Detoxicity: By Men, About Men, For Everyone

DetoxPod 79 : Jason Hare

Some of you might now that Detoxicity is not the only podcast I host and produce. Along with my music loving friends Jeff Giles and Jason Hare, I host a podcast called FM to MTV, which focuses on the pop music that the three of us grew up with, albeit in very different environments. In addition to being music nerds and great comic foils, I have been friends with Jeff and Jason now for over a decade. Jeff and I collaborated for a Detox episode a few weeks ago, and now it's Jason's turn. Our conversation takes quite a few turns as it covers Jason's career as a child actor in commercials, his relationships with his parents, his children and his partner, his activism on behalf of the trans community, and the ups and downs of our own relationship, which has weathered some turbulence over the years. I hope you appreciate listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. 

DetoxPod78 : Mike Rublin

Mike Rublin is a "recovering" musician, a social worker and a mental health advocate. He is also a proud Jersey native. Our interview covers a lot of ground; with special attention given to various forms of self-care and mental health. We talk about the pressure of having your actions live up to your words, why he finds fulfillment working with other men, what it's like to be bullied in school and to ultimately forgive those who did wrong against you, Mike explains the concept of "taking space" and "making space", and we'll see if I can convince him to get that piano stitched together to play music again. 
You can find Mike on IG at "avictoryrose".

DetoxPod 77: Bryan Mack

My love of music tends to direct me towards quite a few potential podcast guests, and the seeds for this week's episode were sown earlier this year when I joined a bracket style music tournament held by my buddy Crispin Kott, who you might remember from episode 36.
 
That group introduced me to Bryan Mack, this episode's subject. Bryan is a music geek through and through. You'll find out just how much of a music geek he is during our conversation. In addition to collecting records and going to tons of shows, Bryan is also (I think) Detoxicity's first lawyer. He's a practicing attorney in the small town of Bishop, California, where he was born and raised. Bryan talks about the unscrupulous reputation a lot of lawyers have and what drew him to practice in the first place. We also talk about how small town life suits him, why live music is good for his body image, and we find out what lines he draws to achieve a better work-life balance.
 

DetoxPod 76 : Ethan Freckleton

Since I started doing this show, I've developed a bit of a thing about people who call themselves life coaches. There's a level of, dare I say, bullshit that I've detected with some of the people I've interviewed thus far that have felt the calling to coach others through life. So I approached my interview with Ethan Freckleton cautiously.
 
Thankfully, Ethan allayed my fears by being vulnerable, being honest and acknowledging that he doesn't come from a place of presumed superiority or enlightenment. He's fighting the good fight just like the rest of us and trying to help those through a combination of his own experience and the knowledge that there's still quite a journey ahead. I should add that Ethan, like many of my guests, is many things in addition to being a life coach. He's a musician, an author, and the host of the podcast The Fearless Storyteller. He lives up to the fearless and storyteller parts of this title during our conversation.

DetoxPod 75 : Evan Thomas

Earlier this year, Detoxicity's host, Mike Joseph, was located on the genealogy site 23 and Me by someone named Evan Thomas, who was indicated to be Mike's brother. After several months of communication, the two met in person and recorded this special episode of the podcast. Evan and Mike discuss the circumstances that led them to one another and how their lives and personalities came close to intersecting over the years. They also discuss living in the South, hanging up the "player card", interracial relationships and much more. 

DetoxPod 74 : Jeff Giles

Jeff Giles is a writer, first and foremost. He founded the pop culture website Popdose almost a decade and a half ago, and has also written for sites including Rotten Tomatoes, Paste, and Ultimate Classic Rock. Jeff has also written two books, including one called Llanview in the Afternoon: An Oral History of One Life to Live. He is not to be confused with the OTHER pop culture writer named Jeff Giles, who has written for Entertainment Weekly, among other outlets.
 
Jeff is also my co-host on my other podcast, FM to MTV, where we discuss the pop music we grew up with. In addition to his professional accolades, Jeff is a husband, a parent of two, and a good friend to many, including me. During our conversation, Jeff and I discuss everything from entrepreneurship to the difficulties of raising children who eventually become their own people. We also talk a fair amount about our own relationship, so you'll get a little insight into what makes us tick as friends.

DetoxPod 73 : Mike Bankhead

Mike Bankhead is a musician based in Dayton, Ohio. During our interview, Mike talks about his close knit local community and why the Midwest appeals to him. We discuss the cultural stigma that still exists around mental health in the Black community, and Mike shares a couple of interesting stories about his experiences with law enforcement. Our discussion also covers faith and theology, perfectionism and the awkwardness that comes with being in environments in which you might be considered an outlier. I realize I sound like a broken record when I talk about how much I enjoy these conversations, but this was a really fun one. Let's hear what happens when two Mikes collide.

DetoxPod 72: Brian Rosenworcel

Brian Rosenworcel, also known as the Thundergod, is the drummer for rock band Guster. Over the course of Guster's thirty years as an active unit, Brian has gained notoriety for not only his musicianship but his humorous and often quirky online presence as expressed on the band's road and studio journals. 
 
This was actually our second stab at recording. Our first attempt got thwarted by noise, but the good thing is that Brian is such a great conversationalist that it didn't matter that we were performing a do-over on an already recorded podcast. Brian has a lot to share regarding parenting, politics, what it takes to keep a relationship going three decades in, his band's fan base and the qualities he'd like to improve about himself.