All Episodes
ART IS CHANGE: Strategies & Skills for Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers — 188 episodes
187: Ken Grossinger Believes Art is Essential to Effective Organizing
186: Effective Community Arts Practice - Should Activist Artists Prioritize Safety or Bravery
185: What Makes a Healthy Art and Social Change Ecosystem?
184: Ariel Fristoe: -Theater as a Civic Commons
183: Paola Mendoza - What if the Most Powerful Antidote for Tyranny is an Artist with a Story?
182: Arts Freedom Weather Report - Who Speaks - Who Belongs?
181: Cynthia Cohen - Acting together on the World Stage
180: Veteran Sean Martin Talks About War, Music, PTSD, & Social Change
179: Why Lasting Cultural Partnerships Drive Art & Social Change Success!
Derek Goldman: What Happens When the Stranger Walks In Your Shoes?
177: Organization & Imagination - What Happens When Actvist Artists Take Root in the System
176: Are Art & Upheaval Incompatible or Inevitable? You Decide
175: Suzanne Firstenberg Asks: How Can Art Help Make the Unseen Visible When People Look Away?
174: Anne Cleveland - How Arts-infused Education Supports Democracy
173: ART IS CHANGE – ART IS RESISTANCE
172: Jordan Seaberry - What Use is Art Making When Freedom is Under Fire?
171: Artist Proof Studio - What Can We Learn From Activist Artists in South Africa
170: Is Community Based-art Making at the Heart of Cultural Democracy?
169: Joni Doherty: ART IN ACTION Is Fueling Free Expression & Democracy
168: Arts Freedom Weather Report - The MAGA Squeeze Is Provoking Creative Resistance
167: Arts ON Prescription: Radical Art & Social Change in Healthcare
166: The Wedding - What Can We Learn From Activist Artists in Northern Ireland?
165: The Intercessor - Art, Faith, & Repair in the MAGA Maelstrom
164: Meeting The Moment - Tactics & Tools for Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers
163: Arts Freedom Weather Report: MINNEAPOLIS JAN. 2026
162: Alan Jenkins: These Art & Social Change Superpowers Can Help Save Democracy
161: The Arts Freedom Weather Report - January 2026
160: METRA - A Climate Revolution With Songs
159 What Can We Learn From Activist Artists in Australia: PART 2
158 Goodbye Leni Sloan: Artist, Activist, Catalyst
157 What Can We Learn From Activist Artists in Australia? Part 1
156: Why Should Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers Care About Sustainability?
155: Why Are Humility & Failure Essential to Art and Social Change Success?
154: What are the Moral & Ethical Challenges Facing Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers?
153: How Robert Farid Karimi Uses COMEDY & FOOD as a Powerful Strategy for Social Change
152: Art, Agency, & Fear: How Artmaking Can Help Crush the MAGA Monsters at the Door
151: Should Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers be Running for Office - Tom Tresser Says, "ABSOLUTELY!"
150: What Can We Learn from Activist Artists in Singapore?
149: What Can We Learn From Activist Artists In Serbia?
148 ; Five Arts Superpowers for Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers to Make Change NOW!
147: Emma Addams: Can a Quilt Change how Congress Listens— & How you Practice Democracy at Home?
146: How is the Government Threatening Activist Artists and Arts Organization?
145: Liz Sunde Brings Music To Life: Activist Artists Making Music, Making Change, & Thriving
144: Solar Story Circle: How Narrative Powers Democracy & Social Change
143: Alma & Frank: Designing Creative Futures One Story at a Time
142: Alma Robinson: How Do You Build an Art & Social Change Movement That Lasts Decades
141: Art and Resistance: Smithsonian, FREE DC, LA, and Beyond
140:: The Community Bridge: How can activist artists help build the bridges we need to make democracy whole?
139: Wendy Shenefelt: How Can Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers Become a Real Force For Resistance & Change?
138: Self-Care: Why it Matters for Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers!
137: Can Artist activists and cultural organizers become trusted community leaders?
136: What Are Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers Accountable to in Their Work?
