Podcasts by American Masters: Creative Spark
How do today’s masters create their art? American Masters: Creative Spark presents narrative interviews that go in-depth with an iconic artist about the creation of a single work. Each episode offers a unique window into the world of art and the creative process of artists and cultural icons across a wide range of disciplines, from music and comedy to poetry and film.
Explore more at www.pbs.org/creativespark
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Ling Ma on Imploding the Immigrant Narrative from 2023-06-15T08:42
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 m...
ListenRena Priest Explores the Beauty of Childhood on "Young and Indigenous" from 2023-05-18T06:28:18
We think you’ll really enjoy this podcast from our friends over at Young and Indigenous, which amplifies indigenous knowledge, storytelling and history. In this episode of Young and Indigenous, Was...
ListenYahya Abdul-Mateen II Searches for Truth Through Acting from 2023-04-20T04:53
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 Br...
ListenKelly Reichardt Breaks Down Her Filmmaking Process Behind "Showing Up" from 2023-04-06T07:28
In her eighth feature film, “Showing Up,” Kelly Reichardt takes pleasure in thinking about “life on the level outside of commerce.” Her films often explore working-class characters living life on t...
ListenJennifer Egan Writes to Experience a Life Outside Her Own from 2023-03-23T08:54
A compelling novel can transport us into worlds unknown. Novelist Jennifer Egan has mastered this inventiveness of fiction with her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "A Visit from the Goon Squad," and ...
ListenJason Kim Goes Inside the World of K-pop from 2023-02-23T07:29:51
K-pop is a genre full of catchy music and elaborate choreography. It’s a natural fit for the Broadway stage. As a lifelong fan of K-pop, writer Jason Kim (“Girls,” “Barry,” and “Divorce”) was inter...
ListenJason Kim Goes Inside the World of K-pop from 2023-02-23T07:29:51
K-pop is a genre full of catchy music and elaborate choreography. It’s a natural fit for the Broadway stage. As a lifelong fan of K-pop, writer Jason Kim (“Girls,” “Barry,” and “Divorce”) was inter...
ListenRuth E. Carter Designs Costumes to Stand the Test of Time from 2023-02-09T06:08
What does it mean to create futuristic costumes from the past? Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter’s Afrofuturistic designs imagine the fictional African nation of Wakanda without the inf...
ListenJohn Waters on the Fine Art of Bad Taste from 2023-01-26T05:52
John Waters loves to break the rules and make you laugh along the way. The iconoclast has been doing just that over the past six decades with provocative and perverse films like “Pink Flamingos,” “...
ListenJohn David Washington Explores his Past for his Broadway Debut from 2023-01-12T09:47
Actor John David Washington loves to talk about his craft. The star of films like “BlacKkKlansman,” “Tenet” and “Amsterdam” has now set his sights on Broadway with August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson...
ListenHow Buffy Sainte-Marie Made Her Most Triumphant Song Yet from 2022-11-22T07:00
Buffy Sainte-Marie, a Cree musician, artist and activist, has always been ahead of the pack. For six decades, she has fought for Indigenous rights and visibility through her work. She spoke out aga...
ListenDon Hertzfeldt Animates Stick Figures Into Existential Masterpieces from 2021-11-18T12:02:13
Two-time Oscar-nominated animator, writer and filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt is considered one of the most influential figures in animation. In his first-ever formal podcast interview, he breaks down the...
ListenHow Kim Gordon Makes Music from 2021-11-04T07:14
Musician and artist Kim Gordon is known for being the coolest person in the room. She is one of the co-founders of Sonic Youth, the band that pioneered alternative rock for 30 years with albums lik...
ListenMaking Movies with M. Night Shyamalan from 2021-10-28T13:51:55
For decades, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has been telling original stories with movies like the Oscar-nominated hit, “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “Signs” (2002) and “Split” (2016). In today’s Hollywo...
ListenJericho Brown Takes on Tradition from 2021-10-21T06:50
Poet Jericho Brown won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection “The Tradition.” The poems are vivid works of beauty and agony - each word delivered with a strong sense of urgency. Bro...
ListenUnderstanding the History and Mystery of Michael R. Jackson from 2021-10-14T07:01
“A Strange Loop” has a lot to say in a one-act show. The metafictional musical is playwright, lyricist and composer Michael R. Jackson’s meditation on self-perception, race, sexuality, art, faith, ...
