local loser

A Captive Dilemma with Tony Guo

local loser

Show Notes

After a little break for the Auckland Writers Festival, Damien Levi is back to being a loser, and he's invited painter Tony Guo to chat. Using Tony's artistic practice as a jumping off point, this kōrero darts around the cultural realms, from Jorges Luis Borges and Lady Gaga, to Hanya Yanagihara, Brokeback Mountain, Michelle Rahurahu and Xin Ji's Body Story. As podcasting is an audio medium, you may want to check out Tony's website or Instagram to see some of his paintings. If you're rich and interested in buying, contact Season Aotearoa. Find Damien on Instagram or Substack. local loser's theme song is by Karen Hu.

More from local loser

Jul 19, 2026

Multi-hyphenate poetic talent Jackson McCarthy streams in to local loser from Wellington to talk about his new book Portrait.

May 23, 2026

Joseph Trinidad joins the local loser family as he visits Tāmaki Makaurau for the Auckland Writers Festival.

May 2, 2026

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.

Dec 4, 2025

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.

Oct 30, 2025

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.

See all episodes →