Hosts Mark and Gabe explore the ways in which they’ve fibbed, fabricated, or outright lied about books they (haven’t) read, movies they (haven’t) seen, and all other manner of cultural object, large and small, trivial and seminal, that they (haven’t) experienced. Join them as they attempt to right past wrongs and explore the ways our anxieties about culture and consumption shape us.
Well, here it is, the Season 2 FINALE of Faking It. This one is coming to you late as hell, but Gabe has a new baby, so we'll blame it on them. No special guest for this one, it's just your hosts talking about our present, very real political and epidemiological moment, looking back at the previous nine episodes of the season, and looking to the future of the pod. Tune in one last time! (And also don't forget to like, rate, and review us! It's not too late for that!)
8 May 2020
S2 E9: Charlie Hall
In a shocking turn of events, this week on Faking It we endorse the War on Drugs. No, not the shameful policies that have led to the incarceration of millions of Americans, but the very good band! And most especially its drummer, Charlie Hall, who is here to talk to us about the trials of jazz drumming in San Francisco circa the late 90s, the netherworld of monitor mixes, and why you can't fake it as a drummer. It's another socially distanced episode with an affable friend!
Episode edited by Mark and Eavvon O'Neal
23 Apr 2020
S2 E8: Kevin Nguyen
Self-isolation continues, but we refuse to give up on the Faking It dream. This week we pulled Kevin Nguyen in to talk about the joys and discomforts of football fandom, the genesis of his novel New Waves, and the downsides of niceness in literary communities. It's a wide-ranging, hilarious conversation between three people starved of in-person social contact who silently realize that all of life is now unsettlingly similar to a podcast.
Episode edited by Mark and Eavvon O'Neal
2 Apr 2020
S2 E7: Eavvon O'Neal
We're all self-isolating in our apartments, but that will not stop the pod. In this very special remote edition, we talk with our editor Eavvon O'Neal about his struggles as an emerging filmmaker, the triumphs and pitfalls of honesty, and learning on the job, including this job, a job for which no one gets paid. It's a very-meta quarantine episode and it's got the bits. It's also got a few sound glitches, but we're all doing our best here!
Episode edited by Eavvon O'Neal, duh.
12 Mar 2020
S2 E6: Tamar Adler
This week on the show we're joined by Tamar Adler, chef, food writer, and host of the podcast Food Actually. Tamar tells us about feeling like, despite being a straight-A student, she never really felt like she learned anything. But perhaps more importantly, she comes in to question some of the very assumptions and premises of this podcast. GASP! Listen as Tamar rearranges the way we think about food and drink, encourages us to discard received ideas about the meaning of eating, and explains why you can't fake it in a kitchen. Tune in and learn how to live that #NagaLife.
Tamar Adler is the author of An Everlasting Meal and Something Old, Something New: Classic Recipes Revised. Her podcast Food Actually is produced by the Pushkin Network and is available only on the podcasting app Luminary.
Episode edited by Eavvon O'Neal and Mark
27 Feb 2020
S2 E5: Ben Sinclair
This week we're joined by Ben Sinclair, co-creator and star of HBO's High Maintenance. You'll be transported into Ben's past, where he managed to smuggle a bread knife into elementary school and dupe his classmates into thinking it was his grandfather's from WWII. Look, everything's fine now. Ben is fine, we're all fine. But this early, slightly threatening foray into fabrication and fakery set the stage for Ben's life as an actor and writer. Come for the childhood tales, stay for a story about shaving a baby's head.
Episode edited by Mark and Eavvon O'Neal.
Follow us on Twitter @fakingitpod
13 Feb 2020
S2 E4: David Levine
This week we're joined by artist / writer / director David Levine. David's work involves the line between acting and being, the question of what constitutes a performance, and the enigma of acting-as-craft. Plus once David lied his ASS off about The Empire Strikes Back. All in all, a pitch perfect amalgam of the high and low, the real and the artificial, the heady brew that makes this podcast what it is.
