A neuroscientist discusses how smell influences everything from emotions and relationships to identity and wellbeing.

Our sense of smell is something many of us take for granted, but this sensation is more powerful than you may think. “It literally filters through all aspects of our existence,” explains neuroscientist Rachel Herz, “and the more we deliberately use our sense of smell…the better our brain health is, and even the general health of our bodies.” Smell also plays an important role in art, with many artists using scent as a way to prompt questions. These artworks encourage us to slow down and engage our senses. As Herz reminds us, when we stop and smell the metaphorical roses, “it can really ground us and bring us into that moment.”

For this month’s Ten Minutes podcast, we dig into the complex process that takes beans to bars, and the real-world impact chocolate has on the people who make it.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/1017

The founder of Harlem Chocolate Factory reflects on her lifelong journey with chocolate—and why you should never buy it at a low price.

Inspired by artists’ inventive uses of chocolate, we interviewed Jessica Spaulding, local chocolatier and cofounder of Harlem Chocolate Factory. For Spaulding, chocolate offers endless opportunity: “I think that being a chocolatier is that space where you get to get into your Willy Wonka greatness and just let your imagination run wild.”

For this month’s Ten Minutes podcast, we dig into the complex process that takes beans to bars, and the real-world impact chocolate has on the people who make it.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/980

Beekeepers reflect on how fear transformed into love after they realized the huge impact of these tiny creatures.

In 2016, Tim Jackson and Nicole Lindsey founded Detroit Hives, a local organization dedicated to transforming vacant lots into urban bee farms, where they not only produce honey for their communities but also host educational programs about the crucial role of bees.

This month’s Ten Minutes podcast is all about bees—what they do, how they’re organized, and why we need them. Bees do more than just produce honey—they help our ecosystem grow and keep the produce sections of our supermarkets plentiful. Even more importantly, they can teach us about living and thriving in community.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/965

Hear from the revolutionary artist about his iconic designs for the Black Panther newspaper.

Emory Douglas has a battle cry: “Culture is a weapon.” And this chant reverberates throughout everything he does. In 1967, Douglas was chosen as the minister of culture and revolutionary artist for the Black Panther Party, where he designed the layouts and iconic imagery for the Black Panther newspaper.

For this month’s Ten Minutes podcast, Douglas shares his path toward arts activism and the power of art to “penetrate the souls of the resistance via the resistors (We The People) against all forms of cruel and unjust authority.”

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/939

A maker of multisensory artworks reflects on the importance of listening to our surroundings.

In 2014, Nigerian-born artist Emeka Ogboh moved from Lagos to Berlin. This experience marked not only a shift in his surroundings, but also a shift in his artwork. “Shuttling between two places,” Ogboh explains, “your brain has to do this switch. And that fusion of two places started occurring to me.” His immersive installation Lagos State of Mind III, currently on view in MoMA’s second-floor galleries, blends the experience of living in these two cities.

For this month’s Ten Minutes podcast, just in time for World Listening Day—an annual celebration held on July 18—we invite you to explore your surroundings and reflect on how sound shapes our world.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/923

The winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars reflects on how drag changes us for the better.

For this month’s Ten Minutes podcast, we spoke to the award-winning opera singer and drag queen Monét X Change about the anti-drag movement, which has led to protests across the country in response to the growing popularity of drag. “With all these legislations and bills to try to keep drag away from certain people,” says Monét X Change, “it feels like an attack on our livelihood and this, like, way to dehumanize us.” But queer people across the country are using their voice and artistry to resist and show that the contributions of LGBTQIA+ communities are crucial to society. In Monét’s words, “Drag has been around for a very long time. Something that has been around for so long is living proof that it informs the culture and that it is completely valid.”

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/917

For many, a trip to MoMA means confronting questions of access: Does this space welcome people like me? Will I be given what I need in order to feel safe and included?

At the core of this month’s Ten Minutes podcast is the question, What does access look like? According to Laura Aguilar’s work Access + Opportunity = Success, access includes, among other things, “the right to enter or use.” But Dr. Therí Pickens argues that access goes deeper than that. Using Aguilar’s work as a point of departure, the writer and disability studies scholar explores how our lives are shaped by our identities and the privileges granted to certain bodies and experiences.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/894

What do video games reveal about our reality?

In this Ten Minutes podcast, hear from gamer and content creator Amira Virgil, developer of the Melanin Pack for The Sims 4, about her vision to create a more accurate and inclusive version of the game.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/778

In Bangladesh, a garment worker barely makes enough money to cover the cost of rent. Discover the truth about the unfair labor practices behind many of the clothes we wear.

In this Ten Minutes podcast episode, Kalpona Akter, founder of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS), describes the lives of garment workers in Bangladesh and some of the ways we can advocate for fair labor practices when making purchases.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/816

What is the relationship between literature and modern art? 

Join Adam F. Bradley, English professor and co-editor of Ralph Ellison's unfinished second novel, for a discussion about race and invisibility on the written page and beyond. Discover Ellison's iconic book Invisible Man and the ways it continues to resonate with readers (and artists) 70 years after its original publication.

Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/751