Shows / ‘funny,’ not funny
‘funny,’ not funny
Conversations about books, music, films, history, tech, and culture. Jim is a songwriter and leader of the band Jim’s Big Ego. He is also an author of The Wakeful Wanderer’s Guide series. Lionel Cassin is an IT security specialist and a voracious reader of Science Fiction and History. They enjoy lively conversations and are now sharing those with you. We are an independant podcast and we rely on your support. Subscribe at patreon.com/jiminfantino for as little as $3 per month for live webcasts…
Episodes
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“We're in the transportation business” | topic: The Grateful Dead | a conversation with Dr. Christopher K. Coffman
Dr. Christopher K. Coffman is Master Lecturer in Humanities at Boston University. He has published on a wide variety of topics in literature and music, and has…
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ENCORE EPISODE: “I have a Passim tattoo.” | topic: Folk Music, World Music, Music Club | a conversation with Abby Altman
Abby Altman, Club Manager of Passim joins us to talk about her experience guiding the iconic music club, located in the heart of Harvard Square Cambridge, MA…
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“I feel old and foolish now” | topic: Hundreds of Beavers, A Complete Unknown, Putin's People, Jesse Welles | Jim & Lionel
We begin by talking about Hundreds of Beavers and move into Jim’s experience with the Raw Diet and Johnny Gottado.From there we talk about food delivery…
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“I almost stayed in that world” | topic: comedy, music, & songwriting | a conversation with Don White
The amazing, wonderful, comedian, storyteller, songwriter, performer, author, and great friend to have, Don White joined us this week to talk all about his…
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“He got his start wiping windows.” | topic: Yeltsin, Oligarchs, Clinton, IMF, Corruption | a conversation with Matthew Roazen pt 2
In this episode, our guest Matthew Roazen returns to talk to us about his time in Russia, and gives us a lesson in what was happening in Russia during the…
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“The Wild Wild East” | topic: Russia, Moscow in the 1990s | a conversation with Matthew Roazen
Matthew Roazen, lawyer, and Russian history & linguistics expert, who lived in Russia for 16 years talks about his time in Moscow during the 1990s and 2000s…
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“Everything is due to accident” | topic: The Soul of Money, After Yang, Rogue Heroes, and the fall of USSR | a conversation with Lionel & Jim
We discuss the making of video clips for promoting our podcast and the futility thereof. The unruly beard is disparaged. Lionel brings up an episode of CSI…
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“Misa No Kinda Wizard!” | topic: Luigi Mangione, Eat The Rich, Dune, LOTR | a conversation with Lionel & Jim
Do billionaires deserve our empathy? We passively mention the Brian Thompson murder, and Jim’s portrayal of The Vengeance in his books. Do we need the…
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“This is just doing biz.” | topic: John Hawkwood, Robert Hughes, Terraforming as fantasy, Siberiad | a conversation with Jim & Lionel
Lionel and Jim discuss a myriad of subjects this week with a subtile common thread. We move from Jim's recent experience with jury duty to return to…
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“The Lassiter” | topic: Mercenaries in the Dark Ages, Prague Diaries, Firefly, Stanislaw Lem | A conversation with Lionel & Jim
Lionel and Jim talk about the book "The Devil's Broker" by Frances Stonor Saunders and about mercenaries and what happens when peace breaks out and they…
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“Meditation is a human thing.” ENCORE EPISODE | topic: Meditation, Buddhism | A conversation with Catherine Pilfrey, Matthew Bellows, and Jim Rosen.
Encore episode from January 2023Jim Rosen, Catherine Pilfrey, Matthew Bellows, and Jim Infantino have been teaching meditation online for almost 3 years as…
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Outskirters | topic: The Steerswoman series and The City and The City | a conversation with Julia Tenney & Sarah Elkins
We discuss two novels in this episode, the first, The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein, was suggested to us by Sarah Elkins. The second, The City & The City by…
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“We all come from different realities” | topic: songwriting, the political divide, disagreeing | a conversation with Montgomery Delaney
Monty joins the pod and we talk about his experience playing music, going to folk conventions, his “no-case” showcase at NERFA, playing, and…
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“Every second drill is a laundry room fire.” | topic: Encore episode from season one | A conversation with David Partikian about the maritime life
David decided after graduating NYU in the late 80's that he did not want a traditional desk job. He joined the Seafarers International Union as an…
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“Unusual in unusual ways” | topic: the movie Vice, The Americans, Slow Horses, Azimov | a conversation with Jim and Lionel
This conversation would qualify for ASMR in terms of the pacing and tone, except that we discuss the movie Vice with Christian Bale. Jim talks about his…
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“It's all fun and games until Cthulhu shows up.” | topic: A Night In The Lonesome October, Lovecraft, Thanksgiving | a conversation with Julia Tenney & Sarah Elkins
Subject: A Night In The Lonesome October by Roger ZelaznyGuests: Julia Tenney, Sarah ElkinsThis curious summary was generated by AI:The conversation explores…
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“Who's gonna ---- the singer?” | topic: music, comedy, politics, creativity | a conversation with Eric Schwartz
This one has a big, red E on it. Take the kids to the bunker before hitting play. Eric Schwartz is possibly the only artist in the history of the world to get…
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“A face for radio.” | topic: Video podcasting, Biking, Life Hacks, movies | a conversation with Jim and Lionel
