Taste "He's Trying to Use the Pandemic to Forego Environmental Laws." An environmentally astute conversation with the Director of the Wildlife Law Program for the Animal Rights Organization Friends of Animals- Michael R. Harris. Michael and I discuss the Pandemic in Colorado, the Challenge of Keeping People's Attention on Animal Rights during the Pandemic and Our Human Rights Crisis, Trump's Executive Order Designed to Limit the Reach of Environmental Laws, Wild Horses, Wet Markets, Aquariums in Canada & Connecticut, Marine Life Sanctuaries, an Ethical Mindset Applied to All Sentient Beings...

Taste "... I Guess I'm Not Sure What This Is, This Era We're Living In." A compelling conversation with Writer - Richard Klin. Richard and I discuss his latest novel "Wonders of the Distant Land," Poland, Russia & Germany, How Narratives Are Often Disconnected, Qualified Sympathy, The Myth that Suffering Makes One a Saint, Public Execution by the Police, Phillip Roth, How His Grandparents Suffered in the Holocaust and Did Not Philosophically Reflect On It, Writing as a Way to Recreate the World...

Taste "There is a feeling of hope because of the diversity of people coming out to protest." A circumspect conversation with the Chair of Pennsylvania's State Progressive Caucus & Our Resident Politico- Dwayne Heisler. Dwayne and I discuss Protests in Rural America, Comparisons to Protests in the 1960s, Race & Social Economics, Black Lives Matters, Having Ancestors Some of Which Were the Oppressors & Some of Which Were the Oppressed, Trump & the Military, Republican Lawmakers Hiding Their Covid-19 from Democratic Lawmakers, This Sometimes Looking Like a Soviet Occupation, Fear, Evangelicals Supporting Trump, People Not Processing What Goes Against Their Worldview, Hurdy Gurdy Workshops, His Trip to Cuba & Witnessing the Military on the Streets Supporting a Dictator, Why Now is a Time to Really Speak Out, Political Determinants of Health, Underfunded Hospitals, Reopening Our Communities Regardless of the Consequences Related to the Pandemic's Presence, We the People...

Taste "My Mother Used to Babysit Joe Biden When He Was 2 and 3 Years Old." An engaging conversation with Poet, Novelist, Biographer, Screenwriter & Critic - Jay Parini. Jay and I discuss George Floyd, Police in America, White Anger, Racism, Our Bad Educational System, His New Memoir titled "Borges and Me - An Encounter," Argentinian Writer Jorge Luis Borges, Traveling Across the Highlands of Scotland, the Working Class, the Definition of Republicanism, Lunch with Kevin Spacey, His Mother Babysitting Joe Biden, His Friendship with Bernie Sanders, Meeting Pablo Neruda, FDR, the Pandemic, An Inflection Point in History...

Taste "That Tree Over There, That Rock Over There, The Moon Rising... We Are All Made of The Same Material." An inspired conversation with farmer, winemaker, our resident philosopher(Straight Out of Stockbridge, Vermont)- Almighty Todd. The Almighty and I discuss Slow Spring in Stockbridge, Daydreaming Out the Window, Lost Opportunity to Learn from North America's Indigenous Peoples, Misguiding Western Notions that the Wilderness is Wild & Evil, Garden Therapy, Yin Yang, Passage 42 of the Tao Te Ching, the Use & Limitations of Dualism, John Muir's Church of Nature, Our Lack of Balance, the Interface Between the Innerworld & Outerworld, the Complexities that Got Us Here, Forest Bathing...

Taste "There are many instances in my past that I am like, 'man if I just made one choice differently who the f*$k knows...'" A wonderful conversation with one of the United States' most important, highly acclaimed playwrights, Pulitzer Prize winner - Martyna Majok. Martyna and I discuss the Pandemic's affect on Theater Venues in NYC and London, the Way Her Most Recent Stage Production "Sanctuary City" Was Conceived, Giving Voices to the Voiceless, Self-Preservation, Helping Others, Being an Immigrant, Chernobyl - the Musical, Hustling Pool as A Teenager, Witnessing Her Mom Make Ends Meet, the Notion of What Making It Means, Poor Kid Mentality, Reevaluating What's Important in Life, the Myth of the American Dream, Empathy, Writing for TV & Film, Missing the Social Scene at the Neighborhood Bar...

Taste "...That People Are Going to Wake Up Is Such Wishful Thinking." We have for your listening pleasure Episode 369 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." A grand conversation with an Expatriate Living in Southern France, Musician, Writer and Our Resident Social Critic- JQ. JQ and I discuss the Pandemic, Human Health vs. the Economy, the CDC Being Suppressed, Universal Basic Income, Nationalizing Industry, Corporations Looting the Treasury, Emmanuel Todd, Accelerating the Obsolescence of Human Relationships, the Freedom of Artists, How Americans & Europeans Are Well Fed Cattle, Letting Them Eat Cake, Putting the Power in the Hands of Middle Class/Working People, a Great Trifecta of Idiots: Trump, Johnson & Macron...

