Inciting A Riot

How much does the marketing industry know about you? You, specifically. Sure, you've heard all the horror stories - or maybe you've lived it - in which you're thinking about Pop Tarts and suddenly you see an ad on social media for Pop Tarts. That's freaky, right? But marketing existed long before the advent of modern technology and still seemed to somehow catch the pulse of what we all wanted to consume. Or did it? Maybe the truth about marketing isn't that it is reacting to what you're seeing or hearing, rather it is shaping it, shaping you. Helping you tell stories of how your life might look if you purchased this candy, went to see that movie, or, in the case of the United States, took this prescription medication.  Or perhaps you've seen an ad that seemed so incredibly ill-advised you wonder...how many people had to look at this ad and ignore all the blatantly problematic visuals or ad copy before it was sent out in the world? How many people thought this was a good idea?  Hayley Grant is a VP of Strategy

"Grief is a feeling made of feelings," says Mahlakai Rose, a death doula and co-founder of The House of Grief. We are all thinking about death lately. How we want to die, where and with whom we want to spend our final moments, and what we'd like to happen afterwards. But given how much our lives have changed in the last few years, we're also becoming clued in to the fact that death and grief happen more often than we'd like to think.  We die little deaths throughout our lives. Unexpected loss of a job. Moving across the country. The end of a cherished friendship. Mal has a lot to teach us about dealing with grief and demystifying the role of a death doula in both our deaths and lives.  Social links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod   Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod   Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire

There’s this urge to turn yourself into a brand online. No matter how specific your interests are, no matter how tiny you think the niche is, social media compels you to believe that if you want to participate in that culture you must become a copy of those who came before you.   If you come online hoping to research anything - how to be a writer, how to organize your home, how to exercise - you are instantly bombarded with people who are not only far more advanced at that thing than you are, but they’ve cultivated their social media presence in such a way that you think the only way to get where you want to go is to buy what they’re selling. Surely they have the secret, right?    Minimalism is a movement that is quite literally about living with less, and yet if you go online to research minimalism you’ll soon find that people are more than happy to sell you lots and lots of things in order to become a minimalist. Minimalist home organization supplies. Minimalist tables. Minimalist jewelry. Minimalist…refrig

The last two years of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic have forced a lot of people to take stock of what is important to them. For many that has meant assessing whether they're in the right career or whether it's time to take a chance on forging a path for themselves. That's what Nikk Alcaraz - an actor, food artist, and DIY craft maker - did. He created Practical Peculiarities, a content creation brand under which Alcaraz inspires people to add a bit of magic into their dinner menus or around their home. If you haven't heard the name before you've surely seen one of his many viral videos. Hear how he took the skills he learned from his previous jobs and lifelong passions and turned them all into a magical career of his own making. 

What’s important to you? What do you value? What makes you happy?  No matter how you answered I want to know: would your answers change if you were telling your significant other? A work acquaintance? Your boss? If I were there right now with a microphone and camera asking you on the record, would any of those answers change?    The answer is…probably…yes. Right? Yes, of course, we don’t tell our bosses everything about our off-hours lives. We don’t tell our coworkers all the smutty shows we watch or tell our relatives about the things we enjoy that we don’t really want grandma asking us about around a holiday table.    I’m speaking, of course, about guilty pleasures. The bits of pop culture that are considered silly, juvenile, and are often spoken of with derision. Reality television. Pop music. Fashion trends. It is rare that these bits of culture are seen as areas of legitimate interest, and rarer still when they are given serious study and consideration.    My guest today hopes to change the discourse aro

An all too common problem for anyone in a creative field is other people's opinions. The folks who look over your shoulder and tell you that you should've painted something blue instead of red. The folks who take years of your life's work and turn it into bumper sticker commentary for easy engagement on social media. The alleged fans of a show that seem to take glee in tearing apart the thing they profess to love and ruining the lives of those who make it.  My guest today knows this intimately, having written for some of the biggest shows to come on Netflix in recent years. Joshua Conkel is a screenwriter behind some of your favorite scenes in shows like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and A Series of Unfortunate Events. We sat down to discuss the perils of listening to other people's opinions, deciding whose opinions matter and whose don't, how consumers of media feel a sense of entitlement and ownership of that media, and how to create through all that noise.  If you like this show and want to support it

A promotional trailer for Head On Fire.  "Seek illumination the way a man with his head on fire seeks water."  That's the ethos behind Head On Fire, a new podcast featuring deep dive conversations with experts in interesting, often overlooked fields. It's a search for meaning and answers to life's biggest and smallest questions. Join me, author and host Don Martin, every other week as we discuss everything from climate change and reproductive Justice to the cultural importance of reality television or the value of believing in monsters.  Head On Fire, every other week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Coming February 2022.

