WORK IN PROGRESS: Conversations with Creators

Albuquerque-based Gigi Bella is an award-winning performance poet, actor, artist and activist. She was ranked 10th in the world at the 2017 Women of the World Poetry Slam and is a two-time Bronx poetry champion with the slam team Project X. Her latest poetry collection, "Without the Frills," was inspired by her experiences in the film and television industry. On this week's episode, Gigi talks to...

Devon Hawkes Ludlow, who lives in Santa Fe, is an Emmy-winning puppeteer, as well as an award-winning director, filmmaker, writer, editor and composer. He is the designer, lead puppeteer and a voice actor for the upcoming horror-comedy film, ‘Buddy’, starring Keegan Michael-Key, Cristin Milioti and Patton Oswalt. As it happens, Logan and Devon went to undergrad together at Bard College, and Logan...

Maxine Thévenot is an award-winning Canadian American musician, composer and conductor, who serves as the organist and director of cathedral music at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John in Albuquerque. She is also the founding director of the vocal ensemble Polyphony. On June 28, she will conduct Maurice Duruflé's Requiem with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and a 200-member choir at Carneg...

Maria Kelson is a poet and novelist. Her debut thriller, “Not the Killing Kind,” won the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Crime Fiction Writers of Color, the Women Writing the West WILLA Literary Award for a Mystery/Thriller and the 2025 International Latino Book Awards Gold Medal in Mystery. On this week’s episode, Maria talks about how her personal experiences working with undocumented mothers ins...

Anthonee Smith is an emerging, underground, Albuquerque-based filmmaker whose genre-defying experimental films, "Plants" and "The Museum," recently screened at Albuquerque's Guild Cinema. On this week's episode, Anthonee discusses his idiosyncratic approach to filmmaking, his preference for raw, handmade films over AI and CGI slickness, and how his work fits into larger trends, including the "ston...

Irish-born author Colm Tóibín wrote the critically-acclaimed novels "Brooklyn," "Nora Webster," "The Blackwater Lightship," "The Master" and "Long Island," among other titles. Two of his novels have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. On today's episode, Tóibín discusses his latest short story collection, "The News from Dublin," wh...

National Book Award finalist and 2022 Guggenheim fellow Brandon Hobson (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) is known primarily for his literary fiction novels "The Removed" and "Where the Dead Sit Talking." On today's episode, he discusses his latest novel, "The Devil Is a Southpaw," which is told from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. Hobson, who teaches creative writing at New Mexico State Uni...

Priyanka Kumar is the award-winning author of the creative nonfiction books "Conversations with Birds" and "The Light between Apple Trees." On this episode, she discusses how her love of nature informs her writing and how she blends research-based writing with personal narrative. At this year's Santa Fe International Literary Festival, Kumar will give a talk about literature and ecology at the San...

Tamar Lando’s debut documentary feature, “Land with No Rider,” follows the everyday lives of aging cowboys in the Mimbres Valley of southwestern New Mexico. RogerEbert.com called the film “a stirring ode to the last few acres of the West.” On today’s episode, Tamar talks about the long, slow process of making the film – a decade-long labor of love – and how that slow process contributed to the fil...

Award-winning filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has written, directed and produced over sixteen films. Her most recent, “Palestine 36,” was the only feature film to shoot in Palestine since the start of the Gaza War two years ago. On today’s episode, Annemarie discusses the many challenges of shooting an epic historical drama amid an ongoing war. She also talks about some of the films that inspired her ap...

Craig Allen Smith is a Broadway actor and singer currently starring as the title role in the North American tour of “Mrs. Doubtfire.” He has previously performed in “The Full Monty,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Annie,” “Anything Goes” and “Oklahoma!” among other well-loved musicals. On today’s episode, Craig talks with Logan about the challenges “Mrs. Doubtfire” presents, from the show’s non-stop costume c...

With over one million YouTube subscribers, Jaime French’s unique brand of irreverent comedy and cultural commentary has earned her a devoted following, which she’s parlayed into sold-out stand-up comedy shows across the country. In addition to comedy, French is a talented singer-songwriter, whose debut single, “The Hunter,” is a mental health anthem about battling anxiety and insomnia. The full al...

Paula Poundstone is an iconic American comedian. She started doing stand-up in Boston in 1979, performed a series of acclaimed HBO comedy specials in the 1980s and '90s and has continued touring and performing stand-up to this day. She also hosts the podcast "Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone" and is a frequent panelist on NPR's weekly quiz show, "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me." On today's episode,...

