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I kick off a new year with a conversation with songwriter and musician Kris Simeon. Kris has been playing around the Southland for many years and used to play in the rock band Spartacus, a regular booking on my Blackbird shows. Kris has been playing music ever since solo and in various projects around town. We talk about songwriting and how music works cathartically to heal painful wounds. Kris plays a few tunes and lets me jam with him on harmonica. Well, I try. I answer the question about whether it's cool to punch Nazis. If you like this show, please consider supporting me for $1 per episode on Patreon.com/TNT2E

Ventura is a very small town, and sometimes you meet people whom you realize you have a ton of connections with and such is the case of Jesse Armitage. Jesse is the Educational Director of The Ventura Improv Company, which is hosting the Ventura Improv Festival this weekend. We know like a million of the same people and yet, have never spoken before the conversation presented here. We talk about improv and comedy and how they have influenced each other. I reminisce about the Livery Theater back in the day and Jesse admits to finding all sorts of evidence of the punk rock shows we did there. I reexamine an embarrassing incident that turned me off to improv in college and Jesse tries to fire me from a job screwing wooden handles into plungers. I neglect to warn everyone about the suicide triggers contained herein. Our conversation starts at 8:10. I rant about Ted losing faith in the tooth fairy.

I have a conversation with photographer and long time friend, Sarah Alvarado. She's a graduate of Brooks Institute, which recently shuttered its campus in Ventura and had been shooting the devastating Blue Cut Fire in the High Desert, so I thought it would be an opportune time to check in with her to pick her brain about current events. We talk about her chosen profession and how she deals emotionally with the stress of the job and encountering people on the worst day of their lives. We chat about old times, Jack and Cokes, and she refers to me in the third person at least twice. We reminisce about the impact of "Brookies" on the Ventura music scene. I marvel at Sarah's need for adrenaline, and she admits to turning into a cranky old lady yelling at kids to get off her lawn. I, once again, sing the praises of Periscope. Our conversation starts at 17:07. I rant about Rush Limbaugh, The Dead Milkmen, and what the Queers are doing to the soil.

I love the Twitter account @GodsPlanDaily. Here is the premise: If God is the author of everything that happens, he must be responsible for some of the most unfortunate days and bad ends met by the people of this earth. @GodsPlanDaily reveals God's plan for some unfortunate person each day. Is your fate laid out in today's tweet? You'd better hope not. It's a dark and hilarious voyage into the mayhem and chaos that is everyday life for some poor soul, somewhere on earth. I've been a fan of this twitter account for a while and check back from time to time to make sure I don't miss a single one. I reached out to the anonymous author of this account to find Tim, a school teacher from Texas who takes the task of speaking for God very seriously and who doesn't seem to think much of being at the helm of a Twitter account with 42k followers. We talk about the inspiration for the tweets and his view of religion as expressed by them. We talk about having kids, making music, and his background growing up in a religious family. Our conversation starts at 11:20. I rant about my daughter's first day at Kindergarten and she tells me some terrible jokes.

I have a conversation with Chris Jay and Aaron Goldberg, writers, and co-producers of the new comedy The Bet available now on all VOD platforms. Chris and Aaron are long-time friends of mine and members of the long-lived Ventura band The Army of Freshmen. We talk about how two music guys ended up writing a movie and pulling every favor they could to produce and shoot it in Ventura, with tons of Ventura locals in the background (My children and I included.) We talk about Ron Jeremy's crocs, sexy nuns, and when to put boobies into your movie. I ask how they managed to hustle their way into Hollywood. We talk music, creativity, and hitting up one's parents for cash. Chris alludes to an alternate universe where Army of Freshmen is famous. Aaron weighs in the importance of casting hot chicks. Our conversation starts at (10:40) I rant about how I learned that nobody gives a fuck about your list of grievances.

I have a conversation with Michael Sullivan, editor of the VCReporter, Ventura County's source for weekly news, entertainment, and local politics. Michael has been at the creative helm of the free weekly for eight years, the longest serving editor, and I take this opportunity to ask her about running the paper, dealing with the public and responding to critics. Michael, a Ventura native, bounced around the country and ended up in pursuing journalism at the encouragement of her mother. She landed back in VC and just happened to be at the right place and time to apply for the recently open position of editor at the paper. We talk about local politics and the woes of the Oxnard Police Department. Michael recounts reaching out to mentor at-risk youth, and I wonder aloud if gangs are in fact more stable, loving environments for youth than ending up in the foster system. Michael answers my questions about raising her son as a single mother and surviving cancer. I rant about my week away from national politics volunteering for Camp Quest West, and I officially endorse a candidate for president with an analogy about a man on a diet stuck at a buffet that only serves bacon cheeseburgers and dog shit. Vote for There's No Time to Explain in the Talk category at VenturaCountyMusicAwards.com.

