Talking Podcasts and Culture with Stelios Panagiotou

The world of YouTube podcasting offers an array of different opinions and personalities, we have been very lucky to be able to talk to Stelios Panagiotou about his tenure with The Podcast Of The Lotus Eaters and gain more insight into his background and passion for communication.

We are always interested in talking to people from all fields in the media. Can you introduce yourself and give us a little background on who you are and what you do?

My name is Stelios Panagiotou, I come from Greece, and I have a passion for communicating my ideas about politics and culture. My background is mainly academic. I have a degree in Business Administration and have successfully completed a PhD in Philosophy. After teaching Philosophy in academia for about 6 years, I decided it was time to enter public discussion without  the reservations that I would otherwise have. In December 2022, I made the final decision to make a career change and started working for the Lotus Eaters media company. 

Most people will recognize you from either X (Twitter) or your tenure with The Podcast of The Lotus Eaters as a social and political commentator. Can you give us a little more background on how you came to be part of that world and what you do as part of the podcast?

I found out about the Lotus Eaters from a friend who was working there. When I saw a job opportunity for a presenter being advertised on the website, I decided to apply for it. Soon after, I was hired. I am one of the regular hosts for our live podcast where we discuss all sorts of current affairs from a standpoint that is not adequately represented in mainstream media.

“We discuss -sometimes in a quasi-comedic manner- political events as well as events in the broader sphere of what is loosely described as ‘culture wars’. Furthermore, I ran Symposium, a weekly philosophy series which dealt mainly with subjects pertaining to ancient, ethical, and political philosophy.”

You have become something of a social and political commentator on social media as well as the podcast scene offering your own unique insights into the world and offering up comments about the UK and the wider social scene. How do you feel social media has shaped your view of the world and how would you describe yourself on that front?

Social media is a very broad category. Generally speaking, they exert an increasingly stronger influence on us and our way of thinking about the world. Such an influence is also augmented by the delegitimization of mainstream media in the eyes of the general public. More and more people find mainstream outlets to be untrustworthy and seek alternative sources of information. The more sources of information we get exposed to, the more informed our opinions will be. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, we should remember that whatever the media, we are still talking about the circulation of information. We need to remember that whatever the media we are using, we are still vulnerable to the danger of being led into an echo chamber where confirmation bias reigns supreme. As a commentator, I try to offer a classically liberal perspective on current affairs and unmask propaganda while avoiding sensationalism. I also use social media to connect directly with people from all over the world.

Is there any advice you would offer to someone entering into the field of podcasting as a presenter or as someone setting up their own channel that you wish you had known when you started?

Good advice depends on the specifics of one’s situation. I can only offer my view about some general points that can be interpreted and tailored to each person’s case, Find your main purpose; knowing why you do something makes the difference between those who persist through hard times and those who quit. 

1. Do your research; everyone can speak but if you know what you are saying, you increase the chances of making a positive contribution and improve the prospects for continuous engagement with your content.

2. Diversify your sources of information. Whatever the medium, the circulation of information does tend to create echo chambers. Despite this being somewhat natural, getting drawn into an echo chamber is harmful for your audience and yourself. Assert your independence.

3. Cultivate mental fortitude. We cannot please everyone and trying to do so is a blow to our independence of character. Be prepared for many negative comments and learn to not care about them. Care about criticism only to the extent in which you can take constructive feedback from it. Ignore all the rest. The internet has no shortage of angry people who are unwilling to give any of us the benefit of the doubt. 

4. Practice makes perfect. Do not think that you either have it or you don't. It is a habit that one must constantly cultivate. 

5. Finally, just do it. Do not delay. Begin as soon as possible knowing full well that if you persist, the quality of your content will keep improving. 

6. Be patient and persistent. 

What does the future hold for you in terms of your place in the podcast world? Will you continue or step more into politics and stand for election?

I am scheduled for more appearances on our live podcast. There are also some long-term plans that I am involved in that are not for me to announce yet. I am not planning on entering politics at the moment. I am planning on doing this for a long time. I am not impatient because I know full well that the kind of relationship I want to establish with my audience is one of trust which requires time.

To learn more about Stelios Panagiotou or follow his work see:

Stelios Panagiotou X (Twitter).

Stelios Panagiotou Symposium Podcast with The Lotus Eaters.

Fragmented: a Short Film

Having already garnered festival laurels and awards, the short film Fragmented by Accion Films is a prime example of the excellence that can be found on the indie scene and shows that working outside the mainstream is a valid and in many cases fruitful avenue.

