Podsongs

"You have to hold on to hope." — Juliet Marillier
Dutch folk singer Sophie Janna was 14 when she read Daughter of the Forest. Twenty-four years later she finally gets to ask its author the questions she's been carrying since. Juliet Marillier — the New Zealand-born, Western Australia-based novelist behind the Sevenwaters saga and the Blackthorn & Grim novels, and winner of the 2025 World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award — talks about the marriage that ended, the office job, and the first novel she wrote over three years purely to put her feelings on the page. She talks about being a musician long before she was a writer, about belonging to a druid order, about the trees in an Irish wood she was warned away from, and about the morning she lifted a magpie off a picket fence — a moment that became the opening scene of her new novel, The Amber Owl. Sophie takes the conversation into the song, and writes it back into the book that started her: the silent sister, the needle, and the word that must not be spoken.

New single "Hold On" by Sophie Janna — out 28 August. Stream/pre-save: https://ffm.to/holdon-sophiejanna

CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome to Podsongs
00:40 Meet Sophie Janner
01:09 Falling for Daughter
02:43 Songs from the Books
04:13 Juliet’s Late Start
05:27 What Her Stories Are
07:27 Juliet Joins the Call
09:24 From Music to Writing
11:15 Writing Through Crisis
17:36 Music in Her Fiction
20:43 Roots in Scotland
25:07 Researching Wolfskin
30:47 Forests and Climate
35:39 Art as Activism
38:19 Self Doubt Reflections
40:35 Writing Battles Hard
43:18 Creating Despite Doubts
44:56 Rethinking Soulmates
49:27 Libraries And Access
52:46 Comfort Reads And Moomins
54:43 Finland Research Trip
58:29 Believing In Nature Magic
01:04:11 Magpie Rescue Inspiration
01:08:34 Signing Off And Aftertalk

SONG CREDITS
"Hold On" performed by Sophie Janna
Massimino Voza: drums, piano
Luigi Falcione: bass
Maurizio Sarnicola: electric guitar, mellotron
Mixed and mastered at Goldmine Records, Italy

GUEST & MUSICIAN
Juliet Marillier: https://julietmarillier.com
Sophie Janna: https://sophiejanna.nl

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Website: https://podsongs.com
Podcast episodes: https://podsongs.com/podcast-episodes
Songs: https://podsongs.com/music
Spotify artist: https://open.spotify.com/artist/32FYyRx1y1ex3jHHAgLMC7
Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sN1viy82HPiNTVX2YBxpq

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#Podsongs #JulietMarillier #SophieJanna #folk #TheAmberOwl #druid #folklore

Joel McHale reveals his secret 5am pre-flight ritual, the secret to his marriage, and a Dave Grohl story he's never told — plus, hidden in this hour, the confession that becomes Lowland Hum's new song "Tarantula" on Friday. | Podsongs #173
"I'm Irish, so I could drink turpentine and it would be fine." — Joel McHale
Husband-and-wife folk duo Lowland Hum (Daniel and Lauren Goans) guest-host Podsongs from a friend's studio near their Virginia log cabin and interview comedian and actor Joel McHale (Community, The Soup, Animal Control, Crime Scene Kitchen, Scream 7). Inside this hour: the thing he drinks at 5am before every single flight, the reason he refuses to check a bag, the backstage Dave Grohl story he's never told anywhere, the one thing his wife never does that keeps the marriage working, what cobra actually tastes like, packing procrastination as an existential crisis, an animal that "in two months could kill us all" — and somewhere in all of it, the moment that became Lowland Hum's new single "Tarantula". Even Joel doesn't know which one. See if you can spot it before the song drops.
New single "Tarantula" by Lowland Hum — out Friday 24 July 2026. Pre-save it and hear the answer the moment it lands: https://ffm.to/tarantula

CHAPTERS
00:00 Warm welcome and delays
00:25 Log cabin heat wave chaos
01:17 Woods talk and how memory fragments
02:26 Joel's inside-outside portal office
04:10 Seattle roots and Northwest life
07:00 Meet the host, Jack
08:06 Travel, airports and kid logistics
10:39 Joel's 5am airport ritual and travel kit
13:33 Packing anxiety and style trends
19:02 The perfect pants rabbit hole
23:54 Do acting roles follow you home?
32:48 Flow state across standup, hosting and Scream 7
35:51 Lowland Hum's origin story and gratitude
39:15 Therapy, the inner critic and motivation
43:31 The emotional dial and tour energy
46:32 Tour van naps
46:53 Saying yes to everything: the hustle
48:29 Pro mode onstage
51:40 Collaboration chemistry and 20-year friendships
54:48 The blindfolded audience experiment
01:00:03 Music nerd tangents and the untold Dave Grohl story
01:06:24 Tarantulas and cougars
01:12:27 Food memories and Rome
01:15:32 Goodbyes and the blindfold show
01:19:00 Aftershow: finding the song's entry point
01:24:46 Patreon and community
01:28:08 Closing song tease

