Derek and Dan talk about being busy without necessarily getting the important stuff done, why having fewer creative gatekeepers still doesn’t mean people actually make things, and the strange power of simply deciding to start. Along the way, they kick around short-form audio stories, note-taking, underdogs, failure, and a possible new way of thinking about who Fritter Hollow should be talking to.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:18) - Derek's Progress Update
• (04:14) - But they don't
• (07:18) - Tight audio story
• (09:19) - Reaching out to people?
• (11:23) - Note taking
• (14:32) - Back to the idea of guests

Dan and Derek dig into the messy business of making things, from shitty first drafts and old school typewriters to limited series podcasts, interviewing, and the temptation to explain too much. Along the way, Derek starts zeroing in on the kind of storyteller he wants to become, someone willing to follow people into their inner worlds and keep feeling around for the next string to tug. They also talk about creative rhythm, getting knocked out of it, and why sometimes the process itself has to be the goal.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:08) - Writing tools & strategies
• (07:01) - Limited Series vs Ongoing Episodes
• (09:49) - Recognizing inner stories quickly
• (19:10) - Accomplishments wear you down
• (21:12) - Train go forward
• (21:54) - Skateboards

Derek and Dan start out talking about showing up, doing the work, and figuring things out as they go, then somehow end up poking around inside the stories people usually leave hidden.

There's a typewritten life mantra, fishing instead of mining, bloody noses, fathers watching from the sidelines, and the surprisingly tricky question of whether any of us really experience the world the same way. Somewhere in there, they stumble onto what may be the thing Fritter Hollow is really interested in: not just what happened, but what was happening inside while it happened.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:51) - The Josh Project Update
• (04:30) - Derek's Purpose Manifesto
• (05:39) - An audience of two
• (10:00) - The 13th Step Podcast
• (12:14) - Pitching guests again
• (14:41) - Defining Inner Worlds

Derek and Dan start with a disagreement about Facebook and end up somewhere much broader: how past experiences shape the opportunities we notice, the risks we avoid, and the things we’re willing to let back into our lives.

Along the way they get into social media, AI, storytelling, old work habits, multitasking, creative momentum, and the difference between wanting to move forward and actually doing it. A conversation about what we carry with us, what we leave behind, and what might still be worth reaching for.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:38) - Derek pitches Dan on joining FB
• (04:58) - Dan explains his disconnection
• (09:35) - The benefits of FB
• (10:53) - Promotion without promotion
• (11:55) - A public Discord
• (13:37) - Who controls your content?
• (15:39) - Access or value?
• (16:18) - back to a public Discord
• (18:30) - Reverse monetizing Discord
• (19:04) - From the Star Trek Universe
• (20:30) - TJP Timeline update
• (22:20) - Another use for ChatGPT
• (24:07) - Dan using Davinci too
• (26:38) - Written to be read
• (27:19) - Inertia
• (29:21) - New lists
• (30:20) - Wanting to do vs doing
• (31:41) - The Myth of Multitasking

Derek and Dan talk AI, creativity, gear, podcasting, and the strange ways people build identities around the things they know. What starts as a conversation about technology and creative tools turns into something more personal: why comfort can become its own kind of trap, why making things can feel so vulnerable, and why creating something meaningful may matter more than chasing attention or success.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:05) - The Hank Green incident
• (08:27) - Frozen in Carbonite
• (10:29) - Young people and AI
• (15:25) - Heros need to be heros
• (18:30) - Derek's 23 theory
• (18:55) - Blasting ads on podcasts
• (20:29) - Moment of silence for Kijiji
• (24:18) - Who are we without our stuff?
• (27:54) - Chapter 10
• (31:28) - The Meaning in the Making
• (32:08) - The existential nature of creating
• (36:09) - AI is like your buddy's dog
• (37:27) - How we use AI
• (43:02) - Two camps of podcasters
• (50:00) - Protecting vulnerability
• (53:44) - It's all starting to get real
• (58:12) - A really personal question

Derek and Dan take a closer look at what Fritter Hollow is becoming now that they are no longer just searching for ideas, but actually making things. They talk about editing, creative tangents, the evolving Josh project, and whether the messy process behind a finished story might be part of the story itself. Along the way, Derek explains why collecting material can feel a little like finding a mysterious bag of Smurfs, and the two begin defining the show as a place to pull back the curtain, follow the detours, and show the wires.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:13) - To edit or not to edit
• (02:59) - Time to redefine?
• (04:08) - The nature of the engagement
• (04:56) - Power to the AI
• (05:39) - The right to edit
• (06:55) - TJP The Josh Project
• (11:41) - Podcast tours

Derek and Dan talk about what happens when you stop waiting for clarity and start making things anyway. Along the way, they get into fear, creative exposure, mentorship, the evolving Josh project, and the strange way direction can emerge only after you’ve already begun. It’s an episode about taking action before you feel ready, letting the work teach you what it wants to become, and discovering that sometimes the path only appears once you’re already walking it.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:25) - Too many details
• (02:35) - ChatGPT on the last edit
• (05:23) - End visions
• (07:31) - Is anyone going to care
• (09:45) - Take or Make
• (11:47) - Artist FOMO
• (12:51) - The Josh Project
• (20:03) - Mentors
• (24:06) - Iteration
• (26:47) - If you've got an idea
• (27:37) - The alphabet and the goddess

This week, Derek and Dan try to solve a familiar creative problem: how do you stop chasing every interesting idea without becoming boring? They talk about a developing interview project, the strange ways memory reshapes the past, the difference between what happened and what it felt like, and whether everything really needs to be called a story. There are the usual detours, emotional truths, talk about podcast editing, and the mildly terrifying possibility that Fritter Hollow may be getting dangerously close to actually making things.

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:45) - The type of projects we want
• (06:43) - Breaking down a story
• (08:49) - Can't interview dead people
• (11:37) - Self imposed constraints
• (12:58) - Kudos to the evolution
• (15:48) - The birth of a new project
• (16:27) - Doing the interview thing
• (18:02) - What's this end product
• (19:46) - Hooray for text files
• (20:23) - Starting this year
• (24:21) - Memory is a weird thing
• (27:23) - Don't interrupt a good story