All Of It with Alison Stewart

WNYC's news editor Kate Hinds joins to discuss the stories and top headlines the newsroom is following this week.

This episode is guest-hosted by Matt Katz.

In this three-part series, the WNYC and The Atlantic podcast, The Experiment, embarks on a remarkable journey to the heart of SPAM—from remote Philippine provinces, to Austin, Minnesota, aka SPAMtown U.S.A., where SPAM employed generations of meatpackers, and tore the town apart. Producers Julia Longoria and Gabrielle Berbey join us to discuss SPAM: How the American Dream Got Canned.

This episode is guest-hosted by Matt Katz.

How did actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale and Robert De Niro decide to dedicate themselves to their roles so completely, they actually don't break character even when they leave set? They practice method acting, a technique actually developed in tsarist Russia. Isaac Butler joins us to discuss this fascinating history and his new book, Method: How the 20th Century Learned to Act.

This episode is guest-hosted by Matt Katz.

On our "Good Vibes" segments , we like to spotlight a little something that’s out there in the world to help you get your week started with a bit of positivity. This week, we have a special Valentine's Day edition of "Good Vibes" featuring the Lincoln High School Romance Book Club in Portland, Oregon. We hear from librarian Lori Lieberman, as well as some of her students, who helped start the one of a kind high school book club, dedicated to all things romance.

It's Valentine's Day, and nothing says love like a J-Dilla produced beat on loop. The producer, born and raised in Detroit, was widely considered to be a musical genius. He popularized off-beat drum rhythms thought of as "drunk drumming", and produced for the likes of D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Tribe Called Quest. But J Dilla was also notoriously quiet, so we don't know much about the full story of his life. Dan Charnas, author, journalist, and arts professor at NYU, has told the complete story of J Dilla in the first biography of the producer, called, Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm. Charnas is with us to discuss the book.

It is officially Valentine's Day! Maybe that statement scared you because you have yet to make any plans for yourself and your significant other. Not to worry though, we have you covered here on All Of It. Ryan Sutton, chief restaurant critic at Eater, joins us to talk where to dine-out for Valentine's Day, including any special deals, and anywhere with particularly good takeout, in case you feel like staying in.

Since their 2020 debut album, Brooklyn-based Nation of Language have carried the banner for a kind of synth-pop and revivalist new wave sound to critical acclaim. Their second album, A Way Forward, was released in late 2021. Bandmembers and spouses Ian Richard Devaney and Aidan Noell join us. 

On March 3, the band will perform at Webster Hall.

It's Valentine's Day, so let's talk about love! A new book explores the joys and challenges of romance in the later years of one’s life. Journalist Francine Russo returns to the show to dive deeper into her book Love After 50: How to Find It, Enjoy It, and Keep It and take calls from listeners about their experience dating after 50.

Lucifer on the Sofa is Spoon's first album in five years, following 2017's Hot Thoughts. To record the album, the band returned to their roots in Austin, Texas. Lead singer and guitarist Britt Daniel joins us for a release day Listening Party.

Spoon will perform at the Hammerstein Ballroom on April 16.

The 2022 Super Bowl Halftime show will feature a star-studded lineup of Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Dr. Dre. It's the first time hip-hop has been truly front and center of the cultural spectacle. But for how important hip-hop has been to popular culture over the last thirty years, why has it taken the NFL so long to catch up? Rob Tannenbaum recently wrote about this question in The New York Times, in an article titled, "How Hip-Hop Inched Its Way to the Super Bowl Halftime Stage", and he joins us to discuss.