Jason Amelio, my guest from TNT2E #10, returns for another far-ranging conversation about anything that happens to come up. Jason is a member of The Velveteen Band, voicing the puppet Foe the Destroyer, and author of the urban fantasy novel, Jake Swift: Knight. Given the intense character of national news in the last few days, I really felt like bouncing some ideas about current events off someone and Jason was the perfect guy. We talk about Steam Punk and the origins of Goth, and what the relationship is between subcultures that seek to find identity in some older version of values and practices. We talk about cooking on cast iron and why cemeteries are the best places to be a delinquent. Jason admits to playing Pokemon GO, and we talk shit about people who talk shit about Pokemon GO. We discuss the case the Dylan Noble, the police shooting victim you haven't heard about in the news, and we discuss the many issues that may be the root of America's policing problem these days. I propose that our sanitized politically correct culture is the reason we completely missed all the racist people who still exist in America and voted for Trump and Jason passionately defends Hillary Clinton and talks about his girl-on-girl political dream. I suggest Berners are falling into his Cult of Personality and Jason says you all should listen to the German 12-member operatic metal band Avantasia. I rant about the reasons why Dylan Noble's death hasn't been a national news story. If you like this podcast, consider voting for it in the Talk category in the 2016 Ventura County Music Awards. Fill out an online ballot at VenturaCountyMusicAwards.com.

I have a conversation with Stephen DeBaun, known to me as the Reverend Stevo, a community activist and founder of the Sparks Network, a platform to connect volunteers with events and organizations. We discuss the ins and outs of his company and how he hopes to shape the face of volunteering, enabling our natural desire to help out which hasn't been served well by technology up to this point. Stevo and I chat about Karaoke, accordions, and alcoholic root beer. He talks about the importance of local politics and his experience being involved in the Occupy Movement in Ventura and the Westside Community Council. I wax poetic about the value of volunteerism and talk crap about goddamn Liberals. I rant about the Six Flags Flash Pass and attempt to do the math on how much time a general admission rider waits in line on behalf of people who skip to the front of the line with a Flash Pass.

I have a conversation with Rich Kleckner, who decided 6 months ago to start dressing as a woman full time. We discuss his lifelong proclivity to cross-dress and how he has dealt with the social stigma of being a stranger to the straight community and the gay community. We talk through the various terms people use to describe him and how he has found a very small community of like-minded cross-dressers who has given him insight into his obsession. We discuss cross-dressing in pop culture and world cultures. I mention the various spectra that gender identity and sexuality exists on and we inventory Rich's answers to where he fits on the Genderbread Man, a graphic from ItsPronouncedMetroSexual.com. Of course, no discussion about a man in a dress these days can be complete without answering the most important question in the world, apparently: Which bathroom does Rich use? I rant about the media's incuriosity about Michael Steven Stanford's failed attempt to assassinate Donald Trump.

My wife Victoria asked me if she could interview me and I said, "Of course!" My lovely wife of nearly ten years is an obsessive planner and notoriously unadventurous eater. She created a "Wheel of Brian Parra" to select topics for me to discuss. I talk about our domestic life, my obsession with Judge John Hodgman, and how I'm willing to perform self-surgery. Vic asks me to discuss how I came to be so well dressed and why I binge watch TV Shows. We discuss TV shows that are too close to our everyday lives to be watchable for us. I wonder aloud if I might be a Gladwellian super connector. We discuss whether it's possible to rekindle friendships with childhood friends and if it's weird that I go see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2:Out of the Shadows with "The Guys" (It's not.) We talk about White vs. Mexican families and I recount the time we ate hot dogs for Christmas. I explain why I'm NOT moving to Tennessee to climb the corporate ladder. We drink wine. She triggers my stutter and my, "UHHHHHHs." We discuss the drag cruises we've been on together and what I expected to happen as a straight man on a gay cruise. I address the shooting at Pulse Night Club and explain why I'm so passionate about speaking out about this issue. I pay tribute to Edward Sotomayor Jr., who lost his life in Orlando. Victoria and I met him aboard the Drag Queen cruises we attended and held him in high esteem.

I have a conversation with Neil Polzin, a board member for Camp Quest, Inc. and camp director for the Southern California session of Camp Quest West, a secular summer camp for kids of nonreligious families. He just returned from the Reason Rally in Washington D.C. a rally promoting reason and freethought to our nation's law makers. Neil spent a few days lobbying his congressional representatives about real sex education to counter abstinence-only education and talking to people about Camp Quest. We unpack all his experiences from his trip day by day where at one point, he nearly shared a stage with the Wu-Tang Clan, in front of a crowd of ten thousand. I ask Neil about his experience being ousted from the Boy Scouts when he admitted to being an atheist. I rant about my podcast post on the TNT2E Facebook page being targeted by trolls working for Donald Trump.

