Fri, Jan 3, 2020
On this Articulate, we explore the life and art of Patricia Racette- a supremely talented singer and storyteller. Racette has been a celebrated opera leading lady for more than three decades, both on America's premier stages and in great opera houses around the world. But one thing that has set her apart as a performer is her love of a good yarn.
Fri, Jan 3, 2020
Marina Benjamin writes to parse the questions that loom largest in her life. It's a self-examination, yes. But never self-obsession. Stefan Sagmeister has spent the past 40-odd years demonstrating how graphic design can make even the most abstract ideas tangible. And he does it with his own unique style-his own idiom. Donald Nally, conductor of the groundbreaking chamber choir, The Crossing, doesn't just want audiences to listen-he wants them to think about real-world issues and events.
Fri, Jan 10, 2020
Stephanie Blythe was one of the fastest rising stars in opera when an anxiety disorder threatened to take her down. But she refused to let it be her undoing. The story of Gradiva, a sculpture that came to life, captured public imagination at the start of the 20th century. Today, the artist Diana Al-Hadid has resurrected her. As a young singer-songwriter, Nick Lowe was preoccupied with looking cool and getting famous. But, as Tori Marchiony reports, he didn't REALLY find his groove until he dropped the act.
Fri, Jan 17, 2020
The Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall realized she was becoming a pop music cliché: on top, but unhappy. Tori Marchiony reports that it was then she decided it was time to change. Pam Tanowitz is among the finest choreographers in modern dance. But she refuses to put her feet up. Natasha Trethewey coped with the tragedies of her young life by turning them into exceptional poetry. But those wounds will never fully heal.
Fri, Jan 31, 2020
Aaron Sorkin is best known for his award-winning screenwriting: A Few Good Men, The West Wing, Moneyball, The Newsroom. But his first love is the theater. Singer, instrumentalist, and folk historian Rhiannon Giddens is on a musical mission: to remind us of what we all share, regardless of who we are or where we're from.
Fri, Feb 7, 2020
John Darnielle has excelled as a front-man, songwriter, and author by overcoming an innately self-destructive personality. As a grownup, Elizabeth Acevedo realized that the books she needed as a child still didn't exist. So she wrote them herself. Meg Saligman's large-scale murals are difficult to grasp close-up. But the stories they tell are in the details.
Fri, Feb 14, 2020
The best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer writes to interrogate his own past and all of our futures. Today, the superstar graphic novelist Nate Powell is known for beautifully rendered comics with a strong moral core. But, as Tori Marchiony reports, for more than a decade he was dedicated to serving those with developmental disabilities. The Venezuelan-born conductor Gustavo Dudamel is on a mission to sow harmony, in the concert hall and beyond.
Fri, Feb 21, 2020
Tori Marchiony profiles former U.K. Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion. He's five decades in and still finding room to grow. Among the most highly regarded jazz pianists of his time, Vijay Iyer has made his instrument of choice an instrument of discovery. Susan Choi's books reflect her skepticism of authority. As Tori Marchiony reports, the National Book Award-winning author even questions the credibility of the characters she creates.
Fri, Feb 28, 2020
Billy Collins is one of the best-selling poets alive. Perhaps because his works effortlessly magnify the small details that make life worth living. The conductor Gemma New has followed opportunity around the world. As Tori Marchiony reports, a decade in, she's finally arrived. The award-winning writer Ming Peiffer forges works for stage and screen that deconstruct her own observations and experiences of life today. Sometimes that means embracing an unhappy ending.
Fri, Mar 6, 2020
The highly distinguished musician, Esperanza Spalding does more than just make music-she's trying to change the world. Lee Child left his former life behind to author an unlikely hero: Jack Reacher, a vagrant vigilante who reaps justice for the underdog. Over the course of the past two decades, Child and Reacher have sold millions of books worldwide. The award-winning tenor, Nicholas Phan explores the world in song, merging cultures while uncovering immense value in all of our differences.
Fri, Mar 13, 2020
World-renowned architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien are united in vision and practice-in their lives together and in their work-a strong foundation for their partnership and buildings. Carmen Maria Machado is self-assured and outspoken, turning a mirror not only on herself but on society's unchallenged biases to create immersive fiction.
Fri, Mar 20, 2020
Before she was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Elizabeth Strout spent decades finessing her unique narratives, often using her own upbringing as a touchstone. The celebrated violinist Pamela Frank was at the height of her career when she suffered a life-altering injury. After nearly a decade, she's playing again, with newfound purpose. Rennie Harris and street dance grew up together. Today, he's celebrated as the pioneer of hip-hop dance theater, but it took a while before he ever got paid.
Fri, Mar 27, 2020
Internationally renowned Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti was cast into the spotlight at age 16. Forced to grow up in the public eye, she often struggled. Now in her 30s, she looks back on those years with wry humor. The award-winning author Maaza Mengiste writes of an Ethiopian home she left behind, dismantling preconceptions and bringing to light some of that country's rich past. Once a wanderer pursuing creative endeavors, Dick Boak followed his instincts and created a role in the evolution of the Martin Guitar company, all the while becoming an ever more skillful artisan himself.