Show Notes
local loser is a work in progress and we promise the audio will get better as we go!
In this episode of local loser, Damien is joined by the hottest, gayest candlemaker in Aotearoa, Cam Yates aka sybs. Their conversation jumps from Ocean Vuong to gay rugby, doing a Master's thesis on The Great Gatsby, and to Damien spiralling from learning a new skill (podcasting) and being bad at it.
Visit sybs for your own hot gay handmade candles and follow Cam on Instagram. Follow Damien on Instagram or Substack.
local loser's theme song is by Karen Hu.
More from local loser
Multi-hyphenate poetic talent Jackson McCarthy streams in to local loser from Wellington to talk about his new book Portrait.
Joseph Trinidad joins the local loser family as he visits Tāmaki Makaurau for the Auckland Writers Festival.
Damien Levi and local loser are back for a second season! Is the audio still unreliable? Yes! Should you still listen anyway? Please! For the first episode of season two, Damien chats with playwright/zinemaker/artiste Nuanzhi Zheng about receiving Creative New Zealand money for something unexpected, the role of Head Girls in society, art schools, eating disrespectfully, and more. As always, we can only hope the guest's audio improves across the season, but we thank you nonetheless for listening. You may want to find Nuanzhi on Instagram or Substack, by a copy of her play Yang/Young/杨 (cowritten with Sherry Zhang) in Traces, or look at her website. Damien can be found on Instagram or at his website. The local loser theme song is composed by Karen Hu.
Damien is solo in the local loser studio today, recording a round-up/recap of reading in 2025, thanks to voice notes from past guests.
It's a surprise Friday episode from Damien Levi to coincide with the official publication date of Hoods Landing, the debut novel from his guest, Laura Vincent.