Arts & Letters: Recent Episodes
J. Bradley Minnick
Arts & Letters is a program celebrating contemporary arts, humanities, and social sciences, with an emphasis on authentic Southern voices. Hosted by J. Bradley Minnick of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the full episode archive is available at artsandlettersradio.org.
Between 1942 and 1944 over 16,000 Japanese Americans were interned in Jerome Arkansas. Join us for a story of lives interrupted and resilience with authors Connie and Kent Matsumoto and their novel Of White Ashes.
Four Houston teens skip school and take a bus to Diamond Park in search of an elusive 1959 Chevy Impala convertible. What could go wrong?
Can music help us become who we want to be? Join us for a discussion with author Michael Zadoorian about his novel Beautiful Music...
Join us for a 1937 story of electricity coming to rural South and the men and women who made it possible.
Does poetic constraint empower creativity? Known for her received forms like sonnets and sestinas, American poet A.E. Stallings joins us in the studio to discuss her book of selected poems, This Afterlife.
What is the connection between a secret concentration camp built deep inside a German mountain and NASA's race to the moon in the 1960s? Novelist Patrick Hicks takes us on a journey from humanity's deepest despair to our greatest heights.
Travel with us to the high Andes of Cusco, Peru searching for folk tales with author Johnny Payne. Many know of Machu Picchu, but few Americans have heard the oral stories of the indigenous people who reside in the shadows of the 15th-century Inca citadel.
Join us for an exploration of how and why higher education is evolving with Distinguished Professor, Christopher Schaberg.
Can we every truly 'go home again?' Can we ever revisit or recapture 'who we were' as kids? Join us for a conversation with author, William Lychack and his novel, Cargill Falls.
What makes a good reader? What are the actual notes in the margin worth remembering? What perspective does life on the margins bring? Will Peter Orner have answers for us?
Share time with Central Arkansas poet Sandy Longhorn as we follow her poetic tale of severe illness in America and "the industrial medical complex." Join us as we hear Longhorn's poetry and discuss complex issues surrounding women and commercial healthcare.
Share time with Central Arkansas poet Sandy Longhorn as we follow her poetic tale of severe illness in America and "the industrial medical complex." Join us as we hear Longhorn's poetry and discuss complex issues surrounding women and commercial healthcare.
What do you do when a 19th century outlaw is your namesake? Why if you're creative Frank Thurmond, you write about him and his infamous wife, Lottie Deno the notorious 'lady' gambler!
Meet Hot Springs poet Kai Coggin as she speaks up and speaks out about injustice, her love of nature, her beloved fu dogs, her marriage, and her journey to Arkansas...
Coined "America’s favorite poet” by The Wall Street Journal, Billy Collins shares his collection of short poems, writing about nature, animals, poetry, and hotels—all in only a handful of lines.
Some have coined 2023 as the year of the union. But what are the historic roots of progressive unions 1935-1950 in the US? Join us as we journey into the history of US labor law with Charles Romney.
We're going on a Go-Show! Join us as we follow poet, musician and multi-media artist Gregory Brownderville into his digital piece, Fire Bones.
Sandy has built her career as the tough-minded, no-nonsense lead inspector for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, but will she open her heart to Wayne before the chance for love passes them both by?
When destiny unravels for two sibling musical prodigies, Aleks and Isobel, what will await them?
"At the end of life, comes death. Family caregiving is the hardest job and the greatest honor most of us will ever face." A story about love, loss, and hope...
How do you endure when there's an invisible hand at your throat? Poet Tomás Q. Morín searches for the answer sometimes with anger, sometimes with laughter, but in the end by cutting a space for the enduring power of love.
Was Ann Lohman, known as Madame Restell, the wickedest woman in New York? Join us as we discuss 19th Century reproductive health with poet Abby Minor.
Journey with us into life's small moments: a butterfly, a desert storm, blackberries, piano keys, all keenly observed by haibun poet, Keith Polette.
What puts the "ish" in fish? Eco writer Mark Spitzer says it's the burbot with its slime, slime, slime, and pools of snotty oozy gooby goo with pungent mucous everywhere!
What puts the "ish" in fish? Eco writer Mark Spitzer says it's the burbot with its slime, slime, slime, and pools of snotty oozy gooby goo with pungent mucous everywhere!
Walter is a vegan, works at the car wash, and loves to dance. His parents tell him he's loved just the way he is, but being a teenager is hard when you have the head of a fish...
Grab a glass of lemonade and join us on the front porch as we listen to venerable raconteur Harry Thomason...
Return to the 1818 Arkansas frontier with "Arkansas Traveler" and botanist Thomas Nuttall...
Travel into the 1818 Ozark frontier with two wholly unprepared young men. They can't hunt, they can't read maps well, they can't even make coffee...
Two boys, a haunted tale, and leaping kudzu...Take a journey with adolescent friends our hero and Carver Canute through the woods that surround their small Kentucky town.
Hop aboard as we take a ride on the Rock Region Metro Streetcar and learn about the storied Jewish history in Central Arkansas, with archivist Shannon Lausch and historian Jim Pfeifer as our guides.
Meet author and Arkansas native Shaun Hamill, as we discuss his book, A Cosmology of Monsters.
Take a deep dive into the 1969 fire at the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant with author Tyrone Jaeger and his novel Radio Eldorado, published by Braddock Avenue Books.
Meet math-loving fourth grader, Danny Bowman Marsh, and join us for an unforgettable story to remind us all that we do not choose our parents.
Discover Sue Cowan Williams, an early Civil Rights advocate in Arkansas, who sued the Little Rock School District for equal pay in 1942. With Thurgood Marshall at her side, she paved the way for social justice work in Arkansas.
Meet American short-story writer and novelist, Jeffrey Condran. Jane Austen reenactors, a surprise celebrity appearance, and Ava, who always looks just right, in costume...
Experience the interconnectivity of music and social and political spoken word in four movements for narrator, French horn, oboe, and piano.
Preview award-winning author Kevin Brockmeier’s latest release, The Ghost Variations: One Hundred Stories.
Imagine a noble cruise ship with a rogue charlatan as its new captain with followers "most fowl" and a conspiracy theorist speaking from the bowels of the ship...
Discover American author John Edward Williams, who wrote Stoner, critically described as the "perfect novel."