Helga
120 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★★ - 164 ratingsArtist, performer, and host Helga Davis brings a soulful curiosity and love of people to the podcast Helga, where she talks about the intimate lives of creative people as they share the steps they’ve taken along their path. She draws listeners into these discussions with cultural change-makers, whether already famous or rising talents, whose sensibilities expand our imaginations as we explore what we think we know about each other. The new season of Helga is a co-production of WNYC Studios and the Brown Arts Institute at Brown University. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, On the Media, and Death, Sex & Money. The Brown Arts Institute at Brown University is a new university-wide research enterprise and catalyst for the arts at Brown that creates new work and supports, amplifies, and adds new dimensions to the creative practices of Brown’s arts departments, faculty, students, and community.
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Episodes
Deborah Archer
September 08, 2021 16:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MB“It was so important to be apart of community. To find strength in each other. To know that on the days when I can’t move forward, someone is going to take up the baton and move forward for me. “ Professor, Lawyer and ACLU President Deborah Archer sat down to speak with me about some of her earliest moments and how they shaped her desire to fight for equality. Deborah N. Archer is a Professor of Clinical Law and Co-Faculty Director of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU S...
Liliana Maria Percy Ruíz
September 01, 2021 16:00 - 32 minutes - 30.5 MB“That's been one of the hardest things to really heal from. Has been the grief of knowing that my choices and the way that I live my life, which I love means that I am isolated from my community.” Liliana Maria Percy Ruíz, radio producer and founding member of On Being with Krista Tippett sat down to talk about identity, her definition of faith and the complexities of family. Born in Cali, Colombia, Liliana Maria Percy Ruíz immigrated to Miami with her family at the age of four. She studi...
Liliana Maria Percy Ruíz
September 01, 2021 16:00 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MB“That's been one of the hardest things to really heal from. Has been the grief of knowing that my choices and the way that I live my life, which I love means that I am isolated from my community.” Liliana Maria Percy Ruíz, radio producer and founding member of On Being with Krista Tippett sat down to talk about identity, her definition of faith and the complexities of family. Born in Cali, Colombia, Liliana Maria Percy Ruíz immigrated to Miami with her family at the age of four. She stud...
Jad Abumrad
August 25, 2021 16:00 - 53 minutes - 49.9 MB"The positioning of being kind of on the edge of the room looking in? That's the position of a journalist." Jad Abumrad, co-Host and creator of Radiolab, joined Helga to talk about the beginnings of his career, the impact of family and how he works with doubt. The son of a scientist and a doctor, Jad Abumrad did most of his growing up in Tennessee, before studying creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio. Following graduation, Abumrad wrote music for films, and re...
Jad Abumrad
August 25, 2021 16:00 - 53 minutes - 48.9 MB"The positioning of being kind of on the edge of the room looking in? That's the position of a journalist." Jad Abumrad, co-Host and creator of Radiolab, joined Helga to talk about the beginnings of his career, the impact of family and how he works with doubt. The son of a scientist and a doctor, Jad Abumrad did most of his growing up in Tennessee, before studying creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio. Following graduation, Abumrad wrote music for films, and r...
Davóne Tines
August 18, 2021 16:00 - 40 minutes - 37.7 MB"It split me. In one instance it split me in two. Because I had never thought of using my different voices to do different things." Opera singer Davóne Tines joined Helga to talk about his path towards a career in classical music, how he's tried to bring his whole self to his work and the impact of feeling like he can't. Davóne Tines is a pathbreaking artist whose work not only encompasses a diverse repertoire, from early music to new commissions by leading composers, but also explores tod...
Davóne Tines
August 18, 2021 16:00 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MB"It split me. In one instance it split me in two. Because I had never thought of using my different voices to do different things." Opera singer Davóne Tines joined Helga to talk about his path towards a career in classical music, how he's tried to bring his whole self to his work and the impact of feeling like he can't. Davóne Tines is a pathbreaking artist whose work not only encompasses a diverse repertoire, from early music to new commissions by leading composers, but also explores to...
Karen Finley
August 11, 2021 16:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MB"I love to hear humans just gathering and talking and being and making lots of noise. I like to do that too...just being, and making yourself known and present." Author and performing artist Karen Finley spoke with Helga Davis about the evolution of her early work and what she wants to give her audience now. Karen Finley is an artist, performer, and author. She is an interdisciplinary artist working in performance, text, sound, music, poetics, film and video, installation, public and soci...
