Intensity Without Mastery

By Michelle Cole

Listen to the companion podcast to the blog Intensity Without Mastery, where I dabble in many things yet master none of them. I would call myself a dilettante, but can a working-class, middle-aged woman from the Rustbelt really be one? Doesn't such a term imply independent means?

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Tinnitus and Lucid Dreams

Intensity Without MasteryJul 06, 2021

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02:45

Tinnitus and Lucid Dreams

Do you have any oddball symptoms that herald a night with lucid dreams? #dreams This episode is also available as a blog post.

Jul 06, 202102:45

Pandemic Memories

Listen to some of my more melancholy reflections on what it was like to be an essential worker at the height of the U.S. Covid-19 pandemic. #covid #pandemic #essentialworker #capitolsiege #grief #workingclass

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://intensitywithoutmastery.com/2021/06/26/pandemic-memories/

Jun 26, 202106:09

The Drive Home #1 - Middle-Age Mix Tape

Episodes with music are only available on Spotify.

Listen to a drive home playlist of a relentlessly uncool, middle-aged mom from Lima, Ohio. In this episode, I offer the music of Duran Duran, Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, the Trashcan Sinatras, BoDeans, a-ha and the Smashing Pumpkins. Do you ever worry that some of your favorites might be forgotten by everyone but you? I loved making mix tapes back in the day. I'd even make faux liner notes and occasional album art for the tapes! Are there any songs that you would be tempted to include on every mix tape you'd make, if they became a "thing" again? #mixtape #drivingsongs

Jun 23, 202129:32

Fantastic

Episodes with music are only available on Spotify.

In this episode, I talk about realizing that I have no idea how to improvise a podcast episode. I also talk about my love of Anton Corbijn's photography and my devotion to the song "The Unforgettable Fire" by U2.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://intensitywithoutmastery.com/2021/06/19/fantastic/

Jun 19, 202108:18

Elegy in a Court Churchyard

In this episode, I offer musings on death sprung from mishearing the title of a poem. Per usual, I try to offer some levity when discussing heavy subjects. Sometimes the results are somewhat irreverent. The mishearing of song lyrics is a much-discussed experience, but I've misheard audio in most forms imaginable. #death #memoir #loss #blog

This episode is an autoconversion of one of my blog posts: https://intensitywithoutmastery.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/elegy-in-a-court-churchyard/

Jun 17, 202106:31

The Fashion Fiasco of 1987

This episode an autoconversion of a blog post I wrote nearly five years ago. I wish that there was an option to vocode the synthetic voice, for it would be a fitting choice for this episode. #fashion #memoir #fashionfails #humor

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://intensitywithoutmastery.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/the-fashion-fiasco-of-1987/

Jun 14, 202103:58

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

Early 80's videos made impressions so deep they could seep into the subconscious. #memoir

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://intensitywithoutmastery.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/sweet-dreams-are-made-of-this/

Jun 13, 202101:37

Memory of Haunting Thoughts about Time Travel

This episode is an auto-conversion of a post from my blog Intensity Without Mastery. In the beginning I refer to a photo I took. If you'd like to see the photo, please follow the link below.
#memoir #80s #timetravel This episode is also available as a blog post: intensitywithoutmastery.com/2021/06/12/memory-of-haunting-thoughts-about-time-travel/

Jun 13, 202102:22

Is Autism Really Three Times More Common in Males Than Females?

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://intensitywithoutmastery.wordpress.com/2019/09/21/is-autism-really-three-times-more-common-in-males-than-females/

May 22, 202102:11

Bring Us Your Ancestors

Sometimes missing persons cases take decades to solve. It so happens that my late great grandfather was a person who went missing from Minneapolis in 1923, and the truth was not found out until 2016! Really! He vanished without a trace from one family and started a new life under a new name.