Taste "Nobody Wants Your Grandmother's Dishes Anymore, I Do, But Nobody Else Does..." We have for your listening pleasure Episode 368 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." Episode 368 features the third of three installments from a Delightful two hour Conversation I had with Acclaimed NYC Visual Artist - Peter McGough. Mr. McGough published his highly praised memoir titled "I've Seen the Future and I'm Not Going: The Art Scene and Downtown New York in the 1980s" in September 2019. Peter and I discuss, the Bachelorette, Straight Guys, Allusions that Condition Women, Scarlett Johansson's Underware, His Boyfriend in Queens, What a Privilege It Is to Be Alive and Healthy, How the World is Insane, Not Getting Caught Up in Accolades, How Good Art is Like Trying to Grasp a Cloud, Losing Things But Still Being Here, Eating Magic Mushrooms & Tripping in An Elevator, John Giorno, Poetry, Hardwork, Not Caring About What People Think, How Nature is Sometimes Unbearable in Its Beauty, Getting a Soapbox...

Taste "Self-isolation helps us understand that we are not alone..." We have for your listening pleasure Episode 367 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." A down to earth conversation with regular contributor Professor of Native American Studies, Performing Artist, Musician- Frank Little Bear. Little Bear and I discuss Being Hold Up in York, Northern Cree & Self-reflection, Sweat Lodges & Purification, the Paths We Are On, Being Misguided in Life, Putting People First, the Home & the Larger Community, Reservations & Confinement, Indigenous Peoples Priding Themselves on Cleanliness & Thinking European Settlers Were Dirty, the Still Prevalent Psychological Effects of the Small Pox Epidemic, the Spider & the Web...

Taste "Sarah Traveled with a Sewing Machine, Her Relaxation was Sewing..." We have for your listening pleasure Episode 366 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." A grand conversation with NYC Director, Writer, Cabaret Critic, Activist- Gerry Geddes. Gerry and I discuss the Effect of Quarantine on the Arts & Artists in NYC, the Differences Between Broadway Audiences & Cabaret Audiences, His First Record Player, His Friendship with Jazz Great Sarah Vaughn, Carmen McRae, Jimmy Webb, the Limelight, Pangea, Stephen Sondheim, His Memoir, How Covid-19 Reminds Him of the Aids Epidemic, What We Might Learn While Being Isolated, Sending in the Clowns...

Taste "I Choose To Look At The Light Rather Than The Dark..." We have for your listening pleasure Episode 365 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." An extraordinary woman who recently passed. We share a Sage Conversation with Legendary American Journalist, Biographer, Actress & Teacher - Patricia Bosworth. Patricia and I discuss Her Journey from California to New York, Her Father Bradley Crumb Being the Lawyer for the Hollywood Ten, Paul Robeson, Fighting Lynching, White Supremacy in Congress, Ending Segregation, Killer Mike & Gun Control, Her Relationships With & Biographies of Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, Diane Arbus, Montgomery Clift & Paul Robeson, Surviving the Deaths of Her Father & Brother, a Homophobic Horror Story, a Conversation She Had with Elia Kazan about the Importance of Storytelling, Mary Oliver's Wild & Precious Life...

Taste "We were all laughing and having a good time like you should, it's rock n roll." A delightful conversation with NYC Artist, Director, Actor, Writer - Rob Roth. Rob and I discuss His Early Days at Pratt Institute, His Influences, Watercolors During the Pandemic, How Everything Is Painting, Theater As Ritual, Spirituality, His Acclaimed Production of "Soundstage," His Short Film "Junkie Doctors," Working with Michael Cavadias & Cole Escola, Dreaming, the Real to Surreal and Back, His Twenty Year Relationship with Debbie Harry, Directing Debbie & Joan Jett, Conspiracy Theories, Slowing Down...

Taste "I am concerned about selfishness in the form of selflessness..." A thoughtful, humorous conversation with NYC based Comedic Writer & Comedian- Nash Rose. Nash and I discuss The View from the Window of the Apartment She is Hold Up in Yonkers, What She and her Fiancee are Doing to Past the Time, How the Government is Handling the Pandemic, What We Are Learning about Ourselves & Humanity, Where the Humor Is in All of This, Experiencing the Pandemic Differently from One Community to Another, a June Wedding...