Karen Finley
August 11, 2021 16:00 - 28 minutes - 26.4 MB"I love to hear humans just gathering and talking and being and making lots of noise. I like to do that too...just being, and making yourself known and present." Author and performing artist Karen Finley spoke with Helga Davis about the evolution of her early work and what she wants to give her audience now. Karen Finley is an artist, performer, and author. She is an interdisciplinary artist working in performance, text, sound, music, poetics, film and video, installation, public and soc...
Jason Reynolds
August 04, 2021 16:00 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MB“Everything I know about gender politics or gender identity as it's changed and continues to change and shift and be named in all these glorious and intricate ways, have come from 16 year-olds. Thank God for them.” Youth author Jason Reynolds joined Helga Davis to talk about what it means to make work during the pandemic and how important it is to make space for the next generation. Jason Reynolds is an award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author. Jason’s many books include Mi...
Jason Reynolds
August 04, 2021 16:00 - 45 minutes - 42.6 MB“Everything I know about gender politics or gender identity as it's changed and continues to change and shift and be named in all these glorious and intricate ways, have come from 16 year-olds. Thank God for them.” Youth author Jason Reynolds joined Helga Davis to talk about what it means to make work during the pandemic and how important it is to make space for the next generation. Jason Reynolds is an award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author. Jason’s many books include Mil...
Tina Campt
July 28, 2021 16:00 - 48 minutes - 45.5 MB"How exactly do we listen to images? We listen by feeling. We listen by attending to what I call 'felt sound'." Helga Davis invites Scholar and Author Tina Campt to explore her relationship to her practice and her family, centering the conversation on the power and pleasure of listening to images. Tina L. Campt is Owen F. Walker Professor of Humanities and Modern Culture and Media at Brown University. Campt is a black feminist theorist of visual culture and contemporary art. She leads the ...
Tina Campt
July 28, 2021 16:00 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MB"How exactly do we listen to images? We listen by feeling. We listen by attending to what I call 'felt sound'." Helga Davis invites Scholar and Author Tina Campt to explore her relationship to her practice and her family, centering the conversation on the power and pleasure of listening to images. Tina L. Campt is Owen F. Walker Professor of Humanities and Modern Culture and Media at Brown University. Campt is a black feminist theorist of visual culture and contemporary art. She leads the ...
Marilee Talkington
July 21, 2021 16:00 - 35 minutes - 33.6 MB"I’m curious about how we work. Why we’re here. What we’re doing to each other, with each other. And I know on a fundamental level that I am so much more capable than I can imagine." Actress & Disability Advocate Marilee Talkington sat down with Helga Davis to talk about her journey towards a life in theater, how she continues to innovate in that space as a low vision actress, and how important it is to be a resource and voice for her community. Marilee Talkington is a professional actor,...
Marilee Talkington
July 21, 2021 16:00 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MB"I’m curious about how we work. Why we’re here. What we’re doing to each other, with each other. And I know on a fundamental level that I am so much more capable than I can imagine." Actress & Disability Advocate Marilee Talkington sat down with Helga Davis to talk about her journey towards a life in theater, how she continues to innovate in that space as a low vision actress, and how important it is to be a resource and voice for her community. Marilee Talkington is a professional actor...
Nick Cave
July 14, 2021 16:00 - 37 minutes - 35 MB"When I look outside, when I go to the front door. That is my new canvas. Today. It's not really what happens in the studio. It's what happens outside of the studio." Visual Artist Nick Cave joins Helga Davis to talk about the evolution of his sculptural work, his community collaborations, and how to move from Black sorrow to Black excellence. Nick Cave (b. 1959, Fulton, MO; lives and works in Chicago, IL) is an artist, educator and foremost a messenger, working between the visual and per...
Nick Cave
July 14, 2021 16:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MB"When I look outside, when I go to the front door. That is my new canvas. Today. It's not really what happens in the studio. It's what happens outside of the studio." Visual Artist Nick Cave joins Helga Davis to talk about the evolution of his sculptural work, his community collaborations, and how to move from Black sorrow to Black excellence. Nick Cave (b. 1959, Fulton, MO; lives and works in Chicago, IL) is an artist, educator and foremost a messenger, working between the visual and pe...