GUEST & MUSICIAN
Joel McHale: https://joelmchale.com
Lowland Hum: https://www.lowlandhum.com

// SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL //
Newsletter, donations and download the song for €/episode: @ https://podsongs.com

// LINKS //
Website: https://podsongs.com
Podcast episodes: https://podsongs.com/podcast-episodes
Songs: https://podsongs.com/music
Spotify artist: https://open.spotify.com/artist/32FYyRx1y1ex3jHHAgLMC7
Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sN1viy82HPiNTVX2YBxpq

// SOCIAL //
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Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsongs
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#Podsongs #JoelMcHale #LowlandHum #Tarantula #indiefolk #Community

"You're in despair. You just don't know you're in despair." — Peter Rollins

On this episode of Podsongs, John Kunkel of The New Division takes the guest-host chair to interview Northern Irish writer, philosopher and theologian Peter Rollins as inspiration for a brand new song. John opens up on his influences — Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Duran Duran — before the conversation turns to Rollins' work: questioning certainty, exposing the contradictions we live by, and finding freedom from the relentless "tyranny of happiness," with Los Angeles cast as a spiritual "Mecca" selling wholeness to anyone who can afford it. Along the way Rollins unpacks desire, sacrifice, work and alienation, ideology, AI and the unconscious, the films that shaped him, and the parables behind his "pyrotheology" — and the talk becomes the seed of "Idols," a song about the things we all end up worshipping, good and bad.
New single "Idols" by The New Division — out 26 June. Stream/pre-save: https://ffm.to/tnd_idols
TOPICS
Peter Rollins on desire, contradiction, and ideology
The tyranny of happiness and the demand to enjoy
Los Angeles as a spiritual marketplace
Lacanian psychoanalysis and the unconscious
Why desire needs obstacles
Sacrifice, meaning, and fulfillment
AI, consciousness, and the technological singularity
Films, storytelling, and creative inspiration
John Kunkel’s influences: Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Duran Duran
Writing a song live on the podcast

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro: welcome to Podsongs
01:29 Why UK music hits different (New Order, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen)
04:45 Keeping new wave alive
06:18 Moving abroad: music logistics
09:47 Writing 150 song demos
14:41 Who is Peter Rollins?
28:17 Peter joins the call
31:50 LA and the demand to enjoy
37:01 The tyranny of happiness
38:35 The superego's demand to enjoy
40:19 Why fulfilling your dreams can backfire
41:53 The enjoyment hidden in sacrifice
44:33 Why desire needs obstacles
47:39 The unconscious and Lacan's "object a"
52:56 Filmmaking and prohibition
57:43 Negative universality and politics
01:01:16 The church of contradiction
01:05:29 AI, singularity and the unconscious
01:12:42 Music tastes and influences
01:14:08 Film picks: They Live and ideology
01:19:49 Who inspires Peter now
01:20:34 Writing the song live
01:21:20 The Vegas parable and unknowing
01:26:02 Where to find Peter Rollins
01:28:43 The profane temple and lack
01:34:51 Post-interview debrief
01:39:07 "Idols" — song outro
GUEST & MUSICIAN
Peter Rollins: https://peterrollins.com
The New Division: https://www.newdivisionmusic.com
Get the newsletter, support the show, and download the song for just €/$1:
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Website: https://podsongs.com
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#PeterRollins #JohnKunkel #NewDivision #Philosophy #Theology #Psychoanalysis #Lacan #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Consciousness #Ideology #Desire #Happiness #Spirituality #Songwriting #SynthPop #NewWave #PostPunk #Podsongs #JackStafford

Australian singer-songwriter William Crighton joins host Jack Stafford for a remarkable conversation with legendary explorer, anthropologist and ethnobotanist Wade Davis — bestselling author of The Serpent and the Rainbow and one of the world’s leading voices on indigenous cultures, psychedelics, anthropology and human consciousness.
Recorded on Wade Davis’ 70th birthday, this episode explores Aboriginal songlines, Dreamtime, psychedelics, race, optimism, creativity, music as trance, fatherhood, indigenous wisdom and the modern crisis of meaning.
Before Wade joins the conversation, William discusses his evolving sound, his acclaimed album Water and Dust, collaborations with William Barton and Jeff Lang, touring in Canada and China, his prison songwriting programme and his focus on lower-carbon solo touring.
During the episode, Wade says:
“Despair is an insult to the imagination.”
Later:
“Give your destiny time to find you.”
That line inspired William to write a brand new original song called Destiny, which closes the episode.
Podsongs is the podcast where musicians interview inspiring non-musical guests as inspiration for a new song.
Timestamps:
00:00 Show Intro
00:34 William Crighton’s Sound Journey
04:30 Authenticity, Art & Service
05:32 Why William Chose Wade Davis
08:57 Wade Davis Stories & 70th Birthday
10:58 Touring Canada & Musical Roots
12:53 Australia, Landscape & History
14:43 China, Walkabout & The New Album
20:00 COVID Lockdowns & The Birth of Podsongs
22:11 Wade Davis Joins The Call
24:02 Aboriginal Dreaming & Songlines
28:52 Why Race Is A Myth According To Genetics
38:49 Optimism As A Choice
43:04 Psychedelics & Phases Of Life
46:44 Sacred Experience vs Religion
48:07 Music As Trance & Prayer
53:30 Nature, Myth & Metaphor
56:45 Hope In An Age Of Change
01:05:09 How Landscape Shapes Culture
01:08:53 Egalitarianism & Human Connection
01:17:11 Elder Wisdom & Destiny
01:23:48 Lucky Breaks, Risk & Saying Yes
01:28:07 Final Reflections & New Song
01:32:24 “Give Your Destiny Time To Find You”

