Art Works Podcast

 In this podcast, folklife presenter, educator, host and producer of “American Routes,, and 2023 National Heritage Fellow Nick Spitzer discusses his multifaceted career, his upbringing, and his understanding of cultural innovation in America. We talk about his life-long passion for radio and his discovery and embrace of American vernacular culture, his career as folklorist in academia, government, and media, including his NPR and Smithsonian collaborations and “American Routes”, Spitzer’s renowned radio program which blends music  from many different traditions with cultural storytelling. Spitzer discusses his fieldwork in Louisiana and experiences with Afro-French Creole music, his understanding of cultural dynamism, and his journey through different American regions, absorbing and understanding not just the diversity but the dynamic and innovative interactions among American cultures. He also reflected upon the significance of receiving the Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship, the privilege and responsibility of working in American vernacular culture, and the future of “American Routes” and Spitzer’s commitment to its continued contributions to cultural understanding.

In today’s podcast, filmmakers Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro discuss their film “Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes.”   In our conversation, they place Max Roach within the context of American culture, emphasizing his legendary status as a drummer, a composer, and a significant figure in Black consciousness and activism.  Sam Pollard shares his 40 year journey in  making this documentary, while Ben Shapiro talks about his own connection to Roach reaching back to a radio documentary. They discuss their coming together and collaboration in making the film, highlighting their complementary skills.  We talk about Roach's musical evolution from a seminal drummer in the bebop era to a soloist and a leader in exploring new dimensions in percussion, the profound impact of Roach's collaboration with Clifford Brown, especially in terms of musical innovation, the toll Brown’s early tragic death had on Max, the film's focus on Roach's "Freedom Now Suite"  and its significance in both the music world and social movements, including its impact on the civil rights movement in the USA and anti-apartheid struggles in South Africa. We discuss Max's marriage to Abbey Lincoln, noting her influence on his life and music, and her own significant artistic contributions, how Roach's political activism impacted his music career and his transition into teaching, where he continued to influence younger musicians, emphasizing his continuous evolution as an artist. We also discuss upcoming screenings of the film and upcoming events at NJPAC celebrating Max Roach’s centenary. Overall, the interview paints a comprehensive picture of Max Roach's life, his immense contributions to music and social activism, and the journey of creating a documentary that captures his multifaceted legacy.

A conversation with Director of Presented Programming at the McCarter Theatre Center Paula Abreu halfway through her first season on the job!  Abreu took over from her predecessor Bill Lockwood who ran the program for 60 (yes, 60) years. We discuss the balance between honoring his legacy and introducing her own vision, some history about the McCarter Theatre Center, its connection to Princeton University, and its unique role as a cultural powerhouse. (The McCarter Theater Center is known not just as one of the country’s leading regional theaters but also as a performing arts center presenting music, dance, spoken word and more)  We talk about the process behind planning a season of presented programming, ensuring diversity in art forms, and the representation of different communities, how the two strands of programming at the McCarter coordinate to create a cohesive season, and the importance of partnerships on and off campus in enhancing cultural experiences and creating deeper connections. We also discuss Abreu’s journey from Brazil, experience as an industrial engineer, years of traveling and living around the world, on her masters’ degree in performing arts administration,  subsequent work at NYC’s Summer Stage and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival and how all these diverse experiences inform her approach to programming. She also shares her approach to taking calculated risks in selecting shows and artists and the challenge of planning for both the immediate and future seasons.

Karen Ann Daniels explores her dual roles at the Folger Shakespeare Library as the Director of Programming and Artistic Director at the Folger Theatre, and her innovative approach to programming and audience engagement in the evolving landscape of theater post-pandemic. Daniels discusses her arrival at the Folger during a period of significant change, including the pandemic, racial reckoning, and major renovations, and how these challenges presented unique opportunities for outreach and community engagement. We talk about her experiences with New York City's Public Theatre and her initiatives with San Diego’s The Old Globe, her philosophy of reaching out to diverse communities and bringing theater to them  and her creation of innovative programming at the Folger like The Reading Room Festival and Works in Progress, focusing on community participation and engaging audiences with Shakespeare's work in contemporary contexts.  We discuss the recent production of  “The Winter’s Tale” and how it aligns with the Folger's vision of transformation and accessibility, how Shakespeare's works can be adapted to reflect diverse cultures and generations, and the importance of expanding perspectives on Shakespeare. And Daniels shares her vision for the future of the Folger, including continued programming diversification, virtual engagements, and community-focused events.

A conversation with singer, actor, and producer Brandon Victor Dixon. We talk about his role in Alicia Keys’s play “Hell’s Kitchen”  currently at the Public Theater, collaborating with Keys and the other performers in the play, what goes into creating a role in theater, his stepping into the role of Burr in “Hamilton” and the challenges that brought, and playing Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar” in a live television performance. We also discuss his upcoming benefit concert for the Classical Theater of Harlem called “Here for the Holidays,  his first major role as Simba in the national tour of “The Lion King”—which he calls the biggest challenge of his career, his role as a producer for the Tony-Award winning production of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” the importance of arts education to his career, and his work as an advocate with the organization he co-founded the WeAre Foundation.

