We don’t need to tell anyone listening that it is a difficult and alarming political moment. You may be asking, How will art weather the storm?
To answer that question, you probably need to take stock of how art has navigated the political storms of the recent past. And there’s been a lot of debate about this recently, centered on the critic Dean Kissick’s l ... Show More
Mar 26
Whitney Biennial Trends, a New Baroque Art Star, and Banksy Unmasked
Spring is upon us. March has seen a burst of big art events—the true start of a busy year. This week, Kate Brown and Ben Davis are joined by senior writer Eileen Kinsella to discuss some of the biggest art stories of the month. In this episode, will be discussing: — The 2026 Whit ... Show More
42m 39s
Mar 12
Kim Gordon Was Always an Artist First
Kim Gordon—artist, musician, writer, and co-founder of the iconic rock band Sonic Youth—is one of the most restlessly creative figures in American culture. Over the past four decades moved between mediums with an ease that few can achieve. She published her memoir Girl in a Band ... Show More
35m 39s
Nov 2023
Vid Simoniti, "Artists Remake the World: A Contemporary Art Manifesto" (Yale UP, 2023)
Artists Remake the World: A Contemporary Art Manifesto (Yale UP, 2023) puts forward an account of contemporary art’s political ambitions and potential. Surveying such innovations as evidence-driven art, socially engaged art, and ecological art, the book explores how artists have ... Show More
58m 51s
Oct 2025
Adair Rounthwaite, "This Is Not My World: Art and Public Space in Socialist Zagreb" (U Minnesota Press, 2024)
This Is Not My World: Art and Public Spaces in Socialist Zagreb (U Minnesota Press, 2024) examines the Group of Six Authors—a collective of young artists who staged provocative art events in the public spaces of socialist Yugoslavia during the 1970s and early 1980s. The book ana ... Show More
1h 1m
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
Mar 2025
Field Trip: Activism Art Panel Recorded at WonderCon
<p>Exactly the inspiration you need. Exactly the perfect time. Pass it on to anyone who loves art and/or speaking up. I went to Comic-Con’s little sister, WonderCon, to moderate a panel on protest art with expert Carol Wells, the founder of the Center for the Study of Political G ... Show More
35m 6s