Woodworking is BULLSHIT!

65:17

Episode 72 - Unpacking Disgust: How what you HATE...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/09/30

Why spend time examining—or even physically making—"BAD ART"? Is there something to be learned by making BAD ART?Jack kicks off the discussion with her signature college assignment: forcing students to imagine, write about, and physically build the worst piece of art possible to locate their personal "origin of disgust". The trio digs into what it means to experience true artistic disgust—not just mild disliking, but a visceral, blood-boiling reaction to work you feel shouldn't exist or be consumed

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96:50

Episode 71 - What YOUR work says about YOU and LIFE...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/09/16

The things we make are not simply objects, but symbols of who WE ARE and WHAT WE OBSERVE in life. This week we sit down with our first ceramicist guest ever, Jordan Koons — potter and educator, to figure out what the things we make are trying to tell us about life and ourselves.We use Jordan’s personal manifesto as a map for the episode:1) Jordan's double-walled vessels, an ornately carved exterior wrapped around a hidden interior, as a metaphor for what we project externally to the world versus who

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77:31

Episode 70 - How to MARKET & SELL Your Work, ETHICALLY

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/09/02

FACT -> Marketing is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT to sell the things we make. However, marketing often comes with an “ick factor” for many of us, as we are exposed to HUNDREDS of advertisements PER DAY, many of which are dishonest and misleading, with the products prioritizing convenience and profits over the environment.How can we break this cycle? Enter Dave Dennis, co-found of Ventana Surfboards & Supplies who takes us through his thinking about ETHICAL MARKETING and helps us understand that there

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91:59

Episode 69 - Making it up as you GROW (w/ Farmer Nick...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/08/19

How can we be creative when we don't know what the final goal looks like? This is OFTEN the case when we work in teams on collaborate projects, be it at work or in craft. How do we know if what we've produced is good enough? Erik and our esteemed guest, FARMER NICK (a wonderful landscape architect, environmentalist, farmer, husband, and all around beautiful human) talk about how they had to be creative on demand in their netflix show while not knowing exactly how thing would turn out in the end. I

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98:14

Episode 68 - Trouble GETTING STARTED on something?...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/08/05

We've all been there: Bought the tool, watched the videos, bookmarked the plans. Organized the shop one more time. And somehow the actual PROJECT never happens.This episode is about the INTENTION-BEHAVIOR GAP — the well-documented, deeply human tendency to plan, prep, and research without ACTUALLY DOING THE THING. Is preparation even really about the work? Or is it about avoiding the risk and uncomfortable feelings of finding out the work won't be perfect or we're not good at something in the

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90:36

Episode 67 - Is ART for ARTIST, or is ART for the...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/07/22

Have you been to a concert where the crowd was involved, singing, dancing, screaming along to their favorite songs. You probably left thinking, "THAT WAS SO AWESOME". Have you been to a concert where you weren't quite sure what the artist was doing? You sat there quietly trying to make sense out of what you were witnessing. You might have left confused or you may have left thinking, "geeeez I've never seen anything like that, how interesting!".In both of these cases something different was

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76:43

Episode 66 - Barstool Confessions #6 - Learning from...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/07/08

What happens when two friends sit down and wrestle withlife’s biggest questions? In this episode we unveil a new segment called 40,000 ft: What is something that has happened to you recently and what did you learn from it in a global sense? (i.e. when you zoom out to 40,000 ft.)Erik shares that people avoid going near his dog Teddybecause they see he's part pitbull, and that gets him thinking about innate bias, and what biases he has with respect to woodworking. Paul shares his experiences of recent

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91:17

Episode 65 - Your LIFE is 4000 weeks, WHAT DO YOU DO...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/06/24

INCREDIBLE Sculptor Spencer Schubert drops in to make the case that good taste is exactly what's stopping you from starting. Your early work is going to suck — that's not a warning, that's a promise. Spencer, Paul, and Erik dig into why the creative struggle never actually gets easier, how to build systems that work on the days your willpower doesn't, and whether gatekeeping is protecting craft or killing it. ALSO, just FYI, Your life is about 4,000 weeks long, what will do do with that time???To

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89:05

Episode 64 - How your PERSONALITY TYPE affects your...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/06/10

What kind of person are you? Emotionally Stable? Neurotic and Exciteable? Open to new ideas? Have you ever taken a personality test before? We all know some elements of our personality but have you had them formally measured and then thought about how those traits might affect what you make, how you make, or how you approach making art in general?Today with the help of TWO Ph.D. psychologists, resident WIBS psychologist Sherry Pagoto, and psychologist/woodworker Brad Appelhans, we all take the BIG 5

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89:35

Episode 63 - What is BEAUTY and Where Does It Come From?