In this  2019 podcast, filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky discusses her project "Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements," and her commitment to making films accessible to differently-abled audiences.  We talk about her first feature documentary, "Hear and Now," which won the Audience Award at Sundance in 2007 and explored her deaf parents’ experiences when they were 65 with cochlear implants and its relationship to her film “Moonlight Sonata," which was partly inspired by her deaf son, Jonas, who was driven to learn to play Beethoven's “Moonlight Sonata”. We discuss the emotional and historical significance of Beethoven’s work, particularly how his deafness influenced his compositions. Irene also recounts the unexpected twists during filming, including her father's development of dementia. And she discusses the Reel Abilities Film Festival where her film premiered, her commitment to making her film, as well as others, accessible to the deaf, blind, and differently-abled communities, and her not-for-profit The Treehouse Project and its Accessibility Lab which works to elevate deaf and blind audiences’ access to and participation in theatrical independent film.

We’re marking the end of Indigenous Peoples Month by revisiting my 2018 interview with Randy Reinholz (Choctaw),  the producing artistic director and Founder of Native Voices at the Autry a Los Angeles theater company that produces new work by Indigenous playwrights.  For almost 30 years, Native Voices at the Autry has been providing opportunities and support to Native American playwrights…and by extension Native actors, designers, musicians and other theater artists. It is the country’s only Equity theatre company dedicated exclusively to producing new works by Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nations playwrights. Deeply committed to developing as well as producing new work, Native Voices also provides a venue for new plays with festivals and public staged readings as well as retreats and workshops for emerging and established Native playwrights. In this podcast, Randy talks about the unique and changing points of view Native artists bring to the table, the issues facing Indian Country, and the place theater has in telling Native stories.

  Dr. Zella Palmer is a professor, food historian, author and filmmaker and serves as the Chair and Director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this podcast, she discusses the Ray Charles program, the importance of material culture, especially to African Americans and other historically marginalized groups,  her commitment to preserving the legacy of African-American and Native American culinary history in New Orleans and the South, and her creation of a multi-disciplinary food studies minor at Dillard. We also discuss the film she directed The Story of New Orleans Creole Cooking: The Black Hand in the Pot which underscores the centrality of African Americans to New Orleans’ famed Creole cuisine and her 2019 cookbook, Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard: 1869-2019 which details not only recipes, but a culinary history of New Orleans and Dillard’s place in that history, her podcast “Culture and Flavor,” and the significance of food studies for students across a wide range of disciplines from history to global politics.

Today, we are celebrating Indigenous Peoples Month with an interview with author Cynthia Leitich Smith.  A member of the Muscogee (Creek) nation, Smith is a bestselling, award-winning children’s-YA writer and the author-curator of the Native-centered Heartdrum imprint  at HarperCollins Children’s Books. She also is the 2024 Southern Mississippi Medallion Winner and the 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate and is widely recognized for her fiction for young readers that centers on contemporary  Native American characters.  In this podcast, we discuss her recent YA novel [Harvest House](https://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?browse=subject&mode=book&isbn=1536227285&bkview=p&pix=n%20() an "indigenous ghost mystery" that grapples with serious themes of missing Native women and girls while emphasizing the empowerment of young Native voices. She also discusses the importance of including themes such as first love, strong family bonds, and vibrant community ties in her writing to underscore the joy that can be found in the daily lives of Indigenous kids.  The conversation takes us through the interconnectedness of characters in Cynthia's Native-centered stories, returning to the beloved Wolf family, first introduced in her 2000 picture book Jingle Dancer.  Cynthia reflects upon the inspiration behind her award-winning book  Hearts Unbroken, exploring the tensions between artists and their art, speech in its many forms, and the importance of navigating apologies and amends.  We discuss her sense of responsibility as a writer for young readers, aiming to provide stories that do no harm and offer empowerment, while still tackling difficult issues. Cynthia shares her journey through the publishing industry's challenges, her strategic pivot to fantasy and gothic genres, and eventual return to contemporary Native American stories.  She discusses her role as curator of Heartdrum, a Native imprint at HarperCollins, its goals and continued growth, and finally  her vision for the expansion of Native literature across genres and representations.

To mark Veteran’s Day, we’re revisiting our2017 interview with author Sebastian Junger a journalist deeply engaged with war and the people who fight in them. As a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, he’s covered international stories including the war in Afghanistan, a region and subject he’s returned to over the course of his career. In this podcast, Sebastian Junger discusses his book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging  which explores the complexities soldiers can find when they return from war.  We talk about his research in anthropology, psychology and history as well as his own observations and experiences in his effort to understand why there are such high numbers of veterans suffering from PTSD. Junger argues there are primal human needs-- for loyalty, a sense of belonging, and a connection to something bigger than ourselves and he discusses how service members often find this connection when they are deployed,  and therefore returning home can leave some 21st-century combat veterans with a profound sense of loss. Added to that loss is a society disengaged from the war in which these veterans fought which Junger argues may account for the high-percentage of service members suffering from PTSD. He also discusses ways to address these concerns, the significance of the arts for Veterans and their families in confronting these challenging situations, and the importance of  the work being done for veterans and service members through the NEA initiative Creative Forces.