First Draft Theater

Jackson Bird

The online rehearsal space for semi-retired influencer and wannabe historian, Jackson Bird, to explore unexpected connections, overlooked stories, and the past and future of our changing world. Some of it may one day become a second draft. firstdrafttheater.substack.com

Episodes

  1. 06/27/2025

    Hello from JOMO-ville 👋🏻

    How to experience the joy of missing out. L I N K S M E N T I O N E D JOMO proliferations: - First book: https://bookshop.org/a/826/9780865717671 - App: https://jomo.so/ - Song by Eric Hutchinson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQFhOQHCaUM - Movement: https://experiencejomo.com/ - Comic: https://www.leunig.com.au/works/recent-cartoons/769-jomo JOMO citations: - https://health.clevelandclinic.org/jomo-the-joy-of-missing-out - https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/01/04/fomo-jomo-joy-missing-out/ - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0033294120980970 Other: - https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/08/same-sex-couples-geographic-variation.html - ‘How to Read a Book’: https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-read-a-book-revised-and-updated-mortimer-j-adler/1408400?ean=9780671212094&next=t&affiliate=826 - ‘Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2’ Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vQPPEka0ls - Type 2 Fun: https://www.rei.com/blog/climb/fun-scale - “What is Trans JOMO?” by Flint Del Sol: https://substack.com/@justflintisfine/p-160260900 - Trans day of Staying In and Having a Nice Snack: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNEx3k1BHUl/?hl=en End Notes: - ‘The Sirens’ Call’ by Chris Hayes: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-sirens-call-how-attention-became-the-world-s-most-endangered-resource-chris-hayes/21744711?ean=9780593653111&next=t&affiliate=826 - ‘Slow Productivity’ by Cal Newport: https://bookshop.org/p/books/slow-productivity-the-lost-art-of-accomplishment-without-burnout-cal-newport/20143790?ean=9780593544853&next=t&affiliate=826 - ‘The Power of Ritual’ by Casper ter Kuile: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-power-of-ritual-turning-everyday-activities-into-soulful-practices-casper-ter-kuile/18996866?ean=9780062881823&next=t&affiliate=826 - Many resources on tech shabbats by Tiffany Shlain: https://www.tiffanyshlain.com/tech-shabbat - “An Obituary for Reading the Internet” by Anne Helen Peterson: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/an-obituary-for-reading-the-internet - Mozilla’s announcement about shutting down Pocket: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/future-of-pocket Jack of All Trades: - SciShow Tangents Poetry Collection’: **https://complexly.store/products/tangents-poetry-collection - My short video about what I learned my first winter in New England: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xa851HYV3vc - My long video about why I left NYC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCtjoE7jAD0&feature=youtu.be - Get in touch with my speaking bureau: https://www.freshspeakers.com/speakers/jackson-bird/ - Or email me directly at jacksonbirdbiz@gmail.com Follow me: - http://firstdrafttheater.substack.com - http://jacksonbird.cool - http://youtube.com/jackisnotabird - http://instagram.com/jackisnotabird - https://bsky.app/profile/jackisnotabird.cool - http://twitch.tv/jackisnotabird Get full access to First Draft Theater at firstdrafttheater.substack.com/subscribe

    33 min
  2. 11/09/2024

    "Nobody can take away from you who you are."

    Post-election thoughts on coping and not waiting for permission Links: Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution by Susan Stryker: https://bookshop.org/p/books/transgender-history-the-roots-of-today-s-revolution-susan-stryker/7605046?ean=9781580056892 Loren Rex Cameron tribute service: https://vimeo.com/854714199 Body Alchemy by Loren Rex Cameron https://archive.org/details/2023-07-24-64becdf-6d-94be-transsexualportraitsfull-compressed Recommendations: The reFRESH newsletter on Substack: https://refreshnewsletter.substack.com/ FRESH Labs' The Green Room podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/freshlabsthegreenroom/episodes/Episode-3--Shannon-Watts---How-your-flaws-can-be-your-superpower-e2pi10f Ahsante Bean's democracy video series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqUsmlaOefY Shakespeare In a Divided America by James Shapiro: https://bookshop.org/p/books/shakespeare-in-a-divided-america-what-his-plays-tell-us-about-our-past-and-future-james-shapiro/12077112?ean=9780525522317 Small excerpt of the chapter I mentioned: https://lithub.com/shakespeare-and-the-culture-wars-on-the-movement-for-color-blind-casting/ What I've Been Up To: My latest video, about moving and big life changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCtjoE7jAD0 Selected short-form videos: - My 2023 Twilight phase (Instagram version) - The unexpected hobby I took up after the podcast ended (Instagram version) - This top-recommended Halloween destination is also one of my favorites to visit for Christmas (Instagram version) - A fun way to track the books you read in a year (Instagram version) - A 2-for-1 Ghostbusters travel recommendation (Instagram version) Get full access to First Draft Theater at firstdrafttheater.substack.com/subscribe