I attended the rally for Bernie Sanders on the campus of Ventura College on May 26, 2016. A Democratic presidential primary rally is a rare sight in California, and I was very excited to attend my first. I recorded conversations I had with 23 amazing people I ran into all day long and present them here. Some were good friends; some were casual acquaintances; some were complete strangers; all were bas ass. All day long I was confronted with passion, enthusiasm and genuine concern for the future of our nation. I start the day off connecting with Lisa Bean AKA Boh Nellis, a previous guest on this podcast and talk to members of her entourage. I discover the identity of the mystery man who was hanging handpainted Bernie signs all over Ventura. I manage to get into the section coordinated by the Sanders campaign to be Bernie’s photo backdrop during his speech. I talk to a real live Republican. BOTH a Black person AND a White person talk to me. I confront a Trump Troll. Don’t miss Punk Rock and Politics Parts I, II, and III. My microphone doesn’t get past security. And, if all of that wasn't enough, I shake the hand of Bernie Sanders. I defend Bernie Supporters against the criticism that we are destroying the Democratic Party by not supporting Hillary Clinton. Be sure to recommend this podcast to your friends and encourage them to vote in California's primary on Tuesday, June 7.

I have a conversation with artist Travis Shorey. Travis draws and paints three-eyed monsters and geek-culture characters engaged in mostly eating tacos and drinking beer. His colorful painting can be seen on his Facebook page, Jankety Art. Travis is a huge fan of beer, and I delight in going through his beer inventory in Brewbacca, his beer-toting Chewbacca backpack. Over the course of nearly three hours, we cover various topics as censorship in art, Randy Newman dropping the N-word, the Savior of Rock and Roll, who is obviously Bruno Mars, and whether Travis has ever been too drunk to fuck. We discuss Travis' self-diagnosed Autism and his obsessive painting, which brings him happiness. We are interrupted by a bit of neighborhood drama as my son Ted's friend falls out of a tree and we deal with Ted's guilt over letting his friend fall. Our talk turns to kids, and how Travis avoids becoming a "Disneyland Dad" and is seemingly unconcerned with his mortality. I had to cut over an hour and a half of recorded conversation from this episode, so I end with an audio clip montage of Travis' sayings that didn't make the cut set over the theme to Super Mario Brothers. I rant about overthinking the racial and ethnic survey on my daughter's kindergarten registration paperwork and why Hispanic is such a hard ethnicity to nail down. I basically deny everyone's whiteness and probably kick off the next race war. During the conversation, Travis draws a monster picture; I will give it to the person who posts the best comment on the Facebook Post for this episode.

I have a conversation with Robert Lindsay, a competitor on the SYFY Network’s movie FX and makeup reality competition show, Face Off. My family is a huge fan of this show; we'd watch it together, and Robert was our favorite contestant this past season. He was such an entertaining contestant and his work on the show was always zany and out of the box. We talk about how he was raised on Disney films and why he had to seek out original versions of horror films due to German censorship. We chat about the quirks of American’s contradictory attitudes about sex and how it compares with German attitudes toward violence. We get behind the scenes of reality television and discuss how the show distorts the real nature of the FX makeup profession. Robert admits to a “Fuck it” moment that led to his elimination as one of the final six competitors. I call out Glenn Hetrick on his clothing choices. We discuss what has happens after the show ends and how he is parlaying his appearance into success. Robert raves about the Turkish remake of Star Wars and the fan trailer he’s making for it and speaks his mind about the scourge of bad CGI in movies and whatever is up with der Weinerschnitzel. I take something back I said in the last episode and rant about how we learn gender roles and why I’m confused about how the rest of the world sees them. I reduce humanity to meat bags stretched across calcium scaffolding.

I have a conversation with Greg Daniels, owner of OneWebsitePlease.com, a full-service website development company, and host of the Untitled Personal Podcast Project. Greg and I share some conversational proclivities, mainly, never missing an opportunity to go off on a tangent and jumping off the deep end, reading the infinite in the mundane. Needless to say, it's a long episode. We talk about how his podcast and the mix of personalities featured led to some pretty testy moments between people with differing opinions. We talk about the nature of belief and what it takes for religious believers to reconsider their world view. Greg makes the case that Teddy, my son, is a minor web celebrity. My daughter punches Greg in the nuts. We discuss the oddly compelling world of the live-streaming app, Periscope. I ask Greg to weigh in on the political lip service heaped on small business owners as the economic engine of this country and we end up discussing the seemingly intentional and focused disenfranchisement of voters as a way to control elections and maintain power. We talk about what liberty, freedom, and happiness meant to the founding fathers. Greg and I agree 100% on the important issue of NOT wearing socks with sandals. We review Captain America:Civil War and unpack all the political allegory offered up in the movie. This discussion contains SPOILERS for Civil War. During my rant, I make the case that Republican primary voters who are unhappy with Trump as the nominee should change the race now by switching party affiliation and voting for Bernie Sanders in the remaining Democratic primaries and caucuses.

