WDEK Podcast Ep. 96: Lizz Winstead & Saidah Blount - 9/28/21

It's September! Fall has arrived and WDEK is not looking forward to the pumpkin spice lattes signage that will soon be everywhere!  Justin the Intern joins us from Duluth, Minnesota.  Christian and Shonali have just returned from visiting their parents in Chicago and Nashville.  They discuss the Jedi mind tricks of their respective parents.   

The brilliant Lizz Winstead, comedian, co-founder of the Daily Show, founder of Abortion Access Front and co-founder of Air America amongst joins us from her abode.  Find out how a 16 year old Lizz Winstead's life experience is directly connected to her activism today as the founder of Abortion Access Front.  Do you know about the thousands of fake "clinics" in the US used to intimidate and spread misinformation to women regarding abortion?  We discuss destigmatizing abortion and how men should contribute to the conversation surrounding reproductive rights.   Follow Lizz on Twitter here! She's doing shows in Portland and San Francisco in November - you lucky West Coasters!

Shonali Bhowmik, Lizz Winstead, Saidah Blount

Per her Twitter profile our second guest Saidah Blount describes herself as a music industry maven, corporate goth, Sonos Senior Manager, Global Content. She joins us along Game Changers! This is the first time ever we bring our guests together to share trivial tips and/or life lessons which have changed their lives.  We have some great ones for you this month including TSA Tips, bubble wrap tips, peeling egg tips, identity theft tips and more! Also Saidah's use of the term "frothed up" is a new one for Christian and Shonali. 

As a woman of color who has worked in the music industry for years, we asked Saidah about her feelings regarding the long awaited conviction of R. Kelly in a NYC courtroom just the day before this show was taped.  Have you heard of the saying "Dance now.  Deconstruct later?"  Saidah contemplates whether "music is too big to fail."  Topics of discussion include the "shady" music industry, the non-stop work of a working performing artist, being the only WOC in the workplace, recently being "sweethearted,"  the the over-usage of the term "cancel culture" used as a "dog whistle."  We get into it!  We also have lots of fun. Saidah shares what brings her joy these days which is a new concept being that she's a workaholic. Christian shares an urgent urban wildlife PSA.  And Saidah shares some hot music tips including Serpent With Feet and NAO.  We could talk forever as you clearly can here!  Enjoy your September and we will be back with another episode live on October 26, 2021 - 8PM EST!  

WDEK Podcast Ep. 91: Stefani Kuo & Meghan Linsey - 4/27/21

We warn Christian not to watch last week's viral rabid bobcat video in which this brave husband in North Carolina rescued his wife. Shonali loved it.  Christian as you all know is terrified of urban wildlife. 


Our first guest is an award winning playwright, poet & actress Stefani Kuo!  Stefani makes powerful and compelling art which often features stories from the Asian American community.  She describes her recent work The Conservation of Parity about a brilliant female Chinese physicist, Chien-Shiung Wu who immigrated to America and worked on the atomic bomb.  Stefani shares her thoughts on the state of American theater, the general lack of awareness Americans have regarding the Asian American community, Andrew Yang's candidacy for NYC Mayor, and great hiking spots in the NYC vicinity!  


Christian comes out of the Croc closet!  We discuss his new love of this controversial footwear and how far he is willing to take this new ugly journey. 

Our musical guest is singer-songwriter Meghan Linsey! You may know her from either her time as half of a duo Steel Magnolia which hit  #3 on the country music charts or her runner up win on The Voice Season 8. Shonali met her at honky tonk night in Nashville years ago, not knowing any of the above and just thought she was a lovely person she wanted to stay in touch with.  As we all have had rough years, Meghan is no exception. Her studio was hit by the Nashville tornados, her wedding had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, and there has been illness within her family - yet she manages the stress with a "go with the flow" attitude.  We discuss Nashville, feeling like an outsider, kneeling during the National Anthem at a NFL game, standing up for social justice, Alaska, and having a green thumb!  


Check out Meghan Linsey and Tyler Cain's duet Nowhere With You.  It's so beautiful!