Helga: The Armory Conversations Season 4 Trailer
July 07, 2021 16:00 - 1 minute - 1.56 MBArtist, performer and host Helga Davis brings a soulful curiosity and love of people to the podcast Helga: The Armory Conversations. This season, in partnership with Park Avenue Armory, she continues to draw the listener into her profound and intimate conversations with creative people, famous and lesser known. Artists, scholars, and cultural change-makers join her to share the steps they’ve taken along their paths. Where they started, where they are and where they’re going next. These ...
Helga: The Armory Conversations Season 4 Trailer
July 07, 2021 16:00 - 1 minute - 938 KBArtist, performer and host Helga Davis brings a soulful curiosity and love of people to the podcast Helga: The Armory Conversations. This season, in partnership with Park Avenue Armory, she continues to draw the listener into her profound and intimate conversations with creative people, famous and lesser known. Artists, scholars, and cultural change-makers join her to share the steps they’ve taken along their paths. Where they started, where they are and where they’re going next. These ...
Esperanza Spalding
May 08, 2020 16:00 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBMusician, teacher, community member, and caster of musical spells, Esperanza Spalding joins Helga mere weeks before her most recent Grammy win to talk about what it means to truly be a part of a community and how to find the “the yum” in things. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.
Esperanza Spalding
May 08, 2020 16:00 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MB“It's not fantasy. It's imagining...What does it look like to live with a community of people I get along with and don't necessarily get along with.” Musician, teacher, community member, and caster of musical spells, Esperanza Spalding, joins Helga mere weeks before her most recent Grammy win to talk about sustainability, what it means to be a part of a community and how to find the “the yum” in things. Esperanza Spalding is a bassist, vocalist and composer who, “like most organisms grow...
Elizabeth Alexander
May 05, 2020 16:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MB“I studied dance and it turned out that I communicate more with words.” Poet and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation President, Elizabeth Alexander joins Helga to share her thoughts on what it means to live a life alongside words, how we maintain relationships with one another, and what the world looks like after loss. Elizabeth Alexander – poet, educator, memoirist, scholar, and cultural advocate – is president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She has held distinguished professorships at a n...
Elizabeth Alexander
May 05, 2020 16:00 - 36 minutes - 33.9 MBPoet and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation President, Elizabeth Alexander joins Helga to talk about what it means to live a life alongside words, how we maintain relationships with one another, and what the world looks like after loss. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.
Ranky Tanky
May 01, 2020 16:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MB“I think you're going to encounter moments of faith and moments of fear in any path that you're on.” Guitarist Clay Ross and Charlton Singleton are 2/5th of the Gullah band, Ranky Tanky. As they bring that music and its history forward into the present day, most recently on the Grammy stage, they wrestle with what it means to the communities they come from and what the art form can be in the future. Gullah band, Ranky Tanky, are the 62nd Grammy Award Winners for Best Regional Roots Al...
Ranky Tanky
May 01, 2020 16:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBGuitarist Clay Ross and Charlton Singleton are 2/5th of the Gullah band, Ranky Tanky. As they bring that music and its history forward into the present day, most recently on the Grammy stage, they wrestle with what it means to the communities they come from and what the art form can be in the future. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.
Maury Rubin
April 28, 2020 16:00 - 31 minutes - 29 MBPastry Chef, Maury Rubin, is the owner of well-known New York establishment City Bakery. He joins us just a few months after it shuttered to talk about his unexpected foray into pastry, how he made a place for himself in New York and what this next season of life might bring. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.
Maury Rubin
April 28, 2020 16:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MB“I think there's something about being an outsider to New York that helped me create a lot of what the sum of City Bakeries parts were.” Pastry Chef, Maury Rubin, is the owner of well-known New York establishment, City Bakery. He joins us just a few months after it shuttered to talk about his unexpected foray into pastry, how he made a place for himself in New York, and what this next season of life might bring. Maury Rubin is a pastry chef and owner of now closed, City Bakery. He is als...
Judy Collins
April 24, 2020 16:00 - 34 minutes - 32 MB“I think transitional moments in our lives... it's very important to put them together like a string of beads for yourself, so you'll remember and know where they are, if you can.” Musician and activist Judy Collins shares the story of her decades long career in music. Alongside loss and addiction she maintains a clarity of voice, of passion and of vision as a conduit for the music. Award-winning Judy Collins has long inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting,...
Judy Collins
April 24, 2020 16:00 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBMusician and activist Judy Collins shares the story of her decades long career in music. Alongside loss and addiction she maintains a clarity of voice, of passion and of vision as a conduit for the music. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.
