Outdoor Cats Podcast

Bill Shaner & Chris Robarge
  • 5.0 (7)
  • NEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Outdoor Cats Podcast

Weekly broadcasts from a city that punishes you for caring. Join Bill and Chris for leftist perspectives from Worcester, MA, an urban knife’s edge of gentrification and vulture capital. We discuss local current events, analyzing the ways in which these stories ripple outward from the city we call home. We’ll even talk some about what you can do to fight back! www.worcestersucks.email

Episodes

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Episode 9: Denying Humanity (ft. Josh Croke)

    After Round Two of the pressure campaign from the queer community to make Candy Mero-Carlson pay for her bigotry, we talk with Josh Croke (@joshua.croke), an organizer of the demonstrations and founder of Love Your Labels and many other things. We talk about the council meeting Tuesday and the council’s two affirmative votes on public petitions from the queer community. What they mean and what they don’t! Then we take the conversation wider, to the nightmare times. That’s the first hour. After that, Chris and I talk about the Human Rights Commission, civilian review boards, and the One Weird Trick some of our city councilors have. Josh’s op-ed in the WBJ Love Your Labels Queer for Cities Brad Petrishen’s story on the Human Rights Commission meeting this week The 2015 Telegram story featuring Bergman and Petty’s One Weird Trick Celtics players trying to pronounce Worcester Here’s a sick picture of Josh at the rally Tuesday taken by Giselle Rivera Flores This podcast is part of the Worcester Sucks media empire, which is funded by its readers and only its readers (and listeners now). Please take out a paid subscription or throw us a tip or order some merch if you appreciate having a real independent outlet like this here! Thank you! Venmo a tip / Paypal a Tip / Send a tip on Ko-Fi / Merch Store And help us get the word out too! And let us know what you think! —This podcast is now available on all the major podcast players: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Overcast, Pocket Casts (idk what that is) and you can add it to any other sort of player with this RSS link. Leave a review on whichever app you’re using! —Outro music: “Wut” by Kalifa (fka Le1f). It freakin’ bangs by the way. The video is basically the coolest thing ever made. —Intro music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Forsaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. —Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) —If podcasts aren’t your thing (totally get it, you did sign up for a newsletter after all) you can adjust which sections (Outdoor Cats, Bad Advice, WPS In Brief, etc) come to your inbox in your settings. Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    1h 34m

  2. JAN 23

    Episode 8: An Empathy 101 Tutorial (ft. Etel Haxhiaj)

    We bring on District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj to recap and process the city council’s debate last night over whether to apologize to Thu Nguyen for a rash of bigotry, starting with Candy Mero-Carlson and culminating in a literal Fox News segment. Luckily, the vote was 8-2 to do so, but it doesn’t erase the great shame brought onto Worcester, nor does it show that our old guard councilors really understand the extent of it. Some links to things discussed within: Greg Opperman’s story for Worcester Sucks on Etel’s journey to America. My piece on the situation: The Unbearable Bigotry of Townies. Candy sneaky texting while Maydeé Morales speaks about her failures as an elected leader Donation links: Rob Bilotta’s campaign, Etel’s campaign, Khrystian’s campaign And of course there’s supporting this outlet, which we’d greatly appreciate. Venmo a tip / Paypal a Tip / Send a tip on Ko-Fi / Merch Store And help us get the word out too! Also check out the dumb March of the Ents meme I put on the Worcester Sucks Instag —Outro music: “Abstract City” by Hammered Hulls. —Intro music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Forsaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. —Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) —If podcasts aren’t your thing (totally get it, you did sign up for a newsletter after all) you can adjust which sections (Outdoor Cats, Bad Advice, WPS In Brief, etc) come to your inbox in your settings. —This podcast is now available on all the major podcast players: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Overcast, Pocket Casts and you can add it to any other sort of player with this RSS link. Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    1h 13m

  3. JAN 17

    Episode 7: Candy's A Big-"It"

    Posting a podcast at 2 a.m.—that’s the kind of week it’s been. The episode ends up being more or less a mutual talk therapy session on how to process the profoundly dehumanizing, deceptive and malicious attack that Candy Mero-Carlson and Joe Petty have launched against Thu Nguyen this week. We pick apart their statements, dismantle their thin arguments about attendance, and talk about what to do with who they showed themselves to be. Then a visit from Dr. Fingers. (This podcast is now available on all the major podcast players: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Overcast, Pocket Casts (idk what that is) and you can add it to any other sort of player with this RSS link.) Thu’s statement Candy Mero-Carlson’s response Joe Petty’s response Etel’s statement on Candy calling her a liar Worcester Havurah’s statement in support of Thu The Dr. Fingers image from St. V’s Usually I’d have a written post up by now but this week we’re trying podcast first then a written piece on the same subject matter. It’s going to be a nice experiment seeing how I can play off an already-released podcast in my writing. Anyway. Listeners rejoice, readers hang tight! —Bill This podcast is part of the Worcester Sucks media empire, which is 100 percent funded by its readers. Please take out a paid subscription or throw us a tip or order some merch if you appreciate having a real independent outlet like this here! Thank you! Venmo a tip / Paypal a Tip / Send a tip on Ko-Fi / Merch Store And help us get the word out too! —Outro music: “Let the Trumpetz Blow” by Shabazz the Disciple —Intro music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Forsaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. —Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) —If podcasts aren’t your thing (totally get it, you did sign up for a newsletter after all) you can adjust which sections (Outdoor Cats, Bad Advice, WPS In Brief, etc) come to your inbox in your settings. Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    1h 32m
  4. Episode 6: Coward! (Ft. Allie Cislo)

