Featured contributor Chad Radford joins us to talk about Atlanta music, record collecting, RAD/ATL, and his book Atlanta Record Stores: An Oral History. Plus, Kenny Murray talks with Debbie Allen about the new A Different World reboot filmed in Atlanta, Atlanta artist Fabian Williams brings sci-fi and social commentary together in a new immersive installation, and Atlanta Center for Photography shares how it is building a sustainable year-round home for photography. Chad also takes us inside InnerSpace, an Atlanta DIY concert series connecting musicians, visual artists, and generations of the city’s underground music scene, and we explore ArtsATL’s Best Bets with Executive Editor Shane Harrison.
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Chad Radford & Atlanta Music
Our featured contributor is Chad Radford, former Creative Loafing music editor, founder of RAD/ATL, and author of Atlanta Record Stores: An Oral History. He joins Kim to talk about music journalism, his encyclopedic record collection, Rocktober and the challenge of making room for music that might be too strange, abstract or offbeat for the mainstream. For Beats, Bites & Sights, Chad recommends the Garden Club at Wild Heaven in the Lee + White district, Near Wild Heaven, Wild Heaven’s non-alcoholic beer with an R.E.M. connection, and the Pittsburgh Yards area of the Southwest BeltLine Trail where layers of Atlanta street art, graffiti and murals include work connected to So So Def and artists including VANE, Hense, Born and Dr. Dax.
Fabian Williams’ Mothership
ArtsATL’s Brittany Mackins visits Atlanta artist Fabian Williams, also known as Occasional Superstar, for Mothership: Sirius B. What It Is, What It Was, and What It’s Gon’ Be, an immersive three-level exhibition in Atlanta’s Edgewood Arts District. Moving through the past, present, and future, Williams uses science fiction and American history to ask who gets to decide what’s possible. The exhibition also brings young people into the conversation, asking students to imagine the future they want and what they want Atlanta and the world to look like.
Debbie Allen & A Different World
The beloved ’90s sitcom A Different World is back, and this time Atlanta is part of the story. ATL Arts Collective contributor Kenny Murry talks with director and executive producer Debbie Allen about the new reboot, filmed in Atlanta and featuring Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College. Allen talks about bringing the original cast’s sense of family into a new generation, working with showrunner Felicia Pride, why Netflix pushed the reboot toward a single-camera approach, and what Atlanta added to the world of Hillman. Kenny also gets Allen talking about some of the original series’ unsung heroes, including Mary Alice and Ron Mosley.
InnerSpace: Atlanta’s Underground Music Scene
Chad Radford takes us inside InnerSpace, the DIY concert series created by artist and curator Carl Janes. What began as a studio and underground performance space in Underground Atlanta evolved into a pop-up series at Halfway Crooks Beer Garden in Summerhill, connecting musicians, visual artists, and different generations of Atlanta’s underground music community. Janes creates custom video projections for each band, bringing his visual-art practice directly into the performances. And he introduces us to some of the musicians and artists shaping the series, including Token Hearts and Gunga. The InnerSpace Fall Concert Series runs through November 13, with all-ages shows, $10 admission, and free entry for ages 15 and under.
Making It Work: Atlanta Center for Photography
For our monthly Making It Work series, Jasmine Henschel of Gulch Magazine talks with Lindsay O’Connor, executive director of Atlanta Center for Photography, about the organization’s evolution from Atlanta Celebrates Photography into a year-round photography center on Edgewood Avenue. O’Connor discusses ACP’s exhibitions, workshops, digital media lab, teaching studios, and fundraising. She also details how the organization is building a sustainable model while creating more opportunities for Atlanta photographers and the broader creative community.
Shane Harrison runs down ArtsATL’s picks for Atlanta arts and culture, including the final weekend of Out on Film, the 20th anniversary Atlanta Horror Film Festival, the Atlanta Indian Film Festival, TLC with Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue, Take 6, SITE 2026 at the Goat Farm, the Atlanta Art Fair and The Other Art Fair Atlanta.
Looking to stay connected to the people, performances, exhibitions, and ideas shaping Atlanta’s creative community? The ATL Arts Collective brings you the stories behind the city’s culture every Wednesday.
Special thanks to this week’s sponsors:
Join us on social at @artsatlanta and @atlartscollective.
Thank you to the CP Group and Downtown Atlanta Inc. for providing the ATL Arts Collective with a home at CTR Culture Studios.
Our theme music is K Michelle Dubois’ “Hit the Deck” from her album Astral Heart, courtesy of Wicked Superb Records. Jordan Owen composed all other original music in this episode. Set art by Gina Thompson.
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00:00:00 Promo: SITE at The Goat Farm
00:00:33 Show Opening & Guest Intro — Kim Drobes welcomes Chad Radford
00:01:58 Feature: Fabian Williams — ”Mothership” (Brittany Mackins report)
00:11:25 Beats, Bites, and Sites — Chad’s picks
00:18:13 Interview: Debbie Allen on the A Different World reboot (Kenny Murry)
00:30:19 Feature: InnerSpace Concert Series — Chad Radford
00:38:42 Making It Work: Atlanta Center for Photography (Jasmine Hentschel & Lindsay O’Connor)
00:50:38 Arts ATL Best Bets (Shane Harrison)
00:55:28 Closing Remarks & Credits