ListenUnderstanding the History and Mystery of Michael R. Jackson from 2021-10-14T07:01
“A Strange Loop” has a lot to say in a one-act show. The metafictional musical is playwright, lyricist and composer Michael R. Jackson’s meditation on self-perception, race, sexuality, art, faith, ...
ListenUnderstanding the History and Mystery of Michael R. Jackson from 2021-10-14T07:01
“A Strange Loop” has a lot to say in a one-act show. The metafictional musical is playwright, lyricist and composer Michael R. Jackson’s meditation on self-perception, race, sexuality, art, faith, ...
ListenErrol Morris vs. Steve Bannon from 2021-10-07T07:01
Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris broke open the documentary form with his early embrace of re-enactments and stylized lighting and music. His film, "The Thin Blue Line" (1988), put this reputat...
ListenIntroducing – American Masters: Creative Spark from 2021-09-23T06:12
How do today’s masters create their art? American Masters: Creative Spark presents narrative interviews that go in-depth with one iconic artist about the creation of a single work. Whether it is Os...
ListenActor and playwright Wallace Shawn from 2020-03-11T04:05
Although he became famous for his work as an actor in films like “Clueless”, “The Princess Bride” and “Toy Story,” Wallace Shawn is also an Obie Award-winning playwright and author, known for his e...
ListenMusician Miles Davis from 2020-02-26T05:05
Miles Davis is widely regarded as one of the most innovative, influential and respected figures in music. To celebrate the new documentary on the jazz legend, American Masters - Miles Davis: Birth ...
ListenTheoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku from 2020-02-19T05:05
The beginning of the universe might be the greatest origin story of all time, and theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku has made a career exploring this subject and others like it. Dr. Kaku is the ...
ListenComedian Maria Bamford from 2020-02-05T05:05
Fresh off the heels of her brand new stand-up special “Weakness is the Brand,” comedian Maria Bamford sits down to discuss her disarming approach to comedy, including the hilarious ways you can tur...
ListenWriter and director Noah Baumbach from 2020-01-22T05:05
Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale,” “Margot at the Wedding,” “The Meyerowitz Stories”) talks about how and why he makes movies. Through equal parts comedy and drama, Baumbach’s films frequent...
ListenPlaywright Lynn Nottage from 2020-01-08T05:05
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage talks about the origin of her Broadway play, “Sweat,” and the time she spent developing the story through her conversations with working class residen...
ListenActor Ethan Hawke from 2019-12-16T05:05
Actor, writer and director Ethan Hawke (“Before Sunrise,” “Training Day,” “First Reformed,” “Boyhood”) talks with his close friend and fellow actor Josh Hamilton about formative projects from Hawke...
ListenActress and filmmaker Lee Grant from 2019-12-04T05:05
Academy Award-winning actress Lee Grant (“Shampoo,” “In The Heat of the Night,” “Valley of the Dolls”) sits down with American Masters creator Susan Lacy for an in-depth conversation about her upbr...
ListenPlaywright and actor Tarell Alvin McCraney from 2019-11-20T05:05
Academy Award-winning writer and actor Tarell Alvin McCraney talks about his semi-autobiographical play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” and the Academy Award-winning film “Moonlight” that foll...
ListenPoet Joy Harjo from 2019-11-13T05:05
In 2019, Joy Harjo became the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States. She joins us from her hometown Tulsa, Oklahoma to talk about the responsibilities that come with this honor a...
ListenAuthor R.O. Kwon from 2019-11-06T05:05
Best-selling author R.O. Kwon writes with an empathy that can attract religious and non-religious readers alike. She talks about her debut novel, “The Incendiaries,” a fierce story that deals with ...
ListenArtist Mark Rothko from 2019-10-30T04:05
One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Mark Rothko’s signature style helped define Abstract Expressionism. After a screening of the new American Masters documentary, Rothko: Pictu...
ListenComedian Chris Gethard from 2019-10-23T04:05
A confessional-style comic, Chris Gethard is unafraid to mine his past. He talks about cramming the entire set of his TV show, “The Chris Gethard Show,” into the back of his car’s trunk, and how he...
ListenMusic duo Tegan and Sara from 2019-10-09T04:05
Pop icons and twins Tegan and Sara look back at their early days during the height of grunge and rave culture in a new memoir, “High School,” and companion album, “Hey, I’m Just Like You.” The duo ...
ListenSneak Peek – New season begins October 9th! from 2019-10-02T04:00
Listen to a preview of what’s to come on Season 4 of the American Masters Podcast, featuring new interviews with artists and cultural figures including musicians Tegan and Sara, playwright Tarell A...
