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In this bonus episode, Blake recounts a wild experience of group hypnotism and an unexpected power differential. Kashif examines James Baldwin’s first three novels, and how, he too, was hypnotized—by love.
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About the show:
A culture podcast by two insufferable queer introverts in the South who really need to know who’s gonna be there before they commit to anything.
Instagram: @whosgonnabetherepod
TikTok: @whosgonnabetherepod
Podcast: Download
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In this bonus episode, Kashif offers a brief history of beauty supply store extensions, otherwise known as ‘pack hair’. He traces its emergence as a social marker. Moving 18th century England, he examines the parallels betweens wigs and wealth. Blake (an actual square dancing champion), walks us through the architecture and history of square dancing. From France to Henry Ford, he explores the Americanization of the iconic dance, considering more accessible and queer (of course!) models.
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About the show:
A culture podcast by two insufferable queer introverts in the South who really need to know who’s gonna be there before they commit to anything.
Instagram: @whosgonnabetherepod
TikTok: @whosgonnabetherepod
Every music release put out into the world has a story behind it. Maybe it’s as simple as “person noodles in bedroom to make songs.” Maybe it’s as elaborate as hiring a PR firm to help craft a narrative about a genre bending new fifth album and the heartache that inspired it. Sometimes these stories help contextualize what you’re hearing. Maybe they increase enticement. In the case of this Crystalline Encounters release, the story presented does both.. as well as brings up a lot of questions on the legitimacy of its creation!
Here’s the first paragraph of the release notes:
The music on this tape was purportedly created by Stephen Messler in the years following his claims of having been abducted by extraterrestrials multiple times throughout the late 1980s. Messler disappeared without a trace in 1996 leaving behind a disorganized pile of scattered notes and around a dozen audio tapes on which he had attempted to recreate the sounds he heard while aboard alien vessels. The tapes were eventually discovered by Messler’s nephew who restored and digitized them. This is the fifth cassette in the series, but the first to have a real release as the previous ones were so limited as to barely exist.
Right off the bat, you’re gonna hit play to find out exactly what sounds were attempted to be recreated from the alien vessel. What you hear is other worldly, as well as chaotic and sometimes numbing. It’s not outlandish to think if you were brought aboard an unidentified flying object, this might actually be what it feels like in that environment.
Of course, you may not believe the tale at all. It may be a pure fiction intended to give a quaint story to some ambient noisemaker’s latest efforts. And, yes, that is a valid skeptical view to take. However, looking around the Internet for anything about Crystalline Encounters or Stephen Messler turns up next to nothing related to this effort. If this were just a marketing scheme, wouldn’t there be an Instagram account to follow? Or a YouTube channel to like and subscribe? There’s none of that.
Even if it is just a fanciful story to frame two fifteen minute pieces, it’s an effective one. It gives you context, it creates intrigue and it asks you to enter into a world where a UFO abduction drove someone mad trying to recreate their experience. Try playing the music extremely loud in a room with no visible light, you may just find yourself a believer after all.
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R.K. Russell, the first openly bisexual player in the NFL, visits the pod to chat about Heated Rivalry. Russell’s live Threads posts garnered attention in the fandom for his honest, tender, and sometimes controversial takes on the Canadian series, which stars Connor Storrie and Luke Hudson. Russell came out as bisexual in 2019, playing for the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The trio also discusses representation in the series, and hopes for season 2.
• R.K. Russell’s socials: Instagram | Website
• R.K. Russell
• The Yards Between Us
• Prison or Passion
• Heated Rivalry
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About the show:
A culture podcast by two insufferable queer introverts in the South who really need to know who’s gonna be there before they commit to anything.
Instagram: @whosgonnabetherepod
TikTok: @whosgonnabetherepod
Podcast: Download
Subscribe: RSS
In this bonus episode, Blake reveals a personal connection to sun-sneezing, and how it can tie people to one another. Kashif explores the symbolism and history of the flower, Lily of the Valley.
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About the show:
A culture podcast by two insufferable queer introverts in the South who really need to know who’s gonna be there before they commit to anything.
Instagram: @whosgonnabetherepod
TikTok: @whosgonnabetherepod
We’ve been covering holiday music since the very early days of the site – at least 2008 if our search is to be trusted! Our first official compilation of local holiday music was on the We Own This Town Music episode Volume 58 from 2012. Ever since then, we’ve made an effort to put together some local holiday tunes for your enjoyment. Shockingly, 2025 is no different!
Well, okay, it’s a little different. Instead of a conveniently packaged podcast, we’ve got a Christmas Playlist! Tap that first track and let the holiday party begin!
The playlist is comprised entirely of songs available on Bandcamp. If you’re feeling jolly, be sure to tap on through and support those artists directly for their enjoyable contributions. This one is as eclectic as anything we’ve ever put together before so there’s sure to be something in there for everybody.
If you find yourself in need of more local holiday music, we have got you covered. In abundance! Here’s the full archive:
If your appetite for local holiday tunes still isn’t satiated! I’ve got great news for you.. there’s still plenty of delightful local holiday music out there to enjoy! Start exploring!