This week, I have a conversation with an advocate for Universal Basic Income (UBI), Saul Of-Hearts, author of Back to Basics: Why A Universal Basic Income Is The Ultimate Safety Net. We discuss UBI, a very progressive social program that provides an unconditional stipend given directly to each citizen, providing a baseline income. Over the last few years I've heard UBI championed as a potential solution for many social problems like disproportionate income distribution, poverty, hunger, the automation of the workforce, and as economic stimulus. I explain how I came to understand UBI and give Saul an opportunity to defend it while playing Devil's Advocate. We get into the particulars of how a social program like this might work and how it might get paid for. I mention two examples of UBI ideals on display in the middle of American's ultra-conservative bastion, Thomas Paine's Agrarian Justice and Alaska's oil dividends, the Alaska Permanent Fund. I suggest a realignment of our priorities and how we value life and labor in the emerging global tech economy. At the start of interview Saul mentions he lives in an ecovillage, an intentional community based on resource sharing and cooperation. He writes for the Fellowship of Intentional Community, a resource for those living in cooperative communities and discusses a bit about his day-to-day routine and how he be became interested in this way of life. Saul gives a review of science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin's book, The Dispossessed. I rant about third party candidates and how they can split constituencies, giving the wins to less-preferred candidates. Looking into the idea of getting to choose a "second choice" vote to address this issue, I stumble across the Marquis de Condorcet, a French mathematician and Enlightenment Age thinker who is the namesake of the Condorcet Method, a way to vote by ordering candidates by preference, so the win given to the person with the most support of the voters, not a simple plurality. During the recording, I incorrectly refer to it as "second choice" voting, which is a term I must have invented myself in a fever dream. I see this as a way to allow third party candidates to participate without splitting majority constituencies and as a way to loosen the grip of the American two-party system.

I have a conversation with Lavada Luening, co-founder of the Southeast Wisconsin Secular She-Thinkers and host of the the Secular TV web series, The Secular She-Thinker. She's speaking at the Shift to Reason Conference in Saskatchewan, Canada on April 30th. She's a popular secular, atheist, feminist, and liberal activist and writer whose work was, before last week, featured on a popular "freethought" website, but removed by the publisher after a dispute about what other sorts of nonsense gets published under the banner of freethought went public. I reached out to Lavada and asked her for the inside scoop and we pontificate on the meaning of freethought and how it's stretched to include all sorts of nonsense. We talk about the Wisconsin and California Primary and do some strategy planning for Bernie Sanders in case he doesn't get the Democratic nomination. I ask Lavada to defend her use of racy photos of herself on social media to advance her feminist agenda, and she coins the term, "Honeypot Activism." I do as one does when you interview a feminist: tell sexist jokes. I rant about the the hornet's nest of anger and vitriol I stumbled into when I tried to troll a few of my friends with a fake Pussycat Dolls meme that went viral after being shared by notable drag queens Guillotina Munter and Yara Sophia, amassing 26k+ shares in four days. I use the opportunity to ponder our own advancing mortality when we realize that our musical idols are dying at a seemingly faster rate than normal.

I have a conversation with Brittney Ritter aka B Sharp, a familiar face in the Ventura Karaoke scene and organizer of the Sans Souci Book Club. Brittney is a double English and History major at CSUCI, a person after my own heart and she shares how her introverted childhood and obsession with reading literature lead her to Hip Hop and writing poetry. Locals might be familiar with B as the unassuming girl who explodes with passion and rapid fire lyrics when she gets behind the microphone and her favorite track is playing. We talk about bearing the burden of caring for her family at a young age and how that shaped her relationship to nightlife and (not) drinking. We talk about how people abuse the person who answers the phone for pizza delivery and where to find secret access to the rooftops of Downtown Ventura. We cover B’s results on the Briggs-Myers Personality Test (and mine too) and discuss how being an introvert affects art and creativity. We wonder aloud if literature and the study of English has any use anymore and mention the dire situation of one of Ventura’s long standing book sellers. B Sharp sings Handlebars by the FloBots. I rant about the new Harriet Tubman $20 bill, the lower life expectancy of white women and the higher life expectancy of black men in America and the War on Christmas and suggest White Privilege is the common thread between all those stories.

Zeke Berkley performs "Dignity" from his unreleased album Berkley III on the There's No Time To Explain Podcast with Brian Parra #11.

Zeke Berkley performs "Sink" from his latest album Berkley II on the There's No Time To Explain Podcast with Brian Parra #11.