Episodios

  • Annie Baker Shifts From Stage to Screen

    Annie Baker Shifts From Stage to Screen
    Aug 22 2024
    Annie Baker talks to us about her directorial debut, “Janet Planet.” Her film explores the intimate relationship between a single mother and her daughter told over a long and hot summer break in Western Massachusetts. Baker shares her “intuitive” approach to making the film and the ways in which her work defies easy categorization. She also talks about what she strives for when she’s writing, the “trippy” power of nature sounds, and the “whole point of making art.” We even have a brief lesson in etymology. Annie Baker is best known for influencing a generation of theater-goers with her work as a playwright. Her plays are often recognized for their rich, layered dialogue delivered with deliberate pacing and loads of subtext. In 2014, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her play, “The Flick,” and in the decade since, she has written “John” (2015), “The Antipodes” (2017), and “Infinite Life” (2023). You can get tickets or stream “Janet Planet” here: https://a24films.com/films/janet-planet
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    33 m
  • Jewel Finds Healing in Music and Art

    Jewel Finds Healing in Music and Art
    Aug 8 2024
    Singer-songwriter Jewel talks to us about her love of learning and the joy of making art across multiple disciplines. She recounts her journey navigating a traumatic childhood and channeling its challenges into better understanding herself. She reminds us that “trauma does change us, but we get to choose how it changes us.” Jewel talks about how the internet gives “power to the creator” and the importance of her having a direct relationship to her community and listeners. She describes a “sacred contract between the art and the participant” and shares memories of when her music has created powerful connections. Then, she breaks down her creative process behind her recent art exhibit at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. It’s called “The Portal: An Art Experience by Jewel.” Jewel tells us how she created the show as a way to merge her interests in music, visual arts and behavioral health. She describes curating a collection of fine art, including pieces by artists like Mickalene Thomas, Ruth Asawa, and Genesis Tramaine, among others. She also describes producing her own works for the show, including a hologram, a painting, a sculpture, and even a 200-piece drone show. You can learn more about “The Portal: An Art Experience” here: https://crystalbridges.org/news-room/jewel-presents-immersive-art-experience-at-crystal-bridges-museum-of-american-art/
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    40 m
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt Can Do That Genre Too!

    Joseph Gordon-Levitt Can Do That Genre Too!
    Jul 25 2024
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt talks to us about the vast “spectrum of realism” in his line of work. He might be one of the most adaptable actors working today. Whether it’s the recently released Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Lincoln, 3rd Rock From the Sun, The Dark Knight Rises, Mysterious Skin, 500 Days of Summer, or one of the dozens of other projects he’s starred in, Gordon-Levitt really shows his range. In this episode, Joseph Gordon-Levitt unpacks his creative approach to building characters and fitting the mold of the genre he’s working in. He goes deep on some of his most iconic performances and talks about working opposite a wide range of acting styles, from the talents of Eddie Murphy to Daniel Day-Lewis.
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    41 m
  • Here's a quick preview of our new season!

    Here's a quick preview of our new season!
    Jul 12 2024
    We're back! Our first new episode drops Thursday, July 25th, and every other Thursday after that. First up: Joseph Gordon-Levitt talks with us about his creative process as an actor who is able to mold himself to any and all film genres, including this month's new film, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. How do the world’s finest artists – from actors to musicians and beyond – create work that moves audiences? What challenges do they overcome in their creative process? American Masters: Creative Spark explores what makes a master by interviewing artists and cultural icons from the worlds of music, comedy, poetry, film, and more about their work. Featured guests this season include actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, singer-songwriter Jewel, playwright turned filmmaker Annie Baker, singer-songwriter Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner, and more.
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    1 m
  • From The Plot Thickens: Decoding John Ford

    From The Plot Thickens: Decoding John Ford
    Jul 11 2024
    We’re sharing a bonus episode from our friends at The Plot Thickens, a podcast from TCM about movies and the people who make them. Their new season is all about John Ford, the most influential filmmaker in cinema history. In this episode, we’re exploring Ford’s early days, when he rose to fame by being one of the most reckless, independent directors in Hollywood.
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    51 m
  • Ling Ma on Imploding the Immigrant Narrative

    Ling Ma on Imploding the Immigrant Narrative
    Jun 15 2023
    Novelist Ling Ma doesn’t shy away from taking risks with her writing. Her 2018 debut novel, “Severance,” is an apocalyptic satire that won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction and squarely put her on the map as an exciting, off-beat new writer. With her newest collection, “Bliss Montage,” Ma has turned her attention to the short story format. The collection is described as “eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home.” In this episode, Ling Ma breaks down her creative process and inspiration behind “Peking Duck,” a short story from the collection. She details how she attempted to complicate and “implode” the immigrant narrative through her unique approach to this mother-daughter story. After listening to the episode, you can read “Peking Duck” here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/11/peking-duck
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    28 m
  • Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Ghosts that Haunt our Cultural Past (Replay)

    Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Ghosts that Haunt our Cultural Past (Replay)
    May 4 2023
    It’s been announced! Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer” (2015) is now getting the prestige TV treatment on HBO’s newly rebranded Max streaming service. To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we revisit our interview with Nguyen. In it, he talks about not just “The Sympathizer,” but about growing up in the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam, and how writing and reading helped him cope with its many challenges. He breaks down how his work takes on issues of cultural representation in American pop culture and literature. “The Sympathizer” stars Hoa Xuande (“Cowboy Bebop”) as a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in L.A.’s refugee community. The miniseries adaptation is described as “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.” The cast includes executive producer Robert Downey, Jr., Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong, Vy Le, Ky Duyen and Sandra Oh.
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    38 m
  • Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Searches for Truth Through Acting

    Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Searches for Truth Through Acting
    Apr 20 2023
    Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is one of the busiest people in Hollywood. His recent films include “Aquaman,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Ambulance,” and “Candyman.” But most recently, he made his Broadway debut in "Topdog/Underdog."  In this episode, Abdul-Mateen II gives a masterclass on his acting process. The graduate of the Yale School of Drama describes how he prepared for his critically acclaimed performance in Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play. He reveals the physical and mental challenges of this work, which are ultimately in service of his pursuit of “absolute truth.”
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    20 m