Built around heartache and building to a heart-warming moment of family unity, the creative team led by Alejandro Forcado has given the world a glimpse into the beauty and humanity of his country, the people and brought a familiar concept into a new realm that with an amazing team of creatives from the actors to the crew, and showcased talents that deservedly are receiving accolades for their work.

To learn more about the Accion Films see:

Accion Films YouTube.

Accion Films Instagram.

Propshak Ayrshire

Located in the heart of Ayrshire, Propshak has become the go-to location for creative talent in props, fx and combined with their community focused training academy that is opening the doors to talent from all walks of life the propshak is the place to be and the place to be seen in the Scottish industry.

Working with some of the best and brightest in the media industry, the teams work can be seen across genres from theatre to film and TV with clients ranging from the BBC and Netflix to stage production, it is no surprise that they are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the industry and earning a reputation for their workshops that are giving opportunities to learn and hone artistic skills in the creative fields.

The workshops are designed to be about community accessibility with a fantastic team of staff and volunteers training the next generation prop makers and fx artists in everything from masks to moulds, and so much more.

Propshak offers services to meet the needs of the smallest to the largest productions and pride themselves on the quality of their work and commitment to industry standards.

To learn more about Propshak and their work see:

Propshak Website.

Propshak Instagram.

Propshak Facebook.

Propshak YouTube.

Dark Forest: A Cinematic Short

Cinema started with the short film and it has been a long tradition of movie makers to take this process and work to create something fresh, a story that is strong enough to stand on its own and convey a message in a short amount of time, Nevis Studios is now stepping into that arena with their new crowdfund project: Dark Forest.

“In the gripping thriller "Dark Forest," Detectives Danny and Fiona pursue a serial killer terrorizing the Scottish highlands. The tension escalates as they close in on the elusive criminal and search for missing victim Anna Frey.”

With a creative vision that will open up doors to creativity as well as jobs, the team behind this crowd funder for Dark Forest, are looking at an expansive and long reaching movement of cinema.

Crowd funding is a common practice now and gives people the opportunity to be a part of the creation of cinema and the team behind Dark Forest are open to the challenges that this creates and see it as an investment in not just a film but in the process.

To learn more about the company or the project see:

Nevis Studios Website.

Nevis Studios Facebook.

Nevis Studios Instagram.

Dark Forest Campaign.

Introducing Screaming Unicorn Productions

In the current content hungry world we find ourselves talking to Screaming Unicorn Productions, based in Glasgow, and making films for the world, they have already garnered numerous festival accolades for their short horror films and quest to bring cinematic projects to a worldwide audience.

A close knit group, they welcome new faces and talents who join the team whose passion for films shines out in their grindhouse style of horror filmmaking and gives them something of a unique look that works well and keeps the content flowing as well as creating opportunities such as their latest project (crowdfunding is underway) Skelf a Christmas Horror, which judging by previous projects will be a critical success and garner the team more accolades to add to the growing list.

Open to the potential of collaboration, the Screaming Unicorn productions ethos is about community and learning with each project opening up the chance to expand on skills or add to your repertoire by being part of something new, a really clever way of building not just a network but making film accessible and something The Lost Creatives approves of.

From a purely artistic stance, horror offers the most potential for creativity and fun in film, making this a concept that works and opens up (creaking) doors to festival accolades and commercial sales with the digital download market.

To learn more about the company or to support their new project via their crowdfunding campaign see:

Skelf: A Christmas Horror Short Fundraiser.

Screaming Unicorn Productions Website.

Screaming Unicorn Productions YouTube.

Screaming Unicorn Productions Instagram.

Screaming Unicorn Productions Facebook.

The Foreboding: Fractured

We are always impressed when people take risks and put together projects big or small to showcase their talents, The Foreboding: Fractured is just such a project and with the cast and crew currently doing the media rounds we will be talking in more detail with them soon but could not resist taking the opportunity to start that rolling with a featurette of our own on the film and a little preview set of images from the award winning film.

“Entering the woods for a simple camping trip, four university students find themselves hunted for reasons unknown. With their fates being intertwined in this place, how can they ever escape? Perspective is everything.”

With interviews already in motion, we were lucky to be able to get some of the images from the film and to be able to talk to Peter Tilley about his involvement and will be expanding on this soon in the meantime we suggest you check out their other interviews and IMDB to learn more about the film and to see the team talking about the project:

IMDB The Foreboding: Fractured.

Horror Scream Video Vault Interview.

