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! 

We Don't Even Know - Ep. 37 - Marina Franklin, Howard Altmann & Schaffer the Darklord - Nov. 24, 2015

On this special Thanksgiving WDEK episode 37, Christian and Shonali talk to comedian/actress Marina Franklin about working in a writers' room (HBO's Divorce), is it actually better for women in comedy today and dating in New York City. Have you heard of the dating app Bumble? Marina likes Chicago house music and has her own podcast called Friends Like Us which features women of color discussing various hot topics of the day. Look for Marina in the film Trainwreck!

Special guest Howard Altmann a former banker, is a writer, playwright and a poet. Howard describes himself as sensitive and an introvert but is he? Howard tells us the most annoying question he gets as a poet. Shonali believes Howard is funny although he has never written a funny poem. Howard shares some lines from his Academy of American Poets published poem called Paris Winter. Christian presents a wonderful Thanksgiving cooking aid to our winning guest Ramona Clifton.

Photo by Daria Huxley

Photo by Daria Huxley

Musical guest Schaffer the Darklord is a former heavy metal and punk rock drummer and is now out as nerd-core, horror-core hip-hop artist, although he insists he recites nursery rhymes over beats in front of drunk people. Yeah, listen and you'll understand. Schaffer and Shonali are unafraid to talk about liking the Eagles. Hi-five Schaffer! Apparently there is a difference from what nerd-core music is about and what Schaffer sings about but we sure as hell couldn't tell. Schaffer performs two of his greatest hits for the audience, "Do Sex" and "The Giant Iron Snake." Schaffer left WDEK with these words, "Your podcast won't be your Appetite for Destruction!" and we couldn't be happier he did. Thanks to all of our guests, our intern Justin Joseph Hall, photographer Daria Huxley, and sound engineer Stephen Kurpis.