Congrats to #JustinTheIntern Justin Hall for winning the Platinum Remi Award for short film drama at the Houston International Film Festival as director for Prologue, also written by our friend Piper Werle! 

Lastly thank you for being with us! Follow us on @wdekpodcast on all socials! Also Christian Felix is high maintenance! Love you! 

WDEK Podcast Ep. 90: Roxanne Khamsi & Rae Sanni - 3/30/2021

We are officially now a year into the pandemic! We are thankful for vaccines, our health, friends, family and this show.  Catching up on the heavy: Anti-Asian Hate, Chauvin trial, voter suppression & the good stuff: seafood enchiladas, the beach and puppy time!  Check out StopAAPIHate.org for ways to support the Asian American community now. 

Our first guest is our longtime friend & acclaimed science writer Roxanne Khamsi and notably she has focused her writing on viruses for years.  Roxanne moved to Montreal, Canada just over a year ago from NYC. We discuss where we are at with regard to conversations surrounding the coronavirus, washing vegetables, empathy, soaking cilantro and Canadian living.  Christian gives guidance on some of his favorite Montreal spots. 

Our second guest is currently Los Angeles based comedian and writer Rae Sanni who misses her hometown of NYC very much. Rae was a former staff writer for shows like The President's Show, The Good Place, A Black Lady Sketch Show.  We talk hoarding, comedy gigs during the pandemic, the virtual writer's room, & Rae's journey to making comedy a career choice.  Rae is OBSESSED with Reality TV.  She breaks down for us just why she loves certain reality tv shows over others.  Rae even makes Christian & Shonali want to become new audience members of the RHWOSLC (yes, there is now a Real Housewives of Salt Lake City!) When we get back to live performances, make sure you see Rae on stage! 

In honor of Women's History Month, we suggest you watch the new Tina Turner Documentary.  As Christian says, Tina Turner is a shero. Her remarkable strength, grace, will and her perseverance through her life's struggles is inspiration to us all.   To all stay diligent, enjoy the sunshine & thanks for supporting us all these years!  Follow us on our socials.  

WDEK Podcast Ep. 90: Roxanne Khamsi & Rae Sanni - 3/30/2021

WDEK Podcast Ep. 87: Shams DaBaron a.k.a. Da Homeless Hero & Ramsey Jones - 12/26/20

We end this grueling 2020 year with two awe-inspiring guests & Covid-19 survivors: Activist for the Homeless & Writer Shams DaBaron a.k.a. Da Homeless Hero and drummer extraordinaire & style guru Ramsey "Satellite" Jones with a special introduction by Jason "the Elf!"  He discusses his flex spending account issues.  Justin The Intern is here but is having wi-fi issues!

It's tit for tat at WDEK headquarters! Shonali & Christian discuss pandemic peer pressure, dogs in first class & Trump fatigue (note this is taped pre-insurrection!) 

We are so honored to have lifelong New Yorker, activist/writer Shams DaBaron a.k.a. Da Homeless Hero be our guest.  We discuss his path towards activism on behalf of the homeless while experiencing homelessness himself; his brush with death while suffering from the Coronavirus; the biggest misconceptions surrounding those who are experiencing homelessness; how as a  foster child he later found his identity through hip hop; and his vow to not waste another minute of his life.  Follow Shams on all social media platforms at @DaHomelessHero !

 Our second guest is another lifelong New Yorker, drummer extraordinaire, record collector and style guru Ramsey "Satellite" Jones!  Ramsey was raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn which you may already know is were Murder, Inc. started. Ramsey's love of music started as a kid when he discovered Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles. We discuss what it's like to be considered "the weirdo" in the family (his younger brother is Russell Jones a.k.a. Ol' Dirty Bastard"/ODB, his cousins are RZA & GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan.) Ramsey also suffered from Covid19 and was at home for 4 months straight.  We discuss his love of all music, being a performer during the pandemic, various obscure records and bands such as the Electric Prunes & Aphrodite's Child, Ramsey's always in 10 projects including his hard core band Rebelmatic.  Check out his Rebelmatic video Blood & Gold & their new album Ghost In The Shadows.   Follow Ramsey on all social media platforms @SatelliteJones65 !

