Next week I’m interviewing one of the smartest people on the planet for a live episode of Design Matters: @officialdavidremnick, the editor of @thenewyorker (and so much more), at the @onairfest, the festival of sound storytelling. We’re live and on-stage at 10am ET on March 1st. Want to join us? There’s still time to get tickets at onairfest.com!
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Leonard Hilton McGurr was a young artist writing graffiti on subway cars in New York City. But then he joined the Navy and was overseas for four years. When he came back, the graffiti scene was beginning to merge with the East Village scene and generating art stars like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. McGurr started working on canvas, became integral to the movement, and over the years his lush and lyrical paintings have turned him into the legendary, magnificent art star we know as Futura aka @futuradosmil. He’s also designed album covers, performed onstage with The Clash, designed sneakers and…even automobiles. Link to listen to this classic episode is in my bio, and swipe to see some of his stunning images! @futuralaboratories
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Leonard Hilton McGurr was a young artist writing graffiti on subway cars in New York City. But then he joined the Navy and was overseas for four years. When he came back, the graffiti scene was beginning to merge with the East Village scene and generating art stars like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. McGurr started working on canvas, became integral to the movement, and over the years his lush and lyrical paintings have turned him into the legendary, magnificent art star we know as Futura aka @futuradosmil. He’s also designed album covers, performed onstage with The Clash, designed sneakers and…even automobiles. Link to listen to this classic episode is in my bio, and swipe to see some of his stunning images! @futuralaboratories
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Leonard Hilton McGurr was a young artist writing graffiti on subway cars in New York City. But then he joined the Navy and was overseas for four years. When he came back, the graffiti scene was beginning to merge with the East Village scene and generating art stars like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. McGurr started working on canvas, became integral to the movement, and over the years his lush and lyrical paintings have turned him into the legendary, magnificent art star we know as Futura aka @futuradosmil. He’s also designed album covers, performed onstage with The Clash, designed sneakers and…even automobiles. Link to listen to this classic episode is in my bio, and swipe to see some of his stunning images! @futuralaboratories
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Leonard Hilton McGurr was a young artist writing graffiti on subway cars in New York City. But then he joined the Navy and was overseas for four years. When he came back, the graffiti scene was beginning to merge with the East Village scene and generating art stars like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. McGurr started working on canvas, became integral to the movement, and over the years his lush and lyrical paintings have turned him into the legendary, magnificent art star we know as Futura aka @futuradosmil. He’s also designed album covers, performed onstage with The Clash, designed sneakers and…even automobiles. Link to listen to this classic episode is in my bio, and swipe to see some of his stunning images! @futuralaboratories
When @suleikajaouad was a young woman, she wanted to be a foreign correspondent. That career plan was upended by a cancer diagnosis when she was 22 years old, but in spite of being told she only had a 35% chance of survival, her creative ambitions didn’t diminish. They turned inward. Suleika wrote about surviving cancer in “Life Interrupted,” her Emmy Award-winning column and video series for The New York Times. She’s also written a New York Times bestselling memoir about the experience titled “Between Two Kingdoms.” More recently, her cancer returned and she had a second bone-marrow transplant. That experience is chronicled in the multiple award-winning Netflix documentary “American Symphony,” which also features her husband, the celebrated musician Jon Batiste, as he composed his first symphony for Carnegie Hall. In this episode we talk about creativity in its many forms, experiencing life’s highest highs and lowest lows at the very same time, and what it means to really live. Link to listen is in my bio or here: https://tinyurl.com/dmwsuleika
