On this episode of Time Sensitive, artist and director Rashid Johnson talks about the steep challenge of turning Richard Wright’s famed novel “Native Son” into an HBO feature film; using materials such as shea butter, black soap, and plants in his artworks; why he remains somewhat ambivalent about the idea of “wokeness”; and his fascination with the complexi ... Show More
May 27
Sheila Hicks on Life as a Series of Portals
For our latest “site-specific” episode of Time Sensitive, Spencer meets Sheila Hicks inside her courtyard in Paris’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, where she has called home for more than 60 years. The 91-year-old Nebraska-born artist—widely known for her vibrant, sculptura ... Show More
1h 8m
May 13
Valerie June on Joy as a Form of Resistance
The singer-songwriter Valerie June has a gift for writing contemporary songs that feel timeless and as though they could also have existed at various points across the past century. Her expansive layering of Appalachian folk, Delta blues, gospel, soul, early country, and even spi ... Show More
1h 18m
May 6
George Saunders on the Power of Fiction to Enliven the World
The novelist, essayist, and short-story writer George Saunders—widely celebrated for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo (2017), which won the Man Booker Prize, and book of short stories Tenth of December (2013)—has made it his mission to “de-dullify” the world through his clear-eyed, ... Show More
1h 16m
Dec 2018
Kellie Jones, "South of Pico: African American Artists in the 1960s and 1970s" (Duke UP, 2017)
New York City might have been the epicenter of the twentieth century American art scene, but Los Angeles was no slouch either, writes Kellie Jones in South of Pico: African American Artists in the 1960s and 1970s(Duke University Press, 2017). Dr. Jones, Professor of Art History a ... Show More
49m 8s
Dec 2018
Kellie Jones, "South of Pico: African American Artists in the 1960s and 1970s" (Duke UP, 2017)
New York City might have been the epicenter of the twentieth century American art scene, but Los Angeles was no slouch either, writes Kellie Jones in South of Pico: African American Artists in the 1960s and 1970s(Duke University Press, 2017). Dr. Jones, Professor of Art History a ... Show More
49m 8s
Jun 2025
Alan Michelson Talks Dinosaurs, Murderous US Presidents, and Platinum-Gilded Native “Knowledge Keepers”
As a child, Alan Michelson often rode the T past sculptor Cyrus Edward Dallin’s “Appeal to the Great Spirit” (1908) outside the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). He was riveted by the statue’s grand horse and the powerful yet melancholy figure wearing a striking Plains Indian wa ... Show More
52m 19s
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
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
Aug 2025
#13 - Beyond Stereotypes: Najla Said on Art, Culture, and Legacy
In this episode of Tak on the Pod, Andrea sits down with the talented Najla Said, a Lebanese-Palestinian-American actor, playwright, and author whose powerful work in theatre and literature explores themes of identity, belonging, and the complexity of cultural narratives. Known f ... Show More
52m 2s
Sep 2025
Living stories: art, space and memory
What does it mean to tell stories through the spaces we live in? And how can architecture be a source of memory and repair?In this bonus episode of Our World, Connected, host Christine Wilson revisits a powerful conversation with Kabage Karanja, architect, researcher, and co-foun ... Show More
15m 10s