Taste "Like Most Mass Movements, They Can't Be Hip..." An insightful conversation with Resident Punk, Co-Author of "Please Kill Me, the Uncensored Oral History of Punk" - Legs McNeil. Legs and I discuss His Days in NYC's Bowery as One of the Founders and Publishers of Punk Magazine, Cartoonists. Approching & Interviewing Lou Reed, Rachel, Hanging Out at CBGBs, What the Term Punk Means, the Velvet Underground, the Influence of Underground Theater on the NYC Music Scene, Glitter Rock into Glam into Punk, the New York Dolls, Max's Kansas City, the Dictators, Johnny Thunders, Iggy Pop, Nico, the Ramones, the Dead Boys, Jean Stein & George Plimpton, the Art & Craft of Constructing a Narrative Oral History, the Byrds, Jim Morrison, Richard Hell, the Ramones, John Cale, Danny Fields, the Company Freak, Mary Heron, Gillian McCain, Patti Smith, Dennis Wilson, Tina Weymouth, Debbie Harry, Grunge Music, His Stint as Senior Editor of Spin Magazine in the 1980s, CBGBs Bouncer Merv, Hilly Crystal, Morals, Charles Manson, His Soon to Be Published Prequel to "Please Kill Me" Co-authored with Gillian McCain titled "69 an Oral History of the 1960s, Hippie Noir"...

Taste "I am not going to get tested because I feel good..." A boisterous conversation with Fiddle Player, Teacher and Our Resident Historian- Serf William. The Serf and I discuss A Brief History of Pandemics, Politics, Superstition & Science, the News, Being Too Invested in A Belief System, Education & Critical Thinking, End Days, Kissing On The Mouth, Love...

Taste "Make Hay When the Sun Is Shinning..." The second installment (with one more coming later this Spring)from a delightful conversation with acclaimed visual artist and NYC East Village icon - Peter McGough. Peter and I discuss Religion, Jesus, Pence, Having No Exceptions, Being Here to Experience Joy, Writing His Memoir Honestly, Numbers, the Insanity of Always Looking at Screens, Making His Art, Walking Around NYC in Capes and Top Hats with McDermott, the Vastness of the Universe, the Practicality of a Suit Jacket, Living in an Old House, Cesare, Degas, Beating AIDS, Being Grateful...

Taste "Encouraging People to Think for Themselves Is the Opposite of Communism..." An insightful conversation with Writer, Activist, Baker and Candlestickmaker- Kitty Belle Burbank. Kitty Belle and I discuss Women's Suffrage, Mothers, the Amazon Series Hunters, Dangerous American Professors, Making Money Off of People's Suffering, Truth in Stories, a Norman Fisher Story, Preparing for the Real World...

Taste "What a Writer Does Essentially Is Hold Up a Mirror to Mankind..." A wonderful conversation with writer - Tara L. Marta. Tara and I discuss Her Early Days in Brooklyn, Her Soon to Be Published Novel, Dolly Parton as a Hero, the Writers that Inspire Her, Differences Between Male and Female Writers, Anger & Hatred on Social Media, the Importance of Reading, the Power One Person Has to Change Things...

Taste "Many of Us Still Have a Moral Compass..." We have for your listening pleasure Episode 357 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." An Environmentally Astute Conversation with Regular Contributor, the Director of Environmental Law Program for Friends of Animals- Michael R. Harris. Michael and I discuss Snowshoeing in Denver, Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar Speech, Migratory Birds, Animals & Their Relationship with Humans, Ethical Rights of Consideration, Personhood, Professor Martha Nussbaum, the Migratory Bird Act of 1918, Incidental Take, Climate Change...

Taste "Someone Like Me Has Never Even Come Close To Running For An Elected Position..." A Poignant Conversation with Activist Politician- Sarah Cruz. Sarah and I discuss Her Background, Being a First Generation American & a First Generation College Graduate, The Significance of Being Young, Female, Latina & Lesbian as a Citizen & as an Elected Official, Coming Out to the Public During a Political Campaign, Her Christian Faith, What She Hopes to Understand & Accomplish...

Taste "... Eclecticism and the Openness to So Many Ideas..." A Grand Conversation with New York City Pianist & Composer- Jed Distler. Jed and I discuss His Journey to NYC, How Time Moves & Passes, Beethoven, Theolonius Monk, Duke Ellington, Gershwin, Aaron Copeland, Cornelia's Cafe, Healing & Reflecting Through Music, Deliberate Pastiche, What Characterizes American Concert Music, and Jed Plays His Piano for Us...

Taste "There Was a Duck and a Rabbit and They Were My Roommates..." A Great Story to Share about A Magician's Assistant on the Island of Crete told by Songwriter, Artist, Musician & Actress- LittleStarRun. As LittleStarRun's story unfolds we hear about Sharing a Villa with a Duck & a Rabbit, Dutch Pancakes, Naivete, Levitating Over a Sword, a Magic Box, a Verbally Abusive Magician, Sex Slave Rings, Lessons Learned..