Let Me Ascertain You: The Civilians Podcast
By The Civilians
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Podcast Description
Let Me Ascertain You, from award-winning investigative theater company The Civilians, is a weekly podcast series of performances crafted from interviews with real people about current and controversial topics, including Occupy Wall Street, Atlantic Yards, the adult entertainment industry, Evangelical Christianity, and more. Each episode illuminates surprising, unusual, funny, and thought-provoking stories collected from interviews with a wide range of different people. The series, taken from live performances, includes songs and scenes from past plays and current projects, plus sneak peaks at works in development. The Civilians is the center for investigative theater, supporting new work created from inquiries into the most vital questions of the present. The company, now in its eleventh season, has performed Off-Broadway and in over 40 cities nationally and internationally. "The Civilians deserve credit as top-notch journalists, creating portraits that are vivid, agenda-free and marked by a benevolent irony." –The New Yorker
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1 |
ExplicitModern Society | How do we deal with the pressures of modern society? This week's episode looks at interviews focused on the ways we try to escape, including running away, drugs, suicide, and hot nude yoga. Billy Eugene Jones plays a former mole person who lived in the New York subway tunnels in the 1980's; Dan Domingues performs an interview with the founder of hot nude yoga; Daoud Heidami plays a New Jersey State Trooper; and Michael Esper sings "Lost Horizon" by Michael Friedman from our play Gone Missing. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 5/9/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2 |
ExplicitThis Beautiful City | Colorado Springs is home to many national Evangelical Organizations, including Focus on the Family and New Life Church. Our artists spent time there investigating the shifting lines between church and state, viewing the city as a microcosm for many issues still present in America. The verbatim interviews were used in our play, This Beautiful City. You are about to hear some of our favorite interviews that didn't make it into the play: Emily Ackerman playing an elderly pro-life protester, Colleen Werthmann playing an Anabaptist/thespian/activist, and Matt Dellapina as a Evangelical cadet. This episode also features a song from the show by Michael Friedman "End Times" with lyrics crafted from interviews, performed by Alison Weller. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 5/2/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
ExplicitNobody's Lunch | How do we know what we know when everyone in power seems to be lying? (I Am) Nobody's Lunch was a Civilians investigation asking this question in the early 2000's, during the years of Homeland Security and George W. Bush's "truthiness." Emily Rossell plays a Columbia student who joined a cult, then Donnetta Lavinia Grays performs an interview with a Jamaican facialist. Aysan Celik plays a "remote viewer" who has a special technique for accessing truth. Lastly, Mike Madison plays a song by Michael Friedman inspired by interviews about this topic called "Super Secret Places." For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 4/25/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
ExplicitCanard, Canard, Goose | The Civilians' first show ever was Canard, Canard, Goose, created in 2001 to explore alleged geese abuse in the Adirondacks. The investigation, inspired by a rumor about the geese in the feature film Fly Away Home, brought up questions about home, truth, and how we know we know - all themes that were particularly relevant for these New York artists in the post-9/11 winter of 2001. This episode is the concert version of the entire show performed at Joe's Pub in 2011 for our tenth anniversary season performed by Aysan Celik, Matthew Dellapina, Greg McFadden, Jennifer R. Morris, Brandon Miller, Caitlin Miller, and Maria Elena Ramirez. Jenny and Aysan were members of the original cast in 2002. The play includes songs by Michael Friedman, and marks the first show for which he ever wrote songs. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 4/18/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
ExplicitOccupy Wall Street, Part VII | From the Occupy Wall Street Journal to the raid on Zuccotti Park to Occupy Our Homes in East New York to the Lincoln Center Opera House, this week's episode continues to chronicle the events of Occupy Wall Street through performances of interviews with actual protesters. Jordan Mahome plays Jordan (no relation), Garrett Neergaard plays Michael, and Caitlin Miller plays an actress who has been to Occupy protests around New York City. The episode concludes with an audience sing-along recorded during the live performance at Joe's Pub led by Michael Friedman. The song is from his great-grandfather's rebel songbook. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 4/11/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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6 |
