S5 E4: Big Bad Books
Celebrating the freedom to read, with Colm Tóibín & Ariel Schrag on banned books.
S5 E3: Everyone Is Using It
Superstar writers Meghan O’Rourke and Thomas Beller on the allure AI, virtual love, and the power of language.
S5 E2: Scars on the Soul
Performance maestro John Kelly and acclaimed author Paul Lisicky on storytelling, subversion, and a voice that still breaks our hearts—Joni Mitchell.
S5 E1: Art Grows Out of Life
Composers Paul Austerlitz and Daniel Thomas Davis on vodou pilgrimages, lake vibes, life as collaboration, playing the hurdy-gurdy, and more.
S4 E5: Space on Wheels
A.S.M. Kobayashi on hanging out with archivists, navigating space on wheels, finding transcendence in everyday objects, and more.
S4 E4: Understructure
Ron Baron on limitless exploration, the history of the urn, hands as tools, and embracing brokenness. PLUS: Preview Laurie Anderson’s Amelia.
S4 E3: Real Time
Masterful novelists Rebecca Makkai and Porochista Khakpour on her latest, Tehrangeles, plus parodies, parables, short attention spans, diaspora drama, K-pop, dynamic prose and more.
S4 E2: Icons
Walk on the wild side, with two phenomenal biographers: Cynthia Carr on Candy Darling—dreamer, icon, superstar—and Brad Gooch on pop-art activist Keith Haring.
S4 E1: Carson Comeback
Revel in Carson McCullers, the wunderkind writer who catapulted to fame in 1940. On tap: biographer Mary V. Dearborn and music by Suzanne Vega.
S3 E12: Secret Studio Lives
Audio from 1890, the symbolic power of pizza, blue suede shoes, thinking like a vulture, and more in our season roundup of favorite moments.
S3 E11: Hair’s Breadth
Nafis M. White on finding beauty and resilience in loss, unraveling history, and enlisting raw materials like hair to explore power and identity.
S3 E10: Somewhere
Celebrating Leonard Bernstein’s relationship to Yaddo with acclaimed composer Daron Hagen. PLUS: Masterful actor and storyteller Edgar Oliver performs from Rip Tide, his latest one-man show.
S3 E9: Form, Scale, Medium
Art converges with nature, work that spans decades, making the impossible possible and more, with internationally acclaimed sculptor Martin Puryear. PLUS: Preview Missy Mazzoli’s “Dark with Excessive Bright”—nominated for a Grammy!
S3 E8: Understory
Forest restoration, coming to terms with trauma, healthy ecosystems and more, with luminous storyteller Martha McPhee, author of the long-awaited memoir, Omega Farm.
S3 E7: A Tear in the Veil
Ghosts, artificial intelligence, horror, estrangement and more, with acclaimed authors Vauhini Vara and Brian Evenson.
S3 E6: True Song
On the Black roots of the banjo, the godfather of bluegrass, novelist as bandleader, and more, with celebrated writer-musicians David Gates & Lee Clay Johnson. PLUS: Preview Rhiannon Giddens’ new documentary.
S3 E5: Blue Is the Cure
Explore liminal worlds with phenomenal Yaddo artists Elliott Green, Chris Rush and Eleni Sikelianos.
S3 E4: Wild Side
On music, the ’90s, and NYC cool: Bestselling novelist Sam Lipsyte, with esteemed music journalist and author Will Hermes.
S3 E3: All a Canvas Holds
Discover all that a canvas holds, with two phenomenal Yaddo artists: Odili Donald Odita—the Nigerian American abstract painter—and Alexi Worth, acclaimed critic and painter.
S3 E2: Hear Now
Archival audio, a love story, new tech and more. PLUS: The Lazours!
S3 E1: Trash!
Space trash, vultures, mining, and more in our latest Shadow Yaddo featuring the art research collective Tres—ilana Boltvinik and rodrigo Viñas!
S2 E20: Snow Day!
Celebrating the conclusion of Season 2, with a behind-the-scenes take on Shadow // Yaddo. Plus: A few of our favorite moments featuring Moby, Terry McMillan, Mark Morris, Elizabeth Strout and more dazzling talents.
S2 E19: Divine Dissonance
Celebrated author Gish Jen on post-Nixon China, finding humor in heartbreak, and her virtuosic fiction. Syrian writer and refugee Ayad Awwadawnan on his journey to asylum and hopes for the future. PLUS: New music from The Lazours!
