A new film chronicles the life of folk legend Janis Ian — from jamming in '60s Greenwich Village and rising to fame in the '70s, to facing financial struggles in the '80s, coming out in the '90s, and her recent advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. Ian joins us alongside director Varda Bar-Kar to discuss “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence,” which hits theaters this Friday.

This conversation is guest hosted by Tiffany Hansen.

The new documentary “Thank You Very Much” takes a look at the life of groundbreaking comedian and performer Andy Kaufman, a man whose work has always defied expectations. Director Alex Braverman discusses the film, which includes rarely-seen footage of Kaufman and opens in theaters tomorrow.

This conversation is guest-hosted by Tiffany Hansen.

Tomorrow is Opening Day for the 2025 Major League Baseball season. Kaitlyn Tiffany, staff writer at The Atlantic, is a big baseball fan, but she's increasingly wondered about why there aren't more opportunities for women to play the game. She discusses her recent article, “Why Aren't Women Allowed to Play Baseball?” and female listeners share their experiences on efforts to play and navigating being a female fan of America's pastime.  

Trina Shoemaker is a multiple-Grammy-winning engineer and producer. Her work on Sheryl Crow's The Globe Sessions made her the first woman to win the Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Her credits range from Tanya Tucker to Queens of the Stone Age, to new music releases from Julien Baker and Torres. She discusses her career in today's instalment of our series Equalizers: Women in Music Production.

[REBROADCAST FROM April 23, 2024] Best-selling author Amor Towles, has a short story collection, Table For Two, featuring six stories he wrote in New York set during the turn of the millennium. The book also includes a novella following Evelyn Ross, a character from Towles' first novel, Rules of Civility, as she travels to 1930s Los Angeles to try and make it in Hollywood. Table For Two will be out in paperback next month.

Kirkus Reviews says Colum McCann's latest novel, Twist, is "another astounding novel from a fiction master." The story follows an Irish writer who is a assigned a story about the people who repair the underwater cables that help transmit information around the globe. Soon, the writer finds himself more embedded in the lives of these people than he ever imagined. McCann discusses the novel ahead of his event Wednesday evening at St. Joseph's with Phil Klay. 

A new sci-fi thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen is set in the not-so-distant future, where a couple hoping to have a child must undergo a seven-day evaluation to determine their fitness as parents. Olsen joins us to discuss her role as a prospective mother in “The Assessment,” now in theaters. 

This conversation is guest-hosted by Kousha Navidar.

 A new exhibition at Poster House explores the history of nuclear technology, showcasing both advocacy and opposition from the 20th century. Chief Curator Angelina Lippert and independent curator Tim Medland discuss the show, “Fallout: Atoms for War & Peace,” on view through Sunday, September 7. 

This conversation is guest-hosted by Kousha Navidar.

Emily Lazar is a locally based audio engineer who became the first woman to win Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical) at the 2016 Grammys for her work on Beck’s Colors. She is also the founder of the nonprofit We Are Moving the Needle, which supports female recording industry professionals, audio engineers and producers, and founder of the NYC-based company, The Lodge. Lazar discusses her work in today’s installment of our Women’s History Month series, Equalizers: Women in Music Production. 

This episode is guest-hosted by Kousha Navidar.

Whether it's for health or environmental reasons, more people are trying to cut down on their meat intake — but it can be hard to give it up entirely. The new cookbook Mostly Meatless: Green Up Your Plate Without Totally Ditching the Meat includes recipes that make vegetables and grains the star of the show — while giving meat an occasional cameo. Dan Souza of America’s Test Kitchen shares recipes and techniques.

This episode is guest-hosted by Kousha Navidar.

Almost Beefless Beef Stew
Serves 4 to 6 
Total Time: 2 hours  

Why This Recipe Works 
The hallmark of an excellent beef stew is exceedingly tender meat swimming in a deeply savory broth. This is usually achieved by using a large cut of meat, so we wondered if there could, or should, be space for such a dish in a book that aims to reduce meat consumption. Early tests seemed to confirm our skepticism—until we tried blade steaks, which consistently turned tender and were convenient to buy in small amounts. The chunks distributed plenty of richness to our medley of vegetables: potatoes, carrots, peas, and pearl onions. However, our glossy sauce seriously lacked beefiness. To rectify this, we turned to ingredients adept at building up tasty browning. Garlic, anchovies, and tomato paste created a flavor-rich base for our stew. We also added a pound of mushrooms, taking care to drive away moisture to concentrate their flavor. Our final recipe had over 4 pounds of veggies and under a pound of meat, yet every bite brimmed with beefy flavor. Use extra small Yukon Gold or red potatoes measuring less than 1 inch in diameter. You can substitute Yukon Gold or red potatoes that are 1 to 2 inches in diameter; just be sure to halve them before adding to the stew in step 4.

Ingredients

• 2 (6- to 8‑ounce) blade steaks, ¾ to 1 inch thick, trimmed and cut into 1½‑inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved if small or quartered if large or medium
• ¾ teaspoon table salt, divided
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced thin
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 anchovy fillets, minced
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine, divided
• 2½ cups chicken or beef broth
• 1 pound extra-small potatoes
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick on bias
• 1½ cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add beef and cook until well browned on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes; transfer to bowl. 
    
2. Add mushrooms, 1 tablespoon oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt to fat left in pot and cook, covered, over medium-high heat until mushrooms have released their liquid, 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until mushrooms are well browned, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with beef.
    
3. Add onion, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt to now-empty pot and cook until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, and anchovies and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste is slightly darkened, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook until no dry flour remains, about 30 seconds. 
    
4. Slowly add 1 cup wine, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in broth, potatoes, and beef-mushroom mixture and any accumulated juices. Bring to simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook for 1 hour. 
    
5. Remove pot from oven. Stir in carrots and pearl onions and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pot, until carrots are tender, 8 to 12 minutes. 
    
6. Stir in peas and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in pepper and remaining 2 tablespoons wine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. (Stew can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)