ExplicitOccupy Wall Street, Part VI | These monologues crafted from interviews with Occupy Wall Street Protesters cover the raid on Zuccotti Park in November and how the movement changed in the weeks after it. Daoud Heidami and Caitlin Miller as Shawn and Laura, who are both Canadian and both librarians in the Zuccotti Park Library. Gretta Lee performs Carrie, discussing the start of #ConcreteIdeas. And Matt Dellapina performs a monologue from a life-long protester. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 4/4/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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7 |
ExplicitOccupy Wall Street, Part V | More Zuccotti Park protesters are featured in this next episode crafted from interviews with Occupy Wall Street demonstrators. Kelly McCreary plays Karen, who discusses what it was like to spend time at Zuccotti Park just before and during the November raid. Quinlan Corbett plays Wezel, a farmer who drove to Zuccotti Park from North Carolina. Then Daniel Jenkins performs his interview with an anarchist named Richard, during which Dan Domingues makes a guest appearance as New York State Senator Tony Avella. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 3/27/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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8 |
ExplicitOccupy Wall Street, Part IV | Following our first OWS cabaret in October of 2011, our artists continued to conduct interviews with Occupy protesters about people's reasons for demonstrating and what it has been like participating in the movement. This episode picks up where our last cabaret left off with monologues and a song crafted from interviews with demonstrators. This week features Garrett Neergaard and Dan Domingues as demonstrators Dan and Nelson; Scott Drummond as a key OWS figure; and Michael Friedman's song "Consensus is Hard." For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 3/21/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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9 |
ExplicitA Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part IX | Here is our final adult entertainment podcast episode! Special thanks to our interviewing team: Mia Barron, Laura Nix, Taylor Wilcox, and Matt Maher. In this episode, Emily Ackerman performs an interview with producer Lynn LeMay; Daoud Heidami plays performer Sebastian Silver; next is a particularly filthy round of Porn Charades in which one of our audience members at Joe's Pub tries to act out a porn title while the cast guesses; Nina Hellman plays director and producer Kelly Holland; Dael Orlandersmith as Pamela Peaks; and last up is Gibson Frazier as director, producer, and actor Eli Cross. This material is inspiring Pretty Filthy, a new musical by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 3/14/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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10 |
ExplicitA Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part VIII | What's it like to be a male adult entertainment performer? Find out in Michael Friedman's doo-wop-like song "Waiting for Wood" performed by Heath Calbert, Robbie Collier Sublett, and Andrew Kober. This week's episode also features interviews with power couple Elizabeth Starr and Tommy Gunn performed by Jennifer R. Morris and Brian Sgambati. Plus, we've got more audience participation in this one: audience answers to the question "What is the dirtiest thing you've ever done in real life?" These recordings are from a live performance at Joe's Pub in New York. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 3/7/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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11 |
ExplicitA Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part VII | Big adult entertainment stars are featured in this week's episode, including performer and director Avy Scott played by Emily Rossell, POV director Dan Silver played by Greg Hildreth, and performer/director Kylie Ireland performed by Colleen Werthmann. We've also got the winning titles for Pornified Broadway, in which we asked the live audience at Joe's Pub to write down pornified names of Billy Elliot, Phantom of the Opera, and Mary Poppins. Plus Emily Rossell sings "First Contract Girl" by Michael Friedman. All monologues are from interviews conducted by our artists for Pretty Filthy, a new musical by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 2/29/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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12 |
ExplicitA Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part VI | The legendary Axel Braun starts off this week's episode. Our interview with him inspired both this monologue, performed by Brad Heberlee, and the song "Squirting 101" in A Pretty Filthy Podcast: Part IV. This week also has Porn Charades, Round 2 (in which an audience member tries to act out a porn movie title and the cast and audience try to guess what it is), Kelly McCreary as Ms. Brown Sugar, and Lexy Fridell singing "ABC, 123" by Michael Friedman. The live performance took place at Joe's Pub. These interviews were conducted by our artists with real adult entertainment professionals for Pretty Filthy, a new musical by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 2/22/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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13 |
