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Anson & Branan take time between seasons to discuss all the things they’ve been reading, hearing and seeing. In Episode number 9 of THE DROP we discuss: QUEEN’S GAMBIT and Anya Taylor-Joy’s eyeballs , Bryan Fogel’s THE DISSIDENT, Netflix’ series of lockdown shorts, HOMEMADE, Darius Marder’s  SOUND OF METAL, HBO’s The Lady and the Dale, The educational streaming platform Curiosity Stream , The Afrofuturism collection on the Criterion channel featuring John’s Coney’s whacked-out Space is the Place  YouTube Link) starring Sun Ra and  John Akomfrah’s inventive documentary The Last Angel of History  (YouTube Link), Ramin Bahrani’s THE WHITE TIGER, The German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk and their surprising relationship to Afrofuturism  Letters to a young poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, A reading from HARPER’s in which a college professor does a very bad job at apologizing for offensive remarks, Jonathan Meiburg’s book A MOST REMARKABLE CREATURE  the fun of one-star google reviews, and we read listeners feedback!

Discussed in this Drop:  PEN15 (hulu), THE SOCIAL DELIMA (Netflix), the looming danger of deep fakes, HUMAN NATURE (Netflix), LOVE ON THE SPECTRUM (Netflix), THE DEMON IN THE MACHINE (book), TO HOLD UP THE SKY (book), HARPER’S magazine essay “MAKING MEANING”, BECOMING YOU (Apple TV), WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS (Netflix), The spiritual rootedness of LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO (music) versus the spiritual distance of GEORGIAN FUNERAL CHANTS (music), NORMAL PEOPLE (Hulu), THE SECRET MUSEUM OF MANKIND series (music anthology), and the greatest film of all time BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC (Netflix)

Join us for part 2 of our conversation with the Martini Samurai Leon Ingulsrud. Topics include: consciousness, learning to “be” through art, how unmarked time slips away into the future, and the eternal question of “Where’s Waldo?”

Back in March, when Anson & Branan founds themselves sheltering with their wives, friends, 6 chickens and 3 dogs, they decided they were missing a very important thing: a new drink recipe. So they phoned up the Martini Samurai himself Leon Ingulsrud of “Hell on Wheels” to help them out with their predicament.

When she found out that her twenty-three year old son Amadou had been shot to death by four plain-clothes NYPD officers (in what they claimed was a case of mistaken identity), Kadiatou immediately boarded a flight for New York City. When she arrived, she suddenly found herself the centerpiece of a political and cultural maelstrom which she had not asked for. Further incensed that the media had dismissed her son as “an unarmed, West African street vendor”, Kadiatou decided to write the memoir “My Heart Will Cross This Ocean” and reclaim her son’s identity. Join us as Kadiatou shares with us the stories of her son’s life, her fight for police accountability, and previously unreported facts surrounding the circumstances of Amadou’s death. You can order “My Heart Will Cross This Ocean: My Story, My Son, Amadou” by Kadiatou Diallo and Craig Wolff here. You can find out more about the Amadou Diallo Foundation by visiting their website here. Extra music for this episode was provided by Daniel Birch via a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International 4.0 license. You can find the track “Brushed Bells Leaving Home” here. The photo accompanying this episode was taken by Mary F. Calvert for The New York Times.

Branan & Anson bring you more fun stuff to discover and experience during the lockdown… Can we even call it a “lockdown” anymore? Whatever. You’re bored and we know it. You can find the trailer for TENET here. You can find the trailer for “Mind Game” here. You can find the trailer fro “The Vow” here. You can find “The Monster of Florence” by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi here. You can find the trailer for “My Octopus Teacher” here. You can find the trailer for PEN15 here. You can find the trailer for “Raised by Wolves’ here. You can find The Pod Directive here. You can find the Bunga Bunga podcast website here.

Major David Hughes serves as Chief of Professional Standards at the Newport News Sheriff’s Office in Virginia. After nearly falling victim to his own local police culture, and then spending years considering its systemic issues, Major Hughes simply was not willing to keep silent after the killing of George Floyd. He sat down and penned a stunning op-ed for the New York Times entitled, “I’m a Black Police Officer. Here’s How to Change the System.” After we read it, we knew we had to speak to him. You can find Major Hughes’ op-ed here. Reverend Freakchild‘s cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson‘s “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” is provided courtesy of KBOO Community Radio in Portland, Oregon via a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives International 4.0 licence. For more information about KBOO you can visit their website here.

LeVar Burton is an actor, producer, director, writer, podcaster, and education advocate. In this segment of WHATRYADOIN’, LeVar shares with us his thoughts on representation in fiction, his memories of his friend and fellow advocate Fred Rogers, and why the Holodeck will one day be realized. For more information about LeVar and everything he’s doing, check out his website here. Links to all the authors LeVar mentions in this segment: Octavia Butler Samuel R. Delaney Nnedi Okorafor – Her Binti Series can be found here. Ken Liu Lesley Nneka Arimah Cat Rambo Amal El-Mohtar Isaac Asimov – you can find his Foundation Trilogy here. Extra music for this episode was provided by The Twin Atlas under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-a-Like 3.0 United States License. You can find out more about them and their music at their official website.

