Conversation ex Nihilo

Carrington Smith is an author and an attorney. Her new book Blooming  is a candid account of surviving sexual assault, two divorces, disfiguring surgery and a slew of other curveballs that life has thrown at her. She addresses her past with a sense of humor as well as with a newfound compassion for herself. She joins Billy via Zoom to talk about her relationship with a narcissistic father, the destructive force that the love of money conducts, reconciling with her past and reasons for putting it all on paper at this juncture in her life. You can check out her website here and pick up a copy of her book here. 

Frank King is "The Mental Health Comedian." He is a former writer for The Tonight Show as well as a renowned stand-up comedian. He currently specializes in suicide prevention and gives talks to that end. He isn't shy about saying he knows what the barrel of his gun tastes like. Frank joins Billy to talk about his depression, how COVID-19 has effected his speaking career, how the market crash of 2008 had prepared him for the slump of 2020, Christopher Columbus's mental illness and a few other choice topics. You can check out his website here and check out his TEDx talk Born to be Funny here.

Ricky is a filmmaker, screenwriter and author. He joins Billy to talk about his projects, some of which included Billy. The conversation goes from the twenty year anniversary of 9/11, to reminiscing about Oliver Stone films and a fondness for iconic film locations over other historic sites, to just a relaxed talk about their shared experiences working together on various short films (link here)

Mike joins Billy via Zoom to talk about Battleship Potemkin in what they hope to be the first in a series (perhaps a whole new podcast) on Russian cinema. 

P.J. Agness from Archangel Protective Intelligence joins Billy via Zoom to talk, shark repellant, the O.S.S. self-defense and a mess of other stuff. 

Sean McGrane is a Veteran of both the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He joins Billy via Zoom to talk about the U.S. departure from the war in Afghanistan, what it means to him as a vet and an American as well as some general thoughts on military service. 

Jewels is an author, speaker and bodybuilder. Her newest book The Making of a Woman: From the Inside Out chronicles her journey of abuse as an adolescent to her jobs in healthcare and as a touring stripper while continuously spinning out of control. Jewels got sober at 35 and began a career as a professional femdom, from there her story captures the ascent of her spirit as she gets married and becomes a competitive bodybuilder.Jewels joins Billy via Zoom to talk about her life and her book. They also find time to discuss the BDSM culture, recognizing signs of abuse, the power of asking "are you alright" and many other things pertaining to the subject of trauma meeting contemporary culture. Watch the trailer for her book here

After a career in corporate and nonprofit communications, Suzanne Munson went back to her first loves of teaching and writing about colonial America. In 2018 she published the book Jefferson's Godfather the Man Behind the Man: George Wythe, mentor to the founding fathers.  Her 2021 book The Metaphysical Thomas Jefferson is the focus of this episode. The book is a transcription of interviews with Thomas Jefferson's spirit as channeled through the medium Jana Ana. The book has Jefferson commenting on his own life and his thoughts about the current state of politics and media in America. Whether one is a believer or not there is much to be gained from listening to Suzanne talk to Billy via Zoom about her interest in history, the spiritual world and how this book came to be. 

Sara Long is a former professional makeup artist turned U.S. history professor. She hosts the podcast The Makeup Historian and she joins Billy via Zoom to talk about the founding fathers and mothers, the politics of education, whether we as a society need textbooks as well as some of the other challenges facing modern academics. 

Michael Belfer was the guitarist of The Sleepers and Tuxedomoon both highly influential San Francisco bands from the late 70's. He is also the author of When Can I Fly?  a book chronicling his time with these two bands as well as his stint in Black Lab in the early 90s. Michael lead the proverbial rockstar life and has lived to tell his tale. Michael joins Billy via Zoom to discuss the book, seeing the Sex Pistols live at Winterland in 1978, Jello Biafra, rehab, receiving recognition from Joey Ramone and John Cale, his long friendship with The Sleepers charismatic frontman Ricky Williams and more. Listen to the Sleepers here 

Dr. Bahman Baktiari is the executive director of the Baskerville Institute an organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening the bonds of friendship between the people of Iran and the United States.  He joins Billy via Zoom to talk about the institute's origins, the assassination of Quasem Solemani and its impact on U.S. / Iran relations, the need to mutually "deSatanize" one another in the eyes of each country's populations and much more.Learn more about Dr. Baktiari and his work here

Since 1994 Wendi was worked as a hypnotherapist. Her work has been featured in GQ, on HBO, The Man Show, Men's Health and several other outlets. She joins Billy via Zoom to talk of her humble beginnings as an unemployed single mother of two and how she became a success in the early days of the internet. She offers some insight into how to treat addiction and trauma as well as dealing with the underlying conditions of feeling unworthy. They also touch on the subject of the poor outcomes of commercial rehab centers. Learn more about Wendi's work here

Christopher Boorman is a public speaker and host of Christopher Boorman Speaks.  He joins Billy via Zoom to talk about his views on Christianity as a marginalized group, our over reliance on technology, his experiences with bullying and his discovering confidence through public speaking. 

