Future Prairie Radio

DJ and speaker designer Michael Davis-Yates on “Custom Mathematics”, a series of speakers he designed and hand-built from the ground up, inspired by teachings from the Nation of Islam as well as the spirit of classic vintage boomboxes.

Painter Ameera Saahir on her series of paintings called “Uninhabitable Living Conditions”. The pieces connect historical images of slave ships and sharecropping with transitional housing for African Americans.

Architecture evangelist Claire Blaylock on environmental justice, program development, and designing built environments for the post-pandemic world.

Sculptor, painter, and community organizer Matt Manalo on his work and explorations of home and identity as a first-generation immigrant. His work considers the colonization of the Philippines by Spain, Japan, and the United States, which has resulted in erasure, colorism and a pervasive colonial mentality.

Multidisciplinary artist and animator Matt Dan on building a dystopian point-and-click adventure game set near the Nike brand headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

Slavic Shamanic performance artist, herbalist, and certified firewalking instructor Olga on her choice to spend most of her days in silence.

Artist, athlete, and community organizer Alex Schmidt on founding @DykeSoccer, @BodyConfidence, and @QueerSpeedCruising.

This interview took place in the spring of 2020.

Photographer Emery Barnes on making art at #BlackLivesMatter protests in Portland, Oregon.

Urban designer Heather Flint Chatto on environmental design, street art, civic planning, and the future of collaborative policymaking.

Poet Nastashia Minto on being a queer, Black, socially-responsive poet, writer, musician, student, and teacher.