Out of Curiosity with kt mather
80 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 60 ratingsOut of Curiosity with kt mather is a podcast where I talk with people who are good at talking. Each week, I invite you into a conversation with someone I care about. We'll talk about how we know each other, what the guest does that's cool, and then we'll do a deep dive into a favorite book or movie.
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Episodes
Rage Is a Wolf -- Chapter One
February 08, 2023 15:29 - 5 minutes - 14 MBThe first chapter of Rage Is a Wolf NOT the clean version :)
62 - John Yearley - Station Eleven
March 14, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBIn this week’s episode of Out of Curiosity with kt mather, I talk with playwright and teacher, John Yearley about trusting the creative process, internet friends, new words for pandemic things, how slide-tackling is like acting, half time talks, come from behind wins, jobs that get you custom bobble-heads, the stages of grief…and then a deep dive into the amazing TV show Station Eleven. This episode, like all the others, is chock-full of spoilers, so do yourself a favor and watch the show!
61 - Melissa Rohde-Cherullo - Mr. Mom
January 31, 2022 10:00 - 2 hours - 74.8 MBMelissa and I talk pandemic parenting, how corporate leaders cope with stress, the second shift, the two income trap, intergenerational child-care, and then a deep dive into the 80s comedy classic, Mr. Mom—which holds up surprisingly well, although there is a “the boss is going to sexually assault the woman newly reintroduced into the workforce” plot-point that was such a staple of 80s plots (and real life!), but is so jarring these days.
60 - Julie Salamon - Gone With the Wind
December 13, 2021 10:00 - 2 hours - 77.8 MBJulie and I talk about eccentric geniuses, being too ignorant to be intimidated, becoming a lawyer to become a writer, when your journalistic sources show up at the birth of your child, embedding in film productions, and how an indefensible movie helped save at least one woman's life. Then we take a deep dive into said indefensible movie, Gone with the Wind (not to be watched without multiple secondary texts for context).
59 - David Scott Hay - RoboCop
November 15, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBDSH and I talk egg preference, chicken life, pandemic publishing (not recommended), book reviews, douchey agents, conflict vs. character in writing, the great comedy that is PEN15, and then a deep dive into the 80s classic, RoboCop (which was evidently SUCH good satire, that the director, Paul Verhoeven, almost passed on it...)
CB 19 - Bill Tanner - Silence of the Lambs
November 01, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBBill and I discuss...honestly, I can't remember what we discuss because I edited this awhile ago and Bill and I text and talk a lot and it's all a big jumbled mess... I do remember that we take a deep dive into the classic thriller, Silence of the Lambs, and discuss, among other things, that when it comes to learning about how not to other--we are all Jack Crawford. Also, I do a fair number of impressions, so...
CB19 - Michael Rohde - To Build a Fire
October 18, 2021 09:00 - 2 hours - 71.4 MBMichael and I talk about fishing on the hard water (aka, ice fishing), what happens when you fall through the ice, whether or not your iphone will pull your butt out of the frozen water, how tech difficulties are just like the story we read, plus an update on Michael's life as a quizzo host. And then a deep dive into Jack London's classic tale of a man, a dog, and the freezing Yukon...
CB18 - Nicole Valentine - My Octopus Teacher
April 26, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 64.8 MBIn this episode, Nicole and I talk pandemic, politics, the revivifying effects of nature and take a deep dive into the documentary My Octopus Teacher. I have an EXTREME opinion (I know, weird, that's not like me) about the documentarian's decision NOT to "interfere" with the octopus' life at one point and you'll have to let me know if you agree with him or me. This was also recorded in December 2020 before the Jan 6th attack on the Capitol, so I guess I was wrong when I told Nicole that I di...
55 - Molly Clark - The Way Way Back
April 05, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 53.5 MBIn this episode of Out of Curiosity with kt mather, Molly Clark and I talk about how we met and skipped way ahead in our friendship. We discuss Molly’s time at the all girls school, what it feels like to not be good at the Big 5 academic subjects and finding your own niche. We talk about Molly’s impending furniture flipping turf war and what she’s doing to try to make it in comedy. Then we take a deep dive into the charming coming-of-age movie, The Way Way Back.
CB17 - Bill Tanner - Rusmore
March 15, 2021 09:00 - 2 hours - 71.8 MBIn this episode, we talk about women of the leisure class, kids with cholera, volunteerism, the movie Garden State (fast forward that part if you liked that movie 😬🤗), life low points, elected office, first heartbreaks, going to the movies (at theaters! during the day!) and eventually the movie that we both adore, Rushmore starring Olivia Williams, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, and feat. my former student Kyle Swartz!
53 - Jess Welsch - Juno
March 01, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 47 MBIn this episode of Out of Curiosity with kt mather, Jess Welsch and I time warp to a YEAR ago almost to the day because that’s how long I haven’t been editing this episode. We talk about parenting in a small town vs parenting at monkey doo (basically an indoor gym / McDonald’s play land hellscape that I'm probs gonna tell the kids closed permanently...), how my dog got her name, how Jess’ eventual next dog will get its name, referring to unborn babies as “it”, and whether or not Michael Cera...
CB16 - Brian Tijan - Bear Town
February 15, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 54 MBBrian and I talk sports, sexual assault, small towns, tribalism, capitalism, and we ask the question: at what age are we responsible for healing our childhood traumas and stopping the cycle of bullsh*t behavior?
51- Liz O'Neill - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
February 01, 2021 10:00 - 2 hours - 88.9 MBOnce again, the weirdness of boarding schools, the connection between med schools and Patagonia, how to choose what name to use post marriage, the process of choosing and being chosen for med school residencies, and what it’s like to be a full-scholarship kid at boarding school. Eventually we finally get to talk about Mrs. Maisel and we cover favorite characters, how characters change (and don’t change) over the seasons, Maisel vs. Fleabag, thoughts on pelvic health (eg. IUDs and synthetic h...
CB15 - Lisa Knight - The Queen's Gambit
January 04, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 49.4 MBToday on out of curiosity with kt mather, I circle back with my old friend Lisa Knight who was also with us for the episode about Chernobyl. On this episode, Lisa and I talk about the smash hit the queen’s gambit about a young woman crushing it in the male dominated world of competitive chess. Lisa and I talk about why she almost didn’t watch the show, what kind of porn it is, the ever-present threat of sexual assault, cool clothes, a couple of my favorite fiction tropes, and Lisa’s lasik ey...
CB14 - Brian Tijan - What's Up with Greed?
April 28, 2020 03:25 - 1 hour - 56 MBBrian and I talk about wealth inequality through American history, how Apple off-shores its money, who is getting SBA pandemic cash and why, how shame does and doesn't work on business people and politicians, the need for campaign finance reform, why people should move to rural states (hint: farms), plus a deep dive into why urban elites have issues with husky dogs...
CB13 - Kekla Magoon - Self Made
April 13, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 45.1 MBWe talk self-acceptance, debut novel expectations. Plus a deep dive into the colorism, sexism, racism, capitalism (all the isms except maybe feminism), and misogyny in the Netflix binge-fest, Self Made.
CB12 - Bill Tanner - Harry Styles
March 30, 2020 09:00 - 2 hours - 77.3 MBBill and I talk about his 80s brainwashing, how coronavirus is like Sandyhook (tw: very dark humor), putting your business in hibernation, Bellatrix Lestrange, rent in the time of pandemic, how Bill sometimes misses social cues and crashes your budding romance, filing for unemployment, Bill yucks my yum, and a deep dive into my hero of the quarantine, Harry Styles.
Rage Is a Wolf - Book Launch Reading
March 29, 2020 03:30 - 6 minutes - 4.11 MBTonight was supposed to be my Town book launch, but something different happened instead. So I recorded these couple of chapters that I had hoped to read to a crowded room of friends and neighbors at my local library...
CB11 - Taylor Wallace - Not Drinking the Pandemic
March 23, 2020 09:00 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBTaylor and I circle back to chat about holographic 3D conferencing, shame, loneliness, crying in the laundry room, ketamine assisted therapy, connection, online dating at the boarding school, pronouns, and sobriety. Parents of littles--hard apology for never mentioning Taylor's repeated, unintended references to Frozen 2--we talked about it later...
45 - Dan Keefe - Dr. No
March 16, 2020 09:00 - 2 hours - 72.7 MBWe talk teaching - coaching - writing, single-sex education, Paul Zarzyski, plus a deep dive into sex (consensual and rapey), masculinity (was Bond born knowing how to drive that loader?), and Empire (stop using rich, Victorian, white women as an excuse to kill everyone and take their shit), in the original 007, Dr. No.
Rage Is a Wolf - Chapters 10 - 17.
March 09, 2020 09:00Another special edition of Out of Curiosity with kt mather! Chapters 10 - 17 of my forthcoming debut novel Rage Is a Wolf. Pre-order at ktmather.com
Rage Is a Wolf - Chapters 10 - 17.
March 09, 2020 09:00Another special edition of Out of Curiosity with kt mather! Chapters 10 - 17 of my forthcoming debut novel Rage Is a Wolf. Pre-order at ktmather.com
44 - Steph Guilloud - Terminator 2
March 02, 2020 10:00 - 2 hours - 74 MBWe talk Seattle vs Atlanta, the WTO protests 20 years later, sci-fi as a touchstone for what the world might be, her connections to the movie Rushmore, and a deep dive into genre-bending classic T2 Judgement Day.
43 - Michael Rohde - Into the Wild
February 24, 2020 10:00 - 2 hours - 83.5 MBIn this week’s Episode of Out of Curiosity with kt mather, I chat with my friend’s brother and my Thanksgiving compatriot, Michael Rohde. We talk about my habit of long term couch surfing at his sister’s house, my habit of crashing his family holidays, his hosting a trivia night, how his sense of humor might ultimately drive away his beloved trivia night cohost, hiking the long trail, tents vs shelters, and then a deep dive into the book Into the Wild with a focus on both the story of Chris ...
42 - Eliza Stoughton - How I Learned to Drive
February 17, 2020 10:00 - 2 hours - 94.7 MBThis week on Out of Curiosity with kt mather I chat with my friend Eliza Stoughton about both being distantly related to Puritan witch judges / murderers, meeting in Montana, our quick & infrequent friendship, getting free drinks with magic, one of the reasons why I might’ve been wrong about trigger warnings, some of the things that make the new Little Women SO great, Eliza’s almost exclusively pie-based social media presence, and the path to becoming a professional actor. Plus we take a dee...
CB10 - Bill Tanner - Maiden
February 10, 2020 10:00 - 2 hours - 82.9 MBIn this week’s episode of Out of Curiosity with kt mather, I Circle Back with fan favorite Bill Tanner for a typical kt and BT rambler. We discuss my week of small town power-politicking, Bill’s love for Nike Air Jordans (and his inability to give himself permission to buy them), unity amongst Democrats (not going well), color bravery vs color blindness, accidentally watching Fire Walk with Me with your mom (and as Catholics), pin-up calendars, the great job assholes like Rush Limbaugh did ...
Rage Is a Wolf - Chapters 2 - 9
February 03, 2020 11:00 - 32 minutes - 18.7 MBSpecial edition of Out of Curiosity with kt mather! Chapters 2-9 of my forthcoming debut novel Rage Is a Wolf.
41 - Ralph Andracchio - Clue
January 27, 2020 17:53 - 2 hours - 82.7 MBRalph and I talk epic halloween costumes, dick-in-a-box, hiring someone to call you on your bullshit, how Ralph uses improv techniques to teach authenticity & a deep dive into the ever-fabulous comedy, Clue. Plus I retell a story Chuck and I heard last week from Shatner.
40 - Ethan Tapper - Aldo Leopold, Green Fire
January 20, 2020 10:00 - 2 hours - 88.9 MBThe county forester & I talk off-the-grid living, regenerative logging, the trouble with post-clear cut forests, the permanence of development, groundhogs (aka Prairie Grizzlies), the rights of the forest to exist, and we take a deep dive into a doc about Aldo Leopold: Green Fire. Plus I offer both an apology and a shout out to my high school biology teacher Art Ariens...
CB9 - Yasmeen Watson Sharif - Serenity for Mankind
January 13, 2020 10:00 - 58 minutes - 34.3 MBYasmeen and I talk about her latest creative endeavor and mine as well as the trials, tribulations, and teachable moments of creating your own path. We also do a deep dive into the LOGISTICS of trying to bring a high-quality product into the world.
Rage Is a Wolf - Chapter 1
January 10, 2020 10:00 - 6 minutes - 3.76 MBIn honor of my website launch...A little book teaser. Rage Is a Wolf, by kt mather Published by whisk(e)y tit books. Read by kt mather Coming soon! Preorder link at outofcuriositypodcast.com, ktmather.com, or in instagram bio.
39 - Tommy Czerpak - Nightcrawler
January 06, 2020 10:00 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBTommy & I talk athletic conditioning, books he didn't read in high school, his tailor made college major, his somewhat delayed (thanks melanoma) move to LA which he is undertaking NOW!!! Plus a deep dive into the skeevy, but tantalizing movie Nightcrawler.
CB8 - Ned Ide - Catcher in the Rye and Franny & Zooey
December 30, 2019 10:00 - 2 hours - 71 MBNed & I catch each other up on our creative projects (his film and my book--links in show notes...). We chat about story-telling pronouns, the AP exam, and how Catcher in the Rye might be more relevant than ever. Plus a deep dive into Catcher (which Ned has been teaching for decades) and Franny & Zooey (which Ned was reticent to read, but which I convinced him of in the same way the he convinced me of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ep. 21...) and which is totally part of my personal canon.
38 - Chuck Senick - Romancing the Stone
December 23, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBChuck and I talk about who put the moves on whom, our Scrabble rivalry, shoutouts to the friends who made our union possible, our decision to move to rural Vermont, plus a deep dive into the sexy feminist classic, Romancing the Stone.
37 - Francesca Arnoldy - Cultivating the Doula Heart
December 19, 2019 20:35 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBFrancesca and I talk a little about her role as my birth doula, but mostly about her work as an end-of-life doula and the pioneering end-of-life doula training program she helped create and directs through the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. We talk about her book, Cultivating the Doula Heart, how to find a place of unconditional positive regard for people in their end-of-life journey, the difficulty of knowing and enacting the authentic self, how embracing the doula heart ...
CB7 - Emma Yardley - New Friends & the Hayduke
December 09, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 40 MBIn this week’s episode of Out of Curiosity with kt mather, I circle back with the delightful Emma Yardley to talk about her chance encounter waiting for buddies in a parking lot in the Colorado River that lead to a 15 day odyssey into friendship and the Utah desert. We talk love and heartbreak, the respectful way to break up with someone, kindred spirits, water rations, flash floods, arctic climbing vs desert hiking, $150k hips, champagne & salami, plus some parenting pro-tips.
36 - Chris Tebbetts - Harold & Maude
December 02, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 65.5 MBAuthor and movie aficionado, Chris Tebbets and I, talk about his YA novel, Me, Myself, and Him (the gay Sliding Doors), the multiverse, deja vu, temporally overlapping selves, his work as a co-writer with James Patterson, our shared love of living in a (liberal!) small town, the use of macrostructures in writing, the limits of linear story-telling, and a deep dive into the still delightful and subversive movie, Harold & Maude.
35 - Katie Recken - Rehashing the 80s
November 18, 2019 10:00 - 2 hours - 80 MBKatie and I chat about growing up in Alaska, a favor I did her in college, how much we both loved going to a college without Greek, what happens in rugby when you score the first time, her fascinating journey to being a single mom by choice, and then a deep dive into Sixteen Candles, Pretty Woman, and Dirty Dancing--I'll let you guess which one stands the test of time (and was written by a woman)...
34 - Thomas Anderson - Call Me By Your Name
November 11, 2019 10:00 - 2 hours - 76.9 MBThomas Anderson and I chat about the delightful beginning of our friendship (feat. twinkle lights) which hit a bit of a rough patch when we started coaching soccer together, like last week's episode, we discuss traveling together, the time one or both of us got tore up from the floor up, teaching abroad, how kids apply to too many colleges these days, plus a deep dive into the book and movie, Call Me By Your Name.
CB6 - Jenn Fiorini - Sedaris
November 04, 2019 10:00 - 1 hour - 46.8 MBJenn and I chat about how cancer can bring out the best in friends, how traveling together in Amsterdam brought out the best in both of us (pro-tip, if you go to Amsterdam, take the ferry across the Ij river and bike into the small towns and farms up north), the FASCINATING things we learned about our b&b host, how I nearly destroyed her new suitcase by insisting on biking it, what I would do if I was trapped in London forever, Jenn's feelings about NASA, plus a deep dive into two David Seda...
33 - Yasmeen Watson Sharif - The Joker
October 28, 2019 09:00 - 2 hours - 78.5 MBThis week on Out of Curiosity with kt mather, I chat with my former student Yasmeen Watson Sharif. We talk about long commutes to school, an uptick in photo ops when you hit multiple diversity demographics for a private school, Nantucket-level wealth, getting past the fear of screwing up so you can host someone from another culture and therefore deepen your relationship, the ”the more things change, the more they stay the same” conundrum of too many interesting ideas to pursue, water ice, sk...
32 - Brett Leister - Senna
October 21, 2019 09:00 - 2 hours - 79.8 MBThis week on Out of Curiosity with kt mather, I talk with slacker English student Brett Leister about excelling in things you love and doing well enough in things you don’t really give a shit about. He reads from a graduation card I gave him and we discuss how weird it is to see your teacher at a rock show, drinking a beer. We also discuss levers build by electron microscopes, weld science, and then a deep dive into the delightful and tragic story of Formula One phenom, Ayrton Senna (it’s li...
CB5 - Brian Tijan - Wilding
October 14, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBBrian and I discuss small town governance including, Will the tree warden let the historical society cut down that perfectly healthy maple and if so, where will the replacement tree go? Why people are SO resistant to making changes to mitigate climate change, estrangement from nature, nature as decor vs a equal constituent of the Earth, Could we solve climate change by prioritizing the lives of the dung beetle, the beaver, and the earthworm?, the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone (no, ...
31 - Phillip Crosby - Dark
October 07, 2019 09:00 - 2 hours - 72.9 MBPhillip Crosby and I talk about how we were briefly best parenting buddies, how the social scene is tough on stay-at-home-dads, how he doesn’t seem to have learned anything from that struggle, the time Chuck gave his daughter a nearly fatal artisanal cracker, the ceaseless war against establishment norms, cos-play, kid comic con, and a deep, rambling dive into the amazing German time travel show Dark.
30 - Lisa Knight - Chernobyl
September 30, 2019 09:00 - 2 hours - 78.7 MBMy old friend, Lisa and I talk about how Italy and Tommy Boy brought us together (rest in power Chris Farley), about traveling together, our plans to grow old together, the times we've lived together and will live together, the Thanksgivings I've spent with her and her family, our amazing (if somewhat typically haphazardly planned) hike on the Long Trail, hiking like a 70-year-old (#recommended), why I can't watch Handmaid's Tale, George W's PR slam dunk, and then Chernobyl, Chernobyl, Chern...
29 - Nancy Taylor - Three Women
September 23, 2019 09:00 - 2 hours - 70.1 MBWe discuss that time I did something RIGHT as a teacher, all-girls schools, rad & shitty lady bosses, The Hate You Give, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the Meryl Effect, periods, sex education, parenting, how to not hook up, plus Three Women by Lisa Taddeo.
28 - Chris McCreary - Fleabag
September 16, 2019 09:00 - 2 hours - 74.1 MBMcCreary & I talk about the first offensive thing I said to him, IPAs, how to not lie to your therapist, teaching English, writing, etc, and then a too short (though pretty great, I admit) dive into the amazing tv show, Fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is 100% this episode's Michelle Yeoh (aka, badass).
27 - Christi Wieand Ding - Crazy Rich Asians
September 09, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 66 MBChristi and I discuss how much we liked each other at boarding school, what diff kinds of kids bring to a school, the time she had to lend me her swimsuit bottoms, marrying & having a kid across cultures, plus the fun & fucked up movie Crazy Rich Asians.
26 - Stefan Zajic - Kicking & Screaming
September 02, 2019 09:00 - 2 hours - 70.3 MBStefan & I talk elected office, chess & backgammon, internet dating, movies as wormholes to our pasts, plus a deep dive into hilarious, still relevant, cult classic, Kicking & Screaming (the 98% dialogue one, not the Will Farrell soccer romp).
CB4 - Bill Tanner - Lester Bangs on Astral Weeks
July 29, 2019 09:00 - 1 hour - 113 MBBT and I chat about kitsch, Midnight Oil, a masculinity that draws us closer to humanity, Julia Roberts dancing to Brown Eyed Girl, using dark humor to cope with suffering, death, and Lester Bangs on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks.