The Articulate Hour

Theater director Kenny Leon and children’s author Sophie Blackall use real life as fodder for their creations. Despite the risks, both are celebrated for making honest works for the masses.

Flutist Claire Chase and architect Mónica Ponce de León are at odds with society’s traditional notions of music and design, but they love a challenge to make something bigger and better.

Throughout history and across civilizations, the humble shoe, once mere protection for our tender feet, has evolved new meanings. Today, shoes are signalers of taste and markers of status. They are taking us on fresh paths, integrating new technology to become more sustainable while helping push the boundaries of human performance.

At the height of their careers, painter Horace Pippin and singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading were unprecedented, seeding ground for future artists.

In this Articulate special, we explore the life and work of conductor and composer Teddy Abrams. The thirty-something music director of the Louisville Orchestra is reviving and revolutionizing the relationship between the orchestra and its community.

Making things better is the upshot of making things for singer-songwriter Yuna and architect Doris Sung.

An inevitable part of the human experience, pain is impossible to objectively measure, but felt universally. And: Gil Shaham might be the last musician to own a great violin.

Novelist Veronica Roth and pianist Amy Yang see a way forward.

Physical beauty is assumed to be a passport to a better life, but in truth is a transitory visa. When it fades it can leave an unfillable void.

Timothy Showalter uses music to share and survive a tumultuous world. John Jarboe wants to help change it.

Bassist Joseph Conyers uses music as a tool for social engagement and community building. In this Articulate exclusive, he discusses his community-based work and performs music from a variety of genres.

Stories have shaped our knowledge and communication and been the bedrock of how we’ve entertained ourselves since time immemorial. And even as technology advances and the world becomes more interconnected, stories are still core to our shared humanity.

Singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers creates story songs that are wise beyond her years; choreographer Brian Sanders questions received wisdom.