Art Works Podcast

In the second part of our conversation with 2024 NEA Jazz Master trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, we explore the emotional and creative depths of his work, from his jazz innovations ...

In part one of this two-part interview, trumpeter, composer, and 2024 NEA Jazz Master Terence Blanchard speaks about his deep musical roots in New Orleans and how the city’s rich traditions s...

Koto musician and 2024 National Heritage Fellow June Kuramoto shares her remarkable journey from Japan to Los Angeles, recounting the challenges of adapting to a new culture as a young child ...

A conversation with Hana S. Sharif, Artistic Director of Arena Stage since August 2023. Sharif discusses her transformative first year at the helm and her inaugural season as Arena’s producin...

To mark the rare convergence of Christmas and Chanukah, we’re revisiting a conversation with one of the nation’s most extraordinary musicians 2012 National Heritage Fellow Andy Statman. A vir...

Opera is being transformed into a more inclusive and innovative art form, and Opera Praktikos (OPrak) is one of the companies leading this movement. Co-founded by librettist Marianna Mott New...

Today we revisit our 2020 interview with Charles Yu, whose novel Interior Chinatown received the National Book Award for fiction and has been recently adapted into a Hulu series by Yu who is ...

In this special Thanksgiving episode of Art Works, we’re revisiting our interview with Nick Spitzer, folklorist, radio host, and the 2023 Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellow. Nick discu...

Last week, the music world lost two titans of jazz: drummer Roy Haynes and saxophonist Lou Donaldson, both NEA Jazz Masters who reshaped the genre with their artistry. This special episode of...

In honor of Veterans’ Day, we’re revisiting an episode of Art Works that tells the origin story of the transformative project  Theater of War Productions. Co-founded by classicist, translator...

We mark Native American Heritage Month with artist Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo) who discusses her work in large-scale public art, and her journey as a creative rooted in Santa Clara P...

In time for Halloween—a conversation with author Christina Henry who has written 19 books of horror.  We discuss her latest book—The House That Horror Built, a chilling story set during the p...

A conversation with Todd Goings, a 2024 National Heritage Fellow renowned for his work restoring and building carousels. Goings shares stories from his early days in woodworking, his path to ...

Today, we’re bringing  Hispanic Heritage month to a resounding close  and celebrating Juan Felipe Herrera’s recent MacArthur Fellowship by revisiting my 2015 interview  with the former U.S. P...

A conversation with Soo Hugh, showrunner and head writer of the critically acclaimed series Pachinko. Based on the bestselling novel by Min Jin Lee, the series follows four generations of a K...

In this episode of Art Works, a conversation with Jocelyn Bioh, the brilliant and funny mind behind Jaja's African Hair Braiding, a play set in a Harlem salon that explores the lives of Afric...

We’re celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by revisiting my 2023 conversation with Meg Medina, author and the Library of Congress’s 2023-24 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. A...

Art Works  is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the National Heritage Awards with a conversation with Chicano muralist and 2024 National Heritage Fellow Fabian Debora. Debora discusses ...

We’re celebrating Arts Education week with James Rees, an accomplished visual artist and arts educator who has spent decades advocating for the importance of arts education. Rees talks about ...

As students across the country head back to school, we have a conversation with Dr.Thalia Goldstein about the significant impact of theater education on child development. Dr.Goldstein is an ...

A conversation with 2024 NEA Heritage Fellow Bril Barrett, a Chicago tap dancer and educator. Barrett discusses his early exposure to the arts through his grandmother’s encouragement, which l...

Today, we revisit my 2023 conversation with Dr. David Fakunle, a storyteller, scholar, and public health expert whose work embodies the healing potential of the arts. Dr. Fakunle’ s  own stor...

An interview with renowned jazz pianist, composer, innovator, and MacArthur Fellow Vijay Iyer. In this podcast, Vijay Iyer discusses his debut orchestral album "Vijay Iyer: Trouble," his clas...

We’re marking Disability Pride Month by revisiting my 2022 interview with Dr. Joel Snyder, a pioneering force in the field of audio description. Dr. Snyder delves into the origins and evoluti...

Bonnie Jo Campbell discusses her novel, "The Waters," its fictional setting in Southwest Michigan, and the focus on the intricate dynamics within a family of women living in a swamp:  Hermine...