135: Jerry Stropnicky: Story, Civic Empathy, & Social Change
134: “How Do Activist Artists and Cultural Organizers Resist: Lessons from the Anti-Authoritarian Frontlines
133: Can Arts Festivals, Community Theater & Cultural Organizers Save Democracy?
132: When the Arts Are Under Fire – Navigating Today’s Unfriendly Cultural Climate
131: Can Activist Artists Bring DEI Back From the Dead? Part 3
130: Can Theater Artists Bring DEI Back From the Dead? Part 2
129 : Can Activist Theater Artists Bring DEI Back from the Dead? Part 1
128: Art IS Change: Want Proof That Art Makes Real Change? Start Here
127: Julia Roig Believes Arts Activism & Cultural Organizing are a Pro Democracy Imperative
126: The CETA Arts Revolution Part 2: What Can Today's Activist Artists Learn From It?
125: THE CETA ARTS REVOLUTION: What Can Today's Activist Artists & Organizers Learn from It?
124: New Rules: 11 Unlikely Lessons for Activist Artists Navigating MAGA.
123: How are Artists and Organizers Creating a Better World Together? Reprise
122: Change the Story Weather Report: A Neighborhood Cultural Center Navigates the MAGA Storm
121: Talking Walls & Dancing Kites*: Powerful Lessons from a Prison Writing Classroom
120: Change the Story Good Trouble Weather Report: Massachusetts
119: How do Arts Leaders Become Community Change Agents?
118: CSCW's Art & Social Change Weather Report From Minneapolis
117: How the Arts Can Thwart the Attention Bandits
116: Henry Frank: Art & the 21st Century Man
115: Lynne Elizabeth: Breaking Ground for The New Village
114: A Conversation With Lily Yeh
113: Jack Bowers -A Do-gooder Opportunist in the Joint : A Jazz Improvisation in 4 Parts
112: Is Democracy a Creative Practice? 2
111: Is Democracy a Creative Practice?
110: Jeff Mather: Art, Community, & the Materialized Imagination
109: Rebecca Rice: Giving Voice to the Invisible
108: Billy Yalowitz: Art & Trust in Treacherous Times
107: Laurie Meadoff: What Happens When Art & Humanity Pull Up A Chair?
106: From Ignorance to Knowing: A Journey of Art, Science & Healing
105: BIGhART BIGsTORY REDUX 2
104: BIGhART BIGsTORY REDUX
102: Cynthia Cohen: Art, Conflict, Peacebuilding, and Social Change
103: Alternate Roots: 50 Years of Artist Activism & Cultural Organizing,
101: 9 Reports Later: Why We Still Struggle with Race and Belonging—And How Public Art Can Change That – Part 2
100: 9 Reports Later: Why We Still Struggle With Race and Belonging—And How Public Art Can Change That – Part 1
99: Animating Democracy: Can Activist Artists and Cultural Organizing Help Save it - Part 2
98: Animating Democracy: Can Activist Artists and Cultural Organizing Help Save it - Part 1
97: How Judith Marcuse Transformed a Life in Dance into a Movement for Social Change
96: How are Artist Activists and Organizers Creating a Better World Together? Reprise
95: Jose Antonio Aguirre on Cultural Organizing, and the Power of Public Art
94: Ash Hanson: Exclamation Points
93: The Griot in the Prison Yard: Provoking Community Healing Through Story
92: How Robert Farid Karimi Uses Food & Comedy as a Cultural Strategy for Social Change
91: How Salty Xi Jie Ng Uses Humor, Bunions, and Grandmas to Drive Art and Social Change - Part 2
90: Salty: Activist Artists and Cultural Organizers Changing the World Through Art - Part 1
BONUS: 3 TRICKSTER SERIES: Bonus Episode: Normando Performs
89: 3 TRICKSTER SERIES: From Crack Houses to Trickster Tales: Normando Ismay is Thriving as an Artist for Change
88: Pills Alone Won’t Heal Us! The Case for Art and Social Change in Healthcare
87: BIGhART – BIGsTORY: Skateboarding, Storytelling, & Environmental Justice – How Artist Activists Are Thriving and Driving Social Change – Part 2
