Dr. Lisa Gives A Sh*t

PLEASE NOTE: This is PART ONE of a very intense two part session with Calvin Williams. This session with Calvin Williams, host of RFB's Lush Vibes Radio is timely inspiration for all of us, because as a society, we are all dealing with health issues right now. About 5 years ago, Calvin had to deal with losing 3 close relatives in succession and how soon after that he was diagnosed with Type 1, Juvenile Diabetes which is rare for someone in their thirties. Calvin takes us through how he went through the hard years and how, just recently, he's starting to recognize himself again.

PLEASE NOTE: This is PART TWO of a very intense two part session with Calvin Williams. This session with Calvin Williams, host of RFB's Lush Vibes Radio is timely inspiration for all of us, because as a society, we are all dealing with health issues right now. About 5 years ago, Calvin had to deal with losing 3 close relatives in succession and how soon after that he was diagnosed with Type 1, Juvenile Diabetes which is rare for someone in their thirties. Calvin takes us through how he went through the hard years and how, just recently, he's starting to recognize himself again.

Kay Hosts a great show, What would Kay Say? on Radio Free Brooklyn, every Sunday, 8am. She takes the word of God and uses it as way to guide you through everyday life. Kay does a weekly show just through her own thoughtful speaking, combined with a bit of music. Her combined talent of public speaking and original way of imparting the word of God transcends tradition religious messaging and makes it broadly relatable, philosophical and thought-provoking. Kay spent years studying traditional pastors and subsequently finding her own practice, devoid of those rules that kept her from being able to communicate the way she felt. Through trial and error, she found pastors that were open and helped her find her voice as a speaker. Kay takes us through her journey in finding her way to the gratifying place she is today. For myself, as someone who is not religious, this session had me thinking about the concept of God in a completely new way.

This session with Mike Joseph, host of Radio Free Brooklyn's, The GCC was pre-recorded because of the pandemic. It took place on Wednesday, June 3, at the height of the George Floyd protests. Mike is a queer black man so we had (for me) an eye-opening discussion about how even Mike, the sweetest, unscary guy ever!, is careful of the police. I am grateful to Mike for this part of the discussion. Most of our session was about Mike’s upbringing, being queer from childhood and born to a mother who enlisted into the Air Force when Mike was very young. Mike was left with his grandparents—he never met his dad. When Mike’s mother left the service, she moved to Michigan with Mike’s new stepdad—a macho air force guy, and they sent for Mike. Mike Lived in Michigan with them and half-siblings from age 8-11, when his aunt came to visit and immediately got him out of his unhealthy environment. Cut to Mike’s adulthood where his struggles with the inevitable confusion he had with masculinity and identity led him to suicidal

Artist Jenny Carpenter takes us with her on her journey from being a chic New York art director, originally from Nebraska, to a life with a wonderful husband and two amazing and inspriting twin boys living in Cold Springs with a big, quiet art studio all to herself. To begin with, living in a five-floor walkup in the West Viallage was now out of the question. Jenny talks honestly and openly the effect of having two matching boys had on her, physically, emotionally, and soon enough, her art work as well. BONUS: Jenny's boys Eeamon and Harry join us towards the end of the session! More about Jenny and her work HERE:

Well, I'm not a music expert, but I am a fan of Sean Spada. Sean currently plays keys in NO ICE and CHERCH, and is also performing and recording a new set of songs as a solo artist. Other projects of his have included Deathrow Tull, the Nuclears, The Bottom Dollars and Michael T & the Vanities. In this session, we examine Sean's thinking behind his music/writing, which is, I have to say, fairly philosophical After that heavy discussion, he paints an entertaining picture of what it's like to be in a band on a cruise ship—how easily Covid would spread and the dynamics of the different work forces on the ship. On the day of this post, Sean is premiering a fabulous NEW SONG AND VIDEO on LOOK AT MY RECORDS—Check it out HERE. More about Sean and his music, etc. HERE.

Tom is the architect and main man behind Radio Free Brooklyn-he pretty much knows all 100+ of us. He is loved, respected and occasionally feared. This session was a great opportunity to look back on the past 5 years to dig into how Radio Free Brooklyn has changed his life (and many people's lives, including his co-director and RFB Board President, Rob Pritchard). I know Tom pretty well, but there was a lot of learning here. We talked about his way of relating with us has changed and why. And I really enjoyed what he said about how being of service is a fundamental value/talent that runs in his family which include nurses and teachers. If you really want a deep dive into the head of Tom Tenney and what kind of person starts a non-profit radio station, listen to Episode #001 of Dr. Lisa Gives A Shit from May 13 2015. It was also the first Dr. Lisa Gives A Shit show ever! Tom hosts Frequency Theory on RFB every Thursday, 8-10pm. If you want to give Tom a birthday gift, you can do so HERE. BIO: Tom Tenney (Execu

