05. Playing Against The Paradigm
HOST AND CURATOR
Sara Ortiz
SENIOR PRODUCER
Nicole Kelly
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS
Vera Blossom and Layla Muhammad
MIXER + ENGINEER
Fil Corbitt and Kevin Krall
CONTRIBUTORS
Dayvid Figler, Val Jeanty, Douglas Kearney, Nann, Walter Mosley, and Guest Host Erica Vital-Lazare.
MUSIC BY
Jeremy Klewicki
ILLUSTRATION
Jesse Zhang
COIN IN, COIN OUT
Gambling is omnipresent in Las Vegas. Attorney Dayvid Figler grew up near the famous Las Vegas Strip in a hard-gambling family. Decades after becoming a lawyer, Dayvid meets Nann, a problem gambler who would become his client. In this segment, Dayvid and Nann unpack the emotional and life-altering effects of Nevada’s most lucrative industry.
If you or someone you know is suffering any negative financial, emotional, physical, and/or potentially criminal consequences related to uncontrolled gambling, call the National Problem Gambling helpline (1-800-522-4700) or reach out to the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling for free guidance and support at www.nevadacouncil.org.
Music in this segment: Di Bos, La tua Asse ‘n’ za, Oelek - VLCTST, Di Bos - Paghing Utas, Additional sound effects from Zapsplat.com
FODDER
Poet-performer-librettist Douglas Kearney and Afro-electronic musician Val Jeanty recorded an improvised, live album titled Fodder in August 2019. Fodder collaboratively draws in part from Douglas’ award-winning poetry collection series (Buck Studies‘ “Loud-Assed Colored Silence”) and Val’s original compositions and samples. During this conversation, interwoven with samplings from the LP, the duo discusses the ways they surrendered to experimentation in the name of artistry.
RACE IS NOT A COLOR
Back in 2015, novelist Walter Mosley delivered the inaugural address at the BMI Jim Rogers Contrarian Lecture, an event that invites a speaker to discuss a contrarian point of view. Mosley’s thesis for this “contrarian" lecture was simply: the white race does not exist.