    JAN 10

    Episode 6: Coward! (Ft. Allie Cislo)

    We bring on Allie Cislo of Worcester Havurah and the multi-faith coalition behind the Gaza ceasefire resolution that the council voted against on Tuesday night. Yes you heard that right they voted 6-5 against the ceasing of firing. A decision explained in full in my post from yesterday, “A million tiny acts of cowardice.” Worcester Havurah’s Instagram and website The Multi-Faith Coalition’s statement: Mayor Petty breaks a tie to grant City Council authority to refuse to vote on Ceasefire Resolution Good BDS resources: Anti-Palestinian at the Core: The Origins and Growing Dangers of U.S. Antiterrorism Law McGovern on Democracy Now This podcast is part of the Worcester Sucks media empire, which is 100 percent funded by its readers and now listeners also! Please take out a paid subscription or throw us a tip or order some merch if you appreciate having a real independent outlet like this here! Thank you! Venmo a tip / Paypal a Tip / Send a tip on Ko-Fi / Merch Store And help us get the word out too! —This podcast is now available on all the major podcast players: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Overcast, Pocket Casts (idk what that is) and you can add it to any other sort of player with this RSS link. —Outro music: “Make ‘Em Pay” by Gang Starr —Intro music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Forsaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. —Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) —If podcasts aren’t your thing (totally get it, you did sign up for a newsletter after all) you can adjust which sections (Outdoor Cats, Bad Advice, WPS In Brief, etc) come to your inbox in your settings. Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    1h 28m

  5. JAN 3

    Episode 5: A Tale Of Two Blippis (ft. Shaun Connolly)

    We simply had to bring on Mr. Bad Advice himself Shaun Connolly to go over the mayor and the city manager’s top 10 songs of 2024, recently released to the Worcester Cultural Coalition (?) Instagram page. Joe Petty’s in particular is something else. Since the city said they’d do it then apparently didn’t, Chris put together playlists for each of them: —Joe Petty’s picks —Eric Batista’s picks Oh and here’s Joe Petty (official) singing We Are The Champions (full song) As always, we appreciate your support and ask for more of it if you’re able! Paid subscriptions keep the ship running, and allow said ship to be a little silly sometimes as a treat. So do tips and merch orders! Venmo a tip / Paypal a Tip / Send a tip on Ko-Fi / Merch Store Thank you for supporting our weird little independent journalism project in this weird little city! —Music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Forsaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. —Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) —If podcasts aren’t your thing (totally get it, you did sign up for a newsletter after all) you can adjust which sections (Outdoor Cats, Bad Advice, WPS In Brief, etc) come to your inbox in your settings. Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    55 min

  6. 12/29/2024

    Episode 4: Winners & Losers

    2024 was a big weird year for Worcester. A long strange trip, you could say. Chris and I go over the big story lines to figure out who won and who lost—and what that means for 2025, which is sure to be longer and stranger. Then we talk music for a bit! Speaking of: Outro music is “Nation” by Home Front. And the Clairo video shot at White Eagle featuring Beyond Wrestling Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman Some other useful links: D2 candidate Rob Bilotta’s campaign site (he needs cash and volunteers!!), Brad Petrishen’s personal page on the Telegram website (a better bookmark than the site itself IMO) A reminder you can now add this podcast in all the major podcast players (Spotify /Apple Podcasts / YouTube / Overcast / Pocket Casts). Subcribing on any of these and leaving a review helps us out. But the best way to help us get the word out is to just by sending it to someone you think would like it! Second best: sharing it on your social media (any Redditors out there… feel free to drop it in the Worcester subreddit!!) Thank you for listening and have a happy new year! This episode will be accompanied by a written Worcester Sucks year-in-review post when I’m (Bill) done with it. As always please consider a paid subscription to this newsletter so we can keep building out our roster of programming. Venmo a tip / Send a tip on Ko-Fi / Merch store —Music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Forsaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. —Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) —If podcasts aren’t your thing (totally get it, you did sign up for a newsletter after all) you can adjust which sections (Outdoor Cats, Bad Advice, WPS In Brief, etc) come to your inbox in your settings. Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    1h 15m

  7. 12/21/2024

    Episode 3: Is there even a leash? (DOJ Files Part 2)