ListenStanding on the Shoulders of Giants from 2019-06-26T02:00
What does it mean to stand on the shoulders of giants? Listen to stories from this season of the American Masters Podcast, and learn more about the people who are changing the way we think. Guests ...
ListenAuthor Viet Thanh Nguyen from 2019-06-12T01:26
Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses growing up in the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam, and how writing and reading helped him cope with this difficult experience. He explains how his Pulitzer Prize-winning ...
ListenActor Jeff Daniels from 2019-05-29T01:24
Jeff Daniels discusses his Tony-nominated role as Atticus Finch in the Aaron Sorkin adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Broadway. He describes the intense preparation that goes into workshoppi...
ListenFilmmaker Boots Riley from 2019-05-15T02:30
Musician-turned-filmmaker Boots Riley discusses his award-winning film “Sorry To Bother You,” and the importance of incorporating politics into his work. Riley is also a founding member and lead vo...
ListenRestaurateur and chef David Chang from 2019-05-01T00:00
Restaurateur and chef David Chang explores the power of food as a cultural communicator and the influence of immigration on American cuisine. He talks about studying religion in college, his TV ser...
ListenActress Lois Smith with Josh Hamilton from 2019-04-17T00:00
Josh Hamilton speaks with actress Lois Smith about how she got her start and the many inspiring figures she’s worked alongside during her decades in film, TV and theater. Forging an enduring legacy...
ListenAuthor and activist DeRay Mckesson from 2019-04-02T21:47
DeRay Mckesson discusses his debut book “On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope.” He talks about his early days protesting on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, and the figures who have in...
ListenFilmmaker and artist Miranda July from 2019-03-19T21:33
Miranda July discusses how everyday connections, such as an unlikely friendship with her cab driver, can spark her creativity. She talks about some of her earliest works from childhood, explains he...
ListenEntertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. from 2019-03-05T22:18
Sammy Davis, Jr., boldly strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory. “American Masters – Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me" director Sam Po...
ListenComedian-turned-filmmaker Bo Burnham with Josh Hamilton from 2019-02-19T22:21
Bo Burnham is a comedian-turned-filmmaker who first found fame self-publishing bedroom performances to YouTube. He recently explored that personal experience by writing and directing his debut film...
ListenSneak Peek – New season begins February 20th! from 2019-02-12T21:25
Listen to a preview of what’s to come on Season 3 of the American Masters Podcast, featuring new interviews with artists and cultural figures including chef and restaurateur David Chang, activist D...
ListenSusan Sarandon, Emina Soljanin, and Alexandra Dean on actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr from 2018-05-24T14:50
Young women entrepreneurs today can find inspiration in the story of Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr. In her time, she was known as the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, but it was her groundbreaking w...
ListenPoet Dr. Maya Angelou from 2017-12-21T13:33
The venerable poet, writer, activist, dancer and singer Dr. Maya Angelou teaches that above all else, we are more alike than we are unalike. In this season's final episode, listen to Dr. Angelou sh...
ListenPoet Tracy K. Smith from 2017-12-12T15:31
We sit down with U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith to discuss the ideas that drive her writing. Considered among the best poets of her generation, Smith won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for her colle...
ListenSinger-songwriter Willie Nelson from 2017-11-26T00:00
Willie Nelson is a superstar of country music (“Red Headed Stranger,” “Shotgun Willie,” “Stardust”). He reinvented the genre as one of the founding fathers of outlaw country, forging a style of mus...
ListenSinger-songwriter Bonnie "Prince" Billy from 2017-11-05T00:00
Will Oldham is an enigmatic singer/songwriter who commonly performs under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy. For decades, his music and lyrics have explored the human experience with great intensity a...
ListenWriter Edgar Allan Poe from 2017-10-21T00:00
Edgar Allan Poe is a global literary icon, best known for his Gothic horror tales. Actor Denis O’Hare stars as Poe in the new documentary “American Masters – Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive.” Listen ...
ListenWriter and Director John Carpenter from 2017-10-07T00:00
Known as "The Horror Master," John Carpenter is Hollywood's ultimate auteur of fright. In this new interview, the writer, director and composer talks about his career and the constantly shifting ho...
ListenComedian Margaret Cho from 2017-09-23T00:00
In this new interview, comedian Margaret Cho talks about her career and the role comedy plays in dealing with the current social climate. An outspoken advocate for LGBT, Asian-American and women’s ...
