Conversations With Matt Dwyer

Frankie Meeink at the age of fourteen stumbled into the dark and violent world of the Neo-Nazi Skinhead movement. He quickly rose through ranks until it landed him to prison at the age of seventeen. He joins Dwyer in a very intense and open conversation about his hate filled days to his process of learning how to become on the good side of humanity. Frank also shares about his new life actively educating kids in juvie halls and on the ice rink on how to live a more harmonious life. This episode is nothing short of riveting. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Comic book Artist Siike Donnelly joins me in a conversation about comics, movies and what is like to wake up every day knowing it could be your last. Siike Donnelly is one of those episodes that make me glad I podcast. He is hilarious, open and inspiring. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Poe Ballantine is easily one of my favorite writers so to have him on the show is a huge thrill. He joins me to talk about his twenty something years as a drifter, the deterioration of culture and how obscurity may be the best route to fame. Poe's unique take on the world is thought provoking and challenging. This is one of my favorite conversations. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ever wonder what it would be like to be face to face with a charging bull? Well Lance Brittan does that for a living. He is a world champion bullfighter/rodeo clown and he tells some thrilling stories about jumping bulls, being hit, and the whole subculture of rodeo life. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have you ever been curious to what happens when a pregnant woman goes into prison? What are her rights as a mother and what may be the rights of the child? It's a perplexing concept and one I had personally never thought about until recently. Thankfully Marianne Bullock works with the Prison Birth Project and sheds a great deal of light on the various dilemmas facing incarcerated pregnant women. It's a complex and fascinating conversation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt sits down with Rhonda Hughes founder of the independent publishing company Hawthorne books. Ms. Hughes and Matt discuss the challenges of young writers have getting published, how the academics have hurt outside writers from getting discovered, her passion for discovering new edgy writers and the powers of Amazon over publishing. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jason Baldwin was sixteen when he was wrongfully convicted of three counts of capital murder. He shares with Dwyer how his prison experiences helped form his positive view on life, the faults in our prison system and how he is turning his up and down life into a memoir. Jason's optimism and positivity is truly inspiring. Help him write his memoir by visiting his kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1152367997/jason-baldwin-in-his-own-words-a-memoir See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Comedian Mike O'Connell joins Dwyer in a very funny conversation about all things sad. Mike talks with Matt about his non-comedic side project of Sad Songs and his book of poetry. They also delve into some tales of Chicago and binge drinking. Mike also graces us with a number of songs and poems. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To describe Mr. Fitzpatrick's conversation is almost impossible. It's a larger than life tale of being discovered in Washington Square Park in NYC by Keith Haring & Basquiat, professional boxing at 19, working with Lou Reed, Steve Earle and how art is a psychological X-Ray into society. Tony Fitzpatrick knows how to tell stories and this is a great episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mickey Jones has drummed for Bob Dylan, Kenny Rogers and has played on a number of famous songs. Mickey joins Dwyer in a conversation about discovering the blues, getting boo'd off the stage with Bob Dylan when Dylan went electric and discovering his love for acting. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Doug Mesner returns to the show not to discuss the Satanic Panic but to have avery passionate conversation about the myths of repressed memory, the charlatans who profit from it and how it's ruined thousands of lives. He names names and invites them to lawyer up and come after him. Okay and we talk some Satan. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I have been a big fan of Sonny Smith's for a few years so getting to chat with him over the hour we spent on the phone was a big thrill for me. Sonny is a charming and candid fellow that openly talked about how he often wants to crawl in bed pull the sheets over his head and quit music. He also explores his fears of challenging himself to push himself creatively and the conflicting messages we get about selling out. We also discuss the disappointing idea that Searching For Sugarman was pretty much a lie. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Judith Lorei joins me for an eye opening conversation about the ever growing Green Burial Movement. She enlightens me on so many rights and issues that many of us do not think about when it comes to our funerals. We get into everything from caskets made from recycled materials, natural burials and even home viewings. We also delve into our own experiences with death and views on what happen when we die. It's a really super fascinating chat. Please enjoy NOW. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Filmmaker & Jazz musician Darren Hoffman joins Dwyer for a conversation about his film Tradition Is A Temple which delves into the multi-faceted traditions of Jazz in New Orleans. They also discuss jazz music, fair trade filmmaking Lester Young and the strange world of independent filmmaking. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Former punk rocker and first time novelist Danny Bland joins me in a great conversation about comradory of junkies, why booze is more dangers than heroin and fear of being openly raw and honest in your work. Danny's stories and life are beyond thrilling and fascinating. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jaime Prater grew up in the christian commune Jesus People USA Evangelical Covenant Church. Years later he went back to make a documentary about his experience growing up in the commune and what he discovered was a dark underbelly of abuse and manipulation. Jaime and I discuss the making of the documentary, growing up gay in a christian commune and life after living in such a closed off community. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In away this episode is a part two to my conversation with civil rights lawyer Dennis Cunningham. His daughter Bernadine Mellis created the documentary Forrest For The Trees which was about his epic lawsuit for environmentalist Judi Bari. Ms. Mellis and I discuss growing up in a household with two politically radical parents, how her film woke her up to activism, and the prison birth project. We seemed to jam a lot of subjects in this very interesting hour of conversation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Harold Budd has been praised as an Avant-Garde genius. Though he tells me why he dislikes his labeling his music. We also have a very intimate conversation about the self-pitying of an artist, his years hanging out in LA jazz clubs, the visuals of composing and why the desert is an awful place voice of inspiration. Harold is a unique and fascinating conversation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ugly Shyla is a unique and wonderful person to converse with. We talked about her art, growing up cajun, voodoo, alternative modeling and surviving natural disasters. These are just a few subjects in an episode bountiful with topics and opinions from the very original Ugly Shyla. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Founding member of the SDS and Weather Underground Mark Rudd has a impassioned and captivating talk with Dwyer about the history of organizing movements, the war machine, saving the planet and how we can still change the system. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.