Beedallo is an Albuquerque-based emerging artist whose semi-figurative, semi-abstract paintings often reflect a darkly comic vision. On today's episode, Beedallo talks about how growing up in Valencia County, NM, informed their worldview, as well as the impact of Soviet-era animation on their own aesthetic language. A riveting conversation with a fascinating young artist -- enjoy! If you enjoy...

Albuquerque-based designer Jess Sheeran makes full-body monster and alien costumes, as well as one-of-a-kind stuffed creatures called Cool Critters, which may be purchased at Meow Wolf or through her Etsy shop. Logan recently accompanied Jess on a road trip to Roswell, the UFO capital of New Mexico, where she harvested alien-themed trash for a fashion collection she's putting together for Meow Wol...

Musical theater performer Jackson Murrieta is currently on the road with the touring production of “The Book of Mormon,” his first national tour. Previous credits include “The Sound of Music,” “Into the Woods,” “Mama Mia,” and the lead role of Harold Hill in “The Music Man.”Jackson, an Albuquerque native, talks to Logan about how he got his start in the world of musical theater, what it’s like to...

Ice Cube, a multi-hyphenate international music, film, and sports legend, rose to fame with the rap group N.W.A., then launched a solo career selling tens of millions of albums and co-founded the West Coast supergroup Mount Westmore with Snoop Dogg, E-40, and Too $hort. His latest album, “Man Down,” debuted in the Top 10 on multiple Billboard charts, including Top Rap Albums, and hit #2 on iTunes&...

David Freiberg was a member of the seminal psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane and remained with the group when they reformed as Jefferson Starship, cowriting their hit song "Jane" in 1979. A talented singer and multi-instrumentalist, Freiberg plays guitar, electric bass, keyboards, percussion and viola. In today's episode, he talks about his lifetime in music and the joy of tou...

Legendary “Pope of Trash” John Waters has directed 16 movies, including “Pink Flamingos,” “Female Trouble,” “Polyester,” “Hairspray,” “Cry Baby,” “Serial Mom” and “A Dirty Shame.” Both “Pink Flamingos” and “Hairspray” have been added to the US Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Additionally, Waters has authored 10 books, acted in numerous films and television shows and distinguished hims...

Heidi Kettenring is an award-winning Chicago-based actor and singer who has performed in over 100 productions, including “Wicked,” “Beauty and the Beast” and, most recently, “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical.” In “A Beautiful Noise,” she plays two roles: Diamond’s mother, Rose, as well as the songwriter and music producer Ellie Greenwich, one of Diamond’s most significant collaborators....

Is professional wrestling an art form? Nic Nemeth and Mara Sadé say yes. In today’s episode, these superstar performers from the sports entertainment league TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Wrestling, describe how creative storytelling, emotional expression and masterful choreography are as important to their craft as physical agility and strength. Nemeth, who previously performed as Dolph Ziggler durin...

Santa Fe-based artist Jerry Wellman works in a variety of media, from painting to installation art, to create poetic, open-ended narratives. He is the former head curator at the Los Angeles Institute for Contemporary Art and a co-founder of Axle Contemporary, a mobile art gallery housed in a vintage bread delivery truck. In this episode, Jerry talks with Logan about his extraordinary journey from...

Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo) is a contemporary artist who reimagines Pueblo history through the language of science-fiction and Indigenous futurism. Born into the prominent Herrera family of Pueblo potters, he still sources and fires his clay using traditional methods, while simultaneously exploring contemporary fashion design and digital media. This episode begins with a discussion of the hot ai...

Broadway performer Jordan Markus is a triple threat -- exceptionally skilled at singing, acting and dancing alike. He currently plays Michael Jackson in the touring production of "MJ The Musical," a Tony Award-winning bio-musical, which is coming to Albuquerque's Popejoy Hall on Dec. 10. In today's episode, Jordan discusses the more than two-hour-long, dance-heavy show and what he did to prepare f...

New Mexico-based artist John Phillip Abbott makes paintings that operate between reading and seeing. His grids of letters are sometimes interrupted and partly camouflaged by layers of striped patterns and expressive plumes of pigment. In this episode, John talks with Logan about spray paint, mysticism, landscapes, Sun Ra and whether art can heal. If you enjoy our podcasts, please like and subscrib...