Episode 691: Nick Dragotta

On today's episode, I talk to comic artist Nick Dragotta. Originally from Cape May, NJ, Nick came to prominence working on Fantastic Four with Jonathan Hickman, which then led to their incredible creator-owned work East of West. Beyond this, Nick has done the art for a number of great books including X-Statix, wrote and drew his own book Ghost Cage, and co-created the character America Chavez. Most recently, it was announced that Nick will do the art for the final arc of Once Upon a Time at the End of the World, while he continues to draw the fantastic Absolute Batman! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Dan Wriggins. Originally from Yarmouth, ME, Dan started playing piano and guitar in high school, and around this time he met his future bandmates in Friendship, Michael Cormier-O'Leary and Peter Gill. In the last ten years, Friendship have released five records starting with 2015's You're Going to Have to Trust Me on Burst & Bloom, and their latest, Caveman Wakes Up, was just released in May on Merge Records. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to singer/songwriter Peter Salett. Born in Princeton, NJ, Peter grew up near Washington DC in Columbia, MD. As part of the New York arts scene in the 1990s, Peter crossed over with the vibrant film and comedy scenes at the time and has written or contributed to the music for a number of films including Wet Hot American Summer, Keeping the Faith, The Ten, The Baxter and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Outside of soundtracks, Peter is an accomplished musician with seven albums to his name, and his latest is a double release Suite for the Summer Rain and Dance of the Yellow Leaf, and they are both just enchanting! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Laura Ballance. Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Laura moved around a fair amount as a child, eventually ending up in Chapel Hill for college where she met Mac McCaughan, who convinced her to be in a band. That band is Superchunk, who over the last 36 years have released twelve albums, numerous EPs, compilations and live albums and created one of the most lasting legacies in indie rock. In addition to Superchunk, Laura co-founded, along with Mac, Merge Records, one of the most well-known and well-liked indie labels. Speaking of both Merge and Superchunk, their latest album, the very appropriate -for-2025-named Songs in the Key of Yikes is out next Friday, and I cannot wait! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Carson McHone. Originally from Austin, TX, Carson has been playing music live since she was a teenager. Her first EP came out in 2013 and brought her immediate attention. Over the next five years, Carson built a reputation for herself in the country scene, and her second album Carousel was named by Rolling Stone as one of the "40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2018". 2022's Still Life, released on Merge, saw an evolution of Carson's style which continues into her latest album Pentimento, which will be out September 12th also on Merge, and folks, it's wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner and GLAAD Award-winning comics writer Mark Russell. Born in Springfield, OR, Mark broke into professional writing with his book God Is Disappointed in You, a modern retelling of the Bible. This led to comics work writing Prez for DC in 2015 and a number of other comics in the last decade including The Flintstones, Exit, Stage Left!: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Fantastic Four: Life Story, Superman: Space Age, Batman: Dark Age and many others. Most recently, Mark finished a run writing X-Factor for the first wave of post-Krakoa X-Men books and has a number of books on the horizon for publishers like Ahoy and Mad Cave! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist Rory Blank. Originally from Carrollton, Georgia, Rory eventually ended up in Austin for college, where he began making cartoons for the student newspaper. In the early 20-teens, Rory began posting his comics online on places like Tumblr and Twitter and began to gain a following. Most recently, Rory was voted the Best Cartoonist in Austin in the 2025 Austin Chronicle "Best of Austin" readers poll for the second year in a row! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to writer and showrunner Selwyn Seyfu Hinds. Originally from Georgetown, Guyana, Selwyn and his family moved to Brooklyn in the 1980s, when he was 14-years-old. After graduating from Princeton, he began writing for The Village Voice. Then in the late 1990s, he became a hip-hop critic and then editor-in-chief at The Source magazine. As a TV writer, Selwyn wrote for Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone reboot and most recently created and showran the new Hulu show Washington Black, based on Esi Edugyan's novel of the same name, and all episodes drop next Wednesday! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to musician Daniel Littleton. Originally from Annapolis, MD, Daniel's first band The Hated was part of the first wave of hardcore/post-punk/emo in the 1980s. In 1991, Daniel and Elizabeth Mitchell began recording together as Ida. They released their first three albums on the formative indie label Simple Machines, and as the '90s progressed they became loosely associated with a wave of chamber pop bands. Their next five albums were released on labels  like Polyvinyl and Tiger Style Records, and in the late aughts, the band went on hiatus. Recently though, they began performing again in support of Numero Group's 4-LP reissue of their fourth album Will You find Me. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner Award-winning comics writer Kelly Sue DeConnick. Born in Columbus, OH, Kelly Sue moved around a lot as a child and eventually got into comics professionally through adapting translations of manga. Since the mid-aughts, she has jumped between creator-owned work for publishers like Image such as Pretty Deadly and Bitch Planet, and work-for-hire at Marvel and DC, including a defining run on Captain Marvel. Most recently, she created FML for Dark Horse. It returns this July, and is easily one of the best comics in the last year! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!