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Jazz, activism, organizing: Podcast & transcript

Terri Lyne Carrington (drummer, Inst. of Jazz & Gender Justice), Orbert Davis (trumpeter, “Immigrant Stories“) and Marc Ribot (guitarist, Music Workers Alliance) talked with me on The Buzz, podcast of the Jazz Journalists Association about their engagement with social issues. Long transcript posted for those who read faster than they listen. HOST : Hello and welcome to The Buzz, the podcast...

When to Hold, When to Fold, When to Play a Different Game

Leading an arts organization isn’t about luck—it’s about judgment. Hold when trust matters, fold when the model’s busted, and when the casino’s rigged? Start your own game in the parking lot.

From Village Voice to TikTok: Rethinking How Audiences Discover Art

From magazine listings to the For You page, how we discover art has changed—but not as much as we think. Artists should see social media as a tool for accomplishing their goals, not the enemy.

Lauding Lauder: The Consummate Museum Benefactor Dies at 92

I’ve been unpardonably remiss about this (having been uncharacteristically off-blog for two months). But I must belatedly add my voice

Making the Creative Turn: Is Using AI Cheating?

Throughout the digital age, Big Tech has promised us products that will make us more efficient and save time, which, it is assumed, is always an obvious good. It’s a cliché that tools shape the things we make. And through most of our history, better tools have helped us create better things. But what if this isn’t always true?

Opera Philadelphia, $11 tickets, and a predictable outcome

Opera Philadelphia's $11 ticket prices produced what we expect: increased attendance and more diverse audience. But audience perceptions about price aren't fixed.

How to Talk About a Terminated NEA Project

...it’s not just about the amount of money in the grant—people will care because of the impact on your community!

Kennedy Center audiences vote with their feet. What happens next?

Kennedy Center subscription sales are in free fall. How much danger does that put the Center in?

Michelle Wu

Michelle Wu was a musician, a pianist, before she was a politician—and she remains a  musician today.   You might have heard her play George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue across the street at Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops, or music by Mozart with the Boston Symphony.

Pro-Social Parents Sing More to Their Infants and, By Doing So, Contribute to Greater Language Acquisition, Study Suggests

Plenty of studies, some of them published by the Arts Endowment, have shown how arts participation in early childhood appears to awaken greater social skills and behaviors at a crucial stage of development. It’s no surprise, especially among infants and toddlers, that most arts activities involve a parent or caregiver. It

Heroes & Zeroes: Why DOGE Shouldn’t Fund Trump’s Redundant Sculpture Garden UPDATED

UPDATE: Mary Anne Carter, whom I identified (in this post, below) as Senior Advisor to the National Endowment for the Arts, has since been nominated by President Trump to resume her previous position as NEA’s chairman (as reported by Zachary Small of the NY Times.). Where’s Elon Musk, the DOGE

Celebrating 100 Episodes of Call Time

Last Thursday’s episode of Call Time with Katie Birenboim, featuring actor and choreographer Aigner Mizzelle, marked the 100th episode of the show — in some form or another. Longtime listeners, friends, or fans might remember that a different version of Call Time, then known as “Theatre Book Club,” started under

Revisiting Dublin through an Arts Research Blog Post

In deference to St. Patrick’s Day, I’m reposting an entry from ten years ago. Titled “Yeats and the Economics of Creativity,” it originally ran on the Arts Endowment website on May 7, 2025. Last month, at the invitation of the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, I took part in a conference

Shake It Up: The Benefits of Free-Form Dance May Rival Those of Other Forms of Movement

When we talk about the arts and DIY, we commonly refer to craft activities or teaching oneself how to play a musical instrument. But what could be more DIY than free-form dancing? The adjective says it all. Free-form, freestyle, or free dance is a series of unstructured, personally directed movements

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