What turns a house into a home, and a neighborhood into a community?

The intention with which Mexico City-based sculptor Anamaya Farthing-Kohl and West Philly block captain Aminata Sandra Calhoun care for the spaces they call home is remarkable. While ‘home’ means something different for each guest, they’ve both expanded the definition to exist outside of their own walls. For Aminata, a clean, cared-for home includes the block it is situated within, and for Anamaya, the actual form a home takes can be ever-shifting.

Today, Anamaya and Aminata share the last conversation of the season. We begin by talking about the things that, for Aminata and Anamaya, make a place feel like a home.

Music in this episode was created specifically for this podcast by Philly indie band Lester, who pulls listeners in close with soundscapes that build and unravel.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

What turns a house into a home, and a neighborhood into a community?

The intention with which Mexico City-based sculptor Anamaya Farthing-Kohl and West Philly block captain Aminata Sandra Calhoun care for the spaces they call home is remarkable. While ‘home’ means something different for each guest, they’ve both expanded the definition to exist outside of their own walls. For Aminata, a clean, cared-for home includes the block it is situated within, and for Anamaya, the actual form a home takes can be ever-shifting.

Today, I talk to Aminata, block captain and civic leader, about the move back into her West Philly childhood home, the work she's done transforming a dilapidated lot into a community oasis, and why she sweeps the curb outside of her home every Sunday.

Music in this episode was created specifically for this podcast by Victor Vieira-Branco, featuring Matt Engle, while thinking about what collaboration actually sounds like.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

What turns a house into a home, and a neighborhood into a community?

The intention with which Mexico City-based sculptor Anamaya Farthing-Kohl and West Philly block captain Aminata Sandra Calhoun care for the spaces they call home is remarkable. While ‘home’ means something different for each guest, they’ve both expanded the definition to exist outside of their own walls. For Aminata, a clean, cared-for home includes the block it is situated within, and for Anamaya, the actual form a home takes can be ever-shifting.

Today, I talk to artist Anamaya Farthing-Kohl, who always asks the public to collaborate with their work, asking for help to define, circulate, or discover its meanings and intentions. Everyday encounters and actions and objects become moments where Anamaya thinks, ‘this could be a sculpture’. 

Music in this episode was created for the conversation by janna, in response to Anamaya’s work and themes of creating alternative spaces for home and belonging.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

How can communication between fields change the way they are communicated individually?

Multimedia artist Charles ‘Trae’ Mason III and microbiologist and immunologist Alexandra Soare talk with me about the relationship between art and science, and how both fields still have a long way to go in their ability to communicate outside of themselves. We also discuss the necessity of a good mentor, and acknowledge those who changed and expanded the ways they work.

Today, Alexandra and Trae talk with me about the relationship between art and science, and how both fields still have a long way to go in their ability to communicate outside of themselves. We also discuss the necessity of a good mentor, and acknowledge those who changed and expanded the ways they work.

Music in this episode was created for the conversation by Travis Woodson, a composer and multi-instrumentalist, as he was thinking about what an interaction between a painter and a microbiologist could sound like.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

How can communication between fields change the way they are communicated individually?

Multimedia artist Charles ‘Trae’ Mason III and microbiologist and immunologist Alexandra Soare talk with me about the relationship between art and science, and how both fields still have a long way to go in their ability to communicate outside of themselves. We also discuss the necessity of a good mentor, and acknowledge those who changed and expanded the ways they work.

On today's episode, Trae talks to me about all of the people who have made him who he is as an artist. We discuss the grief, family and love explored in his work, as well as, in his words, “the performative act of Blackness” for him and his body.

Music in this episode is by Emmanuel Ohemeng III and Perpetual Motion, a Philly  jazz fusion group that combines elements of jazz, hip hop and rock, led by local award-winning trumpet player Emmanuel Ohemeng III.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

How can communication between fields change the way they are communicated individually?

