Out of Curiosity with kt mather

In 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!

Melissa 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.

Julie 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). 

DSH 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...)

Bill 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...

Michael 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...

In 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 didn't think our divided nation had much farther to fall...

In 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. 

In 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! 

In 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’s character in Juno owes Juno both a specific act of f*cking solidarity AND an apology...

Brian 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?

Once 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 hormones), and ultimately, the indestructible uterus!

Today 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 eye surgery (don’t worry—not graphic). Correction: Forgot to note this in my intro, but at one point in the ep, I mention that this show was previously going to be made with "Ellen Page" as Beth. The ep was recorded before Elliot Page shared with the wider world that he is trans and his name is Elliot. 

Brian 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...

We 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.

Bill 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.

Taylor 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...

We 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.

Another 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

We 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.