People Pleaser with Austin Archer

Jake Szymanski zooms in to talk about his career making people laugh from behind the camera.

Patrick is back for the third time, this time he is celebrating two years of continuous sobriety and we are taking a look at the perplexing topic of relapse.

Rain Phoenix shares the vision behind LaunchLeft and her mission to connect well-known artists with up and comers in order to give emerging voices some much needed exposure. 

Is blocking people who make your blood boil on social media a healthy thing or will it deprive you of being exposed to a diversity of thought? In this minisode I'll be arguing that there are certain viewpoints that simply don't need to be engaged with in order for one to retain a diverse intellectual pallet. 

Stevie McFly zooms in to break down the history of America's police force including it's white supremacist roots and to talk about what people actually mean when they talk about defunding or abolishing the police and why it isn't nearly as scary or as radical a thing as most talking heads would have you believe. 

Kelsie Jepsen zooms in to chat about Embody Love Workshop and to talk about the all too common but rarely discussed problem of fatphobia, its effects on our personal lives, and on society at large.

The viral guru Londonlaz zooms in to talk about making your own way in the new media landscape. Last time he was on the show he had 650k followers on TikTok, this time he's up to 2.6M and steadily climbing. 

Charla shares the story of losing her daughter to this common ailment, and her desire to end the stigma around it so that we can begin to treat it with compassion and empathy rather than shame and fear.

Friend of the show Cooper Howell zooms in to talk about one of the darkest days in the history of American democracy, how it happened, and where we go from here. 

The conclusion of my two-part conversation with Adam about the epic year that was.

Adam returns to the podcast in the first of a two-part discussion breaking down the biggest stories from the insane year that was 2020!

Break out the eggnog! We're talking about the wacky absurdity of Christmas movies, and debuting a brand new Christmas cover by Austin & Chris!

The way Donald Trump's followers look to him for truth even when what he is saying is blatantly and demonstrably false has prompted many critics to start saying they are in a cult. So... are they?

David Rosenblatt makes his second appearance on the show to talk about gear. What kind of gear we are shopping for, learning about, equipping ourselves with, and why. 

When I was in my early 20's I lived in a dirty anarchist punk house turned live music venue for several years with several of my closest friends. The home became affectionately referred to as Tucker's Barn. It was a period of debauchery, depravity, and so much artistic exploration and discovery. Today two of my oldest and closest friends from that period, Tucker White and Tiffany Boulanger are ...

Making a movie is really, really hard. It's amazing that people ever manage to do it. But they do. Indie filmmaker aficionados Boston McConnaughey and Renny Grames zoom into the blanket fort to chat about the making of their upcoming feature film Alien Country. 

Austin shares his thoughts on everything from Donald Trump's attempt to invalidate the democratic process and steal back the election, to the new conservative social media platform slash literal alt right echo chamber Parler and what it all spells for America's future. 

46 episodes, 34 guests, and about 70 hours of content. The first year of People Pleaser is in the books. Today we take a look back at every single episode! 

Exploring the way expectations shape our lives with actor, singer, writer, director Cooper Howell. Our expectations of other people, their expectations of us, our expectations of ourselves, and our expectations of the universe. 

Actor, writer, director, producer, and all around Swiss army man Chase Ramsey joins Austin to talk shop. The two break down their experience with the highs, lows, ins, and outs of show business. Chase tells the story of how he found his way to being the host of a TV show on HGTV and a swing for a lead role in one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time!

Recently I decided it would be a good idea to get down in the muck and fight fire with fire with some of my political rivals online. Admittedly I love the high that comes from over-indulging in my anger and frustration and just telling people I disagree with how I really feel. But I learned something, or rather re-contextualized a lesson I'm constantly learning over and over. The reason "They g...

Mix/master general Chris Bjornn and I do a director's commentary of sorts on the entire album start to finish delving into the lyrics, production, and overall process. Be sure to listen to Beautiful Things before listening to this episode! Now streaming everywhere! 

It's college football season... in 2020. Which means, like everything else, it's a profoundly weird and abnormal time to be watching games and getting excited about the season. And if you're a fan of the PAC-12 or my team, the University of Utah Utes then... well... you're not really watching any games at all because there aren't any. So in lieu of actual football my Dad and I are gonna break d...

An exploration of fairy tales and the magic that exists in our world. Plus a premier reading of a brand new fairy tale. An allegory about mental illness, and overcoming the dark spell of depression and self doubt.

Deconstructing cause and effect in a hope to determine where our compassion is best utilized. 

Another solo jam from Austin. This time he's talking about the proliferation of propaganda. Particularly a deep dive on David Ayer's film End of Watch, and why movies like this can be detrimental to the conversations around real life incidents of police violence like the recent shooting of Jacob Blake.

It's the most popular social app in the world, home to dance trends, and all things gen z, and it's also the fastest growing platform for indie artists and content creators to become discovered. But it also might be American public enemy number one according to the Trump administration. Popular TikTokker London Laz is driving his #tiktokfamous Tesla into the blanket fort to talk TikTok, and to ...

Independent business owner, yoga and meditation instructor, filmmaker, and former professional dancer Mel Mah stops by the actual blanket fort (no Zoom this week) to have a socially distanced chat about living a life full of abundance. How learning to recognize the abundance that already exists in one's life, can lead to increased abundance and over-all satisfaction with what is. We are getting...

As COVID-19 infection rates continue to surge across America, a justifiably alarmed workforce of teachers and school workers are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their students, their families, and themselves. 

Dave Mortensen has been leading a recent online campaign seeking accountability from a very successful community theatre in Sandy, Utah. A theatre who has a long history of under-paying staff and artists while making a killing at the top. We're going to closely examine the current concerns surrounding this company as a means to discuss the larger issue of artist exploitation, and why artists an...

During this unprecedented pause in production for professional theatre houses across the country and across the world, the wider community of BIPOC theatre artists are asking for long over-due change when it comes to our practices around diversity and representation. Latoya Cameron zooms in to the blanker fort to discuss the ways in which we've been falling short, and the hope for ways we can i...

A look at the fallacy of making decisions based on the fear of perceived slippery slopes. Also a preview of my new single Sweet Rejection! Available everywhere Friday 7/17!

Two friends having a long over-due conversation about their differing experiences growing up, and how this relates to the current conversation around race in America.

The guest this week is anonymous for reasons we can't specify. But she's a very special person and friend, and we'll be talking about alcoholism, sobriety, and the process of recovery!

Natural selection has all but seen to it that all surviving bloodlines would have the ability to adapt. So in a society where everyone is capable of adaptation, perhaps learning to adapt well and even enjoy the process is the way to stay competitive. Sammy Zahn is in the blanket fort this week via Zoom to chat about her design and organization company Simply Sam and all the ways that her adapta...

Finding the ability to allow yourself to be uncomfortable is really hard. I should know. I suck at it. Being able to sit in the discomfort of uncertainty, of being wrong, of losing, of not knowing what to do next. These are all things I'm trying hard not to suck at. So here's a bit on that, with a sneaky surprise baked in at the end. Back next week with a brand new full episode with a great gue...

What does personal accountability look like? What's the difference between punishing yourself and truly holding yourself accountable from a place of love and resolving to try to do better?

Pat Williams is back in the fort! and this time we are unpacking all of our guilty pleasures just for your entertainment. Is this what you want? Is it? Is it?? 

Drag performance, drag artistry, a look at the history of the form and the technical ins and outs of the craft.

A candid anecdotal chat on Depression and Anxiety from two non-experts.

Free Will and Determinism, a philosophical debate. Do humans make choices?

The first (and possibly last) live recording of People Pleaser straight from the belly of the blanket fort in the middle of the apocalypse. Featuring the ever-elusive, the unbeatable, the indomitable Mary F*#king Neville talking all things quarantine! PLUS some special bonus content tacked onto the end of this audio version!

Friend and fellow songsmith Sam Burton stops by to talk about his personal journey with songwriting. Hopefully the exploration of a specific form of expression can serve as a view into larger, more expansive themes? I don't know. Maybe not. But he plays his latest single live and it's really good!

What's the best way to make sure a day job doesn't feel like a prison sentence keeping you from your true calling? Well Sarah Walker has some insights on that. Even though many people are out of work right now, we will surely be back to work in a matter of weeks, so what kind of mindset will we bring with us when we return to our day jobs? 

New friend and Neuroscientist Daniel Calderón Sanchez lets Austin in on the current state of brain science covering the things we know, and speculating about the things we hope to know in the future!

Austin invites singer-songwriter, guitarist extraordinaire, and experimental outsider artist Nick Neihart into the blanket fort to talk about art that falls left of center, the avant grade, the fringe, the experimental. Is it any good? Does it take talent to make it? What do YOU think of Outsider Art? Also, unrelated, but um... is it the end of the world?

Super duper best friends Chris (Chrissy Bear) Bjornn and Austin Archer set out to tackle the emo-artsy kid dream of starting their very own band and taking on the indie music scene ten years ago. They failed miserably to garner any kind of commercial success, but had a whole hell of a lot of fun writing a bunch of kick ass songs. Here's that story.

A little something new today. It's just me. Talking about a few things that are on my mind this week. PLUS a super secret bonus surprise at the end of the episode!!

Life seems to have a relentless need to drop in and interrupt our little routines, our plans, our innocent still moments. In this episode Lisandra Archer takes a break from her SoCal vacation to have a chat in the blanket fort about how to deal with life's many changes and ride the waves of even the most menacing of storms. 

The thrilling conclusion of this very special two-part brotherly episode!