Tim Tortora has worked in Hollywood for over 30 years. He started as a tape operator who worked his way up into the executive world, primarily as a CFO. He has worked for Harpo Films, Mandalay Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Disney, TriStar Pictures and Columbia Pictures. Some of his movie credits include Terminator 2, Total Recall, Bugsy, The Doors and Tuesdays with Morrie among others. Tim joins Billy via Zoom to talk about his experiences working in the industry. He makes a great case for the creativity inherent in film financing and he gives some practical business advice applicable in any field. He also shares some wisdom he learned first hand from Oprah.Check out Tim's blog and pick up his book A Hollywood Accounting here

Jeff Roth is the author of the book Fires, Floods and Taxi Cabs part memoire and part how-to manual on navigating leadership roles (especially in government.) Jeff has served for 20 years in the U.S. National Guard, he holds a master's degree in public policy and urban planning from Harvard University in addition to the 12 years he has spent in city government. Jeff joins Billy via Zoom to talk about his role in the New York City mayor's office where he worked on fire and flood mitigation as well as taxi regulation. Jeff was there at the height of Uber's ascendency and speaks about the work that he did on that, as well as the Deutsche Bank fire in 2007 which killed 2 firefighters and injured 115 more. Jeff's insight into emergency management and planning as well as his pragmatic yet positive attitude toward public service makes for a thought provoking conversation.   

Danielle Agami is the founder of Ate9 Dance Company based in Los Angeles, CA. She started dancing at the age of 3 and has traveled the world as a professional dancer. Originally from Israel she danced for the prestigious Batsheva Dance Studio before moving to America.  She is a highly sought after choreographer and her work has been featured in many commercial projects, operas and other venues. In addition to sharing some of her personal story, Danielle joins Billy via Zoom to talk about the blending of art and commerce, meeting the many needs of performers and audiences, defying expectations of beauty in dance, running a successful company while staying true to one's artistic vision, the virtue of laziness, how art is consumed throughout the world, and why we need to continue to support the arts. Check out Danielle's work here  

Kim is an author and speaker who had spent 33 years in the radio broadcasting industry before being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 50 effectively ending his career. Kim decided to turn his attention to writing. He published the memoir, "Come Get Me Mother, I'm Through," in 2019 and a book about the consequences of the rescinding of the Fairness Doctrine, The Death of Fairness in 2020. Kim joins Billy via Zoom to talk about his M.S. diagnosis, the rescinding of the fairness doctrine, the power of youth voting, radio groupies and Peter Frampton's zipper...Learn more about Kim "Kid" Curry here

Dr. Adam Key is an author, a speaker, a scholar and an educator. He spent nearly a decade teaching in some of Texas's toughest prisons. He currently teaches at The University of Arkansas at Monticello where he continues his research on academic deviance. Adam joins Billy via Zoom to talk about his background in education, teaching in prison, the current state of affairs in prison reform, the concept of "survive to subvert," and he offers up a few ideas on how to make some changes such as buying a prisoner a fan. You can do so right here 

Karl Smith has worked in journalism since high school. He has been on the bleeding edge of the design revolution and also at the forefront of online journalism and  user-generated content. He designed the front page in Lexington, KY the day Secretariat died, was running a newsroom the night of the Bush-Gore election, and led a newsroom in an area that strongly felt the impacts of the 9/11 attacks. He is the author of the book Anchored in Tradition: An Unofficial Collection of Fun, Facts and Figures About Life at the United States Naval Academy  He also writes the blogs My Kid the Mid and My Kid The Cadet. Karl joins Billy via Zoom to talk about it all. 

We talk conspiracy on Conversation ex Nihilo, when Anthony Hoyes joins Billy via Zoom to talk about the flatness of the earth and other alternatives to our common societal narratives. Anthony is a musician, business man and flat earth enthusiast. He is passionate in his desire to have people think for themselves rather than accepting conventional wisdom and orthodoxy.