I've been a fan of writer/journalist/cartoonist/artist, Anthony Haden-Guest, since I read his book True Colors , the definitive behind-the-scenes book about the art world, when it came out in 1998. I have psychoanalyzed Anthony on several other occasions, so it was have him talk and answer questions about this new book of cartoons and verse as well, published by the Orange Art Foundation. He even read some verse out loud! Anthony is an acute observer, charming with a great sense of humor. It was a true honor to speak with him about his new work. Get the new book, Fun Times, HERE. See more of Anthony's books, including The Last Party: Studio 54, writing, cartoons, artwork and more HERE. More about Anthony here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Haden-Guest

NOTE: If you haven't heard my session with Claudi and his bandmate Bear from May 2017, I highly recommend it! It was only 2 years after he moved from Puerto Rico to NYC. I connected with him when he was playing in the Delancy Street Station. ENJOY! https://traffic.megaphone.fm/RADIO7173962960.mp3 I feel like I should have paid Claudi Love for this session. Her positive vibe transcends our Zoom and I just feel better having been in her presence. Claudi is an artist in every sense of the word—someone who can't stop creating. I love how her sensibility exudes from the decor of the space she's in. Claudi is the frontwomen from a highly successly NYC band, Pinc Louds. Enjoy and connect with them here and on instagram @pinclouds Listen to their music here: Here's a quote from Claudi where she expressed her intentions perfectly—from a interview on ADHOC—" I feel more alive when I perform. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t. Recording is all fine and dandy, but there’s nothing like playing live and seeing how peo

We talked about what being a comedian is like right now during the pandemic vs the role of live audiences for a comedian in creative development for a comedian. Myq was polyamorous for a long time. He is now in a 4 years-long committed relationship. Myq describes the journey of where he began: married young, divorced, then polyamorous for years and how he transitioned to a monogamous relationship with his girlfriend-after they had been living together for a period of time. We discuss how being polyamorous has heightened his awareness of how to have a positive and productive relationship. Myq's brand new album A.K.A. is FABULOUS!!!! You can get it HERE. Myq Kaplan is a comedian named Mike Kaplan. He has performed on the Tonight Show, Conan, the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, the Late Late Show with James Corden, in his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents special, and in his own one-hour special on Netflix and now Amazon, “Small, Dork, and Handsome.” He has been a finalist on Las

Dr Grant Brenner is a board certified physician-psychiatrist, an entrepreneur, author, teacher, speaker and not-for-profit board member. He has been featured on a variety of top ranked psychology resources and media as a thought leader and contributor. In other words, he’s a highly qualified professional unlike myself. At least I have people to call on! Dr. Brenner has been involved with many traumatic situations including 9/11—he wrote a book based on his experience and knowledge, so it was great to get his valuable insights. We discussed a range of subjects including how people in different circumstance, parents, single people, couples can effectively cope. And he talked about what he’s been seeing in his practice as well. I found this session reassuring since simply hearing from a pro that this is indeed as crazy as it feels and we are all developing from it together in real time—that’s all anyone can do. But there is an opportunity for growth in all of us. The bonus of the episode is that Grant has a wort

I was thrilled to have M Charlene Stevens, founder and Editor-in Chief of Arcade Project as my guest/patient. I've know Charlene for years, introduced originally to her by artist, curator, Christopher Stout. Charlene, if you don't know her is a presence in any room, gallery or museum. She is a meticulously fashionable, gorgeous, tall, woman with a generous and gregarious personality.  In this session, we dig into what's behind all that, Charlene talks about "imposter syndrome," her relationship with her mother and how it's changed after she passed away. I love hearing the description of Charlene's mother, a real leader in the community and the conflicts Charlene has in processing all that.  I don't mean this to sound too heavy. Charlene is someone who's always on a path to growth and this is an inspiring story along with the birth of Arcade Project four years ago. https://www.arcadeprojectzine.com/Arcade Project curates a mix of high and low culture. We focus primarily on visual art while providing a platform

This is the first DLG episode at the start of the pandemic. Emily Gallagher is running for state assembly against an old white dude who's been in the job unchallenged since 1973! WHA??? The election is June 23 and there are tons of ways that you can help her get elected without leaving your home! LOOK RIGHT HERE and DONATE HERE Emily is so inspiring because she is making a huge difference in our world and she is just like anyone else. No special advantages of any sort, she has to work for a living—no background in politics, etc. In this session Emily talks about her interest in letter writing at a young age, dealing with a sexual harassment situation at age 14 and her ability to get results influences her into being who she is today. In a poignant twist, Emily has recently lost her day job due to the pandemic. She takes us through her experience of getting let go over Zoom. We also find out her boyfriend is shy! Such great company on this show with Andrew Epstein who is an invaluable partner in her campaign w

