Yes, we are in fact back from hiatus with this brand new episode!

Luca and Kim kicked off 2023 in true creative style by escaping the big smog and travelling to wondrous Wales. Luca still isn't exactly sure where they went but it was very very lovely indeed. Both Luca and Kim immersed themselves in creative adventure and whimsy - surrounded by birds, trees, expansive fields and even a windy ol' visit to see the sea. During this cosy week together they discovered many things... such as Kim's repulsion at the way Luca eats an apple as well as Kim's deep fascination with birds that can talk.

On their final evening together, they set up microphones (it's a miracle they managed this tbh) and sat down for a right good chin wag... more things coming soon! x x x

For their grand return to the podcast airwaves, Kim & Luca decided to get together and discuss all things PUSSY RIOT. Dive in and hear them celebrate and discuss this trailblazing feminist punk collective of incredible troublemakers.

Also mentioned :

• Joelle Taylor (@jtaylortrash) : joelletaylor.co.uk
• Monogramed / Hologramed notebooks from Paperchase (sponsor us?)
• Evan Biddell playsuit : https://biddell.shop/en-gb

Oh it's so good to be back!!! mwah mwah mwah xxx

Welcome to this special archive episode featuring a chat Luca had back in Jan 2021 with the wonderful Xhosa Cole. Xhosa Cole is somewhat of a treasure on the young UK Jazz Scene. As well as being an incredible saxophone player, he is a kind, intelligent and genuine person who is well loved by many of his peers. Xhosa won BBC young jazz musician of the year in 2018 and has since gone on to win both a parliamentary jazz and Jazz FM award. Xhosa leads his own quartet and has appeared in various ensembles performing throughout the UK. When Xhosa talks about jazz I get excited, he has such an honest relationship to this music and we share a lot of common interests, we most recently discovered our shared love of cuban heel boots…here’s our chat ! . We’ll be sharing a couple of these cute lil archive episodes to ease us into our grand return.. more on that soon! 

One last thing.. Please excuse the awful sound quality, this was recorded early lockdown days before we’d all figured out how to be home studio professionals… ok! enjoy! 

Welcome to this special archive episode featuring a chat Luca had back in December 2020 with the wonderful Stephanie Burrell.  Stephanie is an incredible dancer, movement director, linguist, cook, storyteller, creative force of nature and source of joy. We’ll be sharing a couple of these cute lil archive episodes to ease us into our grand return.. more on that soon!

One last thing.. Please excuse the awful sound quality, this was recorded early lockdown days before we’d all figured out how to be home studio professionals… ok! enjoy! 

This week, Kim and Luca discuss the legacy of the high priestess of soul : Nina Simone. An incredibly figure in musical history and undoubtedly a good troublemaker, it seemed only natural that we celebrate the life of this iconic woman as well as discuss some of the mistreatment and prejudice she endured while fighting for her right to exist as her unapologetic self.

Take a listen...x

Check out David Bowie's answers here

There's also a book that compiles the answers from 100 cultural icons including Joan Didion, Gore Vidal, Arthur Miller, Ray Charles, Sidney Poitier and more...

Shame and fear make it difficult to talk about abortions and if there's one thing these Good Troublemakers hate most, it's shame. So come in and let's talk some real talk - the right to choice, how we all contribute to the culture of shame and secrecy - hiding tampons up our sleeves en-route to the bathroom, euphemisms for completely normal processes and sex education shrouded in mis/half/wrong information, the fallacy of good and bad abortions and much, much more.

Featuring a reading of the incredible Lindy West essay, When Life Gives You Lemons.

The best news? This is just part 1… dive in!

Ian’s podcast ‘Not Even Music’ : https://open.spotify.com/show/2t95blHcfOXNigvmXZugx3?si=9CVUTh5FSM6J_BJ-Li_xjg&dl_branch=1

Side by side refugees :  https://sidebysiderefugees.org

https://www.ianshaw.biz

In this episode, we highlight the amazing work of our favourite troublemaking nuns : 'The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence' and celebrate the life of the iconic Derek Jarman.

Adam tells us about his time spent as a Sister and how they came to canonise the great Derek Jarman before his death. Not to be missed!

Read more about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence : https://www.thesisters.org

Read more about Derek Jarman and his work : https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/derek-jarman-2327

Rested, recharged and ready to take on the world once again, Kim and Luca present the first of a very special two parter featuring the glorious Adam Jeanes.

Adam was Chair of The Pride Trust between 1993 and 1997, organising LGBT Pride London - the largest free to attend pop festival in Europe at that time.

Ahead of Adam donating his large collection of documents, banners and other important memorabilia from his time at the Pride Trust to be kept in an official archive, Kim and Luca sat down with Adam to discuss Pride through the decades - the trials and tribulations, the celebrations and a look at where we've come since the first ever march to mark the 1st anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

We discuss the exhibition as well as a plethora on other things on our minds -

• football
• football chants - how do the fans learn them, is there a whatsapp group, is it a jam?
• Christian Marclay
• Nam June Paik
• James Baldwin
• Coffee
• The Establishment
• Laura Mvula's new album, Pink Noise
• bell hooks - Teaching to Transgress
• A new word for TERFs

There's an interjection by Kim's dog Ripley, Luca's mic has some weird stadium reverb on it, Luca misses a call from his delivery man trying to deliver a dress...All the chaotic energy of a no-school uniform day with your board games and your half days...

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

Ryoji Ikeda exhibition: https://www.180thestrand.com/#exhibitions

Fashion should be a form of escapism and not a form of imprisonment

From his formative days as an apprentice for Cornelius O'Callaghan on Savile Row, his pivotal meeting with Isabella Blow, spending unemployment benefits on fabrics to becoming Creative Director of Givenchy, McQueen's life was one of extremes, excesses, passion and emotion.

We discuss some of his groundbreaking shows including the robots painting Shalom Harlowe in #13, his depictions of Scottish history in the Highland Rape and Widows of Culloden, his literary and historical influences, his Clothes as Armour approach to empowering women, his difficult relationship with the media and much more.

If you like what you hear, consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

Links:

#13 show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4oKJ8WoMiI

Widows of Culloden show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCrx8l5YFMQ&t=1033s

Horn of Plenty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er20fZrHzUc

McQueen documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHCPZA4XaMA

Taking Audre Lorde's seminal work from 1978, The Erotic as Power, Kim and Luca talk about eroticism and this is a BIG ONE.

Every oppression in our history must corrupt or distort the sources of power that provide energy for change. (Audre Lorde)

Among other things, we cover...

What's the difference between erotic and pornographic?

Pleasure Activism and the work of Adrienne Maree Brown

Ethical pornography and Tristan Taormino

Artists whose work has inspired and moved the discourse around female and queer eroticism on, like Tracey Emin and Nan Goldin.

If you like what we do, please consider supporting us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

Kim and Luca discuss the 'conscience of the art world', the anonymous art activist group The Guerilla Girls. Set up in the 1980s, their work has focused on the under-representation of women artists and artists of colour in the art world. Donning gorilla masks and using female artists from history as their pseudonyms, they produce striking, newspaper-style billboards and posters that use facts and statistics to raise awareness about the disparity in representation and as calls to action to address it.

As ever, the conversation is far-reaching but includes...

• the pros/cons of anonymity and pseudonyms in activism
• issues of safety surrounding activism
• Some of the GG's best loved campaigns and visuals
• The democratisation of art and mass-manufacturing
• Their newest commission as part of Art Night in the UK, The Male Graze
• And much more

Check out more of their work here - https://www.guerrillagirls.com/

Support us on Patreon here - https://www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

In a conversation as far-reaching as Cage's influence we cover...

Zen Buddhism

Silence

Human cyborgs

His Philosophy on music and art

His relationship with Merce Cunningham

His collaborators including Merce, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Nam June Paik and more.

(And as a special treat for those who make it to the end, we take a peek at some James Joyce's letters to Nora Barnacle.)

Links -

Gagosian Premieres - Gerhard Richter's Cage Paintings w/ Patti Smith

Interview with John Cage and Merce Cunningham

Neil Harbisson - I Listen in Colour

Sources and Resources:

The outside project

Lady Phyll 

Alok 

Travis alabanza

Queer March

Heritage of pride

UK black pride

Stonewall

Transmissions

London trans pride

Dalston superstore

We exist 

AKT 

GALOP

Book : better than this : edited by Amelia Abraham

John Bowden is a long-time prison organiser, recently released after a 40 year prison sentence. While his co-defendants were released 20 years earlier, John's sentence was continually increased as he worked to draw attention to human rights violations and brutality within the system.

He is joined by Matt Roberts, a fellow PSN member, a musician and activist who has recently made a series of short films to draw attention to the issues PSN works on.

This extraordinary and far reaching conversation draws on John's first hand experience, the ideology behind abolition, how it compares to prison reform, what a post-prison world may look and how we get there.

Prisoner Solidarity Network website

Prisoner Solidarity Network youtube channel

Support us on Patreon

We discuss the early days of Wham!, his pivotal Parkinson interviews in the wake of his very public 'outing' in 1998, the power of shame and the artistry with which he turned that on its head, the taboo of discussing sex and much, much more.

Check out our Spotify playlist to accompany this ep - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xa6ZvvHvCGnGS86xCEas0?si=c67673b7aa744034

Support us on our Patreon page - https://www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

George on Parkinson 1998 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkqzdAH0tvA

Outside music video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwZAYdHcDtU

Shoot The Dog music video -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABhZQ_VRbsQ

Then to celebrate some joy, they talk about the incredible Ruth Coker Burks and the recent scenes of amazing community spirit in Glasgow.

Follow us on insta - @thehownotpod

Support us on Patreon - www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

• how should we foster creativity in ourselves
• how do we teach it in others
• Virtuosity vs. expression
• David Bowie (lots of David Bowie)
• Inexplicably, bank holidays
• And much more...

Plus get a glimpse behind the scenes as a technical emergency requires Sam to come to the rescue.

Check out Fini's new video Life on Mars - https://youtu.be/V3JVuq2FzVE

SUPPORT US ON PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

Follow us on insta - @thehownotpod

@chickenthepig

@lucamanning_

@beastlystudios

Trailblazing designer, shop owner, fashion icon, activist, lyricist and the originator of the Punk and New Romantic movements, Queen Viv has recently celebrated her 80th birthday so what better time to dedicate an episode to her life and work so far.

We cover -

• Vivienne's approach to fashion as art
• The intense partnership of Vivienne and Malcolm McLaren
• Possibly the world's most famous (and changeable) shop, 430 King's Road
• Punk
• The New Romantics
• Her extraordinary catwalk shows
• Her life as an activist

and a whole lot more.

Follow us on instagram - @thehownotpod

Support us on PATREON: www.patreon/hownotpodcast

Kim and Luca talk about what it means to be Scottish, and what it means to be a Scot living in London.

This episode covers a wide range of topics including -

• cultural and national identity
• the dangers of patriotism
• IndyRef
• Sectarianism
• Scottish art and culture
• Language, dialect, accents and class
• and much more...

We mentioned lots of brilliant Scots in the episode so here's a wee list of our favourites if you want to check them out -

• Alasdair Gray
• Jackie Kay
• Suzanne Bonnar
• Liz Lochead
• Jimmy Somerville
• Michael Clark
• Iona Fyfe
• Alan Cumming
• Muriel Spark
• Val McDermid
• Jeremy Lee
• Iain Banks
• Ian Rankin
• Nicola Sturgeon
• Mhairi Black
• Rhona Cameron
• Billy Connolly

Who else should be on our list? Drop an email and let us know! hownotpodcast@gmail.com

We talk about his philosophy of life and art, his activism, the creation of visual language, his work with Grace Jones, his relationship with Andy Warhol and so much more.

Drops on Sunday for Patreon and Monday for the rest of the world.

Who better to be our first featured person than this glorious King of the Good Troublemakers?! 

Check out our patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

Follow us on Instagram: @thehownotpod

Our two Good Troublemakers discuss

• The controversial bill, especially the worrying clamp down on our right to Protest, the introduction of a 'Traveller's Passport' and an amendment to adopt the Nordic Model for Sex Work
• The amazing work some orgs are doing to halt the bill
• Tips on how to keep yourself safe when protesting.

Check out our patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hownotpodcast

Follow us on Instagram: @thehownotpod

Sources:

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Sisters Uncut

Sex Workers Advocacy and Resistance Movement (SWARM)

Public Interest Law Centre

No More Exclusions

Traveller Pride

Black Lives Matter

Disability Justice