This week I talk with writer and former Capitol Hill staffer — and my old co-worker — Evelyn Quartz about the strange afterlife of political work: how two people who once believed in “hope and change” ended up disillusioned with the system they helped run. We trade stories about burnout, ideology, and how a job that’s supposed to “change the world” can quietly drain your sense of meaning. Evelyn traces her path from congressional communications director to Substack essayist, and we get into money in politics, media grift, the post-2024 hangover, Tucker Carlson’s odd influence, and what it means to live an honest life after leaving Washington.

Follow Evelyn's Substack here: https://quartzevelyn.substack.com/

Please show some support for the podcast and get access to some extra content by subscribing to the Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/onefjef

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onefjefpod/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@onefjefpodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@onefjef

Email: onefjefpod@gmail.com

You can also call the podcast and leave a voicemail at 1-669-241-5882 and I will probably play it on the air.

Thank you for listening, please do it again, but with more heterodoxy.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by Jef Taylor.

This week I sit down with my first teenage guest, Millie Matyjasik. We talk about driving lessons, ballet, cold plunges in the Pacific, social media brainrot, situationships, and what teenagers wish adults would understand.

If you'd like to show some support for this podcast and also get access to some extra content, please subscribe to the Patreon page at www.patreon.com/onefjef

You can follow the podcast on Instagram @onefjefpod, and you can email the podcast at onefjefpod@gmail.com.

You can now also CALL the podcast and leave a voicemail at 1-669-241-5882 and I will probably play it on the air.

Thank you for listening, please do it again, but with Italian brainrot.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by Jef Taylor.

In this bonus episode of onefjef, I welcome back my dear friend Chris Casey—the very first listener to email the show, thereby winning the infamous email contest. Chris shares a heartfelt “acceptance speech,” a story about proving his mother wrong, and a perspective on seizing one's destiny (with AirPods and a $6 coffee in hand). We play his original voice memo, talk about prizes, party-crashing in Columbus, film festivals, self-driving cars, and why social media makes everything worse.

Also: a new contest is announced—just email a photo to onefjefpod@gmail.com and you, too, might win a prize. Everyone’s eligible… except Chris, who’s already cashed in.

As promised, here's a link to my first film, made in 2007 for zero dollars: onefjef.com/portfolio/suite

If you'd like to show some support for this podcast and also get access to some extra content, please subscribe to the Patreon page at www.patreon.com/onefjef

Follow the podcast on Instagram @onefjefpod

Email the podcast at onefjefpod@gmail.com

You can now also CALL the podcast and leave a voicemail at 1-669-241-5882 and I will probably play it on the air.

Thank you for listening, please do it again, but on several devices at once.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by me, Jef Taylor.

In my first post-road trip interview, I talk to Anastasia Katsina, who grew up in post-Soviet Lithuania, immigrated to Columbus, Ohio as a teen, and eventually found her path as a yoga teacher and somatic therapist. We talk about resilience, Lithuania's spiritual traditions, living in Switzerland and Norway, and how the pandemic unexpectedly brought her back to Columbus. And also how it's hard to see the label when you're sitting inside your own jar.

Learn more about Anastasia's practice and sign up for one of her classes at: www.sijasomatics.com and follow her on Instagram @anastasija_katcyna.

If you'd like to show some support for this podcast and also get access to some extra content, please subscribe to the Patreon page at www.patreon.com/onefjef

You can follow the podcast on Instagram @onefjefpod, and you can email the podcast at onefjefpod@gmail.com.

You can now also CALL the podcast and leave a voicemail at 1-669-241-5882 and I will probably play it on the air.

Thank you for listening, please do it again, but in Columbus, Ohio.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by me, Jef Taylor.

In the seventh and final episode of my road trip, or at least this road trip, I visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park in the rain, experience the weirdness of Branson, get pulled over in Santa Fe, and get the hell out of Dodge City.

If you're enjoying this podcast and would like to show some support and also get access to some photos from my trip, please subscribe to my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/onefjef

Follow the podcast on Instagram @onefjefpod.

Email the podcast at onefjefpod@gmail.com. If you send me a voice message I will probably include it in a future episode.

Thank you for listening, please do it again, but in Uranus, Missouri.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by me, Jef Taylor.

In this, the penultimate episode of my road trip saga, I experience the horrors of California's Central Valley, the solitary magic of Joshua Tree, and the disturbing thing called Las Vegas.

If you're enjoying this podcast and would like to show some support and also get access to some photos from my trip, please subscribe to my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/onefjef

Here's a link to my film COVERAGE, which I mention in the episode: https://vimeo.com/13490966

Follow the podcast on Instagram @onefjefpod.

Email the podcast at onefjefpod@gmail.com. If you send me a voice message I will probably include it in a future episode.

Thank you for listening, please do it again, but in the middle of nowhere.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by me, Jef Taylor.

I took a break from my road trip last week so I’m releasing an interview with my friend, filmmaker Alex Mallis, whose feature film The Travel Companion premiered at Tribeca earlier this year. We talk about the highs and lows of getting a first feature into a major festival, politics in New York, the joy of creating something for its own sake, and (yes) selling fart sounds as NFTs during COVID lockdown.

Learn more about The Travel Companion and sign up for the newsletter at thetravelcompanionfilm.com

Learn more about Alex and watch some of his work at alexmallis.com

Read the NY Post article about Alex selling fart NFTs here: nypost.com/2021/03/18/nyc-man-sells-fart-for-85-cashing-in-on-nft-craze/

If you'd like to show some support for this podcast and also get access to some extra stuff, please consider subscribing to my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/onefjef

You can follow the podcast on Instagram @onefjefpod, and you can email the podcast at onefjefpod@gmail.com. If you send me a voice message I will probably include it in a future episode.

Thank you for listening, please do it again, but while farting.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by me, Jef Taylor (I also make the music).

In the fifth part of my road trip I fly to Bogotá, Colombia where I chew coca leaves, discuss Ohio tourism with a Mexican woman, wander around an underground salt cathedral, and spend 8-10 hours in traffic.

Here's the website for the salt cathedral: https://www.catedraldesal.gov.co/en/

Here's the website for the shitty hotel we stayed at: https://www.estelarsuitesjones.com/en/

If you'd like to show some support for this podcast and also get access to some photos from my trip, you can visit my Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/onefjef

Follow the podcast on Instagram @onefjefpod.

Email the podcast at onefjefpod@gmail.com. If you send me a voice message I will probably include it in a future episode.

Thank you for listening, please do it again, but in a salt cathedral.

Onefjef is produced, edited & hosted by me, Jef Taylor.