podcast

Interrogating Embodied Cognition

Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about some problems with research on embodied cognition and look at what it means and what it doesn’t.

Jazz and The Art of Mental Health (Part 2)

Listen back as we discuss the making of jazz, around a frank conversation about mental illness, addiction, and the advantages of thinking beyond our present circumstances. Through the artistry of Buddy Bolden, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, and others, we explore the intersection of mental balance, suffering, wellness, and virtuosity.

How does our outlook on life either enhance or hamper our ways of being? How does creativity help us cope with our struggles? How can the power of music help us keep our torment at bay?

Rabbi and Jazz Historian Neil Blumofe in conversation with Rebecca McInroy. Featuring: Michael Malone, saxophone; Adrian Ruiz, trumpet; Andre Hayward, trombone; Red Young, piano; John Fremgen, bass; Brannen Temple, drums.

Jazz and The Art of Mental Health (Part 1)

How does our outlook on life either enhance or hamper our ways of being? How does creativity help us cope with our struggles? How can the power of music help us keep our torment at bay?

Higher Ed: Resiliency Of The System Tested in 2018-2019 School Year

The 2018-2019 school year saw allegations of cheating in college admissions in the “Operation Varsity Blues” case. Rising tuition costs and student debt levels have the attention of several 2020 presidential hopefuls. In this episode of the KUT podcast “Higher Ed,” KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger discuss the state of higher education in 2019.

Ed acknowledges in many ways 2018-2019 was a difficult school year. He says cost is always a concern and has more recently called into question the viability of the higher education business model.

“Is this industry as it is currently crafted a sustainable and viable thing?” Ed asks. “We know through the news over the past year the answer is no because we have seen many schools, some of them with high profile names, that have announced that they’re not going to be taking any more students and they’re going to close up.”

Ed says that business model has always seemed like a scary investment for many families because the costs are high and the results are not immediate.

“We’re talking about future value. We’re talking about future opportunities which I can’t tell you right now,” says Ed. “If you say ‘Oh, Ed I’m going to enroll in Southwestern University. Tell me exactly what’s going to happen to me.’ I can’t.”

But Ed says despite ups and downs over time, liberal arts has just about always delivered on its promise to help students become their best selves if they make that investment.

“Most importantly, you have to trust yourself,” Ed suggests. “You have to say ‘I have the confidence to realize that I am going to evolve over time’ and to be open to that growth and to be open to that change and to be open for that evolution.”

Ed says, though, despite the scandals and concerns of the past year, he has seen some bright spots. He points to inreasing support on campuses around the country for students after the admission process once they have arrived. Ed also sees more efforts to bring equity to campus programs such as internships.

Listen to the episode for Ed’s take on the health of higher education in 2019. It is also time for a new puzzler. No math is needed for this one; it is pure story and some sleuthing.

This episode was recorded on April 23, 2019.

Mind and Body Connection

We know our minds are our bodies, but as Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about on this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, how these connections work is more complex than we might think.

José Olivarez

Poet José Olivarez reads his poem “Mexican American Disambiguation” from his new book Citizen Illegal, and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about his relationship to poetry, the complexity of identity, the practice of writing, his family, teaching and so so much more!

Motivating Change

KUT’s Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the role of praise in motivating change.

Whitman at 200

As we celebrate the bicentennial of Whitman’s birth we ask, who was Walt Whitman, and how can his complexity inform our lives today?

Listen back as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy and Texas Poet Laureate Carrie Fountain of KUT’s This is Just To Say, host Travis Chi Wing Lau and poet Micah Bateman to look at the life, and legacy, of one of America’s most influential poets.

200 Years Later, Walt Whitman ‘s Legacy Continues To Grow by Micah Bateman

Love Jets: Queer Male Poets on 200 Years of Walt Witman featuring an essay by Travis Chi Wing Lau

“Time to be The Fine Line of Light” by Carrie Fountain

Bridging The Gap: Communicating across gender, generational and cultural divides

Join KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with Lana McGilvray co-founder of Purpose, Kathleen Hessert founder of WeAreGenZ, and Joy Diaz of The Texas Standard as they talk about why it’s important to advocate for public communication; for fair and balanced digital media laws; and for the voices of the young, minorities, and women in media and technology today.

The Past, Present, and Future of The Humanities

We kicked off a brand new season of Views and Brews at The Cactus Cafe with a discussion about“The Past, Present, and Future of the Humanities.”

Listen back as KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with guest host Dr. David Kornhaber, and an expert panel including Dennis Ahlburg, Helene Meyers, Amelia Pace-Borah, and Paul Woodruff, explore the roots of how this field of study ended up in higher-ed, and why it’s important to ensure it’s robust health today.

Mental Health

Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe talks about jazz and the art of mental health.

When To Say Thank You

KUT’s Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about when and why to say “thank you.”

Mentorships

Mentorships can be helpful if they are set up well. Yet as Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke point out, so often they’re not.

Stephanie Burt

In this episode of This is Just To Say producer Rebecca McInroy and Carrie Fountain talk with poet and poetry critic Stephanie Burt about gender and her experience transitioning, and the world of young adult fiction. Burt discusses her new book, Don’t Read Poetry Read: A Book About How To Read Poems, reads her poem “Advice From The Lights” from her book Advice From The Lights, and shares some of her favorite poems.

This Song: Rhett Miller (rerun)

Musician, writer, and frontman for Old 97’s Rhett Miller launched his own podcast “Wheel’s Off With Rhett Miller” earlier this year. In it, he talks to artists about what it’s really like to live a creative life.

In this 2017 episode, he describes how hearing the Jewish Lesbian Folk singer Phranc perform ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” changed his life and showed him the power of musical connection.

Listen to this episode of This Song

Check out “Wheel’s Off with Rhett Miller”

Listen to John Prine describe why “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” changed his life.

Listen to Songs from this episode of This Song

On this edition of This is Just to Say the poet Chen Chen reads his poem “Poem” from his new book When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about craft, humor, and how he came to poetry.