Rising singer-songwriter Andrea Cruz shares how she fell in love with folk music as a young girl in Aibonito. We hear about how the plants, birds and animals of Puerto Rico have shaped the fabric of her work, and the profound ways in which her art connects her to the island she calls home. Hollywood film director Miguel Arteta recalls his colorful childhood in Río Piedras, shares the Puerto Rican role model who inspired him to pursue a creative career, and teases his upcoming project, which is set on the island of birth.

Oscar-nominated screenwriter and playwright José Rivera shares with us his rich memories, both old and new, of his time in Puerto Rico: of spiders, thunderstorms and a deep sense of community in his childhood town of Espino. We hear about the joy of watching one of his plays performed in Santurce alongside the family members who inspired it, and how the island has been a constant source of inspiration that has enriched so much of his work.

The Río Piedras-based comedy band Los Rivera Destino talk about their musical childhoods, how making a music video in Bayamón changed their lives and careers forever, and the extremely unlikely place that has become their source of inspiration. Award-winning author Jaquira Díaz shares how salsa, bacalaítos and coquís defined her time growing up in the east coast towns of Humacoa and Fajardo. We also hear the wild story her grandmother told about aliens in El Yunque, and Jaquira describes the incredible sense of adventure she feels every time she explores the island.

Legendary actress, singer, dancer and EGOT winner Rita Moreno shares memories of sugar cane, coquís and parrandas during her idyllic childhood in Humacao and Juncos. We hear about her recent trips back with Lin-Manuel Miranda, and how she almost turned down West Side Story because of her loyalty to the island. Dub star innovator Pachy García (aka Pachyman) opens up about growing up in Guaynabo’s vibrant reggae scene, the integral role Puerto Rico plays in his music now that he lives in Los Angeles, and the “unmistakable breeze” that greets him every time he comes back home to the island.

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got two guys with more than a hundred years of music-making experience between them and the endless stories to match: Tucker Zimmerman and Tony Visconti.You’ll be forgiven if you don’t recognize Tucker Zimmerman’s name: The songwriter existed on the fringes of the folk scene in the late 1960s but in spite of acclaim from fellow musicians—including David Bowie, as you’ll hear—he never broke out. That may be because Zimmerman left America for Belgium, where he’s continued to quietly create music and write for the past 40 years. But you can only keep a secret like Zimmerman for so long, and Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker happened to hear one of his records a couple of year ago and was inspired enough that one thing led to another and Big Thief ended up creating an entire record with Zimmerman called Dance of Love, which came out earlier this year. It’s an odd, beautiful collaboration that’s well worth checking out. In fact, check out  “Burial At Sea” from Dance of Love right here; it features Lenker and Zimmerman’s voices together.The other half of today’s conversation is a legendary musician and producer who also had a lot to do with bringing Tucker Zimmerman into the public consciousness. Tony Visconti is best known for his many, many collaborations with David Bowie, with whom he worked closely over Bowie’s entire career. Visconti has also produced records for T. Rex, Morrissey, Sparks, and way more others than I have time to list here. But for purposes of this conversation, we need to note that he helped created Zimmerman’s Ten Songs album back in 1968, which they get into in this chat. They’ve stayed in touch over the years, and you’ll hear the affection in their voices. Speaking of voices, the third person who pops up briefly in this chat is Tucker’s wife Marie Claire, who also appears on the cover of Dance of Love and contributes some vocals.Elsewhere in this conversation, Tucker and Tony talk about their early adventures together, include an acid trip facilitated by a guy named Dr. Sam. They chat about Bowie, of course, and Tucker gets a chance to thank Tony for helping him out over the years—and how he’s glad Tony didn’t agree to produce an ABBA record when he had the chance. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to Tucker Zimmerman and Tony Visconti for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and be sure to check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse Find more illuminating podcasts on the Talkhouse Podcast Network.Visit talkhouse.com to read essays, reviews, and more.Follow @talkhouse on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Threads, and Facebook.

Narrated by Luis Guzmán, Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico pairs stories from some of the Island’s most exciting musicians, including Los Rivera Destino, Pachyman, and Andrea Cruz, with major artists outside of music, such as Hollywood film director Miguel Arteta, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jose Rivera, author Jaquira Diaz, and legendary EGOT Rita Moreno. Listeners will get to know Puerto Rico’s incredible towns, cities, beaches, rainforests, mountains, bars, and dance clubs that not only shaped their work but ultimately influenced global culture. Sound Influence: The Art and Soul of Puerto Rico is a production of Talkhouse and Atlas Obscura, presented by Discover Puerto Rico.Tap here to subscribe.