Blazing Minds Interview.

Podcast Interview.

Talking Theatre With HeadlessActing

Theatre is a major part of the cultural scene and we are happy to talk to one of the people aiming to put Scottish talent on the map with a series of shows aimed at the stage and building on their own experiences in the field, from sourcing funding to casting, HeadlessActing is pushing the envelope of the creative arts.

Why don’t you start by introducing yourself and telling the lost audience what you do in the creative arts? 

My name is Brandon Ferguson and I’m an Actor and writer.  Recently, I created the production company ‘Headless Acting’ as a way to produce and perform some of my own  pieces of writing. Currently, HeadlessActing is working on two plays with a third being in early development.

You have been talking on social media about your recent Fringe show and plans to do more stage work from a Scottish perspective, can you tell us more about that? 

Yes, I have just finished my first ever run at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I was playing ‘Peter’ in “Alba” which was written by Jack Byrne and Jordan Howat of ‘Action Theatre Scotland’. I had a wonderful time working on that. I’d never smiled more in my entire life, on the stage and off.

Once the Edinburgh Fringe was over I was just so eager to jump into something else, I decided it was time to create my own work. The Theatre industry in Scotland is dying a slow and painful death, whether that’s to do with ticket prices or even just that theatre is seen as “posh.” I wanted to fix that. I wanted to bring in a brand new audience, reach people who may never have stepped inside a theatre before. 

I had written a play about an event in Scottish history, but this play was a huge task. I would need a big team and a lot of funding. So,  I chose to start with something else, something smaller. So I wrote “*Smoke Not Included” which is a Stoner Comedy on the Stage. This play is one act, one location and four characters. What better way to bring in a new audience than putting on a stoner comedy haha.

Something we have noticed is you are very theatre focused with stage being a major part of your social media showcase, can you tell us what made this your focus as a creative? 

I’ve always been interested in theatre.  I never got to see much of it prior to being in high school, but I was always so entranced by the theatre. The sets and costumes, the actors! It’s magic! Buy a ticket, grab a drink and sit and enjoy the show. You might see a perfectly executed performance, you might see actors breaking character and causing everyone to laugh, you might even happen to see a story that touches you in a way a TV show or Movie never could. I like to say that theatre is just a live action book. When someone reads a book they can imagine what is happening and what the world may look like. Well, on the stage it is the exact same! The audience has a suspension of disbelief, you don’t need backdrops and a full room of sets. You just need the actors and a few important pieces of set or prop and the imagination of the audience does the rest. It’s great! 

“There’s also what I said before about the theatre industry in Scotland dying. I don’t think I could just stand back and watch that happen. I had to create. I had to try and show people that theatre isn’t scary, it isn’t too posh for you and it shouldn’t be too expensive.”

You recently talked about a crowdfunding campaign for your projects. Can you tell us more about the project and what is being planned?  Will you focus solely on theatre or expand into other areas of work? 

We are raising money for our first production, “*Smoke Not Included” , on Kickstarter, we still have a few hundred pounds left to raise. I couldn’t even describe this play to you if I tried, it’s quite silly, lighting and sound is used in a way to emphasise humour, there’s a lot of fun moments but at its heart, there’s a nugget of sadness. Neil, Jacko, Lauren and Aaron are our characters. They all have quite interesting relationships with each other. I won’t say too much haha. We’re currently casting for Aaron and Neil, submissions are open until 20th October. We are planning on going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next year as well as having a few performances in Fife. We also intend on filming the production and posting that on YouTube sometime after we finish doing the show. This is a way to combat theatre shows being short lived. We’re kind of immortalising it on YouTube haha. 

I do believe that HeadlessActing will remain working in theatre, but that’s not to say there isn’t a short film or two in the works.

What does the future hold for you and your team in media and creative terms?  What can we expect to see from you?

Currently HeadlessActing has a 4-Year plan. We aim to cast, rehearse and perform a show every year for the next four. We want to work with as many Scottish creatives that we can! I can’t say too much right now but we are working with a Scottish Artist and a Scottish Musician on one of our projects right now. We are also aiming to cover a wide range of genres. Starting with Comedy, then Horror, then History, Then Noir. If you’re following our Instagram (headless_acting) and our Twitter (@HeadlessActing) you’ll see we post updates all the time! Right now we are casting for *Smoke Not Included. We’ve received a lot of submissions and the self tapes are coming in now. We’re very excited for what the future holds.