86: BIGhART – BIGsTORY: Skateboarding, Storytelling, & Environmental Justice – How Artist Activists Are Thriving and Driving Social Change
85: Tisidra Jones: Strong and Starlike
84: Henry’s Return: Further Adventures of an Activist Artist from San Quentin
83: A Radical Mama: The Art and Power of Amoke Kubat’s Cultural Resistance
82: Barry Gillespie on Art, Joy, and Compassion as Tools for Social Change and Healing
81: The Book of Judith: Prison Truth Through Fiction
80: Art for Art’s Sake – NOT!—and What Activist Artist Alice Lovelace Built Instead
79: Harry Boyte: Democracy & Imagination
78: Carlton Turner: SIPP Culture Rising -Reprise-
77: How a Dancing Theologian Turned Improvisation into a Global Movement for Art, Healing, and Social Change
76: Alice Lovelace: How to Thrive as an Activist Artist and Creative Change Agent
75: Brain Dance: How the Arts Rewire Us for Justice and Belonging (Cultural Organizing + Neuroscience Connect)
74: When Fear Meets Hope: Theater and Dialogue in Healthcare DEI (Arts Activism + Cultural Organizing) – Part 2
73: When Fear Meets Hope: Theater and Dialogue in Healthcare DEI (Arts Activism + Cultural Organizing) – Part 1
72: A Culture of Care: Art, Neuroscience, and Belonging in Aging Communities – Part 2
71: Is Creative Aging the Cutting Edge of Community Arts?
70: An Activist Artist at Work at the Global Brain Health Institute
69: Anne Basting -Aging, Arts and Social Change: A Radical Prescription
68: Roadside Theater’s 50-Year Legacy Is a Blueprint for Democracy Through the Arts and Cultural Organizing
67: Eric Booth: From Shakespeare on Broadway to Pioneering Teaching Artist Organizer
66: Arlene Goldbard on Cultural Activism, Belonging, and the Power of Lived Knowledge
65: Lorrie Chang - Finding an Art & Community TRUE NORTH
64: Witches Are Not Victims: Liz Lerman on Power, Performance & Cultural Legacy – Part 2
63: Witches Are Not Victims: Liz Lerman on Power, Performance & Cultural Legacy – Part 1
BONUS: Change the Story- Genesis
62: What 2022 Taught Us About Thriving as Artists for Change
61: Rad Pereira on Ancestry, Imagination & Liberation (Art and Social Change in Practice)
Bonus: Barry Marcus Redux- A Creative Culture Celebratory Remembrance
60: Susie Tanner: When Steelworkers Became Activist Artists— And What It Taught Us About Dignity, Loss, and Change – Part 2
59: Susie Tanner: When Steelworkers Became Activist Artists— And What It Taught Us About Dignity, Loss, and Change – Part 1
58: Why Rural Stories Get Erased—And What Activist Artist Organizers Like Matthew Fluharty Are Doing to Stop It – Part 2
57: Why Rural Stories Get Erased—And What Activist Artist Organizers Like Matthew Fluharty Are Doing to Stop It – Part 1
BONUS: Lorraine Hansberry @ Pillsbury House + Theatre - Gifted & Black
56: How a Minneapolis Social Service Agency Became A Center for Art and Social Change – Part 2
55: How a Minneapolis Social Service Agency Became A Center for Art and Social Change – Part 1
BONUS: The Nouvella – Using Fiction to Tell the Truth About Art and Social Change
54: DAH Teatar: Arts Driven Social Change and Environmental Justice in Serbia
53: Garden Battles and River Rituals: How Felicia Young Heals Communities with Art and Activism
Bonus Reprise: Jan Cohen Cruz - Meeting the Moment
From Clowning to PBS: An Activist Artist’s Journey Through Media and Justice
Subito Story 1: Karina Kantas
51: Wayne Cook - A Dream Recalled
50: From Combat Zone to Camera Lens: A Veteran Artist’s Journey to Reclaim His War Story
49: Art & Upheaval: Activist Artists on the World’s Frontline
48: Why Listening — Not Loud Ideas — Should Lead Your Art and Social Change Practice
