Episode 505

with Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, Curtis Cook, and Patterson Hood

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello talk "personal Mt. Everests;" writer and mountaineer Silvia Vasquez-Lavado discusses how she became the first openly gay woman to climb “The Seven Summits” while overcoming addiction and childhood trauma; comedian Curtis Cook explains why you shouldn't wear a suit to Red Lobster; and Patterson Hood, frontman of Drive-By Truckers, unpacks his decades-long collaboration with bandmates, then performs "Shake and Pine" from their forthcoming album.

Silvia Vasquez-Lavado

Author, Explorer, and Humanitarian

Silvia Vasquez-Lavado is a humanitarian, mountaineer, explorer, social entrepreneur, and technologist living in San Francisco. In 2014, she launched Courageous Girls, a nonprofit that helps survivors of sexual abuse and trafficking with opportunities to find inner strength and cultivate their voices by demonstrating their physical strength. Courageous Girls has had projects in Nepal, India, the United States, and Peru. Vasquez-Lavado was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the Corporate Heroes of 2015. CNET named her one of the 20 Most Influential Latinos in Silicon Valley. She has also been recognized by the Peruvian government as one of the “Marca Peru” ambassadors (country brand ambassadors). She is a member of the Explorers Club and one of the few women in the world to complete the Seven Summits. Instagram · Website

Curtis Cook

Comedian and Writer

Curtis Cook is a standup comedian and WGA Award-nominated writer who puked after a keg stand on a show called Flophouse, traveled through an Ebola checkpoint for a segment on Vice News, and has appeared alongside Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein on Portlandia. Curtis’s standup has been seen on Comedy Central, where he was also a writer for the recent reboot of Crank Yankers before being hired onto shows at Hulu and TBS. His comedy has been described as "pretty funny" and "why is he yelling at us?" Twitter · Website

Patterson Hood

Portland-based Songwriter and Frontman

Patterson Hood was born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and now lives in Portland. He is best known as co-founder, front-man, songwriter, and guitarist for the critically acclaimed Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers. Their most recent album, The New OK, which came out in October 2020, consists of outtakes from their previous album The Unraveling and new songs which Hood recorded over the summer of 2020 in response to the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland and the COVID-19 pandemic. Listen · Website