    17 min
  3. 12/07/2023

    Sorted 2

    If you, like me, think my book ‘Sorted’ could use an update, I have a recommendation for you. Links: My first book, Sorted: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sorted/Jackson-Bird/9781982130770 Blog post about everything I've said about Harry Potter and the Author Who Torched Her Legacy: https://www.jacksonbird.cool/single-post/almost-everything-i-ve-said-publicly-about-harry-potter-and-the-author-who-torched-her-legacy The episode of How do you like it so far? that I was on: https://www.howdoyoulikeitsofar.org/1325-2/ Timestamps for How do you like it so far?: 0:00 - Origin story 10:45 - TERF Talk 38:00 - HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series 46:20 - What I’ve been up to in recent years, and what I think about making art for different mediums as well as on topics beyond HP / trans stuff Recommendations: Material Girls podcast: https://www.ohwitchplease.ca/material-girls Rachel Maddow on Seth Meyers: https://youtu.be/oNnyTqae-zM?si=pGzv-k6sjT0Hcg66&t=30 Cher's new Christmas album: https://open.spotify.com/album/4Eeeg4yMb5qtMEm0lk6lDM?si=nnIE1aMHTCmztlHP97rpVw Earth, Wind, and Fire's 2014 Christmas album: https://open.spotify.com/album/2clJOOkMz707eU2OnHgS0z?si=9z3KliFmSoW9RM5KLFE55A Chris Daily's latest Christmas album: https://chrisdaily.bandcamp.com/album/seasonal-sounds Paul DeGeorge's Christmas mixes: http://pauldegeorge.com/index.php/xmas-mixes/ Resource document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZWq5PwfCMRd54Ovs61Jtr8Mxfhqp1tvaiu5sy1b_LsM/edit?usp=sharing What I've Been Up To: See me in The Infinite Wrench: https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw Donate to our 20th anniversary fundraiser: https://pages.donately.com/newyorkneofuturists/fundraiser/jack-s-ny-neo-futurist-20th-anniversary-fundraising-page Latest episode of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text that I guest hosted: https://www.harrypottersacredtext.com/episodes/this-week-vanessa-and-jackson-bird-explore-the-theme-of-possibility-in-chapter-eighteen-of-harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix-they-discuss-the-room-of-requirement-dobbys-newly-free-life-and-umbridges-stifling-oversight-throughout-the-episode-we-consider-the-question-how-do-we-discern-what-kinds-of-change-are-possible-in-our-current-stage-of-life--next-week-were-looking-at-the-entire-series-through-the-theme-of-intellectual-humility My latest YouTube video: https://youtu.be/H433bjjxR0A Get full access to First Draft Theater at firstdrafttheater.substack.com/subscribe

    14 min
  4. 03/28/2023

    Depressed Goblin Nightmare is the new Manic Pixie Dream Girl

    Plus corn cob crust pizza and an update on the Internet Archive. Links I mentioned: Kate Erbland's review of A Good Person https://www.indiewire.com/2023/03/a-good-person-zach-braff-manic-pixie-dream-girl-1234821853/ Nathan Rabin's review of Elizabethtown https://www.avclub.com/the-bataan-death-march-of-whimsy-case-file-1-elizabet-1798210595 Joseph Goron-Levitt addressing 500 Days of Summer https://www.teenvogue.com/story/joseph-gordon-levitt-tweets-500-days-of-summer John Green addressing Looking for Alaska https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r4S9iTje0s Cool Stuff Ride Home episode about "goblin mode" being the OED's 2022 Word of the Year https://www.ridehome.info/show/kottke-ride-home/mon-1205-will-sherlock-holmes-go-goblin-mode/ My "Manic Pixie Dream Wannabe" play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e2Iz0Fcs4s Lady Charles' "Manic Pixie Dream Boy" music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Ayoo8yiT0 Lady Charles' "Godx" music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7icDShiwoew Little Caesars' Corncob crust pizza https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/little-caesars-new-corncob-pizza-crust-has-the-internet-split-2092465/ Pretzel crust announcement https://www.tiktok.com/@littlecaesarspizza/video/7215210227950636334 Trans Legislation Tracker https://translegislation.com/ The Trans Week project https://www.trans-week.com/ The Gender Friend by Oakley Phoenix* https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-gender-friend-a-102-guide-to-gender-identity-oakley-phoenix/18491568?ean=9781839973574 Oakley's book launch https://events.willamette.edu/event/memoir-writing-workshop--book-launch-party-1/ The Infinite Wrench https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw Online registration for the Moving Trans History Forward conference https://www.uvic.ca/mthf2023/registration/index.php University of Victoria's Trans Archive https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/ *If you use this Bookshop.org link, I'll get a little kickback Get full access to First Draft Theater at firstdrafttheater.substack.com/subscribe