47: SIPP Culture Rising: How A Small Southern Town Is Becoming a National Model for Cultural Organizing
46: Elise Witt - All Singing: How One Artist’s Songs Became a Passport to Learning, Connection, and Thriving
45: Why Ron Chew Believes Museums Should Be Cultural Centers, Not Just Store Artifacts
44: How an Hollywood Director/ Artivist Used Film to Fight Censorship, Racism, & Fear – Part 2
43: How a Hollywood Director/Artivist Used Film to Fight Censorship, Racism, & Fear – Part 1
42: How Pangea World Theater Became a Cultural Organizing Force After George Floyd’s Murder – Part 2
41: How Pangea World Theater Became a Cultural Organizing Force After George Floyd’s Murder – Part 1
40: A Loving Trickster: Using Culture, Story, and Disruption to Spark Art & Social Change
39: Beth Thielen: LOVE AND FREEDOM: Our Most Imaginative Activist Artists Are Locked in Prison
38: Gallery to Garden: Beverly Naidus on Art, Activism, and Reimagining the Future
35: Meeting the Moment: How 67 Activist Artists Changed the Story of American Theater
34: From Life in Prison to Life as a Cultural Leader: The Redemption of Henry Frank
33: Why Artist and Cultural Organizers in Hospitals Are Changing How We Heal
31: Joe Lambert - Making Good Stories that Help Us
30: From Judy Chicago to Juvenile Halls: How One Activist Artist Facilitated Radical Change Through Creativity
29: The Music Is Her Prayer: How Becky Reardon Found Sacred Connection in Nature, Song. And Activism
27: The Nouvella: The Strange True Story of a Fake Prison That Trained Hundreds of Artist Activists
26: Why Traditional Education Fails Students—and How Activist Artists and Educators are Turning the Tide
25: Su-lin Ngiam-An Activist Artist in Singapore is an Agent of Hope
24: From Theater Sets To Veterans’ Healing Circles: How David O’Fallon Crafted A Life Through Cultural Organizing and Story
23: Why Activist Poet Alice Lovelace Refuses To Use the Language of Her Oppressors
22: Theater Isn’t Just Entertainment—It’s a Cultural Organizing Tool for Saving Democracy
21: Justin Laing: Why Cultural Organizers Must Confront White Supremacy to Succeed
20: How Oakland Culture Shaped Fantastic Negrito’s Fight for Balance and Belonging
19: Mary Cohen Brings Art & Social Change “Inside” & “Prisoners” & “Outsiders” Became One Choir
18: Cultural Organizing in Appalachia: Building Trust, Equity, and Economic Resilience – Part 2
17: Cultural Organizing in Appalachia: Building Trust, Equity, and Economic Resilience – Part 1
16: From Mingus to Folsom: Henry Robinett on Music, Mentors, & Thriving as an Artist for Change
15: Art Is Not An Extra: Why Artist Activists & Cultural Organizers Should Be Leading Community Recovery Efforts
14: Forget Pipe Cleaners: Why Real Cultural Organizing Is Not What You Think It Is- Part 2
13: Forget Pipe Cleaners: Why Real Cultural Organizing Is Not What You Think It Is – Part 1
12: STORY story
11: Ida Oberman: Centering Love, Story, and Art for Social Change in a Public School?
10: How Activist Artists Like Milenko Matanovic Are Rebuilding Democracy From the Ground Up
9: Art Isn’t Just Decoration—Cultural Organizing is Democracy’s Secret Weapon
8: If You’re Not Letting Struggling Kids Make Art, You’re Missing the Boat
7: Sandy Agustin on Navigating the Art and Social Change Landscape (Activist Artist Spotlight)
5: Love at the Rivers Edge: How One Activist Artist Bridged Race & Place With Shakespeare:
3: The Gunrunner for the Arts: L.O. Sloan’s Half-Century of Thriving as an Artist for Change (Part 2)
2: The Gunrunner for the Arts: L.O. Sloan’s Half-Century of Thriving as an Artist for Change (Part 1)
1.: How Art and Social Change Shaped My Life