ExplicitCrime, Part IV | Extraordinary crime is the specialty of this week's interviewee, who has seen it all in 35 years as a practicing forensic psychologist and who is a professor of criminal psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Tony-nominee Maria Dizzia performs this interview, discussing topics such as sexual murders, crime scene behaviors, and the implications of this work in the court room. This interview was conducted for Crime, USA, a new play by our Associate Artist Alix Lambert, who also interviewed FBI agents, gang members, pawn shop owners, and more. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 2/15/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
ExplicitA Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part V | Porn charades? We've got it in this week's podcast: a recording of a game of porn charades in which one of our audience members was acting out a porn title and the cast members of the live evening at Joe's Pub were guessing. Plus this week, we have Aysan Celik as a female adult entertainment performer and parent, Brandon Miller as male talent Bill Margold, and Michael Friedman singing his song "We Were Giants." This material is crafted from interviews with real people for the new musical PRETTY FILTHY, by Bess Wohl and Michael Friedman. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 2/8/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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15 |
ExplicitA Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part IV | Adult Entertainment 101: Revealing some of the tricks of the trade and behind-the-scenes stories, this week's episode is back to our investigation about the adult entertainment industry. Associate Artist Alix Lambert performs an interview with adult entertainment performer Tabitha Stevens who discusses plastic surgery; Mia Barron plays an anonymous female talent; and Andrew Kober sings "Squirting 101" by Michael Friedman, a new song about female ejaculation from an interview with Axel Braun about his revolutionary techniques. This material is from interviews conducted by Civilians artists with adult entertainment performers, directors, agents, and more in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 2/1/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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16 |
ExplicitCrime, Part III | A lawyer from the Department of Justice who specializes in organized crime cases discusses how he got into his field and some of the criminal schemes he has come up against in the courtroom. He also talks about the reasons that people cooperate with the American legal system and the relationship between cooperation and culture. This interview is performed by Brandon Miller, and was recorded at Joe's Pub. Associate Artist Alix Lambert conducting this interview for her play Crime: USA, which is crafted from interviews with gang members, pawn shop owners, FBI agents, and more. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 1/25/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
ExplicitA Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part III | True Blood's Sam Trammell portrays adult entertainment super-star Evan Stone; legendary performer Ginger Lynn introduces the monologue from her interview with our artists, performed by actress Kathryn Hahn (Hung, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days); and Rutina Wesley (True Blood) and Peter Porte perform the song "Applesauce" from the new musical Pretty Filthy by Michael Friedman and Bess Wohl. This material is from interviews conducted by Civilians artists with adult entertainment performers, directors, agents, and more in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. This performance was recorded at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 1/18/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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18 |
ExplicitAtlantic Yards, Part III | The battle over Atlantic Yards has been raging for almost a decade at this point. This episode takes a look at the complicated and controversial development in Brooklyn at the site where the new Barclay's stadium is currently being constructed using interviews that we conducted with over 100 Brooklyn residents, business owners, politicians, and activists. We hear from some of the key players on both sides of the fight, discussing topics like gentrification, what makes a neighborhood, change, affordable housing, and more. This week features Jennifer R. Morris as a member of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn; Heather Alicia Simms as Bertha Lewis, the head of ACORN; and Joaquin Torres as Saul Zarzana, a union member who supports the project; and Joaquin Torres leading the cast in "The Neighborhood Song" by Michael Friedman. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 1/11/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
ExplicitCrime, Part II | Ever wonder what it's like to be in the FBI? This week features performances of interviews with two retired FBI agents. They talk about how they entered this line of work, being a female agent, the mafia, what their jobs are like on a day-to-day basis, plus other stories and observations about serving on the force. The episode is performed by Maria Dizzia and Matthew Maher, and was recorded at Joe's Pub. The interviews were conducted as part of Alix Lambert's play Crime: USA, which is crafted from interviews with gang members, pawn shop owners, FBI agents, and more. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 1/4/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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20 |
ExplicitA Pretty Filthy Podcast, Part II | Back in the world of adult entertainment, we have another episode crafted from our interviews with professionals in the San Fernando Valley and Las Vegas. This performance was recorded at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. This week features Sam Shelton as a female performer, Steven Weber as male talent Jack Lawrence, and Michael Friedman singing his song "These Girls," which is from an interview with an agent. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 12/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
ExplicitAtlantic Yards, Part II | We're back in Brooklyn this week with our investigation into Atlantic Yards, the largest development project in Brooklyn's history where the new Nets basketball stadium is currently being built. Billy Eugene Jones plays a homeowner who lived in the footprint, talking about the process of negotiating with Forest City Ratner, the developer. Marsha Stephanie Blake plays City Council Member Letitia James and Atlantic Yards opponent. Sam Breslin Wright plays Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, and Billy Eugene Jones returns to sing "The Circle Song" by Michael Friedman. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! no | 12/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
ExplicitCrime, Part I | This episode comes from Alix Lambert's new play, Crime, USA, which explores crime in America through a series of interviews with criminals, gang members, pawn shop owners, lawyers, FBI agents, and more in different cities across the country. A former gang member talks about about the first time he got in a fight when he was in the first grade, the first time he carried a gun, his experiences as a gang member, and his life outside the gang. This episode features actor Frank Harts as Antonio performed at Joe's Pub. This episode contains some language and content that may not be appropriate for children under the age of 18. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! yes | 12/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
ExplicitOccupy Wall Street, Part III | This episode concludes our three-part series about Occupy Wall Street. The monologues you are about to hear were crafted from interviews conducted by our artists in Zuccotti Park with demonstrators about their reasons for protesting and what the early days of the movement were like. This episode features Emily Ackerman as Michele Kelley, an experienced activist; Billy Eugene Jones and Jordan Mahome as Omar Omes and Michael Curtis, two teamsters; and a group of young protesters played by Matt Dellapina, Kelly McCreary, Dan Domingues, and Matt Stadelmann. Michael Friedman then leads the cast in a sing-along of "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back" by John Brill, written in 1911. What you are about to hear is from our live performance at Joe's Pub on October 28, which was featured in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Faster Times, and New York Times. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 12/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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24 |
ExplicitOccupy Wall Street, Part II | This week finds us back at Occupy Wall Street. The company's artists were downtown last month in Zuccotti Park interviewing the demonstrators about their reasons for protesting and what it was like living in the Park during the first few weeks of this historic movement. This episode features Greg McFadden as Richard O’Mara, a member of the Tea Party; Emily Rossell as Maddy Enlow, a young woman; Dan Domingues and Colleen Werthmann as Chris Carter and Lily Johnston, who are on OWS’s medical team; and Michael Friedman singing his song, "The Signs." What you are about to hear is from our live performance at Joe's Pub less than a month ago (on October 28), which was featured in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Faster Times, and New York Times. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/! | 11/30/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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25 |
ExplicitOccupy Wall Street, Part I | Voices from Occupy Wall Street populate the latest episode of Let Me Ascertain You. The company's artists were out in Zuccotti Park interviewing the demonstrators about their reasons for protesting and what it was like living in the Park during the first few weeks of this historic movement. This episode features Matt Stadelmann as Robert Grote who was on the Brooklyn Bridge during the mass arrests; Matt Dellapina as Buddy Bolton, an out-of-work creative director for children's television; Alix Lambert at Charlotte Souza, a college-aged protester; Jordan Mahome as Preach of Occupy the Hood; and Kelly McCreary singing "I Have Not Slept" by Michael Friedman. What you are about to hear is from our live performance at Joe's Pub less than a month ago (on October 28), which was featured in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Faster Times, and New York Times. For more, please visit http://www.thecivilians.org. To leave a comment, please visit The Civilians' blog http://blogforthecivilians.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupy-wall-street-podcast.html! | 11/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 25 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Hilarious
There are definitely some poignant moments, but the porn ones are hilarious! Definitely worth the listen!
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