Skip to main content
Intensity Without Mastery

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?
Available on
Google Podcasts Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

Elegy in a Court Churchyard

Intensity Without MasteryJun 17, 2021

00:00
06:31
Tinnitus and Lucid Dreams
Jul 06, 202102:45
Pandemic Memories
Jun 26, 202106:09
The Drive Home #1 - Middle-Age Mix Tape

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

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

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
Jun 14, 202103:58
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
Jun 13, 202101:37
Memory of Haunting Thoughts about Time Travel
Jun 13, 202102:22
Is Autism Really Three Times More Common in Males Than Females?
May 22, 202102:11
Bring Us Your Ancestors
May 05, 202104:22
Southbound

Southbound

Episodes with music are only available on Spotify.

All about my love of the song "Southbound" by Thin Lizzy, a gem seldom heard on the radio!

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://intensitywithoutmastery.wordpress.com/2016/07/10/southbound/

Apr 27, 202108:01
Lucid Dream: The River Styx Recast as a Midcentury Town
Apr 25, 202106:54
April 25, 2021

April 25, 2021

Apr 25, 202100:25
Gloria
Apr 25, 202106:08
Bunkerbuster - A Mini-Essay on Farts
Apr 25, 202101:55
There are Divine Things More Beautiful Than Words Can Tell
Apr 25, 202101:28
Past self diagnosis, whether absurd debatable
Apr 24, 202100:58
How do you solve a problem like Cecelia?
Apr 24, 202107:19
Dreams
Apr 24, 202101:42
Last Friday’s Dream
Apr 24, 202103:30
Corona

Corona

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://intensitywithoutmastery.wordpress.com/2020/03/15/corona/

It is auto-generated from a March 2020 blog post on my early impressions of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Apr 24, 202106:11
Dreams About Mom
Apr 24, 202103:34