Music critic and author Ann Powers (NPR Music) sits down with singer-songwriter Cassandra Jenkins, who appears at Big Ears 2025, for an intimate conversation on storytelling through sound, the interplay of nature and technology in music, and the creative process behind My Light, My Destroyer.

A deep dive into sonic intimacy, collaboration, and the art of drawing from life — Jenkins even shares the story behind "Aurora, IL," a song written while isolating in a hotel room with COVID, grappling with the heartbreak of missing her performance at Big Ears.