SongWriter Podcast
1) Flourishing After Disaster: Patrice Francis + Selah Moonie
Bahamian playwright and teacher Patrice Francis performs a dramatic piece about recovering from Hurricane Dorian, live at the Fuze Art Fair at Bahamar. Patrice wrote the piece based on the research of...Show More
2) The Echo of Theodicy: Kaveh Akbar + Jamila Woods
At a live show at Metro in Chicago, bestselling author Kaveh Akbar reads a poem about empathy that he wrote for Jamila Woods. Jamila and Kaveh are old friends, and they discuss empathy in a brutal wor...Show More
3) Belonging & Collective Action: Viet Thanh Nguyen + Thao Nguyen
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer) gives a talk about belonging at a live performance at the Litquake Festival. San Francisco State University’s Dr. Russell Jeung speaks...Show More
4) Fear and political polarization: Beth Macy + Palmyra
Journalist and bestselling author Beth Macy (Dopesick) reads a piece she wrote to accompany her new memoir Papergirl, about her family's struggle with opposing political views. She describes a slow pr...Show More
5) Season 7 Trailer
The trailer for season seven includes mention of the themes we'll be working on, and some of the upcoming guests, including Jennifer Egan, Jamila Woods, Kaveh Akbar, Rhett Miller, and others!
6) Ben Okri + Matshidiso
Poet, author, and playwright Ben Okri reads his story “A Wrinkle in the Realm,” and talks about music and dream logic. Stanford’s Dr. Tomás Jiménez speaks about polarization, belonging, and empathy....Show More
7) Sarfraz Manzoor + SK & the Kings
At a live performance in London, journalist, filmmaker, and author Sarfraz Manzoor reads a piece he wrote for SongWriter about the things he had to learn for himself. Researcher Dr. Elizabeth Gullifor...Show More
8) Asli Perker + Tuna Kiremitçi
Turkish journalist and author Asli Perker shares a story she wrote for SongWriter about a terrible car accident, and how it helped to make her the artist she is today. Scientist and researcher Dr. Iti...Show More
9) Hala Alyan + H.Sinno
Palestinian poet and clinical psychologist Hala Alyan shares her poem “Dear Gaza,” about guilt, memory, and hope. Scientist Dr. Salma Mousa talks about her research on empathy and polarization, and de...Show More
10) Maggie Smith + Kat Edmonson
Poet and author Maggie Smith shares two poems about caregiving for young children, and the complicated calculus around exposing them to the darkness (and sweetness) of the world. Dr. Chrissy Salley fr...Show More