S2 E18: Above & Beyond
Sculptor Harry Leigh on the decades of discipline that saw him through half a century of making art. PLUS: Acclaimed filmmaker Javier Barboza on growing up in East L.A., turning talent into gold, and building a better world.
S2 E17: Showing Stories
Boom, Pow, Bang! The magic of comix, with Emmy- and Ringo- award winner Dean Haspiel (Dino!), acclaimed painter and cartoonist Pat Palermo, and superstar novelist Victor LaValle.
S2 E16: Keep On
Bestselling novelist Elizabeth Strout on process, persistence, and her new novel, Lucy by the Sea. PLUS: A dip into the archive, with composer George Walker and poets Etheridge Knight and Gwendolyn Brooks.
S2 E15: Big Bad Books
Celebrating the freedom to read, with Colm Tóibín on the dangers of censorship and Ariel Schrag on how her comics ended up among the “Top 100 Most Banned Books.”
S2 E14: State of Mind
Beyond brilliant: Danielle Spencer and Andrew Solomon discuss narrative medicine and the impacts of storytelling on our health, work and lives.
S2 E13: Summer Break!
We’re incredibly grateful to all who’ve listened and contributed to our “little podcast that could,” which began in September 2020 and now has listeners on every continent! Before we take a short summer break, we put together a…
S2 E12: “Interrogate & Celebrate”
Groundbreaking Danyel Smith on braiding her own stories of ambition, doubt and heartbreak with those of the Black female artists she heralded in Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop.
S2 E11: Jazz Hands
World-renowned choreographer Mark Morris and legendary jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch on primal improvisation, ’60s tunes, live performance, embracing the gay, and more.
S2 E10: The Real Deal
Yaddo artists whose work radiates authenticity: Bestselling novelist Terry McMillan on kicking booze to the curb, finding joy in a library, and writing clean prose with a clear head. PLUS: Theater superstar and songwriter extraordinaire…
S2 E9: Back on Broadway
Celebrating the return of live performance with Pulitzer Prize-winning theater artists James Lapine and Doug Wright. PLUS: Mega-talent Carol Lipnik shares new music.
S2 E8: Math as Language
Conceptual artist, producer and activist John Sims on shredding confederate iconography, the power of Pi, quilting with the Amish, and more. PLUS: Steve Buscemi reminds us why making art matters.
S2 E7: The Russians Are Coming
Ringing in the “Old New Year” with literary supernovas Gary Shteyngart and Sloane Crosley. PLUS Emmy Award-winning composer Nathan Barr on creating the music behind “The Great.” Huzzah!
S2 E6: You Belong Here
Come share in a little insight and a few good laughs, with two of our favorite writers: poet and essayist Marianne Boruch and novelist Lynn Freed.
S2 E5: A Grand Old Dream
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Andrea Elliott on child poverty, redefining success, the roots of racism and more. PLUS: New music from mega-talented singer-songwriter and composer Gabriel Kahane.
S2 E4: Sanctuary
Acclaimed novelists Brad Kessler (North) and Uwem Akpan (New York, My Village) on empathy across boundaries, essential storytelling, the paradox of sanctuary—and the decade it takes to get it right.
S2 E2: Artist Reunion
Antics, disco, cocktails and more in this week’s celebration of our upcoming Yaddo Artist Reunion, with a trio of rock star writers: Sheila Heti, Lauren Groff, Sarah Manguso.
S2 E1: Beginnings
Off to the races! Celebrating the launch of Season 2 with musician, singer-songwriter and producer Moby, mega-talented photographer and activist Dona Ann McAdams, Tony Award-winning actress Blair Brown and legendary performance artist…
S1 E23: Maps and Legends
Opera, voyages, battlegrounds and more: Playwright and librettist Sandra Seaton on why she’s moved to reimagine history. PLUS: Renowned visual artists Alexi Worth and Joyce Kozloff on war cartography.
S1 E22: Real Magic
Venture behind the scenes for a glimpse of culinary magic, the future of NYC restaurants, and the tastes of summer with chef/writer Gabrielle Hamilton and New York magazine’s “bilious gourmand” Adam Platt. Award-winning journalists Mark…
S1 E21: See the Light
The luminous writer Jo Ann Beard discusses her new book, Festival Days, with revered editor Patricia Towers. And we’ll share some news about a very special Yaddo event coming up this fall: “Art Saved Us—Let’s Save Art”.
