PODCAST

: lower black pain.

Jd Michaels - The CabsEverywhere Creative Production House

Life’s lemons into rich, dark chocolate. lowerblackpain.substack.com

society & culture performing arts

All Episodes

5:48

Career.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/04/09

Fisher Price makes toys for small children. An American institution since 1930, the company is most famous for their line of “Little People”: colorful, nearly indestructible 2 inch tall figures depicting different occupations.Long before hoards of mega-achieving Barbie™s dominated toy store shelves, these Little People represented “real jobs”, and as a child, these career options seemed very feasible – particularly since pocket sized toys had been able to accomplish them.Fireman? Check.Policeman,

2:43

Last Leg.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/04/02

So I went through my closet and drawers for spring cleaning, but there isn’t all that much there that I don’t wear… save one specific category I realize I may have legitimately grown beyond.I had three years of wearing slacks and now I’m kind of doneI bought them all online, on saleThey weren’t all that much fun.Up ’til then, trousers were a breezemy grown-up job required easy-fittingnewish dungareesand ties just for emergencieswhen clients happened by. You see,I’d been an artist, more or lessin

6:21

Object Impermanence.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/03/26

It’s Spring Cleaning time, which must be like Black Friday for the famed home organizer Marie Kondo. Her books fly off the shelves at this time of year as hoards of us peek out of the dusty doorways of our winter shelters, squint at the newly blue skies, and resolve to simplify our closets, basements and garages.Her “Konmari” organization method, where one throws out any object that does not “spark joy” within them, is the most hardcore decision-making strategy imaginable, yet her hit television

5:55

Penny For My Thoughts.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/03/19

For the last two hundred weeks, I’ve written an original American humor column in what seems some of the grimmest times in the history of this great nation.It was to be a salve, a balm, an analgesic to relieve the legacy pressure of undeniable, inescapable, and unavoidable identity. It was to stand as proof to the next generation of those considered exceptional yet disposable that history, though quite often written in blood, may also be captured in tears of joy.This has not been accomplished.That

5:22

Hot Pony Club.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/03/12

Johnny Carson, Weird Al Yankovic, and Ryan Reynolds were all born on the same day of the year as me. My daughter thinks the Ryan Reynolds part is cool, as she believes this might indicate a mysterious source of Deep Rizz that I may be astrologically heir to, and perhaps could still emulate…someday.But the big news for me this year is the return of my lunar zodiac sign, the Fire Horse. It only happens once every 60 years, due to, I guess, math. Let’s see: the animals (12 in total) change from year to

5:05

14 Days To Go.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/03/05

I’ve never completed a marathon, but I imagine it’s running without the luxury of choice - one can’t pause for a quick cappuccino or afternoon film matinee. Exhausted and bedraggled, one is driven to complete the activity due to the pressures of publicly expressed determination, earnest self-promise and significant financial investment. Plus the fact that new technologies allow friends at home to follow your progress on their phones and “cheer you on” from their living rooms, where they are

9:23

Historical.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/02/26

Popular media in the 70’s and early 80’s did not uniformly reflect a kaleidoscope of cultures - the most prominent and consistent staple being a popular family comedian who shall no longer be named. The watershed moment came in 1977, when ABC aired the mini-series “ROOTS”, based on the personal genealogy research of author Alex Haley.Everybody watched that. I felt kind of exposed the day after each episode, coming to school and having my pre-the-invention-of-the-internet classmates ask me follow-up

1:53

1984/1988.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/02/19

I don’t think he ran the race to win, I think he ran to tryto show 2 million kids like methat weshould never shy awayfrom being inthe human race,and that our faces weren’t forbiddenor a burden orexceptions as we all could be exceptional. I think he ran to hold a doorthat he would not walk throughbut had opened first by Douglass,passed to Phillips,Chisholm,Fauntroy, then to one midwestern resident who was at last called President.Although he did not run to win,and few assumed he would, he

6:52

Positive I.D.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/02/12

Back before we had a kid, I didn’t take a vacation for a little over seven years.Sure, there were times that work was supposed to be closed, like Christmas and New Year’s Day and weekends and nights, but I ended up on some phone call or finishing a project or had to show up in the office anyway. My wife found the entire situation distasteful, though she did appreciate my somewhat maniacal dedication to a role as a family provider.She began to plan a proper trip for us, far enough away from work that

5:18

Stories.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/02/05

The genesis of this column was a desire to alleviate my daughter’s legitimate angst regarding her annual recognition of Black History Month, which she found heavy with legacy.Yes, I said. You’re absolutely right, I told her. It’s not a pretty story, and we don’t just tell it every year, it’s written in our eyes and our hands and our skin.But that is not our only story. We have marvels and miracles, hilarity and harmony, and so much joy within our perseverance. We are a mathematical impossibility,

