Expanding Boundaries Through Music

<p>Introducing <em>Beyond All Repair, </em>a new WBUR podcast hosted by Amory Sivertson. This series tells the story of a murder, but also the woman who was accused of that murder, Sophia.</p> <p>Sophia was newly married and six months pregnant when she was charged with murderin ... Show More

<p>Produced by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, in partnership with The Trace, The Gun Machine looks into the past to bring you a story that most Americans never learned in history class: how early partnerships between mad scientist gunsmiths and a fledgling U.S. government created the gun in ... Show More

<p>We want to share a first listen of a new podcast we're working on at WBUR.</p> <p>Violation tells the story of two families bound together by an unthinkable crime. It explores America's opaque parole system and asks: How much time in prison is enough? Who gets to decide? And, ... Show More

Dan Mayfield, founder of the School of Noise, explains why he believes everyone is capable of making music, and why the right kind of music education is so important to encourage young people's creativity. "I believe... there is musicality in all of us, because I think of music a ... Show More

Leon Bosch reflects on the power of classical music to transform lives, beginning with his own. He overcame the obstacles of racism in apartheid era South Africa to study the classical double bass. Despite encountering prejuduce in the UK, too, after moving here to study, he went ... Show More

How do we make historically exclusive fields like classical music, fine arts or academic research more accessible to everyone? Education equalizer and violist Matthew Garcia thinks one way to remove barriers is to create free, virtual education programs that connect talented youn ... Show More

Conversation with Alex Rivers, a professional busker and late bloomer trying to make a name for himself as a violinist. I also spoke with Noel Brown, an executive producer, podcast host and musician whose father forced him to learn violin at an early age.See omnystudio.com/listen ... Show More

It’s possible to create extraordinary beauty in the face of stress, separation, and illness. Explore the value of music during this difficult time with Richard Kogan, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical Center, and noted concert pianist. Guided by the life s ... Show More

Successful South African music group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, shows how music can help break down social and cultural barriers. 

<p>In the late 1700s, one man became a celebrated fixture of Parisian salon culture: he was a prodigy fencer, and then a brilliant composer and violinists. He befriended Marie Antoinette and lead one of the city's most famous orchestras. And he was the son of an enslaved woman, f ... Show More

A well-meaning teacher discovers a student's talent, and in the process of helping out his family, bites off more than she can chew. Recorded live at the Now Hear This festival. This story appears in James McBride's collection FIVE CARAT SOUL, available now from Riverhead Books. ... Show More

As the Tory leadership election highlights questions of social mobility, David Goodhart looks at why some people seem to have more luck than others. To what extent can we create our own opportunities, regardless of background? What role does personality play? And is it really pos ... Show More