A double bill of conversations. The first hosted as usual by Dave and then in the second one the tables are turned as Alex takes over the hosting. Recorded back to back in an undisclosed location in Manchester.

The Alex and Dave files

In GBA 165 we get even better acquainted with my fernweh friend Alex. He talks about his play Son of Man. We talk about the themes behind the play and his research he has done while writing it. We cover interpretations and reinterpretations of Jesus in fiction, comparative mythologies, a discussion of the historical Jesus, a tour through CS Lewis' version of judgement day in The Last Battle, Christian Atheism and lots more.

Alex Plugs:

His kickstarter campaign for backing Son of Man will be up on Kickstarter soon. In the meantime it's facebook group is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/272636382906179/ and it's on twitter here: https://twitter.com/sonofmanplay





I plug:

The Stand Up Tragedy IndieGoGo Campaign: http://bit.ly/TragicFringe

Greek Tragedy: Thursday 12th June at the Dogstar: http://www.facebook.com/events/625249897568126/

We mention:

Alex's two episodes:  https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-alex-and-dave-files

Fernweh: http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/23-charming-illustrations-of-untranslatable-words-from-other
Hiraeth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiraeth
Jesus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
Thor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor
Yahweh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh
Zeus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus
Odin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin
Loki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loki
Prometheus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus
Lucifer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer
John the Baptist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Baptist
Matthew: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Matthew
Luke: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Luke
Mark: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Mark
Philip Pullman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Pullman 
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Man_Jesus_and_the_Scoundrel_Christ
His Dark Materials: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dark_Materials
Messiah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah
John: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Apostle
The Last Temptation of Christ: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_(film)
Martin Scorsese: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Scorsese
Richard Dawkins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins
Midrash: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midrash
Christology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christology
Christian Atheism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_atheism
Nicaea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea
Aslan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aslan
CS Lewis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis
Tolkien: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien
Narnia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia
The Last Battle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Battle
Diogenes The Cynic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_of_Sinope
Alan Moore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Moore
Kingdom of God: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_God_(Christianity)

Dominic Crossan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dominic_Crossan
The Good Samaritan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Good_Samaritan
Dawkins + Mehdi Hasan: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/21/richard-dawkins-mehdi-hasan_n_3127629.html
Leap of Faith: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_of_faith


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GBA 165 Alex 2

In GBA 80 we get better acquainted Alex. He is probably my best friend but we don't have an uncomplicated friendship. He talks computer games, prehistory, technology, television, friendship, song writing and more. 

The episode features some rarities from our musical back catalogue. More of which you can find in these places:

http://soundcloud.com/themiddleclassbastards

http://soundcloud.com/themanamp

http://soundcloud.com/the-dave/sets

http://www.myspace.com/applesforeveryone

On Friday in GBA 81 the tables are turned as Alex interviews me. His style is very different from mine and the conversation is a brilliant contrast and compliment to the usual format.

Alex plugs:

Content: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Content-A-New-British-Sci-Fi-Drama/133914976650155

Echo: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Echo-A-Science-Fantasy/209422702425826


Mentioned:

WTF conversation between Louis CK and Marc Maron:

http://www.wtfpod.com/

http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_111_-_louis_ck_part_1

http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_112_-_louis_ck_part_2

Century City:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377153/


You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

GBA 80 Alex

In GBA 81 we get better acquainted with... Dave. The tables are turned as Alex who was my guest in GBA 80 takes the reins and interviews me in his own unique style. His approach to hosting is very different from mine. We go on lots of interesting tangents produced by his crowd sourcing approach to coming up with questions. Personal, political, surreal, it's all there. 

This is the conversation I had with him immediately before we switched roles: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-80-alex

Dave plugs:

Personal:

http://soundcloud.com/the-dave

http://soundcloud.com/the-plural

http://soundcloud.com/thereactionaries

"Numbers" on RethinkDaily: http://rethinkdaily.co.uk/

Stand Up Tragedy: http://www.standuptragedy.co.uk/

Alex's music (although it isn't available) - at this point Alex plugs his DJ Mix: http://soundcloud.com/themanamp

Working with George - These are his embryonic mixes : http://soundcloud.com/geojams And this is his GBA: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-6-george

Checking out the work of unknown artists such as those featured regularly on GBA:

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/musicians/

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/writers/

The place to find an up to date account of his projects: http://goosefat101.blogspot.co.uk/



Political:


UK Uncut: http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/
The People's Supermarket: http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/
Don't Shoot the Clowns: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Shoot-Clowns-Taking-Circus/dp/1904456480
The Dispossessed: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dispossessed-Ursula-Guin/dp/1857988825
V for Vendetta: http://www.amazon.co.uk/V-Vendetta-Alan-Moore/dp/1852862912
Oryx and Crake: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oryx-Crake-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0747562598


Extra:


The writing of Jenny Adamthwaite http://www.jadamthwaite.co.uk/



More generally:

Honesty 
Truth
Empathy



Alex recommends people study psychopathy.

Dave mentions Jon Ronson's Psychopath Test: http://www.jonronson.com/psycho.html



Finally:

Listening to podcasts now while they are still exciting, full of innovation and doing new things without gatekeepers.



You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

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GBA 81 Dave [guest hosted by Alex]

A weekly podcast: Join Dave Pickering on his journey to get better acquainted with the people he knows. Part interview show, part oral history project and part autobiography through conversation.

British Podcast Award 2017 winner (bronze in Best Interview category)

GBA was nominated for a 2012 Radio Production Award, aired for 3 seasons on Resonance 104.4 FM and was featured on BBC Radio 4's In Pod We Trust, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Helen and Olly's Required Listening and has been recommended by The Guardian, Time Out and the Financial Times