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/05/28

When you say something is BEAUTIFUL, what do you actually mean? Why do you think it's beautiful? Is beauty genetically programmed witihin humans, or is it culturally learned, or Is it a divine gift from god? We take on this fascinating topic with our amazing friend Jeff Hein (an absolutely INCREDIBLE painter and maker), who raised this question in the first place and WHAT A FUN DISCUSSION IT WAS. Jeff has his own podcast called the Undraped Artist and you can listen to it here:

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88:33

Episode 62 - The Master Series: Wharton Esherick

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/05/13

In today's episode of the Master Series, we discuss the visionary American artist and furniture designer Wharton Esherick, celebrated as the father of the Studio Furniture Movement. Esherick believed furniture and sculpture were one and the same — that a chair, a table, or a staircase could be as emotionally resonant as any painting or bronze. His most iconic pieces pulse with organic, twisting forms drawn from nature, none more famous than his breathtaking spiral staircase, hand-carved from red

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99:22

Episode 61 - Elements of Art & Principles of Design

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/04/29

Just as grammar underlies good writing, today we're learning about the hidden grammar behind good visual art: The ELEMENTS OF ART AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN. Today, we go BACK TO SCHOOL w/ Art professor Jack Thomas leading us through the basics, while Erik translates them through a real-world maker lens. These funadmentals are TIMELESS and are applicable to almost every form of art. Strap in for a GREAT EPISODE kids, because CLASS IS IN SESSION!To watch the YOUTUBE VIDEO of this episode and the

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80:00

Episode 60 - Novelty vs. Repetition: Which is better...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/04/15

Are you the kind of person who enjoys the predictable routines of life? Or are you someone who feels the excitement of something wholly novel and new? This preference is largely determined by our brain chemistry and risk tolerance. Evolutionarily, a bit of BOTH is likely best as we need to lean into what is dependable and safe, but at the same time opening ourselves up to new things occasionally. But where do Paul, Erik, and Rich fall on this contiuum? Where do you fall on this contiuum? Which is

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96:02

Episode 59 - The ADHD Brain: Friend AND Foe

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/04/01

What do you think of when you hear ADHD ? Do you think you might have it or know someone who does? We all took a an ADHD screener test before this show and announce the scores live on air! Regardless of the answer, the learnings from this episode on the BRAIN APPLY TO ALL OF US, whether you're neurotypical or neurodivergent. Join us for an amazing episode into brain structure and function as it relates to art/craft, guided by our resident Ph.D. psychologist, Sherry Pagoto.To watch the YOUTUBE VIDEO

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94:53

Episode 58 - Barstool Confessions #5 - A Season of...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/03/18

What happens when two friends sit down and wrestle with life’s biggest questions? In this episode: Erik asks what VALUE does social media actually bring us? Paul grapples with INSPIRATION during the LONG winter (seasonal affective disorder anyone?). We also discuss food science and bacteria, as well as some strategies for staying in a positive head space in a chaotic world. Join us for an honest, unscripted conversation that just might shift how you see the world—and yourself.To watch the YOUTUBE

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87:12

Episode 57 - CUTTING THROUGH THE BULLSHIT (w/ Vic...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/03/04

Many of us have been told things about woodworking – or any craft – that simply aren’t true. Why are so many myths perpetuated across so many fields? What does it say about us as humans, that we believe these things and repeat them? Today, with the help of our most experienced, authentic, and amazing friend and colleague, Vic Tesolin, we dig deep into some of the biggest myths in our field, why people believe them, and how we can emerge with a healthy sense of skepticism.To watch the YOUTUBE VIDEO

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87:42

Episode 56 - The Art War: Is "community" a lie? (w/...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/02/18

We’re told the art world is a supportive community, but behind the scenes, is it really? This episode strips away everything to get at the question of openness vs territorialism and defensiveness in the arts, and we have both our perennial favorite Keith Johnson, who makes a living sharing his knowledge, and his brother-in-law, Jet Tamburri, an exceptionally talented and experienced tattoo artist who came up through the school of hard knocks to own his own successful tattoo shop. WHAT. AN.

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84:22

Episode 55 - Making, FAILING, and Becoming (w/ Jimmy...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/02/03

Why do we fear FAILURE when it is the primary way we LEARN and IMPROVE? What is failure, and how do YOU define failure for yourself? Is it when something doesn't work out according to plan or is it when you give up all together? What are some of your biggest failures, and did they become learning moments? How is our self-confidence and ego wrapped up in all of this? Does failure make us feel ashamed and embarrased because we have a certain inflated idea of who we are? Do we emerge from failure more

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102:46

Episode 54 - Do you live in a HOUSE or a HOME?-...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/01/21

What is a house to you? An investement? A place that offers shelter to keep your belongings while you figure out where to move next? or is it something MORE? A symbol of family, a collection of rooms and objects where entire lives of family members have been lived, objects that have been with us through some of the best time and also our worst. Today we take on the question of WHAT IS A HOME REALLY, and how does that impact how we fix it and work to improve the home. Do we do it ourselves or do we

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109:35

Episode 53 - Artistic Monogamy is Killing Your Soul...

Woodworking is BULLSHIT! ·

2026/01/07

Why do so many of us LIMIT what we’re capable of ? How many of these limitations are self-imposed vs. the result of economic pressure to make a living? Do we get more hesitant to explore as we get older? We often describe ourselves as one thing; I’m a woodworker, I’m a painter, I’m metal worker, etc. However back in the renaissance, it was COOL to know poetry, have a deep understanding of math and science, to paint, draw, sculp, act, to dive into philosophy, what we now refer to today a “Renaissance

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