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Even after doing the March Trilogy with Congressman John Lewis, artist Nate Powell thought social progress was inevitable. Then came the 2016 election. His new book of graphic essays reckons with what that meant as a parent and citizen. Read More »
Parapraxis is a new magazine that examines the psychic mechanisms of our social lives. This week, a conversation with its founding editor, Hannah Zeavin, about the magazine, gender panics, fears of discussing whiteness in a psychoanalytic context, and more.
Indiana doesn’t touch the Mississippi River, but it’s still bound up with it. This week, we talk with Monique Verdin, Liz Brownlee, and others, about those connections.
When Marabai Rose was 38, a mysterious paralysis came over her. The challenges of getting diagnosed – and treated – in this episode, based on her book, Holding Hope.
Jack was studying vocal performance when he met Seigen at the local Zen center. They became good friends. They took walks, stopping to look at every tree. Then Seigen asked Jack to drive him to an execution.
Philosopher Susan Neiman on why the left should be wary of wokeness, how Germany’s reckoning with its past has become more complicated, and why the differences between two European philosophers - Immanuel Kant and Michel Foucault – matter for politics today.
Two stories about people using art to remember the past and, ideally, change something in the present.
A report from the Bloomington Poetry Slam, and a visit to the teen space at the local public library, where the teens are accomplished, splendid, and wise.
Welcome to Night Vale co-creator Jeffrey Cranor on making of one of the most popular fiction podcasts ever. A group of high schoolers panic in France. And the guilty pleasure of a dating podcast for the rich and famous. Or rich, at least.
Hector wants to run the best wastewater treatment plant in the country. He seems to be inspiring the people he works with in that direction, too. Then, whether we should feel guilty about guilty pleasures.
We think of the foster care system as being about care. Micol Seigel says within the system people do care for each other. But it’s primarily about policing.
Critic Eric Deggans says TV offers him a wide canvas for engaging with culture, and comedian Sara Schaefer decides Twitter isn’t the best place to address sexism in comedy. So she makes video sketches instead.
Ross Gay and I talk about his new book (more delights!), how writing a sentence helps us see how we change, and protecting the sanctity of one’s interiority.
Todd Burkhardt is a veteran, and he’s started asking other veterans to do needle felting with him. And drawing. And making masks. This week, what happens when vets do art.
It’s a mixtape! Five songs (okay, stories), by five different producers. Three are about being behind the scenes. One’s about your dad retiring. And an investigation into love.
It’s a mixtape! Five songs (okay, stories), by five different producers. Three are about being behind the scenes. One’s about your dad retiring. And an investigation into love.
First, a conversation with artist Honey Hodges about collages, immigrating to the U.S., and the opportunity to care for someone who has always taken care of you. Then, naturalist Jim Eagleman reminds us why we should go outside in the winter, and at night.
Limestone work used to be quite dangerous. Joyce Jeffries remembers workers, including her grandfather, dying or getting injured. It’s gotten safer though. This week, Joyce, and others, on limestone.
Comedian Mohanad Elshieky says stand-up comedy and therapy are not the same thing, but regardless, he really loves his cats. Then (speaking of cats) Chapter 4 of our missing cat story: Rita’s Village.
Tess Gunty about why she set her National Book Award winning novel in Indiana. Austin Davis reflects on houselessness in his poetry. And Chapter 3 of our missing cat saga.
Comedian EJ Masicampo on divorce and approaching comedy as a psychologist. Rebel girl poems from Rachel Ronquillo Gray. And chapter 2 of our missing cat story.
Why does a print newspaper full of funnies still have tens of thousands of subscribers? When my friend lost her cat, why did so many strangers decide to help? This week: The Funny Times, and Chapter 1 of our lost cat saga.
Malcolm Mobutu Smith on comic books, collecting, and the exhibit he just put together based on that collection. Then, Bill Carroll uses the quantitative skills he developed as a chemist to analyze the billboard charts of the 1960s and 70s.
Two performances: the trials of Oscar Wilde on stage, and a puppet wedding. And more.
Ross Gay and I talk about his new book, Inciting Joy, about masculinity and grief, teaching and survival, and how joy and sorrow are completely, inevitably, intertwined.
Diana Hong practiced for 13 years to become a professional golfer. But at the last minute, she became a stand-up comedian instead. This week, stories about people who almost achieve their dreams, and then hook left.