Episode 370

with Tommy Pico, Emily Heller, Eli Saslow, and The Helio Sequence

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello confess to how bad they are at “letting go;” poet Tommy Pico explains how writing as his alter ego "Teebs" allows him to be less self-censoring in his work; journalist Eli Saslow discusses Derek Black – the subject of his new book Rising Out of Hatred – and how the once-heir to the white nationalist movement made a stunning transformation; comedian Emily Heller spins gut-busting analogies to online dating; and indie rock duo The Helio Sequence perform “Lately” from their album Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

Tommy Pico
Poet

Tommy “Teebs” Pico is doing something epic – literally. This year he released Junk, the third in a series of book-length poems (following IRL and Nature Poem), a body of work that the Whiting Award called “contemporary epics” of “rare brilliance.” Originally from the Viejas Indian reservation of the Kumeyaay nation, Pico now co-hosts the podcast “Food 4 Thot,” is a contributing editor at Literary Hub, and co-curates the reading series Poets With Attitude in Brooklyn. With hyper-modern language and devastating wit, Pico’s writing examines cultural erasure, queer identity, and social conscience – and, oh yeah, “Junk” does it all in couplets. Now that’s epic. Website • Twitter

Eli Saslow
Journalist

Journalist and author Eli Saslow’s new book, Rising Out of Hatred, has emerged in perfect tandem with the current political and cultural moment. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The Washington Post, Saslow roots out and reports on important human stories – and Rising Out of Hatred certainly qualifies. The book tells the riveting tale of Derek Black, the one-time heir to America’s white nationalist movement and how he came to question the ideology he helped to spread. With skill and humanity, Saslow has crafted an unforgettable story covering both sides of America – for better and for worse. Website • Twitter

Emily Heller
Comedian

It’s your lucky day, because writer and standup comedian Emily Heller already likes you very, very much. You can see her hilarious, affable and pointed standup on Comedy Central, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Conan and many other places. When she's not performing, she’s written for TV shows on Fox, NBC, and HBO, mostly recently for the John Hader series Barry. She co-hosts the popular long-running podcast Baby Geniuses on the Maximum Fun network. Her debut comedy album, Good For Her, is out now on Kill Rock Stars. Since she likes you so much, Heller also invites you to call her by her preferred nickname: Hell Bone. Website • Twitter

The Helio Sequence
Indie Rock Duo

The Helio Sequence is an American indie rock duo rolling into their third decade of making music together. In that time they’ve recorded six albums, toured extensively, and, no big deal, totally revamped their creative process. Their 2015 self-titled album is the result of using their new full-service recording and production studio, Helio Sound, to record as much as possible in one month. That experiment in letting creativity push past constraint led to twenty-six potential tracks, whittled down to ten with the votes of friends, family, and fans. The ones that made the cut created the breathless, magnetic album that Paste called “career-defining.” Almost twenty years in, The Helio Sequence shows no signs of unraveling. Listen • Twitter