Photography matters, writes Jerry Thompson, because of how it works--not only as an artistic medium but also as a way of knowing. With this provocative observation, Thompson begins a wide-ranging and lucid meditation on why photography is unique among the picture-making arts. In Why Photography Matters, he constructs an argument that moves with natural logic ... Show More
Jan 22
Michelle Henning, "A Dirty History of Photography: Chemistry, Fog, and Empire" (U Chicago Press, 2026)
In A Dirty History of Photography: Chemistry, Fog, and Empire (U Chicago Press, 2026), Professor Michelle Henning presents an environmental history of chemical photography through the lens of its deep connections to empire and industry. Dependent on the extractive practices of fo ... Show More
57m 21s
Dec 30
Agata Fijalkowski, "Law, Visual Culture, and the Show Trial" (Routledge, 2023)
Addressing the relationship between law and the visual, this book examines the importance of photography in Central, East, and Southeast European show trials. The dispensation of justice during communist rule in Albania, East Germany, and Poland was reliant on legal propaganda, m ... Show More
1h 11m
Dec 16
Mariana Ortega, "Carnalities: The Art of Living in Latinidad" (Duke UP, 2024)
How can habits of racialization be affected by art, in its reception and its creation? How can a carnal aesthetics help us understand Latinx life? What if we listen to photographs? How might they undo us? Can we be undone? In Carnalities: The Art of Living in Latinidad (Duke UP, ... Show More
1h 16m
May 2022
"The Drowning" by Cornell Watson
In September 2017, we dedicated an episode to a conversation about one photograph—an image made by photographer Richard Drew, on September 11, 2001, in New York, which has come to be called "The Falling Man." It was an insightful recollection and analysis of an incredibly painful ... Show More
55m 24s
Oct 2024
Photography Mentors & Lifelong Learning, with Reid Callanan and Craig Stevens
Today we chat with Reid Callanan, founder and director of the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and renowned photo educator Craig Stevens, formerly of Maine Media Workshops and Savannah College of Art & Design, about photography mentors, lifelong learning, and the role photo worksh ... Show More
1h 27m
Sep 2024
A brush with… Robert Longo
Robert Longo talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Born in 1953 in Brooklyn, Longo was a key figure in what was called the Pictures generation of ... Show More
1h 3m
Sep 2025
A brush with… Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Tillmans, born in Remscheid, Germany, in 1968, has changed the history of photography. He ... Show More
1h 11m
Jul 2024
A brush with... Michael Craig-Martin
Michael Craig-Martin talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Craig-Martin was born in Dublin in 1941, and grew up in the US, but has been based in London for ... Show More
57m 43s
Jan 2025
The Art of Competitive Cycling Photography, with Phil Penman & Kristof Ramon
Top shot © Kristof Ramon The dynamic arena of competitive cycling photography is not for the faint of heart. This grueling specialty requires a mix of split-second reaction times, intuitive technical mastery, and the ability to anticipate—and even more important—embrace risk. It ... Show More
1h 26m