Goodbye.    Today is the very last episode of Inciting A Riot.   And the last time I'll be speaking to you as Fire Lyte.   Sometimes growth means putting yourself back together, and in 2022 I am going to embark on a more personal, more authentic journey. As myself. I hope you’ll come along with me.    The antagonistic, pointed energy of Inciting A Riot is going away as it no longer serves me. In its place will be a new title and a new me. The real me. The me that my friends and loved ones know. No more mask.    I explain everything in the podcast episode, but in short there’s no need to unsubscribe or resubscribe. The feed will stay the same. And, if you have any podcast name suggestions, I’m certainly willing to entertain them all.    I’m also taking a month off from producing the show, the first break I’ve had in a few years. I want to give myself a space to breathe, to consider, and to feel confident and certain about my next steps.    I’m a bit scared, if I’m being honest. Fire Lyte has presented a certai

Queer as Folk's Peter Paige on the legacy of his career, stepping behind the camera to craft queer-centric television shows and movies like The Fosters and The Thing About Harry, casting cishet actors in queer roles, and where Hollywood goes from here. Connect with Peter Paige here. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review.    Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video content as well as archived episodes, a private Discord server, and monthly chats with special guests! Sign up at Patreon.com/IncitingARiot.    Order my book, The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft, here: https://bit.ly/DabblersGuide   Love and Lyte,   Fire Lyte   Incitin

The witch is a curious figure, existing in a uniquely liminal space of both fact and fiction, this world and the next. Many practitioners of magic walk a path that carefully stays in that middle ground, but a few heed the call to peek beyond the hedge, to walk amongst ancestors and spirits and gods and beings for which we don’t yet have names.  It can be daunting, to leave that comfortable middle path, but Christine Grace’s book The Witch at the Forest’s Edge provides a gentle, encouraging hand to hold as you take your first steps past the hedge into the world beyond. The advice is practical, grounded in a practice that begins with what you have on hand and in your surroundings, includes discussion of ancestry and the many ways that family is made and found, and includes a deeply appreciated section on magical ethics. This book is practical, fresh, and will help guide a whole new generation off the well-trod path to embrace the old, wild magic found beyond the hedge.  Get more of Christine Grace here.  If you

  When I wrote an article for Writer's Digest about witches in stories, I said that the best stories aren't about the magic but about the power. In science fiction and fantasy writing, I've found that a superpower or access to magic or a special tool that grants an ability - whatever it is - isn't nearly as interesting as the power that it grants the user. The ability for magic to level a playing field, to allow the righting of wrongs.  In her latest graphic novel, Squad (illustrated by Lisa Sterle), author Maggie Tokuda-Hall tells a story of werewolves, yes, but the story is far more about a young girl finding the power to fit in, to feel in control of her life for the first time ever. We talk about her new work, the importance of queer representation, receiving critique, and how we'd rewrite Mean Girls if we could.  Buy her new book here: https://bookshop.org/a/56826/9780062943149 If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media

The Day of the Dead, El Día de los Muertos, is a celebration originating in Mexico. It's been gaining visibility and popularity in the United States and beyond thanks in part to films like Book of Life and Coco. However, a lot of misconceptions surround this cultural event, such as it being a "second Halloween". Too often elements of the celebration are taken piecemeal by those from outside the culture and used as costume or in ways that remove the context or history behind it - such as calavera face paint.  Jaime Gironés has written a phenomenal new book, Llewellyn's Little Book of the Day of the Dead, to guide you through the history of the holiday, the myths and traditions surrounding it, and how it can be appreciated - and even adapted - in your household.  If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review.    Help keep the show free and producing on a reg

Every year around Halloween, I gather together a collection of stories, poems, and songs from around the magical world to help bring a bit of magic to your Samhain season. This year's Hallowed Riot features the following works: The Lockkeepers's Door - original short story by Vinna Harper Dawn of Maw - an excerpt from Taylor Narváez Claman  Love Letter to Hades part 2 - a poem by Lauren Theresa travel - a poem from the book while I wait to be a god again read by Cory Hutcheson Verity Vox & King Earl - a full-cast short story by Fire Lyte    Cast Verity Vox - Jax in the Box Tacita Tarry - November Sierra King Earl - Cory Hutcheson Gilly Green - Vinna Harper   If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review.    Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation o

Being a femme presenting person in an online space is to constantly walk a minefield of harassment, intimidation, and abuse. To have your authority questioned and your opinion overlooked in favor of a man's. Things aren't better behind the screens either. Earlier this year a lawsuit against one of the world's biggest game makers, Activision Blizzard, brought to light a long-standing "frat boy" culture that permeated all levels of the company and promoted a culture of harm.  My deepest gratitude to my guests Cara and Deme for their honesty.  If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review.    Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive additional audio and video conte

Recently I was asked to define some important rules to remember when writing about witchcraft, especially in fiction. My response was to keep in mind that it's never about the magic but about the power that magic provides. For many of us who are drawn to the witchy characters in fiction and folklore, we're often drawn to the witch's ability to level the playing field in an otherwise unfair society using some form of magic. In the new book Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis, this dynamic is played out in one of the most unique and harrowing character studies I've seen in recent years.  Her book takes on not only what it means to be a young black girl living in poverty and under the care of abusive parents, but what happens when that young girl realizes she has tremendous abilities that allow her to not just communicate with the dead but bring them back. It's a slow burn novel that's perfect to kick off spooky season.  Find more of Jessica Lewis here.  If you like this show and want to support it, there are a n

  Being an author shares a lot of similarities with being a witch. Much of the work we do is alone, toiling away at improving skills or deepening our knowledge about obscure topics. Should we work in groups it's typically in very small circles of trusted peers. The other way that witches and authors are alike is that the general public has a lot of very wrong opinions about what it's like to be one.    So, that's why Thorn Mooney, author of the new (phenomenal) book The Witch's Path and I sat down to chat about publishing, marketing, the pressures that come with authorship, the weird authority we place on books, and the writing process itself. It's a long conversation in which we interview each other about our respective work, our goals, and where we each want to go from here.    You can find more about Thorn Mooney here.      If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts a

In recent days a new law went into effect in the state of Texas prohibiting access to an abortion after 6 weeks. 6 weeks after what, though? Conception? Your period? Something else? And why so restrictive? And why are so many organizations setting up websites to gather tips about patients, providers, and those that aid them? This conversation requires an expert to guide us through the nuance, and I'm grateful that Dr. Leah Torres returned to lead us through the thick of the issues.  Follow Dr. Torres on Twitter @LeahNTorres and learn more about her work at LeahTorres.com. If you like this show and want to support it, there are a number of ways to help. Consider liking and sharing it on social media. You can also rate the show 5-stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review.    Help keep the show free and producing on a regular basis by chipping in whatever you can. You can buy me a Ko-fi (a one time donation of your choosing) https://ko-fi.com/incitingariot or join my Patreon on a monthly basis. Patrons receive

Shadow Work is a trend that seems to have come out of nowhere in the last two years. One cannot explore much of witchy social media these days without seeing recommendations to “do your shadow work”, which seems to mean anything from “go to therapy” to “meditate more” to “write your feelings in a journal”. As with many trends, plenty of people are trying to commodify it with spiritual advisors selling shadow work services alongside tarot and astrology readings, sometimes inserting it into a reading without prior notice. Spiritual dabblers are buying up Shadow Work journals and seeking out more information about how to do this work themselves or with a professional. But…what is it and what makes a professional Shadow Work…er?  Shadow Work is a term stemming from Jungian psychology and is a part of trauma therapy, a sensitive practice where licensed trauma counselors assist patients with processing serious traumatic events in their lives. It is delicate, difficult work that takes years of training to master.

  Have you ever seen those food videos on YouTube where a chef or a food scientist tries out a series of “food hacks” found in those viral videos by places like 5-minute crafts or Blossom? The “hacks” as they’re commonly called showcase a new, easier way of cooking in well-edited videos lasting only a few seconds per recipe. Ostensibly, this is to help folks who don’t have a lot of cookware on hand or prior skill make something delicious in a way that’s cheap, accessible, and easy. Making brownies in a paper bag or caramel corn with a bit of candy and some kernels.   These videos are made in a way that most people find not only aesthetically pleasing, but enjoyable to watch and rewatch, to share with their friends, and, of course, to try and replicate. Some of the biggest channels on YouTube are these life hack or food hack videos, garnering hundreds of millions of views across multiple channels and raking in large sums of money for the never-seen owners of the channel.   Invariably, what the chef or food sci

The International Panel on Climate Change - otherwise known as the IPCC - just released their Sixth Assessment Report and it is pretty much all the various news outlets, politicians, and talking heads can discuss. But, it's a big report. The full report is thousands of pages long with hundreds of authors and well over 10,000 source citations. When all the headlines seem to say is something like IPCC Report Confirms We're All Gonna Die, it can be difficult to parse out what is important, what is relevant to you, and how much of the catastrophizing to believe.  That's where Dr. Sam Montano, the disasterologist herself, comes in. She's back to tell us what this report means, which parts she and other researchers are focused on, how alarmed we should be, and what the average consumer can do. We discuss issues like the California wildfires, the Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota, and even touch upon the current wave of COVID resurgence here in the United States.  Find more of Dr. Montano's work here. If you like this sh