“I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed.” - Norman Rockwell
Whether arguing for soft versus hard taco shells or the Neo-Nazi right to march in Skokie, freedom of speech is a fundamental right we all enjoy as Americans. But it turns out that telling people that is pretty complicated, actually. Thank goodness we hav ... Show More
Apr 2025
Ep. 69 - Yee Sookyung's "Translated Vase" (2011)
“It is not about fixing or mending, but about celebrating the vulnerability of the object and ultimately myself.” - Yee Sookyung
Shattered porcelain is impossible to repair. As impossible as fully, and accurately, reconstructing the past. But who needs that pressure? What if, ins ... Show More
23m 40s
Feb 2025
Ep. 68 - Felix Gonzalez-Torres' "Untitled (March 5th) #2" (1991)
"The only thing permanent is change." - Felix Gonzalez-Torres
There is no way around it. The work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres, a gay, Cuban-American artist who responded to - and died during - the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 90s, is sad. His work is a memorial, both to a lost gener ... Show More
31m 14s
Sep 2017
Hiding Behind Free Speech
<p>Several weeks ago, white supremacists took to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, in a demonstration that left many Americans asking a lot of questions. Who are we as a nation? What do we stand for, and what do we tolerate? The United States goes further than many other ... Show More
27m 45s
Sep 2025
Free as a Verb: Art, Speech, and Conflict in Antebellum America
What did “free speech” mean before the Civil War...and what did it cost? Today, I'm exploring how Americans have debated the meaning of liberty through words, images, and even violence beginning with Samuel Jennings’s 1792 painting 'Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences' in 17 ... Show More
44m 27s