I had a blast with Kevin Allison in this session. At over a million downloads a month, live shows all over the country, a book and more-RISK! is described as, "a hit podcast where people tell true stories they never thought they'd dare to share." Listen to any episode and you will see what we're saying! It's sooooo exceptional. Kevin is a professional sharer, so he didn't hold back with Dr. Lisa. He talks about his gay group therapy that shrinks kept quitting, his current shrink, what he's really like vs. the onstage version of Kevin, some of his dating experiences, how relationships with his fellow members of "The State" developed throughout the show, and how there will never be enough downloads to make him happy.

Traditionally we see the female body as the focus of sexuality, which also make an important innovative with an important an original message. Alexandra is tired of art and sex being so focused on women's bodies. Putting the sole focus on women's bodies can present them in a passive way. Alexandra's work alerts us to a new way of depicting women in art. In her work, women enjoy sex actively. It makes me wonder why we don't see more of it. Rubenstein creates work from the point of view of women's pleasure. She paints famous sexy men, performing cunninglingus on women, from the pov of the woman who is being pleasured. In another series, "Thirsty," men's genitals are replaced with wall-mount bottle openers. And she make lots of beautiful paintings of penises. There is humor in her work which makes it smart, fun to look at and discuss It was great to hear her experiences and thought process on how she began to do this work. One important life event for her was that her family moved to the U.S. from Russia when sh

Theresa Buckeheister is one of those people who has so much innate creative capacity that she would be making a mark if she had grown up in Siberia, let alone a small town in Kansas—she would have found her way to NYC! She's from a family that she loves, but is not like her. This was an easy session as Theresa really drew me in, was self-aware and open speaking about how she came to be who she is - a New York Times worthy artistic director of the Brick Theater. With her leadership and accepting spirit, Theresa is a major facilitator/artist of what is special about this town we live in. Also, we both share a strong appreciation of Walter Wlodarczyk and his work capturing and documenting performances of all kinds. Here's a good description of Theresa from a Greenpointer story: Theresa Buchheister is a successful artist because she is a generous one; through multiple festivals and off-the-beaten-path venues, clandestine locales and dive hives, she has created myriad opportunities for creators of various stripes

Well this is a strange session—but on so many levels. First of all, Meryl Meisler was Dylan’s digital art teacher when he was in 7th Grade. They haven’t seen each other in ten years-since school really-and meet up IRL in the studio. Loved seeing them together and hearing in their reflections how they affected each other. Meryl got Dylan into her first film festival as a kid! The other part of this session is between Dylan and myself, with Meryl taking the shrink role. I had offended Dylan about four years ago when we were on stage together. And that’s all I’m saying. This is the closest I’ve come to crying on the mic though! And with all this going on, we barely got to touch on the fact that Dylan is the current Miss Subways!! https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/nyregion/Miss-Subways-NYC.html Here's some info about Meryl Meisler, an incredible photographer artist. You can see her work and all that stuff here: Her bio is too long for this post but you’ll recognize these places in it: Meisler has received fello

Adrienne Truscott is smart, wildly talented and innovative, so she's someone I've always wanted to meet, I found her to be really comfortable to talk to so we really went deep. Adrienne is someone who's really made her own way, which is why I think her work is so original. We talk about her athletic skills and how she came to combine them with her creativity after she got bored with sports. Adrienne was also generous in discussing a lot of other personal stuff which you can check out for yourself. There is so much to experience with Adrienne Truscott. I heartily recommend looking further into her/her work here: http://www.adriennetruscott.com/

Christopher Albert, host of The Junk and Jam Hour, every Monday, 2pm on Radio Free Brooklyn, fills in for me as I am on a boondoggle in Mexico City visiting art fairs such as Zona Maco and Material. In the meantime. Christopher takes on on his own journey exploring mental health. More about Christopher Albert: Armed with an acquired wit and intelligence that was born from the streets of NYC, Christopher Albert, also once an inhabitant of Los Angeles, is set to emerge as one of the funniest, charming, yet eccentric writers and humorists of our day. Though Christopher has produced content for Fortune 500 companies and small businesses alike, his true talents are rooted in entertainment and comedy. Christopher has had the unique opportunity to study the craft of humor with the best: instructors from the famed Comedy Store and Second City Hollywood, as well as invaluable insight from veteran comedy writers.  ​Christopher’s brutally honest approach to humor is evident in his litany of fearless content. His works i