Best WNYC Studios and Brown Arts Institute Podcasts (2025)

1
Ethnomusicologist Fredara Hadley on Reckoning with the Past 57:00

10M ago57:00

57:00

Fredara Hadley is an ethnomusicologist at The Juilliard School whose research focuses on the musical legacies of historically Black colleges and universities. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Billboard Magazine, the Journal of Popular Music Studies, and elsewhere. In this episode, Hadley reflects on the unique contributions of music…

1
Novelist Walter Mosley on Family and Forging His Own Path 49:43

10M ago49:43

49:43

Acclaimed author Walter Mosley writes about the intricacies of Black livelihood by grounding science fiction and mystery in America’s turbulent social and racial climate. Decorated with the O. Henry Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, a Grammy, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Mosley is a testament to Black artistry. His works have b…

1
Modern Love host Anna Martin on the Infinitude of Love 54:32

10M ago54:32

54:32

Anna Martin is the host of the New York Times’ immensely popular Modern Love podcast, where guests join to discuss the trials, triumphs, betrayals, and epiphanies of modern relationships. In this episode, she joins Helga to discuss how love is perceived and expressed across cultures; the many different words for love across languages, and what it’s…

1
Author Letty Cottin Pogrebin on her Decades of Activism 55:58

11M ago55:58

55:58

Author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin has been immersed for decades in the fight for gender equality and social justice. She co-founded Ms. Magazine, which played a pivotal role in the feminist movement of the 1970s, and served as president of the Authors Guild and as chair of Americans for Peace Now. She’s also authored a dozen books, co-found…

1
Journalist Jenna Flanagan on Local Politics and Seeking Truth 57:40

11M ago57:40

57:40

Journalist Jenna Flanagan has built a career championing the necessary conversations that drive community progress. She’s worked as a producer for the New York City-based AM radio news station 1010 WINS and WNYC’s All Things Considered, and as a co-host for the PBS show MetroFocus. Recently, she hosted the podcast “After Broad and Market,” which re…

1
Noliwe Rooks on Extending the Ethic of Care 58:34

11M ago58:34

58:34

Noliwe Rooks is a widely esteemed author and chair of Africana Studies at Brown University. A passionate advocate for education equality, Dr. Rooks has focused much of her work on the challenges that poor and African American communities face, particularly within the American public education system. In this episode, Dr. Rooks talks about her famil…

1
Singer-songwriter Sampha on Fatherhood and Intuition 46:32

11M ago46:32

46:32

Sampha is a leading British singer-songwriter and producer within the neo-soul and alternative R&B scenes, his music a seductive blend of meditative, confessional lyrics and intricate, genre-spanning production. Active since the mid-2000s, he’s well known for his collaborations with artists like Solange Knowles, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Drake, …

1
Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks on Self-Worth and Loving the Grind 55:32

12M ago55:32

55:32

Suzan-Lori Parks is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Parks was the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama with her 2002 play, “Topdog/Underdog,” and in 2023, she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. In this episode, Parks discusses her bold idea to write a one-act play each day fo…

1
Scholar Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo on the Joys of Nerd Rap 58:10

12M ago58:10

58:10

Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo is a scholar and professor of music at Brown University who also performs as the dynamic rapper and producer Sammus. Sammus explores themes of anxiety, awkwardness, Afro-futurism, and activism in three full-length albums, three EPs, a beat tape, and several collaborations with notable artists. As a Brown Practitioner Fellow, …

1
Designer Tremaine Emory on Validation in Consumer Culture 59:17

12M ago59:17

59:17

Tremaine Emory is a visionary fashion designer. Once the creative director at the streetwear brand Supreme, he co-founded his own brand, Denim Tears, which aims to tell the stories of the African Diaspora through fashion. His work has been recognized widely for its bold originality and counter-cultural drive. In this episode, Emory talks about the …

1
Director Whitney White on Depth and the Magic of Theater 1:04:52

1y ago1:04:52

1:04:52

Whitney White is an actor, singer, Obie Award winner, and winner of the Lilly Award, which recognizes extraordinary women in theater. White has directed productions of James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner; Aleshea Harris’ What to Send Up When It Goes Down, a work about the victims of racialized violence; and Jocelyn Bioh’s Broadway play Jaja’s African H…

1
Singer Brittany Howard on Creative Rebirth and Spirituality 1:02:00

1y ago1:02:00

1:02:00

Singer-songwriter Brittany Howard, former lead singer and guitarist of the Grammy Award-winning Alabama Shakes, is now a spectacular and charismatic solo artist. Brittany joins Helga in the studio following the release of her second solo album, What Now, to offer a deep-dive into her personal and artistic life. She discusses her early experiences w…