“Move fast and break things.” This was an informal motto at Facebook for many years, and it exemplified in ethos in Silicon Valley about how to aggressively conduct business in a rapidly changing world. “Move Fast and Fix Things” is the title of the latest book by the remarkable and legendary duo @francesxfrei and @annemorriss. (I can’t say enough good things about them.) Anne and Frances contend that the equivalence between speed and business excellence is false. The subtitle of their book is “The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems.” Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School and a business strategist for companies like Uber and WeWork. Anne Morriss is a CEO, business coach and author. Together they host the podcast Fixable, which is a must-listen for anyone who wants to learn more about how and why leadership is the practice of imperfect humans leading imperfect humans. In this brand new episode of Design Matters, Frances, Anne and I talk about ambition, resilience, and the courage needed to go towards burning buildings and not away from them. Link to listen two these extraordinary humans is in my bio or here: https://tinyurl.com/dmwannefran
“Move fast and break things.” This was an informal motto at Facebook for many years, and it exemplified in ethos in Silicon Valley about how to aggressively conduct business in a rapidly changing world. “Move Fast and Fix Things” is the title of the latest book by the remarkable and legendary duo @francesxfrei and @annemorriss. (I can’t say enough good things about them.) Anne and Frances contend that the equivalence between speed and business excellence is false. The subtitle of their book is “The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems.” Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School and a business strategist for companies like Uber and WeWork. Anne Morriss is a CEO, business coach and author. Together they host the podcast Fixable, which is a must-listen for anyone who wants to learn more about how and why leadership is the practice of imperfect humans leading imperfect humans. In this brand new episode of Design Matters, Frances, Anne and I talk about ambition, resilience, and the courage needed to go towards burning buildings and not away from them. Link to listen two these extraordinary humans is in my bio or here: https://tinyurl.com/dmwannefran
“Move fast and break things.” This was an informal motto at Facebook for many years, and it exemplified in ethos in Silicon Valley about how to aggressively conduct business in a rapidly changing world. “Move Fast and Fix Things” is the title of the latest book by the remarkable and legendary duo @francesxfrei and @annemorriss. (I can’t say enough good things about them.) Anne and Frances contend that the equivalence between speed and business excellence is false. The subtitle of their book is “The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems.” Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School and a business strategist for companies like Uber and WeWork. Anne Morriss is a CEO, business coach and author. Together they host the podcast Fixable, which is a must-listen for anyone who wants to learn more about how and why leadership is the practice of imperfect humans leading imperfect humans. In this brand new episode of Design Matters, Frances, Anne and I talk about ambition, resilience, and the courage needed to go towards burning buildings and not away from them. Link to listen two these extraordinary humans is in my bio or here: https://tinyurl.com/dmwannefran
In honor of @toshireagon’s birthday and the 40th anniversary (!!!) of her birthday shows at @joespub in NYC, we’re running this classic episode of Design Matters! (Link in bio) Toshi Reagon and band BIGLovely will be at Joe’s Pub beginning tomorrow! This is the schedule:
Wed-Fri, Jan 24-26
40th Annual Birthday Concerts featuring Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely
Sat, Jan 27
Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower In Concert featuring Toshi Reagon & friends – Fundraiser for Wise Reagon Arts
Sun, Jan 28
The Sacred Music Show featuring The Bernice Johnson Reagon songbook
Tues, Jan 30
The Toshi Reagon Songbook featuring Meshell Ndegeocello, Helga Davis, @joanaspolicewoman, Nona Hendryx, @morley_music, Catherine Russell, Tariq Al-Sabir & more
Wed, Jan 31
Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely Unplugged with Chris Bruce aka @the_bruces_morley_chrisbruce, Michelle Dorrance, Carla Duren, Ganessa James, Juliette Jones, Shirazette Tinnin, Carla Duren & Josette Newsam
Featured Artists include:
Chris Bruce
Bobby Burke
Carla Duren
Ganessa James
Allison Miller
Josette Newsam
Adam Widoff
And a lot of special guests.
Tickets are available at publictheater.org!
You don’t want to miss this amazing opportunity to see this extraordinary musician.
AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOSHI!
The @newyorkermag has a remarkable article about the great @thelmagolden, its headline says it all: “The Art World Before and After Thelma Golden.” Thelma is the Director and Chief Curator of the @studiomuseum in Harlem. She is a fearless leader and curator with impeccable taste. In honor of this important article, we’re re-releasing my interview with Thelma Golden recording in person at the @svabranding studio. Link to listen is in my bio.