Episode edited by Eavvon O'Neal and Mark
30 Jan 2020
S2 E3: Alena Smith
In this episode we welcome Alena Smith to the podcast. Alena is a writer and creator of the TV show Dickinson on Apple TV, and she's here to talk about her slightly sketchy knowledge of the Harbinger of the Golden Age of Television: The Sopranos. But more than that, Alena takes us through the ins and outs of getting by in the television industry. What's a "general meeting"? Do you get a water bottle when you attend one? How many episodes of Breaking Bad do you REALLY have to watch? FIND OUT!
Episode edited by Eavvon O'Neal and Mark
Find us on Twitter @fakingitpod
16 Jan 2020
S2 E2: Amy Phillips
In this episode we welcome Amy Phillips, managing editor of Pitchfork. Amy takes us through some pivotal moments in her life, first as a passionate music fan, then as a fledgling critic, and finally as a working journalist. What kind of faking do you have to do (and avoid) to make it as a music writer? Listen in and find out.
Episode edited by Eavvon O'Neal and Mark
2 Jan 2020
S2 E1: Norman Brannon
For our first full-length episode of Season 2, we sit down with the multi-talented Norman Brannon, guitarist and songwriter for Texas Is the Reason, among many other bands. Norman tells us about his early days in New York's hardcore scene, the faking required to get by among the punks and skinheads without getting shunned (or worse), and what it was like to navigate that world as a then-closeted gay Latino man. Lace up your Docs and tune in, friends.
Episode edited by Eavvon O'Neal and Mark.
You want to get in touch? Let's get in touch. You can email us at fakingitpod@gmail.com. Follow @fakingitpod on Twitter for episode extras and other goodies. You can also follow Mark @marksussman and Gabe @jetsetjunta.
And of course we would LOVE it if you would rate, comment, review, like, and subscribe here and on iTunes.
26 Dec 2019
S2 E0: Season 2 Preview
FAKING IT IS BACK!! In this Season 2 preview, Gabe and Mark discuss all of the new things you can look forward to from us in the coming months. And that means, first and foremost, lots of guests. Who are they? Listen and find out.
17 May 2019
S1 E5: Iiiiiiiin West Philadelphia ...
In this, our FINAL EPISODE OF SEASON 1, we explore Mark's avoidance of the classic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a cultural touchstone for millions. But not Mark. Why has he led people to believe he knows anything at all about The Fresh Prince. Listen and find out!
(Note: previously, we accidentally uploaded an incomplete version of the episode. This is the real one. Sorry about that!)
Edited by Eavvon O'Neal. Theme by Mark.
2 May 2019
S1 E4: Moby-Dick Is Not About Pirates
In this episode of Faking It, we explore Gabe's avoidant attitude toward Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick. Gabe pursues this beast of book through the dark waters of deception and dissimulation, finally slaying the beast and, hey, we all learn a little something on the way. Production note: the sound is a little weird on this one. We're aware of it. We're working on it. Sorry about that! Episode edited by Eavvon O'Neal. Theme by Mark.
18 Apr 2019
S1 E3: Rusty Tin Cans and Seal Meat and Tom Waits
Mark’s had his time with Tom Waits, but Gabe has spent his entire life misleading and prevaricating about America’s favorite faux-homeless singer-songwriter. Your hosts dig into the pros and cons, the highs and lows (mostly lows) of this dusty-ass icon.
4 Apr 2019
S1 E2: Looking for Finding Nemo
Mark trolls his students with his lack of knowledge about the animated film Finding Nemo, while we delve into Gabe’s uncertain, Rashomon-like relationship to this Pixar classic. Distinguished critic and journalist Christine Smallwood (and also Gabe's wife) drops in to take us deeper into the labyrinth of Gabe's extremely bizarre relationship to this movie. Edited by Eavvon O'Neal. Theme by Mark.
18 Feb 2019
S1 E1: Exile from Exile in Guyville
In the debut episode of Faking It, Gabe and Mark come to terms with the egregious lies they’ve told about Liz Phair’s landmark 1993 album Exile in Guyville. They’ve had 25 years to listen to it, and somehow they’ve managed not to. And, worse, they’ve felt compelled to suggest, imply, or otherwise flat out lie about their knowledge of this masterpiece. Listen as Gabe and Mark recount their failings, do their homework, and perform some truly epic self-flagellation.
Episode edited by Eavvon O’Neal. Theme by Mark
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