Jason The Elf learns a lesson today from Da Homeless Hero!  And lastly we have the perfect ending to a our pandemic Christmas show, a great new catchy song/video by the Blockton Brothers (Jesse and Adam) - Covid Christmas! ENJOY!!!  Happy New Year! 

WDEK Podcast Ep. 87: Shams DaBaron a.k.a. Da Homeless Hero & Ramsey Jones - 12/26/20

WDEK Election Day Special Ep. 86 - Part 4: Katie Compa, Brad Lauretti, Nimesh Patel, Maggy Adeleye & John Early - 11/3/20

In our final edition, Part 4 of the WDEK Election Special Episode, comedian Katie Compa shares with us ways she copes with ongoing Election Day anxieties.  

Musician Brad Lauretti brings us the fire.  We talk the John Lewis graphic novel, existential threats & good people believing false propaganda. He gives us his Election Day predictions along with performing his song Dumb It Down. 

Find out how comedian & weed smoker Nimesh Patel's father voted on the NJ legalize marijuana referendum.  Have you ever heard of the Indian beverage bhang? Let Nimesh and Shonali explain.  Go now to check out Nimesh's new half hour comedy special  online at Patel2020.com.

Musician Maggy Adeleye shares her beautiful voice with us by performing her song Fullstorm.  Christian has fro jealousy.  We talk voter unenthusiasm & invisible voices. 

 Jason's twin brother Jiminy makes a special appearanceo on WDEK also the WDEK crew loves each other.

Our final guest is one of our first ever WDEK guests; comedian, actor, & activist John Early.  He comes with a beard! You have seen him on Search Party as Elliott Goss, but most recently you may have seen John work his ass off on behalf of the Marquita Bradshaw for Senate campaign in Tennessee.  We discuss politicization of bread & butter issues, his sweater & for the first time ever, he announces his candidacy to the world. His Twitter is @bejohnce! Make sure to watch this comedy classic Sardines Out of A Can.

WE DID IT EVERYONE! That's it for the 4 part Election Day special. We hope our marathon show provided some comfort, fun and silly nonsense to soothe your minds as it did ours! 


WDEK Election Day Special Ep. 86 - Part 4: Katie Compa, Brad Lauretti, Nimesh Patel, Maggy Adeleye & John Early - 11/3/20

WDEK Election Day Special Ep. 86 - Part 1: Marcellus Hall, David Cross, Jon Glaser, Matt Arnold & Cocoon Central Dance Team - 11/3/20

WDEK Election Day Special: Please Vote America was a special episode with comedy, music, guest pop ins from across the country, videos and chat all in place. Our guests include John Early, Tash Neal, Chelsea White, Kendra Cunningham, David Cross, Cocoon Central Dance Team, Jon Glaser, Marcellus Hall, Tommy Do, Katie Compa, Negin Farsad, Nimesh Patel, Katie Compa, Eric Slovin, Tyson Meade, Marcellus Hall, Maggy Adeleye, Brad Lauretti, Emmrose, Matt Arnold and more!  We celebrate voting!

In Part 1 of 4, our guests include Marcellus Hall, Jon Glaser, Matt Arnold, Cocoon Central Dance Team & David Cross.  Our first guest is musician, illustrator Marcellus Hall joins us performing a brand new tune off his forthcoming album called The Kitchen Sink Blues. 

Comedian Jon Glaser appears in his most amazing Detroit Pistons attire. We divert our thoughts on voting to discuss #urbanwildlife and Jon leaves us with #moreproof of why Christian's fears of squirrels are warranted. 

Matt Arnold of The Iowa Idea Podcast joined us from Iowa, duh. He gave us the lowdown on Iowa demographics and voting patterns.  He also is our first guest to own a laminate WDEK press pass. Check out his friend Andre Wright's #HumanizeMyHoodie movement/

Cocoon Central Dance Team (Sunita Mani, Eleanore Pienta, Tallie Medel) shared their talents with us via video! For those of you who would like to SEE these wunderkinds in action - check out our video of the show at 45:37 on Facebook and 45:29 on YouTube!