    In which we discuss: the police department’s intimidation tactics at city council this week (as illustrated in my most recent piece), the Department of Justice’s meeting at the YWCA Wednesday, the Longest Night Vigil on Thursday. It all culminates in the question: are we prepared to be as disciplined and organized as the police department showed themselves to be? Or are we going to let the same old inter-left squabbling sabotage this rare opportunity? This podcast can now be found on * Spotify * Apple Podcasts * YouTube * Overcast * Pocket Casts (idk what that is) And you can add it to any other sort of player with this RSS link. At the beginning: Andrew Marsh speaking at the city council meeting Tuesday My piece for Hell World on Maura Healey’s shelter cuts The lawsuit against Duffy & Co. As always please consider a paid subscription to this newsletter or a tip so we can keep the local journalism train rolling. Venmo a tip / Send a tip on Ko-Fi / Merch store —Music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Forsaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. —Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    1h 38m
  8. Episode 2: The DOJ Files (Part 1)

    12/13/2024

    Episode 2: The DOJ Files (Part 1)

    In this episode, we talk about what everyone’s talking about: the recent DOJ investigation report detailing sexual abuse, violence and racist patterns of policing at the WPD. We talk about it in a way you might not have heard someone talk about it yet… and we talk about why that is. Then, with that established, we focus on a statement made by Project Priceless, a self-advocacy group of unhoused women, that stands above the rest. We talk about why it matters so much, and why we need to follow their lead. Here’s Project Priceless’ statement, on a newly made Instagram. Give em a follow. Here’s the report if you want to follow along with us, and my initial write-up from Tuesday, breaking down the contents. As an example of the rotten party line, here’s Councilor Kate Toomey’s statement. She’s chairwoman of the public safety subcommittee—what should be a forum for meaningful oversight of the police but under her leadership is the opposite. Mayor Joe Petty appoints her to that position because he knows that. Feature not bug. —Music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Forsaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. —Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) Quick plug: the Worcester Sucks team and a cool new local bookseller, Implacable Books, are teaming up to peddle our wares at the Worcester Punk Rock Flea Market tomorrow (Saturday, Dec 14) 1-7 p.m. at the Hotel Vernon. The Flea Market is a neat recurring event and I’m glad the organizers take the time to put it on. Come hang! Also please consider supporting Worcester Sucks we need all the help we can get! Venmo a tip / Paypal a Tip / Send a tip on Ko-Fi Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    1h 28m
  9. Episode 1: Mutual Aid and Community Resilience

    12/08/2024

    Episode 1: Mutual Aid and Community Resilience

    Welcome to Outdoor Cats! The latest addition to the Worcester Sucks local media empire, the idea here is simple: weekly broadcasts from a city that punishes you for caring. Today, we talk about mutual aid and community resilience. Are you tired of going to a rally and voting and not feeling like it got you anywhere? There are better ways to make change in your community, and plenty local examples of people doing it right now! We also talk about the real estate speculators and vulture capitalists ruining our city (and many others!). Relatedly, we cover why cities across the U.S. are overflowing with unhoused people who are alternately ignored and oppressed. Links to some of the stuff discussed: — More Than A Fridge by Alex O’Neil— "It Could Happen Here" Music: “Roaming The Cosmic Winds” by Mystic Realm, Worcester-based dungeon synth project by Kevin Fitzgerald. Check out the full album, Foresaken Kingdom, on the Mystic Realm Bandcamp. Logo by Travis Duda (@hunchbacktravis) If you like what you hear, drop us a line or give it a share to help us get the word out! Future episodes will come to your inboxes one way or another, but you can also add the feed to your preferred player by copying this link into whatever the “add RSS” feed function is on your podcast player. It takes a little while but the show will be up on all the usual places: Apple podcasts, Spotify, etc etc. Updates on that as the listings come in. These will be weekly episodes. Both of us believe that’s sorta the most important part of this kind of podcast. All of the episodes will be rooted in a basic theme: looking at Worcester as an urban knife’s edge of gentrification and vulture capital. We’ll discuss local current events, analyzing the ways in which these stories ripple outward from the city we call home. We’ll even talk some about what you can do to fight back! If you like what you hear, please consider signing up for a paid subscription to this newsletter :-) The direct reader support is, in its own way, a form of mutual aid. About 740 community members chip in a small amount of money that gives us the time and freedom to produce journalism for said community—with complete editorial freedom. Just one directive guides our work: “does this benefit the community?” From that basic concern ripple all sorts of related ones: “does this clarify power?” “ does this make people want to get involved?” “does this inspire the belief that things don’t have to be so awful? That things can change?” Get full access to Worcester Sucks and I Love It at www.worcestersucks.email/subscribe

    1h 13m
  • 9 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Weekly broadcasts from a city that punishes you for caring. Join Bill and Chris for leftist perspectives from Worcester, MA, an urban knife’s edge of gentrification and vulture capital. We discuss local current events, analyzing the ways in which these stories ripple outward from the city we call home. We’ll even talk some about what you can do to fight back! www.worcestersucks.email

Information

  • Creator
    Bill Shaner & Chris Robarge
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Bill Shaner
  • Show Website
    Outdoor Cats Podcast

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