Wade Davis:
Wade Davis Official Website

William Crighton:
William Crighton Official Website

Pre-save Destiny:
Pre-save Destiny on Spotify

Podsongs:
Podsongs Official Website

#WadeDavis #WilliamCrighton #Podsongs

Chad Kultgen — novelist, screenwriter, co-creator of Game of Roses (a.k.a. Bachelor Clues), co-host of Dudesy, and host of YouTube's The Necessary Conversation — joins Podsongs for a 90-minute interview with guest host Robin Dann of the Toronto art-pop band Bernice. Robin is a two-time Polaris Music Prize nominee with Bernice, and on this episode she steps into the host seat to dig into the ideas driving Chad's work: kayfabe, reality TV as sport, AI, and the politics of nihilism.The conversation covers kayfabe in professional wrestling and how the same logic now shapes The Bachelor, reality TV at large, social media, and American politics — including villain edits, engineered viral trends, and the "four audiences" framework from Game of Roses. They discuss the primary world shifting onto screens, what AR, Neuralink-style tech, and AI tools like Suno mean for art, labor, and music, and whether AI music will disrupt songwriting the way AI has disrupted comedy on Dudesy.Chad opens up about his nihilistic worldview, his position on free will, and how he navigates political conversations with his MAGA-supporting parents on The Necessary Conversation. The episode also gets into his day-to-day creative grind, his musical background and regrets about not studying music formally, his Logic production setup, his obsession with Mormon influencer culture, and the producer mindset he learned from Elon Gale. Robin talks about her own musical roots — jazz studies, Paris, a master's at Goldsmiths — the Toronto scene, Bernice's work in Italy, and her ASMR obsession. The two close by agreeing to collaborate on a song drawn from the interview.The song that came out of this conversation, "Let's Go Supernova," was written by Robin Dann and is released May 1.Guests:Chad Kultgen (Bachelor Clues, Game of Roses, Dudesy, The Necessary Conversation) — https://www.youtube.com/@TheNecessaryConversationRobin Dann (Bernice) — https://bernicemusic.comSong:"Let's Go Supernova" — written by Robin Dann. Pre-save: https://ffm.to/gosupernovaPodsongs:https://podsongs.com00:00 Welcome and Guests00:34 Meet Robin Dan03:20 Musical Roots and Training03:48 Paris London and Goldsmiths05:07 Awards Scene and Touring06:52 Italy Grants and Logistics09:04 ASMR Obsession Explained11:29 Bachelor as Sport15:30 Who Is Chad Colchin22:10 Chad Joins the Call25:57 Kayfabe and Reality36:03 Doodsy and AI Comedy39:44 Parasocial Primary World41:59 AR Future and Art Labor50:07 AI Music Disruption50:27 Suno AI Songmaking51:38 Mormon Influencer Obsession53:51 Cracks in Kayfabe55:04 Engineered Viral Trends57:47 Nihilism With Humor01:01:19 Parents Politics No Free Will01:03:49 Day in the Life Grind01:05:15 Weed and Creativity01:06:41 Ultimate Goal Reality01:09:56 Music Roots and Regrets01:13:47 Theme Song Looping01:16:16 Reality TV Spy Secrets01:20:36 Four Audiences Explained01:21:34 Pit Dwellers Community01:23:15 John Wilson Edit Kayfabe01:24:37 Pitching The Bracket01:25:59 Elon Gale Producer Mindset01:28:01 Goodbyes and Collab Plans01:31:05 Post Interview Debrief01:32:36 Saint Berenice Plug01:33:28 Final Song Playback// SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL //Newsletter, donations and download the song for €/$1 @ https://podsongs.com// LINKS //Website: https://podsongs.comPodcast episodes: https://podsongs.com/podcast-episodesSongs: https://podsongs.com/musicSpotify artist: https://open.spotify.com/artist/32FYyRx1y1ex3jHHAgLMC7?si=4Nv7WW85SbSPZvCsj1o7IgSpotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sN1viy82HPiNTVX2YBxpq?si=1b84c2b9bdea4656// SOCIAL //Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsongsInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsongsFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsongs