The Cultured Podcast

Danielle Deadwyler is a multimedia artist who uses her body as her primary medium, including through on-screen and on-stage acting, dance and performance art. In her conversation with Michelle, Danielle discusses her method, process, and motivations. Danielle and Michelle discuss how the goal of Danielle's art—whether it be in a traditional acting role, an abstract performance, or life itself—is to explore the chaos of life and how we can flow freely within it.

Mexico City-based Paul Fuentes takes graphic design in a unique direction with his pastel-drenched photo mashups. Paul’s delightfully surreal pop art creations will make you do a double take. His designs are optical illusions that seamlessly blend otherwise unrelated subjects into one perfectly absurd image. Paul is an artist whose inspiration is fueled by joy, and he cultivates both by moving through the world with open eyes and an open heart.

Toy sculptor and connoisseur Travers Cooke gives The Cultured Crew an inside look at the world of toy art and its many subcultures. During his conversation with Michelle, Travers explains how his love of science fiction cinema and 80s pop culture inspire the custom toys he designs. He walks us through the process of creating art toys, whether through digital sculpting or by using traditional materials like casts, molds, oil-based clays, and waxes.

Montréal-based artist Laurence Vallières is right at home in the three-dimensional world. Armed with cardboard, wood, hot glue and a little varnish, Laurence reanimates discarded materials into massive gorillas, elephants, geckos, and other creatures. Laurence and Michelle discuss her transition from waitress to full-time artist, and the leap of faith it required. Laurence walks us through her technique and the key role mathematics plays, while Michelle explores her talent for creating movement in her wor

While he may have “stuttered” his initial freestyles years ago, lifelong word aficionado Vincent Van Pro now spits rhymes with the best of them. Michelle and Vincent discuss the importance momentum plays in freestyling, how he recovers after a blunder, and the key difference between freestyle and traditional rapping.

Blackout poet John Carroll joins us on The Cultured Podcast to chat about the art of redaction. What John describes as “part word search, part art project” began as a writing experiment during a dark chapter of his life. His blackout journey started as an anonymous experiment veiled by the name Make Blackout Poetry. That experiment has now catapulted John to the forefront of a movement.

A prolific TV creator, writer and producer, Felicia Henderson is responsible for some of the most iconic small-screen characters of the last few decades. She joins Michelle on The Cultured Podcast to detail her legendary career and reveal the common thread that knits her wildly diverse shows together. She and Michelle explore Felicia’s propensity for writing familial relationships and how she creates a range of characters, from fantastical to realistic.

Michelle is joined by paper artist and typographer Alia Bright to dig into a longstanding art form that remains unfamiliar to many people today. Alia is a proficient graphic designer, but it wasn’t until she discovered the art of paper quilling that she uncovered her voice as an artist. Armed with scissors, tweezers and patience, Alia transforms paper strips into pop-culture characters, abstract geometry, and stunning typography. She strikes a poised balance between play and precision in all of her work.

FRKO's sense of humor and knack for capturing the essence of life on the streets has landed him on the radars of some of the biggest names in hip-hop. In fact, FRKO has drawn multiple covers for Action Bronson, including the artwork for Mr. Wonderful, and the artwork for Gucci Mane's "All My Children." FRKO joins Michelle on The Cultured Podcast to discuss his earliest influences and how the streets of Atlanta shapes his art.

Sweeping award shows and racking up critical acclaim, FX’s "Atlanta" is a masterpiece in tone. One of the masterminds behind its success is the show’s director and co-executive producer, Hiro Murai. Hiro joins Michelle to break down his role on Atlanta and how he came to join forces with the show’s creator Donald Glover. He highlights his career directing music videos and explains how his aesthetic in that genre translates to this narrative series.