    11 min
  5. 03/22/2023

    Apple TV+’s Role in NASA’s New Moon Suits

    About Those New Moon Suits… Plus, soapy chicken, Blackberry, and SUPER BLOOM. Links I mentioned: Axiom/NASA moonsuit announcement livestream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KnOtI4fS3U NYT fashion critic on the moon suits https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/style/nasa-axiom-new-spacesuit.html Astounding by Alec-Nevala Lee https://bookshop.org/a/826/9780062571953 Moonrise podcast https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/moonrise/introducing-moonrise/ Paul Rudd asks NASA about the quantum realm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZp5-TFTlIY The For All Mankind companion podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-all-mankind-the-official-podcast/id1552072013 More on the NYT's irresponsible and sloppy reporting on trans issues https://www.glaad.org/new-york-times-sign-on-letter-from-lgtbq-allied-leaders-and-organizations The video I shot of the Super Bloom https://youtube.com/shorts/nL0EXEiBRiE?feature=share The CIA's old policy of not hiring gay people https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2018/may/11/cia-polygraph/ The CIA now cruises at SXSW https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/what-is-the-cia-doing-at-sxsw/ Blackberry trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXL_HDzBQsM One of my favorite ProZD videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUrRsx-F_bs Soapy Costco chicken https://www.bonappetit.com/story/why-costco-rotisserie-chicken-taste-soapy Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin https://bookshop.org/a/826/9781250794642 The Gender Friend by Oakley Phoenix https://bookshop.org/a/826/9781839973574 Oakley's book launch that I'll be at https://events.willamette.edu/event/memoir-writing-workshop--book-launch-party-1/ The Infinite Wrench, which I'll be performing in this spring https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw Follow me on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok at jackisnotabird If you use the above links to purchase any of the books I mentioned, I'll get a little kickback. Get full access to First Draft Theater at firstdrafttheater.substack.com/subscribe

    15 min
  6. Why 'First Draft Theater'?

    03/13/2023

    Why 'First Draft Theater'?

    In this introductory episode, I explain the meaning behind the name of this newsletter and give the podcasting feature a test drive. Subscribe on Substack: http://firstdrafttheater.substack.com Watch on YouTube: http://youtube.com/jackisnotabird Links I mentioned: Please Report Your Bug Here by Josh Riedel* https://bookshop.org/p/books/please-report-your-bug-here-josh-riedel/18396148?ean=9781250813794 Almond milk is milk! https://apnews.com/article/us-food-and-drug-administration-business-health-nutrition-ed2acef14a014eef30a0fd24f98be07b David Bowie impersonating other popular musicians https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrtXFTw2ico Which generation controls the Senate? https://www.wcd.fyi/features/senate-generations/ My guest spot on Harry Potter and the Sacred Text https://www.harrypottersacredtext.com/episodes/vulnerability-the-house-elf-liberation-front-book The summer camp-style retreat hosted by Not Sorry https://notsorryworks.com/calling-all-magnificent-people Everything I've said about JKR https://www.jacksonbird.cool/single-post/almost-everything-i-ve-said-publicly-about-harry-potter-and-the-author-who-torched-her-legacy Tickets for The Infinite Wrench https://www.nyneofuturists.org/tiw The Neo-Futurists’ Instagram to check for show updates https://www.instagram.com/nyneofuturists/  The music you heard was “Trumpet Man” by Timothy Infinite, available on Epidemic Sound. Want access to tons of really great tracks? Use my ambassador link: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/37uu44 *If you use this Bookshop.Org link, I’ll get a little kickback Get full access to First Draft Theater at firstdrafttheater.substack.com/subscribe

    14 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

The online rehearsal space for semi-retired influencer and wannabe historian, Jackson Bird, to explore unexpected connections, overlooked stories, and the past and future of our changing world. Some of it may one day become a second draft. firstdrafttheater.substack.com