Across the Margin: The Podcast

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Leah C. Stokes , the Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at the University of California. She researches Climate Change, renewable energy, and public opinion. In 2022 she was named to TIME100 Next and to Business Insider’s top 30 global leaders working toward Climate solutions. Her first book, Short Cir...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Yael Bridge, an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker. Her first feature, The Big Scary "S" Word , explores the history and resurgence of socialism in the United States. Previously she produced several documentaries including Saving Capitalism , starring former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, which was nominated f...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Samuel Miller McDonald, a writer and geographer focusing on human-ecology, theory, and history. He holds a doctorate from Brasenose College, University of Oxford and degrees from Yale University and College of the Atlantic. He has written essays and analysis for The Nation, The Guardian, The New Republic, Current Affairs, a...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Dr. Elaine Lawless who has devoted her career to ethnographic research in the fields of folklore, religion, and women’s and gender studies. She is the author of ten academic books and numerous articles. Her work has included studies of women’s literature, human rights, social justice and violence against women. Only Girls B...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with writer, editor, and musician Sam Sodomsky . Currently, Sam is a senior editor at Pitchfork . Since 2016, he has worked at the publication in various positions across reviews, news, and video, where he launched the " Shop Talk " series that involves interviewing the staff at record stores. As a freelance writer, Sam’s work h...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with poet and film producer Janet R. Kirchheimer . Janet is the author of How to Spot One of Us , a collection of poems about the Holocaust and her family (Clal, 2007). She is also the producer of the award-winning film AFTER: Poetry Destroys Silence , a cinematic performance documentary in which contemporary poets, both Jewish...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with The Baklava Guy (aka Roy Donk), founder and operator of Good Baklava , a business that imports baklava from Turkey, bakes it in The Kingdom of New Jersey, and sells it throughout the tri-state area, and beyond. When the Knicks made their historic playoff run, a guy handing out baklava to fans outside the stadium became one...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with internationally-acclaimed pianist and cultural visionary Lara Downes . Recently honored as Classical Woman of the Year by NPR’s Performance Today, Lara is a visionary trailblazer who occupies a unique position of visibility through her dynamic work as a sought-after soloist, a Billboard Chart-topping recording artist, belov...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Vincent Doumeizel, Senior Adviser on the oceans to the United Nations Global Compact as well as director of the Food Programme at the Lloyd’s Register Foundation . A self-described optimist and global citizen, Vincent has devoted himself to promoting environmental solutions based on sea resources, especially seaweed. Vincen...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Bill Morrison who has been called the poet laureate of lost films (New York Times, 9/21/2021), as he often makes films that re-frame long-forgotten moving images. He has premiered feature-length documentary films at the New York, Sundance, Telluride and Venice film festivals. In 2021 Morrison became a member of the document...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with pioneering saxophonist and composer Skerik. Over three decades, Skerik has built a devout following through his often contrarian, outsider approach to jazz, funk, and rock music. A founding member of Critters Buggin, Garage A Trois, The Dead Kenny Gs, and DRKWAV, among others, he has also become an essential contributor to...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with renowned pianist and composer Kimball Gallagher. Gallagher’s journey as a pianist has carried him far beyond the traditional concert hall. A Boston-raised musician trained at Juilliard, he began questioning the narrow path often available to concert pianists early in his career. That curiosity led him to launch an ambitious...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Pat Kelly. Pat recently released his fifth album, and his first for Glamour Gowns Records , entitled Hook , an enticing and cathartic set of songs that evokes self-doubt, delusional ambition, anger, and wistfulness. Pat’s lyrical prowess is exceptional. His wordpl...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Natalie Kyriacou , an award-winning environmentalist, charity director, and author. Natalie was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia and the Forbes 30 Under 30 honor for her services to wildlife and environmental conservation in 2018, and was recognised as one of The Australian’s ‘Top Innovators’ in 2022. She was the...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with director Naja Lockwood . Naja has executive produced multiple documentary and narrative films focusing on social justice and is the founder of RYSE Media Ventures which supports stories of diverse voices. Born in Vietnam, Naja immigrated to Massachusetts during the Fall of Saigon. As a refugee, Naja continues to advocate fo...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Jonathan Bernstein, a senior research editor and writer at Rolling Stone, who before that was a freelancer for Oxford American, The Guardian, GQ, Vulture, Pitchfork, The Village Voice, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, and American Songwriter. His book, What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome : The Authorized Biography of Justin Town...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with artist and educator Michael Townsend. Michael is the founder of the Tape Art movement and for over 30 years, he has created hundreds of ephemeral murals and community projects around the world. His work includes the 9/11 Hope Project , the invention of the BOOM! Projector , and the now-legendary documentary Secret Mall Apar...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with award-winning director and producer Ben Kalina, whose work centers on the collision between human nature and the force of nature. In 2020 he produced and directed Can We Cool the Planet? for NOVA. His film Shored Up , the 2014 Sundance Institute LightStay Sustainability Award winner, explored rising sea levels and the polit...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with singer-songwriter and guitarist Andrew Daly Frank. Andrew is an inimitable songwriting voice and virtuosic guitarist, and his debut album, You’re No Island — the focus of this episode — is a gorgeous, affecting piece of art that is pacifying and vitalizing. Andrew is a guitarist who has lent his thrilling leads and delicate...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with author and seasoned music and culture journalist, Mike Ayers . Mike has had work published in Billboard , The Wall Street Journal , Rolling Stone , Time , Esquire , and Relix . His first book, One Last Song: Conversations on Life, Death, and Music came out in 2020, with Variety declaring it as one of the best music books of...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with bassist/producer Mocean Worker (aka Adam Dorn) and pianist/composer Joe Alterman, who have come together for Keep The Line Open , a funky, feel-good tribute to the late soul jazz legend Les McCann. Keep The LIne Open remarkably taps into the genre-blurring spirit that defined McCann’s music, as well as his influence on Joe...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Fabian Holt, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Arts at Roskilde University. He is the author of Everyone Loves Live Music: A Theory of Performance Institutions. His latest book, Organize or Burn : How New York Socialists Fight For Climate Survival , is the focus of this episode. Climate inactio...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with film and TV producer, writer, and director Rick Korn. Rick is the co-founder of In Plain View Entertainment which specializes in creating socially conscious documentaries. Rick has produced benefit concerts with Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Peter Frampton, Kevin Bacon, and Joan Jett (amongst others). He executi...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with singer-songwriter Jenna Nicholls . Hailing from the small town of Irwin, PA near Pittsburgh, after college Jenna set her sights east to test her wings as a songwriter and performer. Initially trying Boston, she ultimately gravitated to the creative hotbed of Manhattan’s Lower East Side forging lasting friendships with other...

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with guitarist and composer Bill Orcutt . Bill is one of experimental music's most influential guitarists, known for weaving melodic lines into a dense landscape of American primitivism, outsider jazz, and a stripped-down re-envisioning of the possibilities of the guitar. Bill’s jagged sound is utterly unique and instantly recog...