Our next guest is comedian, actor, writer David Cross. He takes a break from his hat modelling side hustle gig to talk to us about all things including Covid19 travel, voting, James Patterson vs Rob Pattinson, makeup skills, skincare & pondering with us on just WTH are Trump voters thinking.  

David along with us thank all of you who have been working as first responders, voting workers, volunteering to get out the vote, and those of you who voted! Looks like 2021 may be looking up for us!  Stay tuned for parts 2-4!  

WDEK Election Day Special Ep. 86 - Part 1: Marcellus Hall, David Cross, Jon Glaser, Matt Arnold & Cocoon Central Dance Team - 11/3/20

WDEK Podcast Ep. 84: Rodney White & Jack Dwyer - 9/29/20

During these pandemic times and social unrest, we are so thankful for our time together on We Don't Even Know.  We are especially thankful for Christian's first time reading of a letter he may or may not have received from his white family.  It is very touching.

Our first guest is artist Rodney White.  Rodney is an artist originally from August, GA who now lives Brooklyn, NY.   Rodney explains how his gear line Black On Black BK was created as a way to process trauma.  We talk what gives him hope in these times, multi-hyphenates &  how work makes a statement and starts a conversation!  See Christian & Shonali wearing their' Black on Black shirts on the show.  

Our own Jason Lam is a tech wizard who often warns his friends as to how AI may be used in evil ways in the future! Here he shares his gorgeous AI children with us. See the video on YouTube  For the first time ever Christian & Shonali make a wardrobe change in honor of their friend and guest singer & dancer Jack Dwyer!  

Singer, actor, dancer along Jack Dwyer and his Scandal wine goblet explains to us how he made the most of his Covid summer.  We had no idea that there is a gay Quidditch league in NYC. Jack is a gay man who does not play in it.  Jack continues to bring Christian & Shonali much joy and sings a beautiful rendition of Adele's Daydreamer for us. Go to ItsJackDwyer to enjoy more of his delightful spitfire-self!

WDEK Podcast Ep. 84: Rodney White & Jack Dwyer - 9/29/20

WDEK Podcast Ep. 78: JD Samson, Matt Wayne, Chelsea White, Tash Neal & Grace Ludmila - 2/25/2020

At a time when the breaking news includes the coronavirus pandemic, Barney's shutting it doors, Harvey Weinstein sentenced to jail; We Don't Even Know Ep. 78, February 2020 starts out with even more important breaking news. Shonali & Christian completed the Whole 30 without cheating and Christian Felix has gotten lasik surgery! Most importantly they have another fantastic show with great guests along with real people sitting in a room communing together in real time. 

First guests include former guests who found love on We Don't Even Know: Chelsea White and Tash Neal.  Find out what chicken tenders and gas have to do with being in love! Super personal questions are asked and answered by this beautiful twosome who unexpectedly hit it off during the July 2019 live recording of WDEK.   We discuss cat enthusiasm bonding and having to be on the DL when it comes to being in love in NYC. 

Shonali gifts Christian with an "therworldly fragrances for earthbound souls” called the Tower by The Phoenix and The Fool. She's "full of love."

Comedian Matt Wayne comes to WDEK married but ringless. He's starting a ringless movement.  Shonali won't have it.  Until now, Christian and Shonali have never met a former line-cook and park ranger from Buffalo turned NYC comedian.  Matt shares his deep love for NYC and Christian talks elaborate fare evasion. See Matt Wayne and Doug Smith's new comedy show, Cancel Commission at the Stand starting March 21.

Mia Juhng joins Christian and Shonali for #GetItOffYourChest.  Topics include the need for lasik surgery support, food sharing parameters and gym membership recruitment tactics.