Multimedia artist Charles ‘Trae’ Mason III and microbiologist and immunologist Alexandra Soare talk with me about the relationship between art and science, and how both fields still have a long way to go in their ability to communicate outside of themselves. We also discuss the necessity of a good mentor, and acknowledge those who changed and expanded the ways they work.

On today's episode, Alex and I talk about her interest in merging the sciences with other fields, the work she’s doing with the Baltimore chapter for the Association for Women in Science, and some of the weirdest things she’s had to carry on the New York City subway.

Music in this episode is by DJ Osagie, a DJ, producer, and community events curator originally from Atlanta GA who uses his knowledge of music to educate listeners and youth on the traditional forms and sounds of African American culture.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART 3: ELLIE IRONS + MIKE SERANT

What does it take to be “sustainable?” How can we, as a society, grow in ways that help the world grow around us?

New York artist, Ellie Irons, and Texan business owner, Mike Serant, come together to talk about their grassroots efforts to foster relationships between humans and the world that sustains us. We discuss the unfortunate branding of ‘weeds’, the domino effect of healthy soils, and what it takes to build ‘an organic army’.

Today, Ellie and Mike share their thoughts on what it takes to communicate the microscopic world of soil health, and how the well-being of soil is connected to the well-being of plants and therefore to us as humans. We begin with the issue of communication, as that’s where Mike’s work as a business owner and Ellie’s work as an artist intersect with urgency.

Music in this episode is by TIOGA the Band, a modern indie rock band, born in Philadelphia, with roots extending to New York City. The quartet is composed of Greg Adams (lead vocals), Derrick Dieso (guitar), Austin Paragas (bass & vocals), and Henri Tyler Brooks (drums & vocals).

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART 2: MIKE SERANT

What does it take to be “sustainable?” How can we, as a society, grow in ways that help the world grow around us?

New York artist, Ellie Irons, and Texan business owner, Mike Serant, come together to talk about their grassroots efforts to foster relationships between humans and the world that sustains us. We discuss the unfortunate branding of ‘weeds’, the domino effect of healthy soils, and what it takes to build ‘an organic army’.

Today, I talk with organics business owner Mike Serant of MicroLife. Mike and I talk about how he got started in the business, why it’s getting easier to communicate about organics, and how a healthy soil ultimately leads to a healthy society.

Music in this episode is by Bria Elena, a Philadelphia-based country singer and songwriter.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART 1: ELLIE IRONS

What does it take to be “sustainable?” How can we, as a society, grow in ways that help the world grow around us?

New York artist, Ellie Irons, and Texan business owner, Mike Serant, come together to talk about their grassroots efforts to foster relationships between humans and the world that sustains us. We discuss the unfortunate branding of ‘weeds’, the domino effect of healthy soils, and what it takes to build ‘an organic army’.

Today, I talk with artist and plant collaborator Ellie Irons. Ellie and I talk about a number of her ongoing public art projects, why tough weedy urban plants are so inspiring to her, and how she’s using her work to bridge a communication gap between science and the world it describes.

Music was created specifically for this episode by Veronica MJ; this piece, "Natalia", was conceived as an ode to Natalia Molchanova, the great Russian free diver, and is meant to evoke a sort of chaotic stillness that one can experience when diving deep down into a body of water, or sitting alone atop a mountain or deep in a forest.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART THREE: MARIEL HERRING + SONYA BLESOFSKY

Site-responsive artist Sonya Blesofsky and South Philadelphia carpenter Mariel Herring come together to address the ways they think about and use their bodies in their different types of work. We talk about what it feels like to pick up plywood from the hardware store as a woman, about the satisfaction of precise craftspersonship, and finding notes in the walls (or leaving them!) from past carpenters.

After sharing conversations with Sonya and Mariel, when we all sat down together, something really clicked. It’s rare to have three women who deal with construction and carpentry sharing a conversation; we began by talking about how we think about, use and perform our bodies in our work spaces.

Music for this episode was created by Lizdelise, whose work is a celebration of queer identity and self.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.