“What’s the best song for two people kissing in the rain in 1926?” In episode three, we are joined by music executive and recording artist Sarah McMullen, who is leading the way as part of a new generation of music supervisors redefining what that role means and what it means for the future of music itself. The new ears behind beloved film and TV company A24’s music supervision slate, Sarah's resume includes dynamic projects with Netflix, Apple, TBWA\Media Arts Lab and more. In this episode, Sarah shares how the creative challenge of clearing samples and placing music in film, television and beyond is shaped by her family’s own notable musical legacy, details how she is navigating the introduction of AI into a rapidly changing music and technological environment, and offers advice for aspiring supervisors on how to set boundaries for success in creative fields.  

Music Credits

"Creativity," Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock

The New Lost City Ramblers

Mother Maybelle Carter

“Skyscraper,” Sarah McMullen

“Never Too Much,” Luther Vandross

Sweet Emma Barrett And Her New Orleans Music

Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show (Live), Kendrick Lamar

“Reunion,” Matthew Herbert 

Matteah Baim

Arts Talk is hosted by Josh Kun, USC Vice Provost for the Arts and USC Annenberg Professor and Chair in Cross Cultural Communication at the University of Southern California. Arts Talk is produced by Perry B. Johnson, with sound design, editing and mixing by Matteah Baim. 

Special thanks to Suzanne Felson for her generous support of the podcast.

artsnow.usc.edu

What does it mean to be an “architect of human fulfillment?” In episode two, we are joined by visionary architect and polymath Kulapat Yantrasast (@thekulaparty), founder and creative director of WHY, the world renowned multidisciplinary design firm, whose extensive resume includes award-winning projects for The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City), the Musée du Louvre (Paris), ILMI Science Discovery & Innovation Center (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), The Tchaikovsky Academic Opera & Ballet Theater (Perm, Russia), Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (Los Angeles), The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (San Francisco), Grand Rapids Art Museum (Grand Rapids, MI), The Speed Art Museum (Louisville, KY) and The Tyler Museum of Art (Tyler, TX), among many others. In this episode, Yantrasast emphasizes the importance of approaching design as an open and intimate relationship with space, place and community. He shares how curiosity and collaboration form the ethos of his creative practice and guide his stewardship of the architects, landscape architects, designers, and strategists that comprise WHY’s interdisciplinary teams across offices in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Tokyo. 

Music Credits

"Creativity," Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock

Hiroshi Yoshimura 

The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band

Arts Talk is hosted by Josh Kun, USC Vice Provost for the Arts and USC Annenberg Professor and Chair in Cross Cultural Communication at the University of Southern California. Arts Talk is produced by Perry B. Johnson, with sound design, editing and mixing by Matteah Baim. 

Special thanks to Suzanne Felson for her generous support of the podcast.

artsnow.usc.edu