In the wake of murder of George Floyd, and the national outcry that has followed, Branan and Anson discuss the importance of listening and taking accountability. Yes, this is two white guys trying, very clumsily, to talk about racial justice in our nation. We ask for your patience because this is, embarrassingly, a little new for us. The documentary about James Baldwin entitled “I Am Not Your Negro” is currently streaming on Netflix and Youtube. Here is the official trailer. You can stream the documentary series “Eyes On the Prize” for free on the Facing History & Ourselves website. It is also available on Youtube, with the first episode here. Nikole Hannah-Jones’ amazing “1619” podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher, as well as the WNYC website. The Pulitzer Prize winning “Uncivil” podcast featuring Wellpod guest Jack Hitt and Chenjerai Kumanyika can be found on all podcast platforms as well as the Gimlet Media website.

American author and journalist Jack Hitt returns for part 2 to speculate upon a post-corona world. Topics include how what we hoard says about us, how nature is enjoying a quiet respite from us noisy humans, what is an essential worker, the end of cruising and the return of outdoor theater. 

Jack Hitt is an American author. He is a contributing editor to Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, and This American Life. In this episode Jack sits down with Anson and Branan to look into their crystal balls and speculate upon what a post-corona world may look like, Jack suggests a John Prine song as our new national anthem and Branan is attacked by an animal on air! Mentioned in this episode:– A tale of a theatrical production gone horribly wrong, FIASCO!:https://www.thisamericanlife.org/510/fiasco-2013– The story of the  remote island of Nauru’s involvement in the bankrupting of the Russian economy, global terrorism, and the late 1980s theatrical flop of a London musical based on the life of Leonardo da Vinci called Leonardo, A Portrait of Love. (30 minutes): No Island is an Islandhttps://www.thisamericanlife.org/253/the-middle-of-nowhere/act-one-0– Jack’s Peabody award-winning podcast, Uncivil:  the time our divisions turned into a war, and bring you stories left out of the official history.https://gimletmedia.com/shows/uncivil

David Waddell is CEO and Chief Investment Strategist for Waddell & Associates. He also plays a mean guitar and has a knack for distilling the complex maze that is our national economy down to an easily digestible form. Which is a good thing given that Anson was a theater major and Branan studied “Fine Arts”. Dave also explains what he learned about the Chinese economy while spending a year living in Hong Kong, and how robots are now controlling a surprising amount of trade. Yes. Robots.

Jonathan Meiburg (from TWP004 and TWP005) returns as our first ever return guest. We check in with Jonathan who is staying very productive under lockdown producing two albums for his two bands SHEARWATER and LOMA while editing his first book about the evolution of his favorite South American raptor – the striated caracara. Among other topics discussed: The unsung role of the Antarctic in evolution, working with a legend in modern music, the comfort and nostalgia of a ring tone, and what Texas pastime he shares with George W. Bush. 

Actor Ryan Robbins tells us what it’s like to battle COVID-19 and why we need to take this seriously.

We’ve all probably heard one or two good country music stories. Well, Brad Paisley is about to raise the bar. For more information on Brad’s music, charities and everything else, check out his website. For more information on Lou Barlow’s music and adventures, make sure to check out his highly entertaining website.

In our new segment, we’re calling folks to see what they’re doing to stay creative during the coronavirus lockdown. Brad Paisley kicks us off by telling us about how his charitable, free grocery THE STORE was open only two days when the virus took hold in the US. Now he’s figuring out how to get the food TO the people who need it. You can find out more about Brad’s music and charitable work at his website.

Anson and Branan come to you straight from Anson’s Connecticut property where they are literally quarantined from one another. Join us for a deep dive into the history of pandemics and the mystery of viruses. You can find out more about Carl Zimmer and his book “A Planet of Viruses” here. You can see the preview for the film “The One I Love” (2014) here. It is available on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon and many other platforms. Addition music for this episode provided by Greivous Angels under a Creative Commons Attribution No-Derivatives Non-commercial 3.0 US License. You can find out more about them at their website here, and the track “Home Sick Home” can be found here.

Branan opens class in the School of Hardcore with the help of author Michael Azerrad, and Anson shares his adventures in Vietnam. You can find Michael Azerrad’s book “Our Band Could Be Your Life” here. You can find Emily St. John Mandel’s “Station Eleven” here.

Anson shares stories from his trip to Portugal. Branan and Anson share what’s making them excited in the worlds of film, TV, books and podcasts. Anson pours some port and Branan tells the amazing story of “The Port Loophole”. NOTE: Listen and find out how you can become a co-producer of an upcoming episode (which involves helping him to not die on a deserted island).

What happens when reality doesn’t meet your expectations? Hilarity ensues. Always.