138 episodes

What’s the best chapstick for a dead body? How much do marketers really know about us? Is there such a thing as a “minimalist table?”

Join author Don Martin every other week on Head On Fire, a search for answers to life’s biggest and smallest questions. He interviews experts in overlooked fields about subjects you either think you already know everything about or have never considered.

From how morticians can turn you into a coral reef to the best way to investigate a cult, he asks the questions you didn’t even know you wanted answers to.

Head On Fire Head On Fire

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.7 • 284 Ratings

What’s the best chapstick for a dead body? How much do marketers really know about us? Is there such a thing as a “minimalist table?”

Join author Don Martin every other week on Head On Fire, a search for answers to life’s biggest and smallest questions. He interviews experts in overlooked fields about subjects you either think you already know everything about or have never considered.

From how morticians can turn you into a coral reef to the best way to investigate a cult, he asks the questions you didn’t even know you wanted answers to.

    Are we cleaning everything wrong? with Melissa Pateras

    Are we cleaning everything wrong? with Melissa Pateras

    With spring right around the corner, many people are thinking about cleaning their homes and turning to social media for tips and tricks only to suddenly learn we all seem to be doing everything wrong. That's where Melissa Pateras, the lesbian queen of Laundrytok and author of the new book A Dirty Guide to a Clean Home, comes in. She told me all the secrets of folding a fitted sheet, the magic of swapping your fabric softener for vinegar, and whether any of those homemade washing powder recipes actually work.

    Email: contact@headonfirepod.com

    Social links:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

    Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod
    Buy me a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod

    Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

    • 1 hr 2 min
    Why is drag important? with Jinkx Monsoon

    Why is drag important? with Jinkx Monsoon

    Jinkx Monsoon (she/her) is a two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, Broadway breakout star, and soon to be villain on the beloved British sci-fi series Doctor Who coming to Disney+ in 2024. The self-proclaimed “internationally tolerated” drag icon has taken over the entertainment industry as an award-winning stage actress, acclaimed vocalist, stand-up comic, and theatre sensation. 

    Jinkx first garnered an international fan base following her win on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5 (2013), and continued her winning streak on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 (2022) where she was crowned “Queen of All Queens,” winning the competition against all previous winners. In January 2023, Jinkx made her highly-anticipated Broadway debut as Matron “Mama” Morton in Broadway’s longest-running musical, Chicago. Jinkx's monumental and extended 10-week run broke box office records, achieving the highest selling non-holiday week in the show's 26 year history (as reported by Playbill). Following the run, she went on to sell out theaters across 45 North American cities with her first ever concert tour titled "Jinkx Monsoon: Everything at Stake" from June through August 2023. Jinkx closed out 2023 with the 6th annual "The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show" tour which sold out the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles and traveled for 8 weeks across the U.S., UK and Canada. 

    Jinkx has toured the world performing her original cabaret shows with music partner Major Scales, including highly-acclaimed shows like The Ginger Snapped, The Vaudevillians (which became a hit Off-Broadway sensation) and their most recent production, Together Again, Again (2022).  As a recording artist, Jinkx has released three critically-hailed albums of original music written by Major Scales including her most recent The Virgo Odyssey (2022), The Inevitable Album and The Ginger Snapped. 

    No stranger to film and TV, Jinkx has voiced characters for such animated shows as Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (playing the beloved character Lemongrab), Steven Universe, Mighty Magiswords, Bravest Warriors. She has also appeared on the CBS cop drama Blue Bloods and the Netflix original AJ and the Queen. Jinkx has been the subject of two documentaries: Drag Becomes Him, and The Queens. She is an award-winning stage actress, having won the Gregory Award for her portrayal of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and most recently, The MAC Award for her show The Ginger Snapped, co-written with Major Scales.

    email me: contact@headonfirepod.com

    Social links:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

    Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod
    Buy me a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod

    Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

    • 53 min
    Why is math a drag? with Kyne Santos

    Why is math a drag? with Kyne Santos

    Kyne Santos uses social media to teach math subjects that range from simple addition and subtraction to more esoteric concepts about impossible objects or quantum mechanics. And he does it in drag. Because sometimes Kyne puts on a wig, drops the surname and becomes the Canadian Drag Race superstar alum Kyne who teaches us how math can be a living, breathing, interesting subject that both enriches and entertains. 

    Kyne's new book, Math in Drag, comes out March 5, 2024.

    Social links:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

    Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod
    Buy me a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod

    Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

    • 46 min
    Burn 2023 down! with Meg Elison

    Burn 2023 down! with Meg Elison

    2023 was great and terrible. There were technological marvels, horrible television, phenomenal movies, brilliant books, and more author drama than you ever thought possible. Come around the dumpster fire as Meg Elison and I build the year its funeral pyre. 

    Social links:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

    Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod
    Buy me a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod

    Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
    YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

    • 1 hr 40 min
    What is comedy? with Bonnie Klopfer

    What is comedy? with Bonnie Klopfer

    Bonnie Klopfer is an actress and comedian whose videos have been loved by millions of people around the world. She’s a stand up regular in LA and makes content online about finding the funny in mundane things, including a breakout series of shorts about product packaging. Find her here: https://linktr.ee/boobieklapper

    Social links:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

    Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod
    Buy me a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod

    Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524

    • 1 hr 18 min
    Can anger make us better? with Dr. Heather Lench

    Can anger make us better? with Dr. Heather Lench

    We are often told to ignore anger, to repress anger, that anger has no value in a polite society. Anger gets us in trouble. Anger removes our ability to think rationally. Anger is always bad all of the time and we should never, ever feel it.

    Or, at least, that's what we've been told.

    Some researchers wanted to test that theory, and turns out it might not be true. 

    Dr. Heather Lench is a professor specializing in affective science, personality processes, and social & personality psychology. She recently led a team of researchers in publishing a paper that tells us what anyone who has ever washed the dishes after a fight knows: anger might make us more productive and better at problem solving. We might actually get more accomplished if we do it out of spite. 

    Social links:
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headonfirepod/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/headonfirepod
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headonfirepod

    Support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonfirepod
    Buy me a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/headonfirepod

    Subscribe to the Head On Fire podcast
    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/head-on-fire/id337689333
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4qTYYhCLMdFc4PhQmSL1Yh?si=5387b774ed6e4524
    YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/HeadOnFirePod

    • 38 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
284 Ratings

284 Ratings

Ren Annette ,

Jerry and you

Thank you for the Jerry Saltz conversation—enjoyed very much—liked your questions.

JennaWann ,

Joyful

Almost every episode, even on a serious topic, has a kernel of joy in the learning and the talking to people from different experiences.

BMF_83 ,

Love

😀

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