello. We have to take a quick break, but don't go anywhere. When we come back, we're going to hear some music from Jenny Conlee from The Decemberists. You don't want to miss it. So stay with us. Welcome back to Live Wire from PRX. I'm Luke Burbank here with Elena Passarello. Before we hear our musical guest this week, a little preview of next week's show. We're going to be talking to the writer Erika L. Sanchez about her memoir, "Crying in the Bathroom," where she talks about a lot of things, including how Lisa Simpson became an early feminist hero for her. Then speaking of pop culture, we're going to chat with Sam Sanders. Sam is the host of Into It, which is an entire podcast about pop culture. Of course, you probably remember Sam from his days as the host of NPR's It's Been a Minute. And we can talk to Sam about his Pentecostal upbringing, which meant that he had to hide some of his love of pop culture. Then we're going to get some music from John Craigie himself. He is one of the funniest musicians we know and also one of the most musical funny people out there. So you're not going to want to miss that. And of course, we've got our listener question. Elena, what are we asking the fine Livewire fans for next week's show? [00:44:37][150.5]
Elena Passarello: [00:44:38] We want to know what is a pop culture moment that lives in your head rent free. [00:44:43][4.9]
Luke Burbank: [00:44:44] Right? [00:44:44][0.0]
Elena Passarello: [00:44:45] Max Headroom. [00:44:45][0.4]
Luke Burbank: [00:44:46] Oh, wow. That's a good one. (Remember him?) Yeah. Mine was probably at WrestleMania when Hulk Hogan body slammed Andre the Giant. But you could kind of tell Andre the Giant was helping him by jumping up on his arms. Anyway. [00:45:00][13.7]
Elena Passarello: [00:45:01] That's a good partner. [00:45:01][0.4]
Luke Burbank: [00:45:02] If you have if you have a response to that question, a pop culture moment that lives in your head, rent free. Go ahead and send in your response via Twitter or Facebook. We are at Live Wire Radio. All right. This is live wire from PRX or musical. Guest this week is a multi-instrumentalist probably best known for her 23 year tenure as a founding member of The Decemberists. Her latest solo album, Tides pieces for accordion and piano is incredible, and it is available now. This is Jenny Conlee, recorded at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton, Oregon. Thank you so much for coming on the show. [00:45:43][40.9]
Jenny Conlee: [00:45:43] Man, I'm excited. [00:45:44][0.4]
Luke Burbank: [00:45:44] Well, it's awesome to have you here. I'm curious, though, about this instrument that you're currently wearing. When did you start playing accordion? [00:45:51][6.2]
Jenny Conlee: [00:45:52] I think around 2000. Maybe 99. I wanted to have a portable instrument because we were on the road. My first band, Calobo. We would tour a lot and go to these festivals and there was these jam sessions and I was like, Oh, I don't get to play. So I ended up buying an accordion. Ever since I've been addicted. [00:46:13][20.6]
Luke Burbank: [00:46:14] Was that before the Decemberists came around? [00:46:15][1.8]
Jenny Conlee: [00:46:16] Yes. [00:46:16][0.0]
Luke Burbank: [00:46:16] So you were playing the accordion. You didn't have to like, have a meeting with the other Decemberists that goes: I'm going to explore my accordion phase. [00:46:24][7.4]
Jenny Conlee: [00:46:24] I wasn't that good at it. But when I met Colin from The Decemberists, he was like, I heard you play accordion. I'm like, Yeah, I do. I could just play the piano side of a pianist, right side. This was a mystery to me. But Colin was really interested in the sound, so we made the first the first record. That's only accordion, because it's like, Let's make this acoustic record. And so now I do all the things, but I still really love to play. [00:46:50][25.7]
Luke Burbank: [00:46:51] Is it really hard to learn? I mean, it seems like your brain is doing two wildly different things. [00:46:55][4.6]
Jenny Conlee: [00:46:56] It's true. I feel like you're playing three instruments, like you're playing piano, you're playing like a court organ over here, and then you're playing a bagpipe, you know, pushing in and out here. So. [00:47:05][9.1]
Luke Burbank: [00:47:06] Yes, it looks like it's a workout, too, depending on the song. [00:47:07][1.9]
Jenny Conlee: [00:47:08] Yeah. And I feel like it's harder than the piano, but I do like the load in better than all my keyboards I have to take on tour. [00:47:15][6.9]
Luke Burbank: [00:47:15] So I think Fred Armisen, who played in bands for a long time before he was the Fred Armisen we know, said being in a band is just being like an unpaid, moving company. Yeah, it's. [00:47:24][9.1]
Jenny Conlee: [00:47:25] It's mostly about schlepping. Yeah. Yeah. And waiting around. [00:47:28][3.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:47:30] Well, what song are we going to hear off your new album? [00:47:31][1.4]
Jenny Conlee: [00:47:32] Well, I want to play a song called Hawk. I did a I did a residency at the Sou'wester, which is a cool trailer park in Long Beach, Washington. And, yeah, I proposed to do seven pieces on the accordion in the seven Greek modes, which are different types of scales with kind of different sounds than we're used to. So I did each song looking at the scenario that I was seeing at the coast there. And this first one is called Hawk. So I want you to try to imagine a hawk up in a tree, scoping out the scenario, seeing its prey, and then phew going hunting. So and it's in the Dorian mode. And I [00:48:08][35.6]
Luke Burbank: [00:48:08] I could have told you that. [00:48:08][0.3]
Jenny Conlee: [00:48:09] You could? Well, here's. [00:48:09][0.4]
Luke Burbank: [00:48:09] Oh, probably. [00:48:10][0.2]
Jenny Conlee: [00:48:10] It has a spooky sound. I want you to hear the sound of it. It's like sad, happy. It's all the feelings in one. [00:48:20][10.2]
Luke Burbank: [00:48:21] Sad happy? Yes. Well, this is Jenny Conlee here on Live Wire. [00:48:25][4.2]
Jenny Conlee: [00:51:22] Thank you. [00:51:22][0.3]
Luke Burbank: [00:51:24] That was Jenny Connelly right here on Livewire. Her latest album, "Tides: pieces for accordion and piano," is available now. And that is going to do it for this episode of Live Wire. A huge thanks to our guests, Laura Chinn, Mohanad Elshieky and Jenny Conlee. Live Wire is brought to you in part by Alaska Airlines. [00:51:46][22.1]
Elena Passarello: [00:51:48] Laura Hadden is our executive producer. Heather de Michele is our executive director and our producer and editor is Melanie Sevcenko. Molly Pettit is our technical director and mixer. And our House Sound is by Neil Blake. Trey Hester is our assistant editor. Our marketing and production manager is Paige Thomas. Rosa Garcia is our operations associate. Tanvi Kumar is our production fellow and Yasmin Mehdian is our intern. Our house band is Ethan Fox Tucker, Sam Tucker, Ayal Alves and A. Walker Spring, who also composes our music. [00:52:17][28.9]
Luke Burbank: [00:52:17] Additional funding provided by the James F and Marion L Miller Foundation Live Wire was created by Robin Tenenbaum and Kate Sokoloff. This week we'd like to thank member Susan Stratton of Portland, Oregon. For more information about our show or how you can listen to our podcast. Head on over to Live Wire radio dot org. I'm Luke Burbank for Elena Passarello and the whole Live Wire team. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week. [00:52:40][22.4]
[00:52:56] PRX. [00:52:56][0.0]
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