I was interviewed: What Have I Been Putting People Through All These Years?
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Canadian Atheist
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/01/25
The interviewer and the hosts were wonderful. No complaints. I’m just being silly.
For years, though, I took to never doing interviews.
I allowed one interview of two questions with the founder of The Realist, Paul Krassner, who is no longer here (dead). He published that for, maybe, 50 years or something insane.
Seriously, that’s an impressive feat no matter how you slice it. He used to feature some of the hidden icons of the comedy industry like George Carlin, or even better Lenny Bruce.
If I received any as far back as a decade ago, then I was simply incredibly shy. I got over most of that — I hope — with enough time. It’s a bit uncomfortable being live, exposing yourself, and having that snapshot of life in a moment present to the public (not that many people) and into the future. It’s also weird to assume “here I am, talking, now listen, mortals!”
It’s something self-important about the whole endeavour. But as a wimp and a queen, universally acknowledged, I hope; I have to take that leap and continue forward with interviews. (I’m also available for children’s parties.)
If I don’t meet the standards of wimp and queen, what in the hell have I been doing with my life?!
Regardless, or rather however, as time moved forward, that developed into something else entirely. In that, I developed some more skills in interviewing. I became comfortable with people all over the world, and began to take on more challenging interviews and writing projects.
In my experience, the sitting down and conducting the interview is the easiest part of it. Actually, it depends on the interviewee and the context around it.
But in general terms, the interview is the fun part. You get to have the conversation based on the work researching the person. The interesting part is the time commitment. Some people don’t require much time commitment at all. They could be newer people, or private people.
Others require a vast amount of time. My interview with Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes, is one who comes to mind off the top. It pays off, though.
Obviously, James did his homework. I try to stay private-ish, but, I guess, everyone has to grow and expand at some point. Why not now, I suppose? Here’s the interview with the wonderful James Hodgson of the great Alavari Jeevathol and James Hodgson’s Humanism Now (with producer Rob Davie).
Link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2246305/14346277
Thank you to the Humanism Now team for the opportunity and the time!
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*Associates and resources listing last updated May 31, 2020.*
Canadian Atheist Associates: Godless Mom, Nice Mangoes, Sandwalk, Brainstorm Podcast, Left at the Valley, Life, the Universe & Everything Else, The Reality Check, Bad Science Watch, British Columbia Humanist Association, Dying With Dignity Canada, Canadian Secular Alliance, Centre for Inquiry Canada, Kelowna Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists Association.
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Other National/Local Resources: Association humaniste du Québec, Atheist Freethinkers, Central Ontario Humanist Association, Comox Valley Humanists, Grey Bruce Humanists, Halton-Peel Humanist Community, Hamilton Humanists, Humanist Association of London, Humanist Association of Ottawa, Humanist Association of Toronto, Humanists, Atheists and Agnostics of Manitoba, Ontario Humanist Society, Secular Connextions Seculaire, Secular Humanists in Calgary, Society of Free Thinkers (Kitchener-Waterloo/Cambridge/Guelph), Thunder Bay Humanists, Toronto Oasis, Victoria Secular Humanist Association.
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Other International/Outside Canada Resources: Allianz vun Humanisten, Atheisten an Agnostiker, American Atheists, American Humanist Association, Associação Brasileira de Ateus e AgnósticoséééBrazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics, Atheist Alliance International, Atheist Alliance of America, Atheist Centre, Atheist Foundation of Australia, The Brights Movement, Center for Inquiry (including Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science), Atheist Ireland, Camp Quest, Inc., Council for Secular Humanism, De Vrije Gedachte, European Humanist Federation, Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, Foundation Beyond Belief, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Humanist Association of Ireland, Humanist International, Humanist Association of Germany, Humanist Association of Ireland, Humanist Society of Scotland, Humanists UK, Humanisterna/Humanists Sweden, Internet Infidels, International League of Non-Religious and Atheists, James Randi Educational Foundation, League of Militant Atheists, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, National Secular Society, Rationalist International, Recovering From Religion, Religion News Service, Secular Coalition for America, Secular Student Alliance, The Clergy Project, The Rational Response Squad, The Satanic Temple, The Sunday Assembly, United Coalition of Reason, Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics.
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In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.
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