S1 E20: Change is Like an Ocean
Brilliant filmmaker Shaka King and celebrated writer Walter Mosley discuss the difficulty of making meaningful films, New York vs. L.A., and the ebb and flow of social change. PLUS: Photographer and seasoned activist Dona Ann McAdams…
S1 E19: Love of Labor
Whether it’s a creative pursuit, side-hustle or “real” job, work is at the heart of this episode featuring novelists Lisa Dierbeck and Jonathan Ames on his latest book, A Man Named Doll, the first in a new noir series set in Los Angeles.
S1 E18: Family Mystery
Obsession, motherhood, long-held secrets and more in this week’s exploration of family: Kirstin Valdez Quade on her new novel, The Five Wounds, in which multiple generations of family converge. Illustrator and writer Margaret Kimball…
S1 E17: Future Forward
As arts venues reopen (hooray!), we asked two brilliant friends to imagine a new paradigm for concert classical music: Venezuelan/American composer, multimedia collaborator and Yaddo Board Member Manuel Sosa in conversation with Saratoga…
S1 E16: Nature Noir
Dig into the forensics of a new kind of noir, climate crime, with acclaimed novelist and nonfiction writer Nathaniel Rich and intellectual powerhouse Philip Gourevitch. PLUS selections from Landfall, the genius collaboration by iconic…
S1 E15: Full Circle
Playwright, songwriter and performer David Cale and his friend and sometime-collaborator Sylver Wallace talk about pandemic projects and share new music, with nods to the East Village hotspot Pangea, Sade Adu, and… squirrels!
S1 E14: Spring Fever
Work hard, play hard, and evade the “tyranny of the early riser”—stay up late with Shadow // Yaddo! Katherine Rosman and Melissa Maerz on the cult classic, “Dazed and Confused.” Plus Beena Kamlani shares a reading from Saul Bellow’s Herzog.
S1 E13: Out West
Time for some Big Sky! We’re headed out west with two incredibly talented Yaddo artists: Novelist Maxim Loskutoff and photographer Peter Kayafas.
S1 E12: Dare to Fail
Innovation, big ideas, and the glory of experimentation: Writer-director Adam Goldman on bootstrapping his way to a TV series, Miranda July shares early work, and new music from Arthur Moon.
S1 E11: Invisible Among Us
Acclaimed filmmaker Mitch McCabe on her latest feature, “Civil War Surveillance Poems,” bestselling author Jewell Parker Rhodes on writing for children, and performance artist Chin Chih Yang on the one thing he thinks everyone should…
S1 E10: Brave New World
Artificial intelligence, weaponized data and turning STEM into STEAM, with Zia Haider Rahman and Brian Christian. PLUS: Katherine Rosman and Elizabeth Holmes on how to make a statement without saying a word.
S1 E9: Falling Down Is Funny
Dancing turtles, family antics, the joy of libraries and more in this week’s episode featuring bestselling humorist David Sedaris in conversation with Patricia Towers, a beloved editor and friend to many writers.
S1 E8: Merry, Merry!
For our very special holiday edition, we share a few of our favorite things: Allan Gurganus reads “A Fool for Christmas,” composer Paul Moravec shares music from his new, Grammy-nominated album, Sanctuary Road. Plus, a dose of Dolly Parton!
S1 E7: Cocktail Attire
We bring the cocktail party to you! Interdisciplinary artists James Hannaham and Mark King discuss quarantine fashion, architecture and more. The remarkable musical duo The Lazours share music, and Rick Moody: Life Coach offers advice.
S1 E6: Reality Dreams
The brilliant Amitava Kumar talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar, whose new novel is sweeping the “best books of the year” lists.
S1 E5: Back to Basics
Mike Doughty on his new band, new book and why he always keeps a guitar in his hands. Glendalys Medina shares a performance and discusses the difficulty of survey shows.
S1 E4: Home
Andrew O’Hagan on his “proudly misspent youth” and his new novel; Gabriel Kahane shares his groundbreaking oratorio on homelessness; and NPR veteran Jacki Lyden reports from the Heartland on our upcoming election.
S1 E3: Artists on Animals
Dogs, cats, and the allure goats: How the global crisis has brought us back to the wild, with Brad Kessler and Mary Gaitskill.
S1 E2: How to Live
Sheri Fink on our global pandemic, Rick Moody: Life Coach answers your burning questions, and Victor LaValle talks heroes for this week’s theme: How to Live.
S1 E1: Why Yaddo?
What exactly is Yaddo and why does it matter? Jonathan Ames raises his hand. Plus: Odili Donald Odita on art and activism, and Jonathan Lethem on his secret to success…