1
Helga Returns For A Sixth Season! 1:55

1y ago1:55

1:55

Get ready for a new season of fearless conversations that reveal the extraordinary in all of us. Critically acclaimed actress, singer, writer and composer Helga Davis returns for a new season of soulful conversations with artists and thinkers from a variety of disciplines, including Brittany Howard, Whitney White, Tremaine Emory, Enongo Lumumba-Kas…

1
Video artist Arthur Jafa on actualizing Black potential, part 2 34:00

2y ago34:00

34:00

Black people know this: There’s a difference between what you say and what you mean. It’s been a matter of survival for us. For over 30 years, American visual artist and cinematographer Arthur Jafa has captured the histories and experiences of Black Americans with projects that exemplify both the universal and particular facets of Black life. In th…

1
Video artist Arthur Jafa on actualizing Black potential, part 1 47:17

2y ago47:17

47:17

"I don't want to be the prisoner in a box, even if it's a box I made." For over 30 years, American visual artist and cinematographer Arthur Jafa has captured the histories and experiences of Black Americans with projects that exemplify both the universal and particular facets of Black life. In this masterclass in Black thought — the first episode i…

1
Writer Macarena Gómez-Barris on finding beauty in ambiguity 52:51

2+ y ago52:51

52:51

This [term] 'femme' becomes more possible to me as a figure for not just embodiment, but for thought, action, engagement, connection. Macarena Goméz-Barris is Professor and Chair of Modern Culture and Media at Brown University, founder of the Global South Center at Pratt Institute, an organization which supports artists, activists, and scholars in …

1
Silhouettist Kara Walker on early fame and symbols of Black servitude 49:58

2+ y ago49:58

49:58

There are whole histories of African American artists wrestling with stereotypical depictions and minstrelsy - and it seemed worthy anyway to me as an artist to consider them as some kind of artwork. American painter and silhouettist Kara Walker rose to international acclaim at the age of 28 as one of the youngest-ever recipients of a MacArthur Gen…

1
Smithsonian director Kevin Young on the power of unexpected transformations 56:08

2+ y ago56:08

56:08

I like to say we're living in a precedent time, not an unprecedented one. How do we understand that? Being at the museum or writing histories both in poetry and in non-fiction are ways of trying to understand that. “Gatekeepers” hold an essential role in our culture as those in positions of power who determine what we see and hear — and therefore h…

1
Sociologist Tricia Rose on hip-hop as a global profit powerhouse 57:36

2+ y ago57:36

57:36

It’s hard when you try to talk across racial groups about race ... I do believe that there's a better chance of them getting further if we can create spaces of both accountability and connection. Tricia Rose is a pioneering scholar in the field of hip-hop, Chancellor's Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University, co-host with Cornel West of “…

1
Visual artist Carrie Mae Weems on grace and inclusion 50:23

2+ y ago50:23

50:23

Within seriousness, there's little room for play, but within play there's tremendous room for seriousness. It's through the act of serious play that wonderful ideas are born. Carrie Mae Weems is one of today’s most influential and generous contemporary American artists, as devoted to her own craft as she is to introducing other artists into the wor…

1
Choreographer Bill T. Jones on the violence within seduction 48:53

2+ y ago48:53

48:53

I knew that there was a power I had when I stripped off my shirt and looked you in the eye as I moved my hips. But I also knew the other side of that attraction to me was the impulse to kill me. Legendary dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones has made a career of engaging his audience with brutal, unapologetic honesty. His seductive work has grapp…

1
Jazz vocalist Somi on finding your voice 50:40

2+ y ago50:40

50:40

Once I could feel grounded in an East African context and value who I am in an American context - suddenly it was so apparent that music was where I was supposed to be. The dynamic, ascendant jazz singer Somi has been celebrated for her artistry as much as her activism. She became the first African woman ever nominated in any of the Grammy’s Jazz c…

1
Musician Bartees Strange on indie music’s overlooked audiences 54:42

2+ y ago54:42

54:42

Even with his surging popularity in indie and rock scenes, Bartees Strange strives to bring his music to unexpected audiences and to tease apart the racial boundaries between them. He reckons with the concept of what it means to write music for the kids who are not seen, heard, or cared about. In this episode, Strange talks about growing up on a mi…

