In this episode of Just Press Record, Matt Zeigler welcomes back Julia Duthie, host of the podcast People Are Everything (@Peopleareeverything), for a wide-ranging conversation sparked by a powerful clip featuring musicians Allison Wolfe (Bratmobile) and Brianna Collins (Tigers Jaw).

What begins as a reflection on life in bands unfolds into a deeper exploration of friendship, creative partnership, tribe, identity, and the unique magic of building scenes together.

From punk communities to podcasting, from co-creation to the loneliness epidemic, this conversation dives into why friendship may be the most underrated and unconstrained relationship in our lives.

• Why friendship may be the most special relationship because it has no rules, roles, or conventions
• The unique bond formed in bands and creative partnerships
• Co-creation and why making something together creates deeper connection
• Building scenes and communities around shared passions
• Music as a vehicle for tribe, belonging, and identity
• Crossing social groups and learning to navigate different energies
• Taking friendships and creative communities for granted
• The loneliness epidemic and the limits of online connection
• The value of long-form conversation in a short-form world
• Cultural windows, mini cultures, and the beauty of diversity

00:00 Introduction and clip from Allison Wolfe and Brianna Collins
01:53 Julia on why friendship has no conventions or rules
04:38 The musicians reflect on audience connection and long-term friendships
07:41 Julia’s first reactions to the clip
09:00 Friendship compared to romantic, family, and work relationships
11:00 Bands as a special subcategory of friendship
14:12 Co-creation and the emotional bond of making something together
16:00 Music, tribe, and identity
17:20 Navigating different social groups and creative adaptability
22:00 Taking friendship experiences for granted
24:00 Friendship as optional yet deeply meaningful
25:00 Loneliness, social media, and the loss of long-form conversation
27:00 Mini cultures, monoculture, and the Super Bowl reflection
30:29 Why Matt chose this clip and the importance of building a scene
32:00 Making real friendships through podcasting
34:05 Where to find Julia and People Are Everything

To listen to People Are Everything, search wherever you get your podcasts and connect with Julia Duthie on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Just Press Record, two very (VERY) different investors meet for the first time.

Tony Greer, a short-term macro trader who lives in the rhythm of the tape, and Bogumil Baranowski, a long-term investor focused on owning great businesses for years, sit down to explore what really drives decision-making in markets and in life.

What unfolds is a thoughtful and often hilarious conversation about psychology, time horizons, money, community, and the deeper motivations behind building something that lasts.

Plus — they're two of my favorite podcast/YouTube hosts and I couldn't believe they'd never met before!

Main topics covered:

• The psychology of selling and why parting with a winning position is so difficult
• Trading versus long-term investing and how time horizon shapes behavior
• The difference between a perfect stock and a perfect business
• Growing up in very different environments and how that shapes risk tolerance
• Lessons from options trading and learning what fits your temperament
• Using time as an edge in both trading and investing
• Building a business around community, trust, and recurring relationships
• Client alignment and the idea of managing forgotten money
• The tension between idea lunches and disciplined process
• Indirect success and why focusing on relationships often leads to better outcomes

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and why these two had to meet
00:01 The hardest part of investing is knowing when to sell
00:03 Meet Bogumil and Tony
00:06 How they each found their way into markets
00:14 The Microsoft story and thinking about stocks vs businesses
00:18 The long-term investor’s dilemma with overheated stocks
00:22 Trading psychology and emotional attachment
00:24 Options trading lessons and knowing your temperament
00:29 Time as a weapon in markets
00:33 Owning a business vs watching a stock price
00:34 Building TG Macro and the power of community
00:46 Blue Infinity and managing forgotten money
00:56 The danger of idea lunches and forced stock picks
00:59 Talking Billions and building a platform around conversations

And if the written word is more your thing, sign up for my mailing list and you can grow your network of ideas and people alongside me:
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In this episode of Just Press Record, Matt brings together two people who have never met before and lets the conversation unfold in real time.

Jason Friedman and Drew Feldman come from very different professional paths, but quickly discover shared experiences around career risk, entrepreneurship, creativity, and the emotional reality of building something from scratch.

What starts as a conversation about work becomes a deeper discussion about identity, trust, burnout, and what it really takes to navigate uncertainty while staying true to yourself.

Topics covered in this episode

• Leaving stable careers to pursue uncertain but meaningful paths
• The emotional and psychological reality of quitting a job and starting over
• How creative backgrounds shape entrepreneurship and decision making
• Why trust, integrity, and reputation matter more than credentials
• The role of storytelling in building relationships with clients and audiences
• Balancing ambition, work ethic, and personal boundaries
• Burnout, constant connectivity, and the challenge of truly turning off
• Why human judgment and empathy still matter in an AI-driven world
• Building trust through shared values, not sales tactics

Timestamps

00:00 Why these two needed to meet and the idea behind Just Press Record
01:00 Quitting a job and the panic that comes with taking the leap
06:00 From acting and filmmaking to finance and advising
10:45 Career pivots, risk tolerance, and variable income
15:00 The emotional cost of entrepreneurship and Sunday anxiety
19:30 Creative work, grinding, and redefining success
25:00 Burnout, boundaries, and the struggle to turn off
29:00 Shabbat, forced downtime, and digital detox
35:00 Building a company, momentum, and long-term trust
38:00 AI, advisors, and why human relationships still matter
45:00 Trust, integrity, and why reputation compounds over time

In this episode of Just Press Record, Matt brings together two strangers with very different backgrounds and a shared obsession with human connection.

Carly Valancy and Spencer Kier explore how creativity, repetition, gratitude, and authenticity shape careers, relationships, and opportunities.

What starts as a conversation about networking quickly becomes a deeper discussion about practice, compounding effort, breaking rules, and finding the kind of work that pulls you forward instead of burning you out.

Topics covered

• Why creative people often follow rules that hold them back
• The idea of practice as repetition, not optimization
• Reaching out to people without asking for anything
• Gratitude as a powerful and underrated networking tool
• Building relationships for your future self, not immediate payoff
• Creating artifacts instead of transactional asks
• Authenticity, strangeness, and resisting social normalization
• Compounding habits versus compounding burnout
• Finding your edge through curiosity and compulsion
• Applying artistic training to business and professional life
• Long-term relationship building versus short-term outcomes

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and why these two needed to meet
03:00 The Just Press Record format and guest introductions
06:20 Carly’s meet-a-person-a-day challenge
09:00 Spencer on podcasting as a tool for connection
13:00 Creating artifacts instead of asking for calls
15:00 Repetition, practice, and the power of doing simple things daily
18:30 Art, training, and learning through repetition
22:00 Breaking rules in networking and communication
25:00 Finding your uniqueness and resisting normalization
28:30 Searching for your edge and living in multiple worlds
31:00 Losing an old identity and redefining what it means to be an artist
34:00 Bringing artistic training into networking and business
38:00 Empathy, awareness, and engaging the other person
44:00 Asking better questions and creating meaningful conversations
47:00 Authenticity, strangeness, and standing out
52:00 Saying the risky thing and embracing vulnerability
57:00 Gratitude as the starting point for connection
01:02:00 Playing the long game in relationships
01:05:00 Deciding when to follow up and when to wait
01:08:00 Closing reflections on connection, curiosity, and practice

In this episode of Just Press Record, Matt Zeigler brings together Allison Wolfe and Brianna Collins for a wide-ranging conversation about music scenes, creative identity, and what it really means to realize you were there while something special was happening.

From Olympia and the Riot Grrrl era to northeast Pennsylvania DIY basements, the conversation explores how community, distance, adulthood, and urgency shape creative lives over time.

What starts as a blind introduction turns into a deeply human discussion about art, memory, responsibility, and how musicians navigate creative work alongside real-world obligations.

Topics covered

• Realizing the significance of music scenes only in hindsight
• Allison Wolfe on seeing Nirvana before they were Nirvana
• Northeast Pennsylvania DIY culture and Bri Collins’ early show experiences
• Punk, new wave, and gender dynamics inside local music scenes
• Making art without knowing where it will lead
• Adult creative life, multiple jobs, and sustaining a band long term
• DIY ethics versus management and delegation
• Teaching, touring, and balancing creative energy
• Creative urgency, imperfection, and resisting overproduction
• Music, activism, and processing the current cultural moment

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and why this meeting matters
02:00 Identity, humility, and not realizing your impact
05:30 Introducing Allison Wolfe and Bri Collins
08:00 Album art, merch, and early DIY creativity
12:00 First shows and finding community
15:00 Seeing Nirvana before the breakthrough
20:00 Gender, scenes, and learning music pre-internet
29:00 Developing a distinct sound without trying to
35:00 Adult musicianship and multiple careers
41:00 Teaching, touring, and sustaining creative work
48:00 DIY values, management, and control
53:00 Art, activism, and the weight of the present moment
01:37 Closing reflections and future paths

And you already know we’ve got Bratmobile and Tigers Jaw stories all the way through.

With some Nirvana, Bikini Kill, Title Fight, and Menzingers thrown in for good measure, but of course.

@TigersJawMusic
@killrockstars

Watch every Just Press Record episode here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvtu0hHezwZzURO5c2pHenPnwm30j2fnX&si=EzonzSvd8QxOxQmH

Is your attention span too short for full episodes? Try some shorts here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvtu0hHezwZwyApHEc6J2P04ChhzJQrcZ&si=bwC-LWp5Jxr1nbCP

And if the written word is more your thing, sign up for my mailing list and grow your network of ideas and people alongside me:
https://cultishcreative.com/

In this episode of Just Press Record, host Matt Zeigler brings together two writers from very different worlds who discover how much they actually share. Author and musician Michael Perry and writer and professor Aaron Gwynn connect over farm life, physical labor, creative discipline, and the unlikely paths that led them to writing books. What begins with stories of rural upbringing and lost fingers turns into a deep conversation about mentorship, gratitude, art, politics, and staying grounded in a world driven by abstractions and online outrage.

Main topics covered

• Growing up on farms and ranches and how physical labor shapes perspective

• Stories of injury, toughness, and humor in working-class communities

• How mentors and teachers recognize talent before you do

• The discipline of practice in athletics, music, and writing

• Finding confidence through critique rather than praise

• Imposter syndrome as a source of gratitude and motivation

• Creativity, literature, and making art without losing touch with real people

• The danger of parasocial relationships and losing community to politics

• Why staying human matters more than choosing sides

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and why these two writers needed to meet
01:00 Farm life, injuries, and the humor of hard work
06:00 Rural upbringing, cattle, and growing up working-class
18:00 Toughness, storytelling, and blue-collar humor
25:00 Lost fingers, accidents, and adapting through skill
35:00 Music, guitar, and physical limitations as creative fuel
39:00 Aaron Gwynn’s path from ranch life to writing books
46:00 Michael Perry’s path from nursing to writing and storytelling
52:00 Positive imposter syndrome and gratitude for unlikely success
59:00 Politics, parasocial relationships, and real human connection
01:01:00 Art, community, and staying grounded in a divided world

In this episode of Just Press Record, Matt Zeigler sits down with Phil Pearlman for a wide-ranging conversation about consistency, identity, and the quiet power of how we show up in the world. Using a short clip featuring Nancy Berger and Julia Duthie as a jumping-off point, the discussion explores how behavior shapes character, why role modeling matters more than advice, and how small, repeated actions compound into meaning over time. The conversation weaves together psychology, leadership, parenting, music, intuition, and personal growth, all grounded in lived experience rather than theory.

Main topics covered

• What consistency really means and why it is about behavior, not image

• How acting eventually becomes identity and shapes legacy

• Role modeling as one of the most powerful forces in families, workplaces, and communities

• Why being yourself consistently is easier than maintaining a mask

• Leadership through example versus “do as I say, not as I do” authority

• Reinvention, aging, and the idea that growth does not stop in midlife

• Intuition, hunger, and learning to recalibrate internal signals in a distorted environment

• Why comparison to others is a losing game and progress should be measured against yourself

• The connection between rhythm, music, and living with intention

• Letting gravity work by focusing on direction, not perfection

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and the idea of consistency
02:00 Phil Pearlman joins and the role of rhythm and music
06:40 Consistency, authenticity, and being yourself everywhere
11:00 Reinvention, choice, and behaving your way into being
15:00 Masks, identity, and when actions become who you are
20:45 Role modeling and its impact on children and culture
25:00 Leadership, authenticity, and workplace behavior
30:00 Intuition, hunger, and recalibrating internal cues
38:20 Direction, progress, and why comparison fails
44:10 Consistency as rhythm and living with intention
50:30 Joy, imperfection, and showing up anyway
53:00 Where to find Phil Pearlman and closing thoughts

In this special year-end clip show, Matt Zeigler and Jack Forehand reflect on some of the most meaningful conversations from Just Press Record in 2025. Rather than a traditional recap, this episode explores the deeper themes that emerged across very different guests, from connection and creativity to fear, identity, and long-term thinking. Along the way, Matt and Jack discuss why these moments mattered to them personally, how the show itself reflects Matt’s approach to life, and what these stories reveal about how people grow, change, and find meaning over time.

Main topics covered

• The philosophy behind Just Press Record and why unscripted, unexpected conversations matter

• The power of reaching out to people and the lasting impact of human connection

• How major life transitions often emerge around key ages and career inflection points

• Losing sight of purpose by focusing on the wrong metrics and how to recalibrate

• Overcoming fear, stage anxiety, and the courage to live more authentically

• Creativity as recombination, sampling, and reinterpretation across music, art, and business

• Long-term thinking, journaling, and reflecting on how beliefs and priorities evolve over time

• Why community, curiosity, and experimentation matter more than optimization

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and year-end clip show setup
01:30 The idea behind Just Press Record and pairing unlikely people
06:50 Anna Goldfarb on connection, regret, and reaching out
13:15 Tom Morgan on age 36, identity shifts, and life phases
20:45 Bobby Keller on purpose, metrics, and the Horror Fest
30:00 Julia Duthie and Nancy Berger on fear, authenticity, and self-expression
42:00 Bill Stephney and Lawrence Yeo on hip hop, creativity, and sampling
51:45 Chris Mayer and Anne-Laure Le Cunff on journaling and changing your mind