Bethann Hardison
April 21, 2020 16:00 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBActivist, entrepreneur, and former model Bethann Hardison recounts moments from her unconventional life. She shares personal stories from the past 60 years in the fashion industry and how she sought to hold the powers that be accountable for their actions. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.
Bethann Hardison
April 21, 2020 16:00 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MB“I'm literally saying to myself that I'm proud of me. That I'm proud that I have the determination, that I had the natural drive to want to do something about something. That's a revolutionary.” Activist, entrepreneur, and former model Bethann Hardison recounts moments from her unconventional life. She shares personal stories from the streets of Bed Stuy to the runways of Paris and how she sought to hold the “powers that be” in fashion accountable for their actions. Bethann Hardison is a...
Stanley Whitney
April 17, 2020 16:00 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MB“I think my work is really who I am. And I think, you know, I grew up with freedom, freedom, freedom. So I paint a lot of freedom.” Visual artist and colorist, Stanley Whitney talks about his life as an artist and as a person. He uncovers what it means to be a black abstract painter, firmly rooted in the United States. Stanley Whitney is a painter based in New York City and Parma, Italy. His work is held in numerous public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney ...
Stanley Whitney
April 17, 2020 16:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBVisual artist and colorist, Stanley Whitney talks about his life as an artist and as a person. He uncovers what it means to be a black abstract painter, firmly rooted in the United States. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.
Krista Tippett
April 14, 2020 16:00 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MB“I know that most of us across all of the divisions and differences we could name, don't want to live this way.” Krista Tippett talks about her life as a mother, daughter, lover and leader and the ways that all of those roles converge in her work as host of the podcast, On Being. Krista Tippett is a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster, a New York Times bestselling author, and a National Humanities Medalist who grew up in a small town in Oklahoma. She attended Brown University and was the 20...
Krista Tippett
April 14, 2020 16:00 - 55 minutes - 51 MBKrista Tippett talks about her life as a mother, daughter, lover and leader and the ways that all of those roles converge in her work as host of the podcast, On Being. Subscribe to Helga, wherever you get your podcasts.
Helga Season III Trailer
April 09, 2020 16:00 - 1 minute - 1.22 MBArtist, performer and host Helga Davis brings a soulful curiosity and love of people to the podcast Helga. In Season 3, she continues to draw the listener into her profound and intimate conversations with creative people, famous and lesser known. Musicians, visual artists, writers, and chefs join her to share the steps they’ve taken along their paths. Where they started, where they are and where they’re going next. These inspiring conversations expand our world and our imaginations as we exp...
Helga Season III Trailer
April 09, 2020 16:00 - 1 minute - 1.02 MBArtist, performer and host Helga Davis brings a soulful curiosity and love of people to the podcast Helga. In Season 3, she continues to draw the listener into her profound and intimate conversations with creative people, famous and lesser known. Musicians, visual artists, writers, and chefs join her to share the steps they’ve taken along their paths. Where they started, where they are and where they’re going next. These inspiring conversations expand our world and our imaginations as we exp...
Art Maven Kimberly Drew
June 13, 2018 16:00 - 52 minutes - 48 MBKimberly Drew, also known online as @museummammy, is a unrelenting, taste-making purveyor of art, fashion and culture. Her work has appeared in Glamour and W magazines, as well as Teen Vogue and The Fader. Across her varied platforms, from social media manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to her powerful blog, Black Contemporary Art, to her influencer Instagram account, Drew strives to shape a brighter future through inspiring art and advocacy. She joins host Helga Davis in this episod...
Art Maven Kimberly Drew
June 13, 2018 16:00 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBKimberly Drew, also known online as @museummammy, is a unrelenting, taste-making purveyor of art, fashion and culture. Her work has appeared in Glamour and W magazines, as well as Teen Vogue and The Fader. Across her varied platforms, from social media manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to her powerful blog, Black Contemporary Art, to her influencer Instagram account, Drew strives to shape a brighter future through inspiring art and advocacy. She joins host Helga Davis in this episod...
David Kyuman Kim
May 21, 2018 16:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBTeacher, author and speaker, David Kyuman Kim shares the concept of "radical love" in halls and on college campuses across the country as well as on his former podcast, Love-Driven Politics. In 2015, David presented a TEDx Talk on the topic at Connecticut College where he is also a Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies and the Peace and Conflict Coordinator. In this episode, David joins host Helga Davis to discuss the role of community and love in this nation during a critical ...