In 1979, The Roches came out with their eponymous album. I was a senior in high school. To say it changed my life would be an understatement. Their ferocity, their feminism, their harmonies…it made me swoon and I’ve been a fan of theirs, and, slowly but surely, the whole Wainwright-Roche musical family ever since. I’ve also been a huge huge fan of @megwolitzer since I first saw the gorgeous, compelling cover of The Wife by @bdewilde.
If anyone over the last few decades had told me I would be sharing a stage with any of these remarkable women, I would have declared they were hallucinating. Yet here we are. On February 13 I will be on stage at @symphonyspace in NYC with @suzzyroche @lucywainwrightroche @megwolitzer @evie_shockley @neginfarsad and my wife @roxanegay74 for a night of music, reading, conversation and more. Tickets can be found at symphonyspace.org! (And I’ll prolly be reading a piece about first meeting Roxane!) Come join us!
Repost from @lucywainwrightroche
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very excited for this special show next month at @symphonyspace in NYC!
@aminatou Sow doesn’t like when people tell her she can’t do something. After being told that women and technology don’t mix, she created an online meeting hub for women in technology. She also went to work at Google. She was born in Guinea, and lived all over the world before settling in New York City. She was named one of Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 in Tech, and one of KQED’s Women to Watch. She also co-hosted the very popular podcast Call Your Girlfriend and co-wrote the NYTimes best-selling book Big Friendship with Ann Friedman. Now Aminatou has a fantastic newsletter you can read here: https://aminatou.substack.com. Link to listen to this “Best Of” episode of the pod is in my bio.
Despite the fact that @lucywainwrightroche comes from music royalty—her father is the Grammy-award winning folk artist Loudon Wainwright III, her mother was one-third of the legendary folk trio The Roches and her half-siblings are Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright, she started her career as an elementary school teacher. Eventually, she started singing backup in her brother’s band, and pretty soon she had recorded and released her own CD. When you hear her beguiling voice and listen to her songs, you might conclude she had no choice in the matter; she’s really that good. Lucy Wainwright Roche joined me on the podcast to talk about her life, her career, her music and why she is a rabid Eminem fan. She also sang a few songs for us!
ALSO! ALSO! ALSO! I will be on stage with Lucy on Feb 13 at @symphonyspace; this is the official info from their website: literary-musical mashup is back by popular demand––just in time for Galentine’s Day! Bestselling author Meg Wolitzer and mother-daughter singer-songwriters Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche reunite for a rousing night of music and stand-up, poetry and prose, and conversation and laughter! With special guests, poet Evie Shockley, comedian Negin Farsad, and writers-designers-all-around creative couple Roxane Gay and Debbie Millman.
LINK TO GET TICKETS ARE IN MY BIO! 🤩🤩🤩
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
The remarkable artist @stephbrodylederman has been sending out a beautiful calendar every year for the last many decades. By the grace of good luck, she added me to her small mailing list THIRTY years ago and I’ve been receiving them ever since. I’ve lovingly collected them all, and when I moved into my current home in NYC in 2015, I decided to display them, adding each new one every January. This is the wall today. The following images are some closeups of the individual calendars; all beautiful, all bittersweet, all so open-hearted. Thank you Stephanie for this gift of so many years. I am—and will be—eternally grateful.
If it weren’t all true, Carrie Brownstein’s (aka @carrie_rachel) career would seem like fantasy fiction. She’s a celebrated musician first and foremost, but she’s also a comedian, a writer, a director, and an actor. In today’s brand new episode of Design Matters, we talked about the band she co-founded, @sleater_kinney, which has been called one of the greatest bands of all time. They just released their 11th album, Little Rope, but I also talked with her about the now classic television series, Portlandia, which she co-wrote and starred in alongside Fred Armisen. We also talked about her gorgeous memoir, “Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl,” and everything in between. Link to listen is in my bio. This was a bucket list interview for me. 🎸