1
Painter Glenn Ligon on the value of difference 1:05:08

2+ y ago1:05:08

1:05:08

Usually the things that are the farthest out — that look the least like art to me — are the things that become the most important. American painter Glenn Ligon is one of the most recognizable figures in the contemporary art scene. His distinctive, political work uses repetition and transformation to abstract the texts of 20th-century writers. In th…

1
Poet Claudia Rankine on power and democracy 47:53

2+ y ago47:53

47:53

There are times in life when you need to be able to live in the vision, where you are making a leap of faith into something unknowable. Claudia Rankine is a professor of the Creative Writing Program at New York University, a recipient of fellowships from the MacArthur, Guggenheim, and National Endowment of the Arts, and one of the most celebrated w…

1
Playwright Michael R. Jackson on risk and fearlessness 1:08:41

2+ y ago1:08:41

1:08:41

'Safe' also has another connotation of being not willing to take risks or to push a boundary. Michael R. Jackson is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Strange Loop, a play into which he poured almost 20 years of self-investigation. He’s also fresh from a Tony Award for Best New Musical as well as being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Infl…

1
Helga Season 5 Trailer 1:03

2+ y ago1:03

1:03

Artist, performer, and host Helga Davis brings a soulful curiosity and love of people to the podcast Helga, where she talks about the intimate lives of creative people as they share the steps they’ve taken along their path. She draws listeners into these discussions with cultural change-makers, whether already famous or rising talents, whose sensib…

1
The Armory Youth Corps 32:16

3+ y ago32:16

32:16

"We’re struggling. Our generation is trying to cope. Life is crazy." On this final episode of Helga: The Armory Conversations, I look to this next generation of artists. Three participants in Park Avenue Armory’s Youth Corps program, playwright Wilson Castro, visual artist Raven Garcia, and photographer Biviana Sanchez, sat down with me and as we m…

1
K. Anthony Jones 34:21

3+ y ago34:21

34:21

"I want to push those limitations. Push them." Researcher, writer and critic K. Anthony Jones discusses what it means to make your own way and how to carve a path where one does not exist. K. Anthony Jones researches and writes on the history, theory, and criticism of late modern art and architecture. His research interests include the media cultur…

1
Antwaun Sargent 33:31

3+ y ago33:31

33:31

“There’s a real potential in art making to have someone reassess everything that they had thought about a history.” Curator, critic and writer, Antwaun Sargent engages Helga in a discussion around the motivations behind his work as a curator and the circuitous path that led him to a life in and around art. Antwaun Sargent is writer, editor and cura…

1
Deborah Archer 37:45

3+ y ago37:45

37:45

“It was so important to be apart of community. To find strength in each other. To know that on the days when I can’t move forward, someone is going to take up the baton and move forward for me. “ Professor, Lawyer and ACLU President Deborah Archer sat down to speak with me about some of her earliest moments and how they shaped her desire to fight f…

1
Liliana Maria Percy Ruíz 32:35

3+ y ago32:35

32:35

“That's been one of the hardest things to really heal from. Has been the grief of knowing that my choices and the way that I live my life, which I love means that I am isolated from my community.” Liliana Maria Percy Ruíz, radio producer and founding member of On Being with Krista Tippett sat down to talk about identity, her definition of faith and…

1
Jad Abumrad 53:42

3+ y ago53:42

53:42

"The positioning of being kind of on the edge of the room looking in? That's the position of a journalist." Jad Abumrad, co-Host and creator of Radiolab, joined Helga to talk about the beginnings of his career, the impact of family and how he works with doubt. The son of a scientist and a doctor, Jad Abumrad did most of his growing up in Tennessee,…

1
Davóne Tines 40:25

3+ y ago40:25

40:25

"It split me. In one instance it split me in two. Because I had never thought of using my different voices to do different things." Opera singer Davóne Tines joined Helga to talk about his path towards a career in classical music, how he's tried to bring his whole self to his work and the impact of feeling like he can't. Davóne Tines is a pathbreak…

1
Karen Finley 29:01

3+ y ago29:01

29:01

"I love to hear humans just gathering and talking and being and making lots of noise. I like to do that too...just being, and making yourself known and present." Author and performing artist Karen Finley spoke with Helga Davis about the evolution of her early work and what she wants to give her audience now. Karen Finley is an artist, performer, an…

1
Jason Reynolds 45:44

3+ y ago45:44

45:44

“Everything I know about gender politics or gender identity as it's changed and continues to change and shift and be named in all these glorious and intricate ways, have come from 16 year-olds. Thank God for them.” Youth author Jason Reynolds joined Helga Davis to talk about what it means to make work during the pandemic and how important it is to …