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got two of what I’m going to call alt-rock lifers, guys with vast catalogs and the stories to match, who’ve ridden the highs and lows over the years and continue to make fantastic music for dedicated fanbases: John Flansburgh and Matthew Caws.Flansburgh is half the core of They Might Be Giants, one of the two Johns—along with Linnell—who started making quirky pop records about 40 years ago. They’ve released nearly two dozen albums, wriggling their way into the mainstream on occasion, from “Birdhouse in Your Soul” to the Malcolm in the Middle theme to popular albums aimed at kids. It’s been a remarkable ride that shows no signs of stopping; They MIght Be Giants is still on tour, still making new music, and still seeming to have as much fun as they ever did. Their latest record is called Book—it’s available in many formats including, you guessed it, a giant book—and there are some sparklers on it, including one in particular that the guys talk about in today’s episode. Check out “Brontosaurus.”The other half of today’s conversation is Matthew Caws, singer and guitarist of the fellow New York band Nada Surf. Nada Surf had a really odd start to what’s turned into a long and fruitful existence. Their first album featured the song “Popular,” which turned into something of a novelty hit / summer anthem back in 1996. It wasn’t particularly representative of the band’s smart, layered pop—which is no knock on “Popular” itself—which confused their record label, Elektra. But after a bit of a slow period, Nada Surf found their way into indie-rock hearts with 2002’s Let Go, and they’ve earned a place in those hearts ever since. The tenth Nada Surf album came out earlier this year, and it’s among their best. It also features a surprisingly high number of more uptempo songs, as Flansburgh mentions in this chat. Check out “Second Skin” from Nada Surf’s newest album Moon Mirror. In this chat Flansburgh and Caws take a deep dive into the genesis of “Popular,” which Caws had no idea would be a hit but is happy to still play. They also chat about Flansburgh’s love of the new Nada Surf record, both of their time on the same major label in the 1990s, and whether it’s appropriate for a band to take a group bow at the end of a good show. Enjoy.0:00 – Intro2:42 – Start of the chat2:58 – Welcome to Fresh Air9:45 – The unusual origins of "Popular'17:45 – Nada Surf's ignoble split with Elektra Records22:40 – John's theory on Matthew's doubled vocals32:21 – The ups and downs of sharing your political point of view as a musicianThanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to John Flansburgh and Matthew Caws for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a timely conversation recorded just hours after the presidential election was called, and yes, it was on their minds. It’s frequent Talkhouse alum Julien Baker and her old friend Nick Carpenter, aka. Medium Build.Baker is a powerhouse singer and songwriter who’s best known these days as one third of the supergroup Boygenius—you’ll hear her refer in this chat to Lucy and Phoebe, her bandmates Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers. But we’ve been fans here since way before that; her amazing debut Sprained Ankle will be 10 years old next year, and she’s built herself an incredible catalog—and fanbase—since. Baker’s last solo album was 2021’s Little Oblivions, and I imagine there’s some new music coming in the not-terribly-distant future. She has loaned her powerful voice to other artists since, though, including her old friend Nick Carpenter’s project Medium Build—his new EP Marietta, out tomorrow, features a duet with Baker called “Yoke,” check out that song right here.Carpenter, who’s based in Alaska, has made five full-lengths as Medium Build, and his deeply personal songs strike a chord in the same way that Baker’s do: They have similar backgrounds, having grown up queer in religious households in the South. As you’ll hear in this chat, Carpenter explores his background in his music, and his honesty tends to melt audiences that let him in.I’ll be truthful: I thought these two were going to bail on chatting the morning after the election, and I wouldn’t have blamed them one bit. It doesn’t seem like the cheeriest time in America to be a proud member of a marginalized population. But I was so cheered up by listening to them talk: They’re not psyched, naturally, but they remain undeterred and committed to spreading honesty and love. Sure, there’s some earned cynicism about commercialism and the less pleasant parts of their jobs, but mostly it’s the joy of homies, sincerity, and consensual hugs with your local barista. Enjoy.Thanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast and thanks to Julien Baker and Nick Carpenter for chatting. If you liked what you heard, please follow Talkhouse on your favorite podcasting platform, and check out all the great stuff at Talkhouse.com. This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

On this week's Talkhouse Podcast we’ve got a special episode recorded live just last weekend in New York featuring two artists that appear on an amazingly ambitious new conceptual compilation album called TRANSA, Asher White and MIZU. The album comes from our friends at the Red Hot organization, was conceptualized largely by Dust Reid and Massima Bell, and features more than 100 artists honoring trans and non-binary artists. There are huge names like Sade, Sam Smith, Andre 3000, indie heroes like Julien Baker and Laura Jane Grace, and incredible up-and-comers like today’s two guests, who worked on separate tracks. The whole thing comes out November 22, and you can pre-order it now. I won’t say much more because former Talkhouse producer Mark Yoshizumi was on hand to introduce Asher and MIZU at the event. Enjoy.0:00 – Intro1:39 – Producer Mark Yoshizumi Intro5:01 – Start of the chat12:20 – MIZU and Asher's differing musical backgrounds20:00 – Ad break22:20 – "The music that I made is aesthetically different than the music I consume"25:15 – Musical processes31:37 – The origins of MIZU and Asher's songs on the TRANSA compThanks for listening to the Talkhouse Podcast, and thanks to MIZU, Asher White, Mark Yoshizumi, and Honey Moon Coffee in Ridgewood. Also thanks to Urosh Jovanovich, who recorded the event, and Myron Kaplan, who produced this episode. The Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range. See you next time!This episode is brought to you by DistroKid. DistroKid makes music distribution fun and easy with unlimited uploads and artists keep 100% of their royalties and earnings. To learn more and get 30% off your first year's membership, visit: distrokid.com/vip/talkhouse

A preview of the new season of Santigold's podcast, Noble Champions. Subscribe now. Episode 1 with John Jennings and Terence Nance dives into Afrofuturism and the power of human imagination in shaping our future. In a time of global uncertainty, art that envisions a better world is essential. Santi sits down with acclaimed graphic novelist, comic book author, illustrator, and professor John Jennings, alongside artist, filmmaker, and musician Terence Nance (creator of HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness) for a rich discussion. Together, they explore the tools of imagination, the role of rituals, the concept of deindustrializing oneself, nonlinear time, and much more.