Some Noise
32 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★ - 83 ratingsA podcast about the foolish pursuit of life, clarity and context.
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Episodes
Ep 031 — Not Me, Us (Part II of II)
October 31, 2020 14:22 - 56 minutes - 60.3 MBQuote: "It's a heated field." —Otto Pippenger About: A two-part story about a campaign trying to unseat Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her congressional seat leads to a much larger reckoning for the left. Show Notes: [00:30] “The Layers of Heaven” by Jovica [01:10] “Coulis Coulis” by The Blue Dot Sessions [03:45] On Senator Amy Klobuchar, sporks combs and salads [04:00] “Grizzlies” by Mary Riddle [04:30] “The second most important race” to watch [06:30] Full results of San F...
Ep. 030 — Not Me, Us (Part I of II)
October 31, 2020 14:14 - 38 minutes - 43.4 MBQuote: "I'm a progressive, yeah." —U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi About: A two-part story about a campaign trying to unseat Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her congressional seat leads to a much larger reckoning for the left. Show Notes: [00:30] “The Layers of Heaven” by Jovica [01:00] Light reading on Agatha Bacelar [01:05] “Coulis Coulis” by The Blue Dot Sessions [01:45] Light reading on the progressive movement [01:50] Light reading on Tom Gallagher [02:00] Light reading...
Ep 029 — For the Culture, Part II
September 18, 2020 12:30 - 45 minutes - 50.8 MBQuote: “Where do you want to start?” —Farhad Azad About: Afghanistan has far too often been referred to as a place where countries go to die, it is a graveyard of empires. This moniker has been cited so many times and for so long that it’s unclear who first said it. Even the Afghan community will recite this pride. But what a title like this fails to convey is that while this might be a country responsible for the many tombstones of others, it very well is also a moratorium of progre...
Ep. 028 — For the Culture, Part I
September 10, 2020 12:16 - 50 minutes - 57.9 MB"You've got boys flying kites again..." —George W. Bush About: Oh, the privilege. And what a privilege it is to publish a story about the broader theme of culture and identity, specifically for Afghanistan’s diaspora living in the States, like those on that third-culture-wave, when Afghans from the home country are left dealing with far harsher realities. The diaspora’s dilemma pales in comparison (if you’re that foolish to try and compare the two) to their dilemma. No less, it is s...
Ep. 027 — For the Culture: A Prologue
September 02, 2020 11:00 - 19 minutes - 21.5 MBThis is a prologue to a multi-part series about the Afghan diaspora in America reclaiming their past and trying to grow from the present. It’s a story about culture, identity and authenticity. Show Notes: [00:30] “The Layers of Heaven” by Jovica [00:55] Hit rewind. (freesound.org / cognitu perceptu) [01:00] “Our Son the Potter” by The Blue Dot Sessions [01:10] When LeBron James threw up his arms at J.R. Smith [01:20] The hit song of Summer 2017 [01:30] Why the Game of Throne...
Ep. 026 — We Too Shall Pass
May 05, 2020 16:59 - 53 minutes - 122 MBQuote: "We are all from Allah, and to Allah we return" —Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 156 About: In mere weeks, this country has seen COVID-19-related deaths rise past casualty totals for past wars and surprise attacks, sometimes passing those records daily. It seems like every day is filled with death. But this isn’t the first time humanity has faced a pandemic. And this isn’t the first time society has reckoned with death. Is this a punishment? Or is God to blame? In this latest podcas...
Ep. 025 — F R I S C O (Part III of III)
October 02, 2019 15:10 - 1 hour - 142 MBQuote: “Nobody wants to destroy the image of San Francisco.” —James Baldwin About: Whereas Part One looks into the origin of San Francisco’s F-word, and Part Two looks at the buildup and fallout of urban renewal in neighborhoods like Bayview-Hunters Point, Part Three looks at a far more sinister force and questions just how liberal and progressive this city really is. Show Notes: [00:30] “The Layers of Heaven” by Jovica [01:00] Allston Night Owl by The Blue Dot Sessions [03:00]...
Ep. 024 — F R I S C O (Part II of III)
November 20, 2018 17:16 - 59 minutes - 81.6 MBQuote: “When I die, I’m dead.” —Eloise Westbrook About: Three horizontal stripes, red, black and green, add color to the streetlights and poles in and around the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. These Pan-African flags are a relatively new addition to the area. They were painted just about a year ago thanks to an initiative spearheaded by the neighborhood's local city supervisor, Malia Cohen. “This is about branding the Bayview neighborhood to honor and pay respe...
Ep. 023 — F R I S C O (Part I of III)
August 29, 2018 15:15 - 58 minutes - 63.1 MB“The fans just want to know who the fuck the artist is.” —Andre "Herm" Lewis About: For a place that proudly heralds slogans like #BlackLivesMatter, the homes of San Francisco house very few Black people. What’s happened to the African-American community in San Francisco is a much more complex tale than just being pushed out by young and transient up-and-comers. Instead, it involves a deeply-rooted history spread across generations with a comet-sized impact that is still being felt tod...
Ep. 022 — Bougie Coffee
April 24, 2018 18:19 - 1 hour - 85.6 MB"They always leave when it gets hot in the cafe." —Man counter-protesting protestors About: Since the turn of the millennium, the percentage of U.S.-based specialty coffee drinking folk, like those who have a cup everyday, has quadrupled. Travel to any major or minor city in the country, and you’ll see an offering of coffees that transcends the uniform Starbucks experience that’s on every block. But the image that reflects after you place a mirror in front of any craft coffee com...
Ep. 000 — What Is Some Noise?
April 04, 2018 23:13 - 2 minutes - 1.86 MBWhat is this show all about? Learn more at thisissomenoise.com/about.
Ep. 021 — A State of Mind
December 15, 2017 10:26 - 1 hour - 98.4 MBQuote: “The devil is always in the details, right?” —Mark Baird About: If the State of Jefferson ever formed, it’s unlikely Anthony Bourdain would ever travel there for its pizza or burritos. Mark Baird, the “unofficial” leader of the State of Jefferson movement, likes to think they’d be known for their buffalo burgers. Though, he’ll admit, he’s in the minority. Most people behind this movement, he says, would probably prefer beef. Being in the minority is a feeling he’s had...
Ep. 020 — A State of Mind (I of II)
October 31, 2017 17:33 - 1 hour - 89.4 MB“Mr. Statham, would you consider giving San Francisco to Hawaii?” —Former Calif. Assemblyman Bill Morrow (Oceanside-R) About: If President Kennedy’s moon-shot set the tone that no challenge was too difficult, Donald Trump’s presidential victory reminds us that anything is possible, even creating a new U.S. state. In Northern California, like the proper north, there’s been a generation of folks who believe the time for 51 is now. And given the state of the current political landscape, n...
Ep. 019 — Technology People
September 07, 2017 22:11 - 1 hour - 59.8 MB“Thank you Mr. Machine...or Ms. Machine?” —John Zerzan About: What does one make of our future—like the one 50 years from now? The answer, or rather a possible answer, has a lot to do with choice and technology. Whether we survive or go extinct is, however, another question. Show Notes: [01:20] A link to download the Park Mobile app [01:25] “Inamorata (Marimba Solo)” by Blue Dot Sessions [04:40] “Inside the Tower” by Visager [06:15] More on Clooneys Pub (SFGate) [06:40] Li...
Ep. 018 — What Is It All About (III of III)
July 17, 2017 20:41 - 54 minutes - 50 MB"I am not the 'Boont' God." —Rod DeWitt About: With wave after wave of socioeconomic changes crashing into the Anderson Valley, a quiet and historically agrarian area, the lifestyle that gave rise to Boontling is quickly fading away. The fate and the future of the kitschy tongue lies solely in how the community comes to terms with market forces, the environment and, most importantly, its values. Show Notes: [00:20] “Gymnopedies 2” by Blue Dot Sessions [01:10] Map of the Ander...
Ep. 017 — What Is It All About (Part II of III)
June 22, 2017 16:27 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MB“They’re living too fast.” —Wes ‘Deacon’ Smoot About: It used to be that you could grow apples, herd sheep, or fell timber and make a decent living in the Anderson Valley. But not even the few stop signs in this remote valley could slow down the incoming cash crop of grapes. The area’s long legacy of logging now takes a backseat to its newer reputation of producing some of the world’s best pinot noir. But how did a tucked-away valley 40 minutes from the Pacific Coast and the main hig...
Ep. 016 — What Is It All About
May 11, 2017 23:11 - 1 hour - 56.2 MB“And I think it saved the day, because we didn't have any money.” —Captain Rainbow About: No place has tested the currents of change more than the Anderson Valley, a Gaza Strip-sized setting hidden in the hills of Northern California. Home to the language of Boontling, a fast fading past prose of the old frontier, the fate of the area’s kitschy tongue relies not on whether the valley will change, but how. And why. Show Notes: [00:40] “Curious” by Blue Dot Sessions ...
Ep. 015 — We Out Here
January 05, 2017 00:54 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBQuote: “I think intelligence in the universe is very rare.” —Dr. James Rice, NASA, Mars Exploration Rover Geology Team Leader About: 2017, let’s start anew! Let’s just pack up, say our goodbyes and march (drive, fly or sail) to greener pastures. But where to? Canada is cold around this time of year, Europe is in limbo, and everywhere else has spotty Wi-Fi (it doesn’t). The globalized world where opportunity was meant to be infinite is really just flawed and finite like everythi...
Ep. 014 — The Trump Minority
October 28, 2016 17:26 - 1 hour - 56.9 MB“Any true Americans over here?” -Michael, a man from Boston with a sign About: Amidst all the chaos that has been the 2016 presidential election, there is a special group of Americans fighting against the mainstream current—the Trump minority, like actual minorities voting for Trump. On this episode, we travel the country and talk to some of those individuals and ask why? Show Notes: [00:30] The Village of the Appomattox Courthouse [01:35] More on Patrick Schroeder ...
Ep. 013 — Keeping the Faith [Part II of II]
September 30, 2016 19:31 - 1 hour - 57 MB"And then they came for me." -Sabri Benkahla When it comes to the conversation of Islam in America, it can sometimes feel like having a debate where both parties talk over one another, dive into the shallow end of the topic and leave thinking they’ve proved their points—trophies for all. This self-perpetuating social filter bubble of sorts absolves accountability and fogs up facts—it clouds up the reality of what many Muslim communities in America have actually gone through and are goi...
Ep. 012 — Keeping the Faith [Part I of II]
September 20, 2016 11:36 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MB“Brother, you don’t eat pork do you?” -Man with wine About: New York. St. Cloud. Orlando. San Bernardino. Chattanooga. Garland. Boston. Fort Hood. Brussels. Paris. Nice. Kabul. Baghdad. Quetta. Lahore. Istanbul. It’s difficult to remember what life was like before any of these recent attacks, when there was no YouTube or Twitter and when the Twin Towers were still part of New York City’s skyline. There wasn’t too much cause for concern about being named Muhammad, wearing a hijab or ...
Ep. 011 — When the Tides Change [Part II]
September 02, 2016 20:32 - 1 hour - 56.1 MB"You just go again tomorrow." -Stuart Vorpahl Stuart Vorpahl is a lifelong commercial fisherman who took pride in providing the fresh produce of the sea. Stuart liked his job. He liked it so much that when regulation and politics threatened it, he ignored the old sayings and squared up against town hall. On the surface, it might seem as if Stuart was just really passionate about fishing, and he was. But his fight was about something bigger. We continue the second part of Stuart Vorpa...
Ep. 010 — When the Tides Change [Part I]
August 01, 2016 03:28 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MB"Timeout. If you see a hole, you mend it. You don’t go say I’ll go back and fix it. It don’t work." --Stuart Vorpahl The story of Stuart Vorpahl involves fishing, the Hamptons and the King of England. Amidst a town where Hollywood's A-list comes to summer, how did a commercial fisherman earn the notoriety of first-name recognition amidst locals, town officials and the conservation police? Show Notes: [00:40] "An Accumulation" by Blue Dot Sessions [05:15] Some light reading on East Ha...
Ep. 009 — It Ain't Easy
May 31, 2016 20:14 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MB"It's just status." -Buddy About: In pockets of America, like those in Oakland and throughout the East Bay of Northern California, the status quo of driving a vehicle is proudly rejected. Take a look at some of the rides out here and you’ll immediately get the sense that a car is more than just a car. Who are these people and what caused them to decorate Detroit-produced relics with candy-like paint, oversized rims and a sound-system that can probably be heard from Space? Show Note...