David Kyuman Kim
May 21, 2018 16:00 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBTeacher, author and speaker, David Kyuman Kim shares the concept of "radical love" in halls and on college campuses across the country as well as on his former podcast, Love-Driven Politics. In 2015, David presented a TEDx Talk on the topic at Connecticut College where he is also a Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies and the Peace and Conflict Coordinator. In this episode, David joins host Helga Davis to discuss the role of community and love in this nation during a critical ...
Jacqueline Woodson
May 07, 2018 16:00 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBAuthor Jacqueline Woodson won the 2014 National Book Award for Brown Girl Dreaming, and this past January began her two-year tenure as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; her latest book Another Brooklyn was a New York Times best-seller. In this conversation, host Helga Davis sits down to talk with Woodson about family – the alternative one she was born into and the one she made for herself. Finding the ones with whom she can connect has been invaluable for her; here she s...
Jacqueline Woodson
May 07, 2018 16:00 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBAuthor Jacqueline Woodson won the 2014 National Book Award for Brown Girl Dreaming, and this past January began her two-year tenure as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; her latest book Another Brooklyn was a New York Times best-seller. In this conversation, host Helga Davis sits down to talk with Woodson about family – the alternative one she was born into and the one she made for herself. Finding the ones with whom she can connect has been invaluable for her; here she s...
Kenneth Lonergan
April 09, 2018 16:00 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBDirector, playwright and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan is widely known for winning the Oscar for best original screenplay at the 89th Academy Awards for his film Manchester By the Sea, and as a co-writer on Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. In this episode, host Helga Davis and Lonergan work through their shared upbringing at the Walden School in New York – exploring memories both charged and powerfully formative – while also exploring daily rituals and what it means to fuel one's creativ...
Kenneth Lonergan
April 09, 2018 16:00 - 1 hour - 56.5 MBDirector, playwright and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan is widely known for winning the Oscar for best original screenplay at the 89th Academy Awards for his film Manchester By the Sea, and as a co-writer on Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. In this episode, host Helga Davis and Lonergan work through their shared upbringing at the Walden School in New York – exploring memories both charged and powerfully formative – while also exploring daily rituals and what it means to fuel one's creativ...
Studio Museum in Harlem's Thelma Golden
March 26, 2018 16:00 - 1 hour - 77.2 MBThelma Golden is the director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, an appointee to President Obama's Committee for the Preservation of the White House, and the recipient of the 2016 Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence. In this conversation, the first of the second season of our Helga podcast, Golden discusses being taught canon revision with her father growing up, her first memories of seeing the world through art, and the rituals she need to get through the day. "I ex...
Studio Museum in Harlem's Thelma Golden
March 26, 2018 16:00 - 1 hour - 77.7 MBThelma Golden is the director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, an appointee to then President Obama's Committee for the Preservation of the White House, and the recipient of the 2016 Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence. In this conversation, Golden discusses being taught canon revision with her father growing up, her first memories of seeing the world through art, and the rituals she need to get through the day. "I exist perpetually, but also for me, very beautiful...
Season Two of 'Helga' Returns Next Week with Thelma Golden
March 23, 2018 16:00 - 38 secondsThe second season of our podcast, Helga, with host Helga Davis is just around the corner. New episodes featuring relevant, uplifting conversations with trailblazing artists returns Monday, March 26, with Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem. New episodes will come out every other week on Monday for ten episodes. Learn more about what inspires today's most dynamic artists and what lessons their daily and artistic practice can impart for your own life, by b...
Hilton Als
January 23, 2017 17:00 - 48 minutes - 47.5 MBHilton Als is an intellectual omnivore who roots his art and criticism in reality and a search for the truth. A writer, New Yorker theater critic, curator, photographer, director and professor, Als’s work gracefully slips between genres to comment on contemporary American politics, pop culture and the African-American experience and to place the current condition in a longer history. In this tenth and final episode of the first season of Helga, Als and Davis talk about what he learned living...
Hilton Als
January 23, 2017 17:00 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MBHilton Als is an intellectual omnivore who roots his art and criticism in reality and a search for the truth. A writer, New Yorker theater critic, curator, photographer, director and professor, Als’s work gracefully slips between genres to comment on contemporary American politics, pop culture and the African-American experience and to place the current condition in a longer history. In this tenth and final episode of the first season of Helga, Als and Davis talk about what he learned livi...