My guest today is the artist, producer, and engineer Elana Carroll, aka Party Nails. Her 2025 album Pillow Talk reached number 1 on Submodern Radio. She has toured widely with her blend of alt-pop, rock, and americana and operates a recording studio, Top Coat Music, in Los Angeles. Party Nails' most recent release is The Party Nails Winter EP, which is available on all streaming platforms and Bandcamp. You can learn more about Elana’s music and other projects on her website partypartynails.com, or on social media @partypartynails. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in December 2025.

My guest is Jeff Dietrich. Jeff is a former community engagement professional and artist-in-residence. He is now a photographer and a novice frame-maker, woodworker, photography instructor, writer, election worker, cyclist, adventurer, and general-purpose dabbler. You can find his photos and writings at jeff-dietrich.com, and on his Instagram page @JeffDietrich. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in October 2025.

My guest is Chris Coggins. Chris has been professor of Geography and Asian Studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock for 27 years, and now teaches at the new Simon’s Rock at Bard College. He is the author of The Tiger and the Pangolin: Nature, Culture, and Conservation in China (2003) and many articles and chapters on geography, environment, and China. He is the editor of, most recently, Sacred Forests of Asia: Spiritual Ecology and the Politics of Nature Conservation (2022) with Bixia Chen. He has a new article in American Historical Review, coauthored with Ian Miller, on Fengshui forests in China, and he has an essay on Betty’s Oak and the forests around Simon’s Rock in a forthcoming collection edited by Jennifer Browdy. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in September 2025.

My guest is Katie Bradshaw. Katie is a doctoral candidate in English literature at the University of Southern California. She is a critic and essayist, and she wants to stay a student and an amateur, and to never become a professional. She has a forthcoming essay in Cambridge Quarterly about writers who draw.

Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in July 2025.

My guest is Lukas Walczak. He is a former community organizer, and at the time of our conversation was the senior advisor to Congressman Robert Garcia in California’s 42nd district. He is now the campaign manager for Perry Meade in California’s 40th congressional district.

Recorded in March 2025 in Long Beach, CA.