Join us for our third episode which features guest Jad Abumrad. In this episode, our hosts unearth the practice of active listening and the nuances that come with listening and communicating.

Join us for the second episode of our second season featuring guests Lori Pourier and Natalie Hopkinson. Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini engage in conversation surrounding sovereignty, indigenous peoples, and gentrification through a macro and micro lens. This episode is in tandem with the We the Peoples Before celebration happening at the Kennedy Center on June 30 – July 2. 

For more information on the event, click on this link: https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/festivals-series/we-the-peoples-before/.

Our premiere episode focuses on belonging, and the work that it takes to create emotional equity in cultural spaces. Our hosts describe the process of maximizing cultural safety as performance halls re-open themselves to the public. Featured guests for this episode are two Kennedy Center Next 50 awardees: NYC Ballet company member Georgina Pazcoguin, and dancer and author Phil Chan. Together, Georgina and Phil have established Final Bow for Yellowface, an advocacy coalition and field-wide barometer for Asian-American inclusion in dance.

Join us for Episode 5 of the Active Hope Podcast, featuring adrienne maree brown. Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini of the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust engage in conversation surrounding social justice and pleasure activism. What is the connection between the individual and larger systemic change? How can we construct systems and modalities that take into consideration that the world is constantly changing? And how can we do all of that while being present with our bodies and finding personal fulfillment?

Join us for the second part of Episode 4 of the Active Hope Podcast, featuring poet Brenda Shaughnessy and illustrator and animator Tim Fielder. Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini of the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust engage in conversation surrounding futurism; how can we reimagine a collective future? How does futurism intersect with art and culture? What do we know about the future for sure, and what is there for us to create, together?

A special thank you to our guests, Brenda Shaughnessy and Tim Fielder. Thank you to all artists featured in this part: Gaelynn Lea, from audio provided by NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert); and Paola Prestini and Cal Shaughnessy, from audio provided by Enactlab from Sensorium.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions or position of the Kennedy Center.

For more information on Active Hope, including a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/special-programming/active-hope-podcast/

Join us for the first part of Episode 4 of the Active Hope Podcast, featuring Marina Gorbis, the Executive Director of the Institute for the Future. Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini of the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust engage in conversation surrounding futurism; how can we reimagine a collective future? How does futurism intersect with art and culture? What do we know about the future for sure, and what is there for us to create, together?

A special thank you to our guest, Marina Gorbis. Thank you to all artists featured in this part: Ash Koosha, Pamela Z, who both performed and composed original works, and Du Yun, performing Rosa, part of the work Sweet Land produced by The Industry.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions or position of the Kennedy Center.

For more information on Active Hope, including a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/special-programming/active-hope-podcast/

Join us for Episode 3 of the Active Hope podcast, featuring Regina Romero, the first Latina and female mayor of Tucson, Arizona. Listen in as our hosts Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini of the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust explore the topic of borders; what is the relationship between borders and migration? How and why do we choose to move? What are the visible and invisible borders we create, or that are created by others, that define our experience?  

A special thank you to our guests, Mayor Regina Romero and Evan Kory. Thank you to all artists featured in this episode: Paola Prestini, Carlos Simon, Violeta Parra, Magos Herrera, Ed Simon, Adam Cruz, Jo Martin, Isabel Wilkerson, Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith, the MET Orchestra Musicians (Angela Qianwen Shen, Julia Choi, Chihiro Allen and Julia Bruskin), Roomful of Teeth (Glenn Kothche and Jeffrey Zeigler), and Murat Eyuboglus.  

Warmth from Other Suns by Carlos Simon Copyright © 2020 by CSJr. Music (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved. Sole Agent: Bill Holab Music. 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions or position of the Kennedy Center.

For more information on Active Hope, including a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/special-programming/active-hope-podcast/

Join us for Episode 2 of the Active Hope Podcast, featuring CNN commentator and New York Times best-selling author Van Jones. Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini of the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust engage in conversation surrounding the topics of incarceration, law, and politics, and the role of arts and culture in freedom design.

A special thank you to all artists featured in this episode: Daniel Bernard Roumain, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Asha Bandele, Samora Pinderhughes, Adam Drazan, Brianna Mims and Tanya Tagaq, Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions or position of the Kennedy Center.

For more information on Active Hope, including a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/special-programming/active-hope-podcast/

A critically acclaimed theater director. A poet and TED Global Fellow. An award-winning composer. Join the artistic leadership trio of Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini—from the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust—for an engaging public conversation exploring artistic intellect and national strategic leadership in the pursuit of inspiration for all. How can artists and arts workers shape the transformational and polarizing moments of today? How can we apply creative intelligence to cross borders and build a path for healing and the future?

This pilot episode was recorded on Friday, January 8, 2021. We heard music by Jason Moran, the Robert Glasper Trio with DJ Jai Sundance. We heard music by Paola Prestini, Magos Herrera, and Tomas Mendez, as well as Square Peg Round Hole. Special thanks to Ta-Nehisi Coates and HBO.

For more information on Active Hope, including a transcript of this episode, please visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/special-programming/active-hope-podcast/