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The girls sit down with their first official guest of Season 5, Randa Newman! We delve into Randa’s background, including her adoption from South Korea to a family in Kentucky and she shares her personal journey through an ectopic pregnancy, IVF, and the challenges of balancing motherhood with career. Join us!
About our guest: Randa Newman is a producer, actor, and genetic counselor. Born in Seoul and adopted into a family of Eastern Kentucky Appalachians at three months old, she brings a unique perspective to both science and storytelling. She is the co-founder of Ranch Vovo, a narrative film production company based in East Nashville. Randa has produced several films and served as executive producer on the TV pilot Morse Code, which earned multiple awards on the film festival circuit. In 2025, she made her directorial debut with the critically acclaimed short film I’m a Winner (written by Joy Todd), which won the Audience Choice Award at Nashville Film Festival. Her on-screen credits include 911 Nashville (ABC), Sketch (starring Tony Hale), Young Rock (NBC), Walker (CW), and The WASP, in which she portrayed WWII pilot Hazel Ying Lee.
Randa lives in East Nashville with her husband, Korby, and their daughter, Zuzu.
You may not know a lot of architects in town but with Manuel Zeitlin, you probably do! Know Turnip Truck? Henrietta Red? Pinewood Social? Fenwicks 300? Catbird Seat? The Gulch!? That’s all MZA. Zeitlin’s portfolio is vast and impressive. I mention this because Manuel Zeitlin, the MZA’s namesake, has announced his retirement.
Fittingly, the collective coworkers at WORK wanted to pay tribute and show their appreciation for their founder. What better way to do that than en EP of Neil Young covers? Five tracks of excellently executed songs that include a nice range of Young’s highlights.*
Many thanks to Manuel Zeitlin for his decades long career and his (and his studio’s) impact on Nashville. Additionally, many thanks to WORK for consistently coming together to show that being coworkers can be fun, unifying and beneficial to the community. Truly, a heart of gold all around.
* nothing from the electronic Trans album – maybe next year!?
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Why do holidays matter? In the season finale, our hosts share their ideal year of holidays: some ancient, some sacrilegious, and some downright pornographic. Considering sociologist Amitai Etzioni’s scholarship around holidays, Blake and Kashif decide to keep, tweak, or trash celebrations that occupy the American calendar year. What the heck is up with Groundhog Day? A tough day to be ugly in Ancient Greece. TLC’s Trading Spaces–Ancient Roman Edition. DOGEing the hell out of American war holidays. They close with the last Game of the season.
• Amitai Etzioni
• Kwanzaa
• Saturnalia
• Iyanla Fix My Life Episode
• Hiring Day
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About the show:
A culture podcast by two insufferable queer introverts in the South who really need to know who’s gonna be there before they commit to anything.
Instagram: @whosgonnabetherepod
TikTok: @whosgonnabetherepod
Podcast: Download
Subscribe: RSS
Ambient music—what is it, what is it not? Hosts Blake and Kashif attempt to define the music that is so much a part of our professional and personal lives, even when we don’t realize it. Beginning in the 20th century, they trace the genre’s journey from dinner music for the upper echelon to the ‘on-hold’ jingle at your local doctor’s office. Just how many subgenres of ambient/experimental music are there? Why are ambient titles so usual? Reflections on William Basinski’s The Disintegration Loops. An interview with JayVe Montgomery about sound and existence, his newest project: Lake Black Town, and the need for more Black ambient artists.
• JayVe’s socials: Instagram | Website
• Lake Black Town
• only forced labor can make america great again!
• Lake Lanier
• The N-Word of God
• Portrait Pallas at Ambient Evening (1.16.25)
• The Disintegration Loops
• William Basinski on Making TDL
• Brian Eno
• Black Ambient Artist: Laraaji
• Stars of the Lid
• Pop Ambient 2006 (Iceblink)
• Pop Ambient 2003 (Express Yourself)
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About the show:
A culture podcast by two insufferable queer introverts in the South who really need to know who’s gonna be there before they commit to anything.
Instagram: @whosgonnabetherepod
TikTok: @whosgonnabetherepod
Podcast: Download
Subscribe: RSS
Joy and Sarah both had crazy weeks and decided to hit record on their first hang – post baby. Joy gets to meet and hold Lady while Sarah shares her birth story, which she doesn’t really want you to know the details about because it was all pretty easy. So don’t tell anyone else. :)
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In the depths of a lonliness epidemic, what is the importance of coffee shops and third spaces? Our resident coffee shop connoisseurs break down Ray Oldenburg’s third space theory and its obsession with homosexuality. They look at how third wave coffee shops function in their respective communities. How can you tell if a coffee shop will be good based on the name? Why Joe, Co., and Roast can be a dead giveaway of a burnt latte. Baristas and how they are principal agents in the fight against loneliness.
• Ray Oldenburg
• The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community by Ray Oldenburg
• Third Wave Coffee
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About the show:
A culture podcast by two insufferable queer introverts in the South who really need to know who’s gonna be there before they commit to anything.
Instagram: @whosgonnabetherepod
TikTok: @whosgonnabetherepod