Our final conversation is with with musician, visual artist, teacher & activist JD Samson!  JD tells us about her time at Sarah Lawrence as a student, how she stumbled into music (Le Tigre) and her surprising struggle with being on stage and dealing with panic attacks.  Christian and Shonali are inspired by JD's activism which centers around sincerity.  Songs discussed are Tres Bien (Le Tigre) and Making Art (Men).  JD is now a teacher at Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music (NYU Tisch) and is excited to help propel her students into the industry.  JD's superstar student Grace Ludmila performs two songs live at Red Room, Special and The Director.

WDEK Podcast Ep. 78: JD Samson, Matt Wayne, Chelsea White, Tash Neal & Grace Ludmila - 2/25/2020

WDEK Podcast Ep. 56: Mike Stuto, Jennie Reilly Romer & Chaney Sims - Oct. 24, 2017

Episode 56 is a momentous occasion, with the news that HiFi will close at the end of October 2017, this is the last time we will tape our show in our beloved home space.  Currently we are looking for another home and expect to return to a new space live in front of an audience in January of 2018. Christian & Shonali open the show with quality conversation about bunions, butts and adult day care. Our first guest is lawyer, environmental activist and national carryout bag expert Jennie Reilly Romer.  After helping San Francisco and Los Angeles enact laws on plastic bag policy, Jennie moved to New York with the mission of doing the same thing here.  She came really close!  Jennie explains why these thin plastic bags are so problematic, what we can do to help (plasticbaglaws.org); who is lobbying against the policy and how Christian did the wrong thing by putting the plastic bags in the recycling bin.  We salute Jennie on her work and look forward to her to running for New York City Council! Go Jennie.   With the news that HiFi will close at the end of October, we are excited celebrate the man who created this safe haven for indie rock n roll bands in the mid 90's, East Village neighbors in the 2000's  and podcasters and comedians in the late 2010's.  Here is a special interview with the owner of HiFi (formerly the legendary East Village rock club Brownies) Mike Stuto.  Find out about Mike's time as a club owner who had do idea what he was doing. There were good times (David Bowie, Debbie Harry, Mel Brooks) and bad (Sugar Ray, Milemarker) but Mike has always managed to this day to bring together a community that is heavily indebted to him for giving them a space to create, learn, unite, celebrate and collaborate.   After listening quiz: What band made Mike want to work in rock n' roll?  Our final guest is Grammy nominated singer and storyteller Chaney Sims.  Like Mike, Chaney is a native New Yorker and the East Village was her playground.  She is the daughter of a great blues musician, Bill Sims Jr. with whom she performs with in the Grammy Nominated Heritage Blues Orchestra.  Her recent solo performance of songs written from her Haiku 365 project at Joe's Pub was with a string orchestral accompaniment by Root Stock Republic.  The performance will be released as a live album recording soon. Listen to Chaney blow you away with her performances of Leadbelly's Go Down, Old Hannah and Nina Simone's C-Line Woman.  Have a great rest of the year and until our next show, do yourself a favor and binge on the many earlier episodes of We Don't Even Know.   

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Ep. 49: Amber Tamblyn, Damien Lemon & Ani Cordero

Happy New Year All! Christian and Shonali have brand new haircuts and new resolutions.  A familiar audience member has lots to say about our resolutions.

Our first guest is actress, writer, poet and director Amber Tamblyn.  She comes to us with a Guinness in hand and a baby bump. We discuss her busy schedule this past year which includes a 50+ city tour promoting her own poetry book Dark Sparkler about the lives & deaths of child star actresses.  She toured along with her husband comedian David Cross and they got along perfectly on the road.  Amber is also just finishing up a film festival circuit for the upcoming April release of a film which she wrote and directed, Paint It Black, based on the Janet Fitch novel. Wonder Woman Amber is also currently enjoying writing her first novel while expecting her first baby.

Our second guest is comedian and writer Damien Lemon.  You may have seen him on Guy Code or as the host of TruTv’s Comedy Knockout but he has been performing standup for 11 years.  He knew he was funny when he was 9 years old.  He was influenced by Eddie Murphy, tours lots and always gets the racist report when going to new cities and clubs.  Christian brings up Damien’s visit to The Breakfast Club.  He brings up shellfish.  For 2017, Damien says "trust your gut!“  We #GetItOffOurChest with comedian LeRonn McGowan.  Christian and LeRonn don’t like to talk.

