Podcast Summary: OK Go's 'And the Adjacent Possible'

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart, WNYC
Episode Air Date: November 27, 2025
Guests: Damian Kulash, Tim Norwind, Dan Konopka, Andy Ross (OK Go)
Focus: OK Go’s new album “And the Adjacent Possible” — origins, creative process, and evolution as a band and people

Overview

This episode of “All Of It” features a deep-dive conversation and in-studio acoustic performances by OK Go, the innovative indie rock band renowned for their visually stunning music videos. Host Alison Stewart explores the band’s decade-long journey to their new album, And the Adjacent Possible. The discussion covers how parenthood, time, and experimentation have reshaped their creative process—and the special alchemy that happens when friends make music together for decades. The band also performs stripped-down versions of new material and an old favorite, offering insight into the emotions and meanings behind their songs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Long Road to And the Adjacent Possible

• Album Timeline:
  • The album was in the works for 6-7 years, delayed by extensive touring, parenthood, a pandemic, and a film project (05:11–05:54).
  • Quote (Damian Kulash, 05:13):
    “We started writing these songs, believe it or not, about six, seven years ago...it had been almost 10 years since we released a record, but we’d been writing and recording the whole time.”
• Creative Evolution:
  • The extra time allowed the songs “to grow and change and be revised.”
• Impact of Parenthood:
  • Band members had children, influencing their priorities and songwriting, making life and art feel “fresh again” (06:52–07:52).
  • Quote (Damian, 07:08):
    “The song ‘Love,’ which we’ll play soon, is about holding my 3-year-old’s hand and feeling an emotion that I have had so many times, but having it so fresh and so—it’s like that dream where you’re in your childhood home and then there’s a new door that opens up to...some huge place. It felt like that.”
  • Touring schedules have changed due to family life.
• Childhood & Friendship:
  • Damian and Tim have been friends since age 11; their shared history shapes the band dynamic (07:57–09:29).

2. Musical Performances

a) "A Stone Only Rolls Downhill" (01:47–05:04)

• A new song from the latest album, reflecting on life’s inevitabilities and emotional resiliency.

b) "This Too Shall Pass" (10:52–13:58)

• An acoustic rendition of a beloved OK Go classic. Chosen to honor fans’ familiarity and connect the new with the old.

c) "Love" (21:42–25:32)

• Deeply personal, inspired by new parenthood and the wonder of human connection.
• Notable Lyric:
  “In this grand ballroom of nothingness, your hands are warm with somethingness, we swirl and whirl, the music’s invented again...” (22:20)

3. Songwriting & Artistic Growth

• Creative Philosophy Shift:
  • The band’s approach has transformed from controlling every aspect (“trying to make a song about an idea”) to chasing the moments “where something is magical, where something is more than the sum of its parts” (14:17–15:13).
  • Quote (Damian, 14:24):
    “We’ve given over more to the idea that we’re not really in control of it...it’s much more about chasing this feeling than trying to say something.”
  • Experimentation has become central; play and discovery drive their process (16:17–17:56).
• Musicianship and Play:
  • Tim relates that writing now feels closer to his childhood experience of making music on a broken guitar—playful, exploratory, guided by sound and feeling rather than theory (16:17–17:01).
  • Quote (Tim, 16:44):
    “That’s so much more what it’s like to write songs nowadays...playing with sounds and rhythms and beats and sonics until you’ve got something that just makes, like—‘yeah, that sounds awesome.’”

4. The Band’s Visual Identity

• The Role of Music Videos:
  • OK Go's breakthrough came from their visually inventive videos, which let them “make films the way we make music” (18:11–19:17).
  • While essential for their public image, the visual component is also a form of creative play.
  • Quote (Damian, 18:11):
    “For us, it’s just back to play again...those little moments when you get to really play and discover and find something that makes you feel like it’s worth being alive in this world...those are just as easily found in science projects and in, you know, weird contraptions that you can film and in film in general.”
• Academic Influence:
  • Damian was a semiotics major, and now recognizes that much of OK Go’s creative sensibility comes from thinking about signs and meaning, even if it didn’t seem practical at first (19:21–19:46).
  • Quote (Damian, 19:21):
    “I was, in fact, a semiotics major...the funniest thing is that now I realize, wait, I’m actually basically doing what I studied.”
• Visual Aspirations:
  • The band draws inspiration from experimental film, with references to works they haven’t yet incorporated (20:26).

5. The Meaning of "Love"

• Song Introduction (21:00–21:34):
  • “This is like, the one that I think gets at the heart of where we are as humans right now, because it really is about new life after having kids...It feels so unlikely and so beautiful.” (Damian, 21:00)
• Existential Wonder:
  • The band expresses awe at the capacity for connection and feeling in an indifferent universe (21:34–21:35).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Growing as Artists:
  “We wanted to stay home for a lot of that. Then there was the pandemic. Then my wife and I directed a film together for Apple. And so that took up two years. And the next thing you know, it had been almost 10 years since we released a record...”
  — Damian Kulash (05:18)

• On the Renewal of Experience Through Parenthood:
  “I wasn’t prepared for the feeling that emotions I knew so well would be reborn and rediscovered.”
  — Damian Kulash (07:08)

• On Creative Evolution:
  “It’s much more about chasing this feeling than it is about trying to say something.”
  — Damian Kulash (14:24)

• On Why the Band Stays Together:
  “I said, you gotta hang out with the smartest people you know. So I’m, like, kind of stoked that I get to be around these super creative guys.”
  — Dan Konopka (09:36)

• On Visual Identity:
  “We’re now that video band, and that means we get to just make films the way we make music. And it has been nothing but a gift.”
  — Damian Kulash (18:56)

• On Academic Background Informing Art:
  “The funniest thing is that now I realize, wait, I’m actually basically doing what I studied [semiotics].”
  — Damian Kulash (19:45)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------|-------------| | Opening, “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” (live) | 01:47–05:04 | | Discussing album origins & parenthood | 05:07–09:29 | | “This Too Shall Pass” (live performance) | 10:52–13:58 | | Evolution in songwriting & creative process | 14:17–17:56 | | The importance of visual art and videos | 17:56–19:17 | | Damian’s semiotics background | 19:21–19:46 | | Aspirations & film inspiration | 20:26 | | “Love” (introduction & live performance) | 21:00–25:32 |

Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is warm, honest, and playful—much like the band’s reputation. There’s a sense of camaraderie and lifelong friendship between the members, matched by thoughtful reflection on how art, parenthood, and time change both music and musicians. Alison Stewart’s perceptive yet easygoing questions help the band explore meaningful territory without pretension.

Summary by an AI Podcast Summarizer – for those who want all the best insights from "All Of It" with OK Go, without missing a beat!