To learn more about HeadlessActing or to support their work see:

*Smoke Not Included Crowdfunding Campaign.

HeadlessActing Instagram.

HeadlessActing Twitter.

Tea and Business With Nepal Film Productions

Something I and the rest of the team at Lost Creatives are incredibly proud of is our ties to Nepal Film Productions as a consultant, our founder and creative director JamesC works closely with the team to discuss a wide range of subjects and catch up on the latest business news from our partners in Nepal.

Our most recent discussions were done as always virtually, with JamesC taking coffee at his favourite spot and working with the team at Nepal Film Productions on some smaller concept project details with a little personal news into the bargain.

Leaders in various fields, it is always a pleasure to hear about the clientele and projects that they are involved in and offer up new options such as introductions to our own contacts such as Sons of Adonis, and New Village Video, giving the makeup artists and fellow filmmakers of Nepal access to new resources and avenues in both makeup and of course, distribution for indie film.

Nepal Film Productions are currently working a slate of exciting projects with new and regular clients ranging from the premium end of the market (Netflix and Warner Bros to name but two), as well as indie film and collaborating with film festivals to showcase new talent.

Very soon we will be working on a series of blogs with Nepal Film Production on a wide range of subjects that affect the industry and offering a deeper insight into a country that is the jewel in the crown of South Asia, a beautiful country with a fascinating history, the endless potential of Nepal is something we are always happy to showcase and in conjunction with our partners at Nepal Film Production, look at things from a different perspective than the standard vision of the country.

To learn more about the company and Nepal or what they can offer to film and TV see:

Nepal Film Production Website.

IC9: A Glimpse Into The World of Film Courtesy of vShowcards

The Lost Creatives team always appreciates when we are given insight and a little bit of the background to a project and as always vShowcards has been part and parcel of that by bringing to our attention the new police drama IC9.

Tackling the controversial and very contemporary issues of people trafficking and illegal immigration, the film looks at the personal as well as the professional from a police woman’s standpoint as she hunts for her sister and discovers a startling, dangerous truth about her own family coupled with the harrowing insight into the world the trafficked people find themselves in.

With a stellar team both in front and behind the camera including such leading actors as Georgia May Foote (coronation street) and Richie Campbell (Grace, liar, ITV) and of course vshowcards founder and all round actor of note Darren Tassell who has (with permission) given us access to the documentation and files for the project.

vShowcards works hard as a casting site and has also played a part bringing in such excellent talent as Richie Campbell, and Georgia May to peoples attention thanks to their savvy use of social media and contacts, each member of the team of course brings their unique talents to the table and add dimension to a nail biting script by Kyle Titteron and Gulshan Singh making this more than a film but a true showcase of talents.

With filming underway at the moment, stories and images are leaking out that show not just a cast and crew enjoying the work but adding to a film that is gathering attention not just from social media buzz but from interested parties looking to the project to see what is happening in the business including bloggers, journalists and potential viewers who are seeing snippets and images sneaking through, the anticipation for this film is rightly high.

IC9 is a large scale UK indie production that is a showcase of talent, ingenuity and intrigue. A truly welcome project that will hit the high notes and with the support of vShowcards and many others who are seeing the potential of cinematic projects and how it can be achieved with the right people backing you.

Naturally, we will be happy to support the ongoing work and cannot wait to see the final film, we will be talking to key team members about the project itself looking at the casting process, making of, and what the future is for the production team.

For more information on vShowcards and what they do see: The vShowcards Website and stay tuned to the blog for further updates on the project.

The Behind The Scenes Podcast is Now Live

If you are a mover, shaker or media maker, then the Behind The Scenes Podcast is the place to be seen and a must for keeping up with what’s happening. Started as a way to bring the behind the camera people to the forefront, it is already offering up insights into the background work of the creative realm that would otherwise be unseen and showing how much deeper the work goes than just the stage or a screen.

We are privy to some of the upcoming interviews (one of which will be our own JamesC) and know how much time and effort is going into this from a purely creative stance, it is already on our watch list. Lost Creatives being a behind the scenes blog, we are fully behind Stephen the founder of the Behind The Scenes Podcast and cannot wait to see more and highly recommend watching and subscribing to the channel and other social accounts.

A special nod goes out to the cast and crew at City Theatre who are amongst the early interviewees and offered up some interesting insights into the world of theatre casting and acting.

To learn more or to subscribe see:

Behind The Scenes YouTube.

Behind The Scenes Twitter.

Behind The Scenes Instagram.

Behind The Scenes TikTok.