A Fresh Face in Hell with Jonathan Evison

Today I talk with indie publisher, Christoph Paul of Clash Books. We discuss the publishing process—from acquisition, to editorial, to marketing and publicity, to distribution, to the retail bookshelf, revealing step-by-step how the sausage is made, and highlighting some of the differences between corporate and indie publishing, and even self-publishing. We also discuss some of the challenges the modern publishing paradigm is facin...

Nirvana, like Spinal Tap, went through a lot of drummers. Dave Grohl was the 7th, Dan Peters (Mudhoney) was the 6th and the 5th, my favorite, was Chad Channing. Although Chad missed the "Nevermind" rocket ride, he was with the band when it recorded the seminal grunge classic "Bleach." I talk to Chad about our early punk days on the Kitsap Peninsula, how the boys from Aberdeen found him, how the band began to blo...

Today I'm excited to talk with one of the leading voices in battling online misinformation and graft - Kim Hunt. Kim is a whip smart Zoomer who is ambitious and full of integrity (the kind that only a journalism degree will give you). Kim's weapon of choice is the "response video" in which she creates TikTok and Reels that counters popular political influencers, like Charlie Kirk or Emily Wilson. It's caust...

On any weekend in the early '90s, almost every music venue in Seattle was a mess of flannel, long hair, and distorted reverb. But if that wasn't your mood, you could always find one or two boot-scooting bar bands like Kitchen Radio, Lazy Susan, and Ramadillo blowing the roof off some dirty little bar. Out of that small alt-country sub-scene arose one of my favorite singer / songwriters (and high school chum) Pete Droge. I...

I love fatherhood - I love what it has shaped me into as a person. It has given me reserves of love and patience I didn't know were possible. Being a father fills me with anxiety, but at the same time, my endless gratitude calms me. This makes me wonder why fatherhood is so rewarding for some and so difficult for others. In his book "Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power," Augustine Sedgewick talks about the archet...

Today I talk with Doctor and NY Times Journalist, Elisabeth Rosenthal about her seminal book An American Sickness. Why does an arthritis injection cost $19K in one hospital and $90k in another? Why does the same insurance company pay both prices without push back? Our healthcare system is a funhouse of twisted logic that only makes sense when seen through the prism of unregulated profiteering. Dr. Rosenthal and I talk about how we ...

I'm back in the saddle today with another old friend - world-renowned chainsaw sculptor Steve Backus. Steve has been creating bears, whales, eagles, gnomes, and mermaids from massive pieces of wood for over 40 years. He organizes and judges sculpting competitions internationally and has appeared on the show "Saw Dogs".

I talk with Steve about his two memoirs, "You've Got to Be Shitting Me" and...

Today's episode is hosted by New York Times bestselling author, and Fresh Face alum, Jamie Ford. Don't worry, Jonathan will be back next week! In Episode 7, Jonathan invited Jamie on to discuss his book "The Many Daughters of Afong Moy," which focused on inherited trauma passed down through seven generations of Chinese women. In today's conversation, Jamie talks with author and activist Jen Soriano about he...

Jonathan has gone fishing. Stepping in as his substitute this week is his good friend Danny O'Neil, who you may remember from the Grudges episode. 

Danny sits down with national champion and Olympic diver Cassidy Krug to discuss her book "Resurface: A Guide to Navigating Life's Biggest Transitions". Cassidy opens up about her time competing at the highest levels of diving. She discusses her struggles ch...

Jonathan speaks with his old friend and great American fiction writer, Willy Vlautin. Willy is the author of seven novels, including his most recent, The Horse, which helped earn him the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Three of his books have been adapted into films, including Night Always Comes, The Motel Life and Lean on Pete. In addition to his writing, Willy is a musician and songwriter—first with Richmond Fontaine and now with T...

Today I talk with famed music journalist Peter Blackstock about his time discovering and reviewing bands in Austin, Nashville, North Carolina, and Seattle. Together with his partner Grant Alden, Peter launched the roots music magazine, No Depression. What started as an AOL discussion group on "Alternative Country," No Depression (named after an Uncle Tupelo song) helped define a new genre of music that includes such bands...

Turns out the idea of nature vs. nurture is an overly simplistic way of describing how our genes correlate with our environments. For 150 years, scientists, sociologists, theologians, politicians, and philosophers have argued over this binary idea of determinism. My guest today, Professor Dalton Conley, writes that the answer is more like nature & nurture. In his book "The Social Genome," Dalton illustrates how our ge...

Today I talk with an old friend from the halcyon days of grunge, photographer Charles Peterson. Charles is known for capturing some of the most iconic B&W shots of that era, many of which were used by Sub Pop for album cover art including, Soundgarden's Screaming Life EP and Ultramega OK as well as Mudhoney's Superfuzz Bigmuff. Charles was also instrumental in capturing the meteoric rise of Nirvana from 1989 - 1992. H...

Today I open the X-Files with author Marc Hartzman. We dive into all things extraterrestrial, from outer space to the outer limits. We discuss shaved monkeys, frozen brains, and interdimensional beings. We explore the idea of visitations to ancient Egypt, as well as the possibility of an alien Atlantis. We discuss remote viewing (ESP) and my dream about Keanu Reeves being my boss at a bookstore. Somehow it all connects to produce o...

I speak with filmmaker Chris Wilcha about the themes of his new film, "Flipside." In the film, Chris tells his career story beginning as a young, idealistic filmmaker who sets out to become a documentarian but finds himself later in life as a commercial director with hard drives full of unfinished films. Ironically, many of the films are about artists and characters with unrealized dreams of their own. In an act of self-r...

To follow up last week's conversation on the robot hordes I talk with authors and podcasters, Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna about AI hype. The two argue in their new book The AI Con, that there is nothing intelligent about machine learning and that the technology is nothing more than "souped-up autocomplete." They discuss the ways in which we, as humans, have been duped into thinking that AI is going to either save ...

AI and data analytics have created some miraculous efficiencies over the last couple of years. AI helps me stay organized and assists with research and interview prep. Sometimes, you just need a mindless automaton. That said, when it comes time to buy my groceries, I want to talk to a clerk. I want my hair cut by my barber, Chuck—the same guy I’ve been going to for the last 50 years. I need that human connection to maintain my sani...

I recently read a New York Times article titled "The Gen X Career Meltdown," which discussed how GenXers are aging out of the workforce early due to technology and the collapse of the creative industries. It reminded me of an old friend, journalist and literary editor, Jim Thomsen. Jim writes on Substack about the bittersweet journey of chasing his dream job for most of his professional life—only to find himself, in his l...

Author JW Ocker is a man who has devoted himself to the study and research of bizarre cultural phenomena. In his book Cult Following: the Extreme Sects that Capture our Imagination - And Take Over our Lives, he sets his sights on cults. This week on A Fresh Face in Hell, JW joins me to discuss cults, their origins, belief systems, paradigms, recruitment techniques, and their sometimes fiery ends. We'll delve into some strange ...