Secretly Sporty

Michelle Millar Fisher -- Curator of Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston -- talks to Sebastian about turning to running during a period of intense grief, following the deaths of her mother and her former partner (Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit). She shares how running then became an essential part of her routine, and what it’s like to come back to it after giving birth to her daughter. She and Sebastian also discuss the 90s UK music scene, the challenges of IVF, and how specializing in craft and design influences her approach to running clothes. Plus, she reveals which half-marathon gives you a lobster roll at the end.  This episode contains a discussion of a suicide. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to https://speakingofsuicide.com/resources/ for a list of additional resources. 

In our second episode of Rest Day Radio, musicians Thor Harris and Peggy Ghorbani (of Thor & Friends) share with Sebastian how their long-running exercise routines aid them in songwriting, energize them on tour and off, and keep them healthy in body and mind. They also reflect on how Thor & Friends evolved in step with their relationship. Thor has recorded and toured with artists like Swans, Bill Callahan, and Shearwater; he recounts stories of staying fit on the road. Peggy reveals which music can motivate her through even the toughest workouts.  Plus, Thor describes the surprising way he solved his knee pain. 

Award-winning journalist Bonnie Tsui, author of Why We Swim and On Muscle, joins Sebastian to discuss why she loves surfing in cold water, the swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco, and why she opts out of music in the gym.  She also reflects on how writing Why We Swim changed her own swimming practice, and she discusses the community she’s found while surfing — animals included!  Plus, she reveals the hilarious name for a whale’s butt muscle.

Essayist and poet Hanif Abdurraqib, author of They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us and Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest, discusses how running transports him through time and space, and how it helps him manage anxiety and depression. He goes in depth on his running playlist, and details what types of songs work for what mile of your run—and he and Sebastian bond over why shoegaze is perfect running music. He also shares what he hopes to accomplish when he writes about music, what he’s working on right now, and why gratitude is so important to him. Plus, he reveals the real reason he started lifting weights.

Celebrated author Laura van den Berg, writer of The Third Hotel and State of Paradise, discusses how she became a competitive boxer — and the intense training regimen she maintains to be ready to get in the ring at a moment’s notice. She shares with Sebastian the ways in which competing helps her manage her anxiety, how being a writer makes her a better boxer, and how partaking in the sport has inspired her upcoming novel. Plus, she and Sebastian discuss the one exercise they’re surprised they can do.

VMA-award-winning music video director Dano Cerny speaks with Sebastian about his journey from being an artsy kid who hated sports to someone who prioritizes physical activity, and he reflects on what he wishes he’d understood about fitness earlier.  He describes how he found the inspiration for the Sia x Kylie Minogue collab video “Dance Alone” (on one of his daily hikes).  Plus, he shares the pros and cons of getting shredded for his 40th birthday.    

The first Thursday of each month, Secretly Sporty takes a recovery day and releases an episode of Rest Day Radio.  And in our first edition, Electric Lit editor and author Halimah Marcus comes on the show to talk about her love for cycling and horseback riding.  She and Sebastian reminisce about their time in college together, trade stories of traumatic moments involving horses, and discuss how writing is a lot like a long uphill bike ride (in a good way!).  They’re also joined by podcast producer and host Liam Billingham, who swaps notes with Halimah on the best Peloton classes.

Acclaimed writer R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries and Exhibit, tells Sebastian about her love for bouldering, why she stopped, and what brought her back. She also talks about her passion for powerlifting, and how those two activities are the best antidote to anxiety she’s found to date. She also shares her approach to revisions and the precise metric she uses to know when a novel is finished. Plus, she reveals the ways in which she’s like a vampire.