Ep. 008 — It Goes Both Ways
April 27, 2016 18:24 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MB“Thy will be done. Thy will be done. I don’t know. Please, I don’t know.” -Jessica Ripper Jessica Ripper is a white American with blonde hair, blue eyes and a home in Northern California. Yet, to many in Pakistan, she’s an Islamic-gospel musician who plays the tabla. In the 700-year-old sufi-singing tradition of Qawwali, she’s a female trailblazer shattering century-old glass ceilings from sufi shrine to sufi shrine. And everywhere else, she’s a statistical anomaly, a bizarre outlier...
Ep. 007 — This Is Real
March 30, 2016 19:27 - 55 minutes - 51 MB"“People want to see good overcome evil, even though that’s not always the way it plays out, that’s what they’re coming out to see.” --Shane Hanson Who should you be and what should you do? Escape all the worries of life with a quick trip to Hoodslam, a wrestling outfit based in Oakland, Calif. It’s an adult wrestling show where other people make that decision for you. At least, you submit yourself to believing in everything around you, like someone getting hit in the face with a cha...
Ep. 006 — Pardon Me, Pardon Me
February 17, 2016 17:57 - 50 minutes - 46 MB“It ain’t that I don’t care, it’s that I don’t really care.” -Bishop Glen A. Staples About: We live in a strange time, at least that’s what the story of the praise break reminds us. It’s the tale of an ecstatic dance rooted deep in race, religion and American history. It traveled centuries of oppression and made its way to present times where it’s been rejected by today’s social elites. Maybe because it looks crazy? Or maybe it’s dismissed because it unearths some dark reality that...
Ep. 005 — What We Can Do?
January 27, 2016 19:11 - 56 minutes - 77.9 MB“To really answer the question, what is a question, is a very good question.” -Dr. Zeray Alemseged What we can do? That question confronts, inquires, investigates and challenges. And it, by no means, is simple to define. For this episode of Some Noise, we try and get to the bottom of questions and ask a bunch of different people, from a linguistics professor, an experienced LSD taker to a futurist: “What is a question?” Show Notes: [00:05] “Hypnosister” by LUMP [02:30] ...
PROLOGUE — Ep. 004 — The Story of Me, Part IV
December 22, 2015 22:48 - 46 minutes - 63.6 MB“I mean I don't see a halo on you, even though I see a couple of horns. See that little angel and that little devil on the side? Yeah. You're you.” -Serafin Jose Saavedra This story, the Story of Me, probably won’t have a proper ending, like the kind that is comforting and reminds you that all is well in the world. It shouldn’t. Because that’s false and I’m not dead yet. More than a month ago, the first part of this prologue aired with the intent of framing up this larger podcast pr...
PROLOGUE — Ep. 003 — The Story of Me, Part III
December 08, 2015 13:18 - 42 minutes - 59 MB“That’s just part of your mask—we all have a mask...” -Josh Quittner About: Your work experience ultimately comes down to one thing—how you sell yourself. Which, is a lie (or like a half-truth). Achievements and accomplishments are important, but what about everything else? For part three of this prologue—the Story of Me—I’ve reached out to co-workers, old and new and asked them for a performance review. Leave your feedback by endorsing me on LinkedIn, seriously, be creative. ...
PROLOGUE — Ep. 002 — The Story of Me, Part II
December 01, 2015 17:45 - 42 minutes - 58.7 MBQuote: “I felt like there was a dark piece of you that was under there.” -Rachel Crowe About: For Part II of this four-part podcast prologue, we return to the school years. It’s a life experience most people can relate to—good or bad—in large part because of the amount of time spent. If you’re in your mid-20s and graduated from a four-year college or university, there’s a fair chance that you’ve spent almost one-third of your life waiting for some sort of bell to ring. (You can do ...
PROLOGUE — Ep. 001 — The Story of Me, Part I
November 24, 2015 09:32 - 39 minutes - 54.5 MBAbout: Who do you think you are? It’s not an easy question to answer. It shouldn’t be. But I’ve tried to get the bottom of it by starting at the top. To introduce this podcast project—Some Noise—the foolish pursuit of life, clarity and context—I’ve decided to report on the story of me. But why? If this is going to be a show about other people, their lives and purpose, then I think it’s only fair it start with, well, me. Who am I? Where do I come from? What are my values? And where do t...