5:37

The Winter Of This Content

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/29

Getting older is fun, but feeling older is not my absolute favorite. Quite often there are aches, and sometimes pains. My grandmother used to call them “miserys” (miseries?) and was proud to tell us when she wasn’t experiencing them. I’m not quite that dramatic (ok. well.) and I do understand that my specific physical experience, while admittedly disconcerting and exhausting, is mild in comparison to the concerns of others.Yet and still.A great deal of my body issues are audible, which lends a kind

6:12

Warm Mugs.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/22

I enjoy making hot chocolate. Ironically, I can’t drink it, as I’ve developed a myriad of late onset allergies, but it’s incredibly satisfying to whip up in the winter for the family, and always brings at least three levels of happiness.* First the audible “Oh!”- eyebrows raised in happy surprise, * then the reach with both hands to take the warm mug, * then the closed-eyes smile as marshmallow steam rises to the nose. Mmmm. Then hopefully it tastes good as well.I don’t have a secret to my recipe,

4:48

Don't You Fret.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/15

Brinks aren’t great. Edges are already suspicious, but brinks are just the worst.Except for those money delivery trucks; each of those is a minimalist Recreational Vehicle filled with Pure Dreams (tainted only by a measure of grand larceny). But every other brink? Terrible.And all of that teetering. No one ever frolics or languishes near a brink, it’s always TEETERING. And never toward ice cream, or low interest loans or a smoked brisket sandwich - folks endlessly teeter toward the brinks of

6:41

Adventures In Cinema

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/08

We, are simple folk, with little need for the fancy or extravagant. A grateful family of humble artists - days without drama, foods without gluten, we push ever onward finding delight in what might seem mundane or insignificant.For instance, a certain movie trailer appeared this week for a film that will premiere (no joke) eleven and a half months from now. Yet due to careful world building, inspired casting, and a lore so deep that is goes back nearly eight decades, to us a year doesn’t seem all

3:53

Brand: NEW.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/01

Happy New Year!Used to be, long ago, that I was “in advertising”, deftly mixiting key wordses and imagery like an Ibiza DJ, building the hype of the crowds ’til they were uncontrollably driven to purchase soup, or perhaps very high-end non-basic cable television add-on channels. Heady stuff.I remember once, in my youth, speaking to an old-timer (probably younger than myself now) who told me that the two most used words in the history of the industry were “new” and “improved”.Improved always seemed

4:47

The Gift of Laughter.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/12/25

I’ve been to a few baby showers, and no one brought the baby little stones, though that is the story of Christmas, that there was a magnificent child whose first gifts were all rocks of some kind. Well precious stones and aromatic resin that kind of looks like rocks.Then there is the tale of the little drummer boy, who brought music. That was always my favorite, what a great gift, so much more meaningful, no disrespect to Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar.But yesterday I was on a work video call and

3:29

The Lesson of Patience.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/12/18

Santa comes but once a year, like your birthday, but somehow it seems longer between Christmases than birthdays. December feels like it has 72 days rather than 31, with the 25th kind of always just out of reach, like that dolly zoom Hitchcock used to do where the thing in the middle just lurches through space. Sakes. I haven’t sent my letter yet, but as previously stated, it is short, with mostly a thank you and an ask after the family and Jack Frost. (I have been a good boy this year, and even an

7:38

The Value Of Dignity.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/12/11

A Christmas list is a bold statement - the idea that you deserve something, much less the entire contents of a manicured list, is a brave stance to take, particularly when you’re young. And then bringing that list to a man you only see once a year and not spending your time catching up or asking about his family but instead reciting the list to him in full expectation of his timely delivery of said items is… extremely presumptive.Yet Santa listens, and smiles, and nods appreciatively, and takes a

5:53

The Joy of Learning.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/12/04

Sure, you can give presents at the holidays, in boxes, like everybody else, but the real challenge is always to find something UNIQUE, isn’t it? Something no one else would ever think of? Something fun to give that inspires happy surprise in the give-ee.Well, the best things in life, I’ve heard told, are free. And while most of those are impossible to wrap, it is generally agreed that their impact greatly outshines that of any, say, tiny mechanical “life-like” dog from the internet.So my list for

5:19

Thank you.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/11/27

You know there’s more pie, right?I’m so glad you’re here, but … pie. I don’t want to distract you. Priorities and all.If you do have a minute, I’d love to tell you a little story. It’s not very long, but right after you really should go back to that pie idea.The “Give-a-Show Projector” : basically a D-cell battery flashlight with a plastic lens on it so that you could project filmstrips on the wall in the dark…the very dark (‘cause it wasn’t that great a flashlight). The Kenner company sold tons of

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