Collection of WTJU's promos to celebrate the 2023 Jazz Marathon, Oct 2-8th.

Collection of WTJU's promos to celebrate the 2023 Jazz Marathon, Oct 2-8th.

Collection of WTJU's promos to celebrate the 2023 Jazz Marathon, Oct 2-8th.

Collection of WTJU's promos to celebrate the 2023 Jazz Marathon, Oct 2-8th.

Collection of WTJU's promos to celebrate the 2023 Jazz Marathon, Oct 2-8th.

Collection of WTJU's promos to celebrate the 2023 Jazz Marathon, Oct 2-8th.

Poets, painters, novelists, musicians — it turns out they are as crucial to sustaining self-government as politicians and pundits. In a wide-ranging conversation, our hosts speak with English professor Steve Parks about the likes of Walt Whitman, Woody Guthrie, Sinéad O’Connor and the Malian singer Fatoumata Kouyaté. What does their art have in common? Spoiler: an affective sense of democracy. Plus, Parks shares our plans for a new segment on international activists. We’re calling it “The Power of Many.”

In certain ways, Jupiter Evans's story paralleled that of Thomas Jefferson's. But Evans was enslaved by Jefferson, and the realities of slavery highlighted the many ways in which their lives diverged. Brandon Dillard, Manager of Historic Interpretation at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, joins Monticello Guide Kyle Chattleton in a conversation about Jupiter Evans's story.

New season, new questions, new people! This fall, UVa historian Emily Burrill joins our team to fill in for Will while he’s away. Emily chats with Siva and Will about what’s coming up in Season Seven. We’ll be delving into the relationship between expressive culture and democratic practice, putting on a couple of live shows and — of course — serving up our bread and butter: the knowledge you need to help save the rule of the people.

By the master of the English pastoral style.