Our last guest is musician, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ani Cordero.  Ani grew up splitting her time between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Atlanta, Georgia. Growing up in a family of musicians, Ani has been playing music since she was a kid. She has performed as the drummer of Os Mutantes while also leading her own band Cordero. She is active in promoting social justice & worries about the erosion of civil liberties. Ani released her last album Recordar, an album of Latin American songs of love and protest music and is now about to release her newest album Quierido Mundo,a new album of her own political protest and love songs this coming February 2017.  Check her out singing two songs live in our sh Me Tumba and Choferito 

Check out the Latest Episode of We Don’t Even Know!

Ep. 40 - Kendra Cunningham, Patrick Waldo and Felice Rosser Feb.28, 2016 →

Christian is back from Brazil with a new goatee. Shonali talks for a little too long to an alkaline water saleslady at Whole Foods. Christian coins the name of a new segment for WDEK called Shit People Say. Our first guest, Kendra Cunningham is a comedian originally from Boston. She is an actress, filmmaker, bartender and former forensics psychologist. Her mom is stylie and loves garage sales. Kendra doesn't like dating per se and is in a relationship. Kendra handled being interrupted by a real live heckler very well. Shonali was actually more annoyed than she sounds especially when Christian brought up the subject of mansplaining. It's a real word, even though it comes up as a misspelling on spell check.

Drew, the heckler strikes again. If he were funny, you'd think he was a plant in the audience. The heckler has left the premises! Our second guest is Black Lives Matter activist Patrick Waldo. Patrick is a white guy. He brings the Black Lives Matter conversation into white spaces including spaces like the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Fox & Friends have used a quote from Patrick's Instagram.

Our featured musical guest is a power house vocalist and bass player from the band Faith, named Felice Rosser. Felice is originally from Detroit Rock City and is multi-talented as a writer and an actress too. She pursued college in NYC at Barnard but was enticed mostly to NYC by the burgeoning rock music scene. Felice used to play in a band with her friend, Jean-Michel Basquiat which although was fun wasn't glamourous. Felice sings two of her originals for our WDEK audience, Soul Seeker and Time To Fall In Love Again. Her voice will give you chills. See her band at BAM Cafe, March 5th at 9pm. It's free.

We Don't Even Know - Ep. 32: Todd Perlmutter, Lisa DeLarios and Adam Schatz - April 28th, 2015 →

Shonali returns from New Orleans where she overate and went to a lingerie store for the first time. Christian just started seeing a nutritionist. Now they both understand the importance of taking proper measurements.

This episode's first guest is musician, former Blue Man Group creative director and Pianos owner, Todd Perlmutter. His first gig as a voice over artist was for a horse byproduct. Todd has been successful for a long time but there was a time when he hit rock bottom. Chicken was involved. He played drums for MC Shan before Yo MTV Raps was a thing. Todd is a brilliant drummer and producer who currently plays in a surf band and a tuba duo. Be on the lookout for his new theatrical production company producing a Western philharmonic project. Any can can dancers out there?

Our second guest Lisa Delarios is a stand up comedian from Texas. She moves back and forth from Texas to NYC often. Although she has lots of big time comedy credits, Shonali wants to talk about Texas comedy credits. Lisa was voted 3rd Funniest Person in Austin, TX twice where she says there were only two comedy clubs. Lisa works for ASPCA and has five pets and two roommates. She has a big heart.

Our last guest is musician Adam Schatz. He plays in a number of musical projects, most notably his own band Landlady and the band Man Man. Adam's parents are cool folks who play in an electric country band covering artists like Gram Parsons and the Byrds. How cool is that? Adam performs two songs for us including Driving in California and The Fourth of July or is it J-U-L-Y You Ain't Got No Alibi? You will have to listen to find out. Oh and here is the video Christian talks about earlier in the show.