A conversation with Lissa Frenkel, the CEO of the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Lissa shares the story of the Gaillard Center, a multidisciplinary cultural hub--whose renovat...

An in-depth interview with 2021 National Heritage Fellow Joanie Madden, the legendary Irish musician and leader of Cherish the Ladies.  In this podcast, Joanie recounts her early life in the ...

This July 4th, let's revisit Lin-Manuel Miranda and his revolutionary musical "Hamilton." ...

A conversation with Adriana Pierce, a trailblazing dancer, choreographer, and director, who is reshaping the ballet world through her initiative, Queer the Ballet. Pierce discusses her early ...

Community Activist, Organizer and 2024 National Heritage Fellow Pat Johnson, a pillar of the Pocahontas, Arkansas community, shares her work preserving local history and fostering community f...

Curator Tyler Blackwell Discusses the Innovative Initiatives that Make the Speed a Community Hub ...

This week's podcast is a heartfelt remembrance of blues harmonica master and 2017 National Heritage Fellow Phil Wiggins, who passed away last month. Phil Wiggins was celebrated for his extrao...

Director of Education and Violin/Viola Teaching Artist at the Paterson Music Project (PMP) Shanna Lin gives us the program's history: it’s an El Sistema-inspired program established in 2013 w...

We’re celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month by revisiting my interview with LGBT and ethnic scholar and author Lillian Faderman who discusses her book "My Mother's Wars." The book is a r...

President of Actors' Equity Kate Shindle and the NEA Director of Theater & Musical Theater Greg Reiner discuss the current challenges, strategic innovations, and the evolving landscape of...

Playwright and director Psalmayene 24 discusses his career trajectory from his unique approach to theater, his recent direction of the world premiere of Tempestuous Rising at Arena Stage and ...

We’re closing out Arab-American Heritage Month with author Diana Abu-Jaber who discusses growing up with an Irish-American mother and a Jordanian father who never felt at home in the US, the ...

We’re celebrating National Poetry Month with 2021 NEA Literature Fellow, poet Leslie Sainz who discusses her debut poetry collection, "Have You Been Long Enough at Table."  Sainz reads from h...

MacArthur Fellow and 2002 Pulitzer-Prize Winner in Drama for “Topdog/Underdog, ” Suzan-Lori Parks tells us about her current play ”Sally and Tom”* now having its NY premier at the Public Thea...

As we’re gearing up for the 2024 NEA Jazz Masters’ tribute concert, we are revisiting my conversation with 2017 NEA Jazz Master Bassist Dave Holland. From his roots in the English working cla...

We’re taking a deep dive with Willard Jenkins into his life in jazz. Willard discusses his early exposure to jazz in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, crediting his parents' record collection for his...

In this special edition of Art Works, Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson and U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos have a far-ranging discussion that e...

In this podcast, Amina Claudine Myers discusses her journey from the gospel choirs of Arkansas to becoming a 2024 NEA Jazz Master, highlighting her significant contributions to jazz, gospel, ...

Co-founder Kirsten Cappy introduces us to I'm Your Neighbor Books—which aims to build communities where immigrants are welcomed and feel a sense of belonging by sharing diverse immigration st...

2020 NEA Literature Fellow Danielle Evans is author of two collections of stories  Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self and The Office of Historical Corrections, published ten years apart ...

We’re revisiting my conversation with the 2021 National Heritage Fellow, Reginald “Reggio The Hoofer” McLaughlin, a master tap dancer whose feet tell stories of tradition, perseverance, and c...

In this tuneful podcast, 2024 NEA Jazz Master Saxophonist Gary Bartz talks about his life and career, touching on his roots, influences, collaborations, and the philosophical underpinnings th...

In honor of Black History month, we’re revisiting this 2011 conversation with author and 2015 National Humanities Medalist Isabel Wilkerson  In this tuneful podcast, Wilkerson discusses her a...

Screenwriter and Director Cord Jefferson discusses his critically acclaimed film, “American Fiction” which is a satirical exploration of popular culture’s often narrow and limiting representa...

Steve Zeitlin, founder and executive director of City Lore, and Phyllis Zimmer, founder and president of the Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation, discuss their joint project "From Herita...