1
Tina Campt 48:58

4y ago48:58

48:58

"How exactly do we listen to images? We listen by feeling. We listen by attending to what I call 'felt sound'." Helga Davis invites Scholar and Author Tina Campt to explore her relationship to her practice and her family, centering the conversation on the power and pleasure of listening to images. Tina L. Campt is Owen F. Walker Professor of Humani…

1
Marilee Talkington 35:58

4y ago35:58

35:58

"I’m curious about how we work. Why we’re here. What we’re doing to each other, with each other. And I know on a fundamental level that I am so much more capable than I can imagine." Actress & Disability Advocate Marilee Talkington sat down with Helga Davis to talk about her journey towards a life in theater, how she continues to innovate in that s…

1
Nick Cave 37:28

4y ago37:28

37:28

"When I look outside, when I go to the front door. That is my new canvas. Today. It's not really what happens in the studio. It's what happens outside of the studio." Visual Artist Nick Cave joins Helga Davis to talk about the evolution of his sculptural work, his community collaborations, and how to move from Black sorrow to Black excellence. Nick…

1
Helga: The Armory Conversations Season 4 Trailer 1:00

4y ago1:00

1:00

Artist, performer and host Helga Davis brings a soulful curiosity and love of people to the podcast Helga: The Armory Conversations. This season, in partnership with Park Avenue Armory, she continues to draw the listener into her profound and intimate conversations with creative people, famous and lesser known. Artists, scholars, and cultural chang…

1
Esperanza Spalding 57:37

5y ago57:37

57:37

Musician, teacher, community member, and caster of musical spells, Esperanza Spalding joins Helga mere weeks before her most recent Grammy win to talk about what it means to truly be a part of a community and how to find the “the yum” in things. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.By [email protected]

1
Elizabeth Alexander 36:55

5y ago36:55

36:55

Poet and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation President, Elizabeth Alexander joins Helga to talk about what it means to live a life alongside words, how we maintain relationships with one another, and what the world looks like after loss. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.By [email protected]

1
Ranky Tanky 37:10

5y ago37:10

37:10

Guitarist Clay Ross and Charlton Singleton are 2/5th of the Gullah band, Ranky Tanky. As they bring that music and its history forward into the present day, most recently on the Grammy stage, they wrestle with what it means to the communities they come from and what the art form can be in the future. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcas…

1
Maury Rubin 31:35

5y ago31:35

31:35

Pastry Chef, Maury Rubin, is the owner of well-known New York establishment City Bakery. He joins us just a few months after it shuttered to talk about his unexpected foray into pastry, how he made a place for himself in New York and what this next season of life might bring. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.…

1
Judy Collins 35:10

5y ago35:10

35:10

Musician and activist Judy Collins shares the story of her decades long career in music. Alongside loss and addiction she maintains a clarity of voice, of passion and of vision as a conduit for the music. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.By [email protected]

1
Bethann Hardison 29:18

5y ago29:18

29:18

Activist, entrepreneur, and former model Bethann Hardison recounts moments from her unconventional life. She shares personal stories from the past 60 years in the fashion industry and how she sought to hold the powers that be accountable for their actions. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.…

1
Stanley Whitney 30:29

5y ago30:29

30:29

Visual artist and colorist, Stanley Whitney talks about his life as an artist and as a person. He uncovers what it means to be a black abstract painter, firmly rooted in the United States. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.By [email protected]

1
Krista Tippett 55:32

5y ago55:32

55:32

Krista Tippett talks about her life as a mother, daughter, lover and leader and the ways that all of those roles converge in her work as host of the podcast, On Being. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.By [email protected]

1
Helga Season III Trailer 1:15

5y ago1:15

1:15

Artist, performer and host Helga Davis brings a soulful curiosity and love of people to the podcast Helga. In Season 3, she continues to draw the listener into her profound and intimate conversations with creative people, famous and lesser known. Musicians, visual artists, writers, and chefs join her to share the steps they’ve taken along their pat…

1
Art Maven Kimberly Drew 52:41

7y ago52:41

52:41

Kimberly Drew, also known online as @museummammy, is a unrelenting, taste-making purveyor of art, fashion and culture. Her work has appeared in Glamour and W magazines, as well as Teen Vogue and The Fader. Across her varied platforms, from social media manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to her powerful blog, Black Contemporary Art, to her in…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

WNYC Studios And Brown Arts Institute Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen