Erratics

Molly McCully Brown on the Value of a Flexible Mind

My guest is Molly McCully Brown. Molly is the author of the essay collection Places I’ve Taken My Body (Persea Books, 2020) and the poetry collection The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded (Persea Books, 2017). With Susannah Nevison, she is also the co-author of the poetry collection In the Field Between Us (Persea Books, 2020). Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Best American Essays, Tin House, The Yale Review, The New York Times and elsewhere. She is Editor-in-Chief of Image Journal [https://imagejournal.org/]. You can learn more about Molly and her work at www.mollymccullybrown.com [https://www.mollymccullybrown.com/]. I hope you enjoy our conversation. You can check out Zak's essay "Landscapes of Displacement and the Politics of Dead Pets" on Edge Effects [https://edgeeffects.net/politics-of-dead-pets/] now. Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in April 2026.

Adam Miller on Preserving Craft Traditions

My guest  is Adam Miller. Adam is an independent carpenter and consultant specializing in timber and log framing. He serves as editor of Timber Framing, the technical journal of the Timber Framers Guild, and has traveled widely to share his experience and expertise with other woodworkers. He has taught at the Heartwood School, the Timber Framers Guild Community Workshop, and Bard College, among other organizations, and is a co-founder of Kominka North America, a firm dedicated to the adaptive reuse abroad of endangered Japanese timber structures. Learn more about his work at adammillercarpentry.com [https://www.adammillercarpentry.com/]. Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in January 2026.

Party Nails on Visceral Art

My guest today is the artist, producer, and engineer Elana Carroll, aka Party Nails. Her 2025 album Pillow Talk reached number 1 on Submodern Radio. She has toured widely with her blend of alt-pop, rock, and americana and operates a recording studio, Top Coat Music, in Los Angeles. Party Nails' most recent release is The Party Nails Winter EP, which is available on all streaming platforms and Bandcamp. You can learn more about Elana’s music and other projects on her website partypartynails.com [https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://partypartynails.com__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!pQ8Wt4zyQjio65O7knNhJuqq87YE-ubkQhxj5ROaRNzFmma6BDF_9dkGLCFbRa2rnHj1TpMy6RGcQxXpEX_PBmYjsw$], or on social media @partypartynails. I hope you enjoy our conversation. Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in December 2025.

Jeff Dietrich on the Infrastructures of Community

My guest is Jeff Dietrich. Jeff is a former community engagement professional and artist-in-residence. He is now a photographer and a novice frame-maker, woodworker, photography instructor, writer, election worker, cyclist, adventurer, and general-purpose dabbler. You can find his photos and writings at jeff-dietrich.com [https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://jeff-dietrich.com__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!vRKN2x7FJf-C4JG1q8X5FauQDWtQqOCxd5hq1xzrSRE2doxIqQB6G98AFEFqju_FELEAL2bITFHgibjRXPw$], and on his Instagram page @JeffDietrich [https://www.instagram.com/jeffdietrich/]. I hope you enjoy our conversation. Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in October 2025.

Chris Coggins on Cosmology, Ecology, and Collective Inquiry

My guest is Chris Coggins. Chris has been professor of Geography and Asian Studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock for 27 years, and now teaches at the new Simon’s Rock at Bard College. He is the author of The Tiger and the Pangolin: Nature, Culture, and Conservation in China (2003) and many articles and chapters on geography, environment, and China. He is the editor of, most recently, Sacred Forests of Asia: Spiritual Ecology and the Politics of Nature Conservation (2022) with Bixia Chen. He has a new article in American Historical Review, coauthored with Ian Miller, on Fengshui forests in China, and he has an essay on Betty’s Oak and the forests around Simon’s Rock in a forthcoming collection edited by Jennifer Browdy. I hope you enjoy our conversation. Recorded at the University of Southern California Digital Creative Lab in September 2025.