ListenComedian Mel Brooks from 2017-09-12T00:00
Satire is often described as one of the most powerful tools against tyranny. Listen to a previously unreleased interview with legendary comedian Mel Brooks, who reveals how his experience as a sold...
ListenAnimators Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi on artist Tyrus Wong from 2017-09-06T00:00
“American Masters: Tyrus” filmmaker Pamela Tom interviews filmmakers/artists Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, who discuss their Oscar-nominated animated short “The Dam Keeper” and artist Tyrus Wong’...
ListenPlaywright Arthur Miller from 2017-08-27T00:00
Witch hunts, political hysteria, and paranoia! Listen to previously unreleased interviews with Tony- and Pulitzer-winning playwright Arthur Miller and actresses Madeleine Sherwood and Lee Grant, wh...
ListenPlaywright Suzan-Lori Parks from 2017-08-13T00:00
Season 2 of the American Masters Podcast looks at the artists that challenge and shape our thoughts through the power of the written word. We begin with a new interview with Pulitzer Prize-winner a...
ListenRuben Santiago-Hudson on playwright August Wilson from 2017-01-11T00:00
Host and series executive producer Michael Kantor sits down with Ruben Santiago-Hudson, director of August Wilson’s Jitney, which makes its Broadway debut this week at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatr...
ListenFilmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady from 2016-10-21T00:00
Listen as host and series executive producer Michael Kantor sits down with Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, co-directors of American Masters – Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You. The two veteran...
ListenNorman Lear and comedian Hasan Minhaj from 2016-10-10T00:00
Comedian Hasan Minhaj, senior correspondent for The Daily Show, shares a personal story with legendary producer Norman Lear, recorded live at this summer’s New York premiere of American Masters – N...
ListenAuthor Gloria Naylor from 2016-10-08T00:00
We remember novelist Gloria Naylor, who died September 28, 2016, at the age of 66. Best known for The Women of Brewster Place, which received the National Book Award in 1983, and was adapted into a...
ListenBonus. Joan Baez and Dar Williams Sing “If I Wrote You” from 2016-10-02T00:00
Listen to singer-songwriters Joan Baez and Dar Williams perform as a duet in this impromptu rendition of “If I Wrote You”, written by Dar Williams. This exclusive performance is from the cutting ro...
ListenSinger-songwriters Dar Williams and Joan Baez from 2016-09-23T00:00
American folk music icon Joan Baez began her singer-songwriting career during the 1960s counterculture movement and celebrated her 75th birthday this year. Listen in on this conversation between Ba...
ListenNina Bernstein and June Norton on singer Ella Fitzgerald from 2016-09-10T00:00
Before jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald became the First Lady of Song and earned 13 Grammy Awards, she spent much of her teenage years as an orphan, finding odd jobs to get by and, at times, living on t...
ListenTennis players Venus Williams and Chris Evert on Billie Jean King from 2016-08-28T00:00
Celebrate the 2016 U.S. Open with tennis superstars Chris Evert and Venus Williams, who discuss athlete and social icon Billie Jean King’s impact both on and off the tennis court with filmmaker Jam...
ListenSinger-songwriter Patti Smith from 2016-08-12T00:00
Singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist Patti Smith discusses the early days of punk rock. In this never-before-heard interview from American Masters – Lou Reed: Rock-And-Roll Heart (1998) conduc...
ListenWe Love Lucy! from 2016-07-31T00:00
Late comedian, actress, producer and television legend Lucille Ball would have turned 105 years old this year on August 6. Celebrate her birthday with actresses Doris Singleton, Fran Drescher, and ...
ListenComedian Betty White on Carol Burnett from 2016-07-15T00:00
American comedian, actor and nonagenarian Betty White sits down with director Kyra Thompson to discuss the life and career of comedian, actor, singer and writer Carol Burnett. White shares personal...
ListenSinger Lena Horne from 2016-07-03T00:00
American singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist Lena Horne discusses the difficulties of navigating the 1940s and 1950s Hollywood studio system and her involvement in the civil rights mo...
ListenActivist Gloria Steinem on Marilyn Monroe from 2016-06-17T00:00
The first season of the American Masters Podcast presents interviews with influential women discussing women who have impacted our cultural landscape. Who better to kick off the season than America...
ListenIntroducing the American Masters Podcast! from 2016-06-10T20:08
The poet Muriel Rukeyser once wrote that the Universe is made of stories, not of atoms. The American Masters Podcast brings you previously unreleased long-form interviews from the series' 30+ years...
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