Lionel and Jim talk about producing this podcast for video, which you can see in a separate post. The thumbnail did not show up but it's available from…
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“We have a surprise guest.” | a conversation with Chris Chandler
Lionel and I were talking about all our druthers in the literary and streaming world when I got a phone call from Chris Chandler, and I invited him on the pod…
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Unreconciled | topic: The Catholic Church, survivors, justice, abuse of power | a conversation with Mark Basquill
This week we are joined by playwright, rowing coach, meditation teacher, songwriter/singer and all around fascinating human being, Mark Basquill to…
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“Ducky” | topic: Music production, The Figgs, Slide, The Major Labels, Bleu, etc. | a conversation with Bleu, Shaun Wolf Wortis, and Mike Gent
For music makers, a producer/engineer can be a unique sort of friend. For all of us, except Lionel in this conversation, that unique friend came with the name…
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“Back when we had no undo button” | topic: music, Virgin Islands, music production | a conversation with writer/producer Jeff Tareila
This week we were fortunate to have songwriter, singer, producer, creator, Jeff Tareila on the pod. Jeff has toured internationally with his band and solo, has…
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“I come from a long line of orphans.” | topic: The Bubonic Plague | a conversation with Jim & Lionel
This one was recorded while Jim was in New York City at Rivendell (Peter Cooper Villiage) in the last homely house (his mom's apartment) with his…
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“Bang on, killer virus!” | topic: TikTok Algorithm, The Printing Press, and Autonomous by Annalee Newitz | A conversation with Lionel & Jim
This week Lionel and Jim talk about the TikTok algorithm, Roy Casagranda, AB testing at PayPal in the 2000s, Survey Groups and Polling, The Bonfire of The…
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“There was a flag on the field” | topic: Science Fiction, vs. Fantasy, and Vanishing Point Perspective Drawing | a conversation with Jim and Lionel
We start our fifth season by considering a change of genre for our podcast, either to sports or economics, but ultimately settling on not giving a crap. We…
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“It's more fascinating to say 'riveting.'” | topic: Ennio Morricone, AI, & political assassination attempts | a conversation with Jim & Lionel
In our final episode of a very long Season 4, Jim and Lionel talk about soundtracks, synthesizers, the limits of AI growth, political assassinations, and…
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“We Yuck Your Yum” | topic: The Watchmen, The Empire Bike Trail, Gattaca | A conversation with Jim and Lionel
IMPORTANT: This was recorded July 17th, 2024. We have an enormous backlog of shows right at the time when everything is changing rapidly. So Kamala was not the…
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“Not for Toddlers” | topic: music, horticulture, art, maine | a conversation with Jennifer Kimball
Jennifer Kimball, songwriter, performer, singer, horticulturalist and landscape designer joins the pod. One upon a time, she was in a legendary band called The…
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“Hopefully, we will all go forward” | topic: various TV, Movies, Books, & Music | a conversation with Lionel and Jim
A lazy summer conversation between Lionel and Jim in which Jim talks about his adventures in recording his band’s new album and checks in with Lionel to…
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“Ernesto Piñata” | topic: board games & music | a further conversation with Jason Schneider
Jason comes back to talk more about his life in games. During his time at Gamewright and now at Happy Camper, Jason has explored the world of perfect logic…
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“The creepiest part of Sesame Street.” | topic: clowning around and making games | a conversation with Jason Schneider
The multifaceted Jason Schneider joins us to talk about his life in fun and games. Jason has started his own game company after working for decades at someone…
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“It's stuck in the mud.” (ENCORE EPISODE) | topic: data centers, big industrial development trends | A conversation with Damian Cassin
I chose this episode to encore because the amount of data centers in use for AI has recently been in the news. Damian was talking about this a year and a half…
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“The flavor of a typeface” | topic: typography, graphic design | a conversation with Jim Hood
Jim Hood, a graphic designer experienced in naming and brand development, typography, communication, and environmental graphics joins the podcast to talk about…
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“Why do we have 2 screens?” | topic: film making, leadership, Oppenheimer | a conversation with Andrew Silver
Andrew Silver is a research affiliate at MIT where he leads a seminar on leadership and film. He is a film director, producer, and writer of many films…
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“The mind is a terrible thing.” | topic: Alchemy by Rory Sutherland | a conversation with Ben Soto
Ben Solo rejoins the pod to talk about 1 book and two short stories. We start by discussing a book by Rory Sutherland. The full title is Alchemy: The…
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“The last invention a human will make” | topic: AI & Education | a conversation with Balazs Szelenyi
First, apologies for missing a week. Producing these takes a lot of work and I needed I week off. - JimOur guest this week is Balazs Szelenyi, Associate…
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“You're gonna love it here.” | topic: music, forgiveness | a conversation with Peter Mulvey
Peter Mulvey joins the pod in person, sitting side by side with Jim in the Slabmedia offices this week. We talk about his career in songwriting, hitting a…
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“Somewhere beyond Antares” | topic: The Monk and The Philosopher | a conversation with Ben Soto
Ben Soto joins the pod to talk about The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life which is an extensive conversation between…
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“Go go go go go, the end.” | topic: The Rise & Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland. | a conversation with Jim & Lionel
We begin by espousing the benefits of corduroy jackets, move on to quality problems at Jim’s childhood bagel shop, lambaste The Onion, and wave the…
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“Swindon” | a conversation with Jim and Lionel
We start by talking about what we like and don’t like about the band Cheekface. It’s mostly like. Then we talk about the novel Heavy Weather by…
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“The Letraset Revival Society” | topic: Our 100th Episode | a conversation with Julia Tenney
Julia Tenney joins us for what we are pretty sure is the 100th episode of our obscure podcast. Depending on how you count, considering that Jim forgot to press…
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“Start accepting it.” | a conversation with Jim & Lionel
This week we talk about The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Suggested by Julia Tenney, this book deals with regrets we've felt throughout life and wishing…
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“Words as Worlds” | a conversation with Bing Broderick of justBook-ish
This week, we welcomed Bing Broderick as our guest.Bing Broderick comes to justBook-ish after years in marketing, community organizing, and nonprofit…
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The Three Body Problem | a conversation with Lionel & Jim
Lionel talks about The Three Body Problem, both the novels by Liu Cixin and the Netflix series. We contrast the style of this series with our recent reads…
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ENCORE EPISODE: “Trust begets trust, action inspires action.” | a conversation with Dar Williams
Dar joins the pod to tell us about her experience writing What I Found In A Thousand Towns, her songwriting and creative process, her experience in Beacon New…
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“Behind every great fortune there is a crime.” | a conversation with Lionel & Jim
Lionel and Jim start by inexplicably talking about oat and almond milk. Lionel talks about how he considers upstate New York New England as per American…
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“Wanting to go back and change things” | a conversation with Julia Tenney
We start by talking about the possible death of TikTok in the USA and move on to introduce Julia Tenney and marvel over her pysanky eggs, the methods for their…
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“The king of the bad guys” | a conversation with Lionel & Jim
Discussion of Bram Stoker’s Dracula starts with Jim trying to do a Boston Brahmin accent, and talks about his daughter’s inexplicable accent when…
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“Erratica” | a conversation with Jim & Lionel
Jim opens with a thread sent regarding the previous episode on Frankenstein. They incongruously launch into a debate about artificial sweeteners. We get back…
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“Homunculi, homunculus” | a discussion of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein with Sarah Elkins
Sarah Elkins joins us to discuss the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. We start with a Filk song to the tune of Funiculi funicula. What is Filk?Victor spent…
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“The Mind Bind” | a conversation with Lionel & Jim
After some audio problems at the start, we start talking about Valentines Day and the variety of items available and not available at Trader Joes, and not…
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“It's not a feature, it's a bug.” | with Jim & Lionel
Lionel tells us all about the Garbage Plate at a restaurant in Rochester, NY. Apparently, it’s like Poutine. We talk a bit without fact checking…
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The Unforgettable Logan Foster | A conversation with author Shawn Peters
Shawn Peters joins us to talk about his adventures in the publishing world and his two books out on Harper Collins The Unforgettable Logan Foster and The…
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“Detractions and Errata” | with Lionel & Jim
Jim begins by listing his mistakes in the previous podcasts, creating new errors as he goes. A "detraction" is actually a term from Christian theology. Jim…
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“Roadkill on the road to the future” | with Lionel & Jim
We launch into the pod by talking about a short Punch and Judy animation by Jan Švankmajer, Czech filmmaker and artist, which leads us into a talk about…
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“Barnabas Lives!” | with Lionel & Jim
Jim starts talking about the transparent OLED display at the current CES. We move on to keyboards you stick on your iPhone and the new round of visors.Lionel…
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“Peter Cooper Village is Rivendell” | with Lionel & Jim
In our final episode of 2023, we talk about Trust by Hernan Diaz and the pulitzer prize, The Future by Naomi Alderman, and families as cults.Lionel talks about…
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“The Modern I Ching Oracle” | a conversation with Catherine Pilfrey
Catherine Pilfrey returns to the podcast to talk about her new creation: The I Ching Oracle card deck: a 64-card illustrated deck and guidebook. Catherine…
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“This is the march of progress.” | a conversation with Lionel & Jim
Jim begins by talking about Kung Fu Hustle and suggests Lionel watch it. He then moves on to the AI songwriterthat’s going around the socials. Lionel…
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“I want it to seem mysterious, even to me.” | a conversation with Hewitt Huntwork part 2
We start with Hewitt retelling his favorite joke as told by his friend Jan Luby. Jim actually snorts. We resume the interview from part 1, and Hewitt talks…