AMT Lab @ CMU

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12 Podcasts to Bring the Arts to Your Playlist

Podcasts aren’t just for news and politics anymore. With more than 550,000 active podcasts in over 100 languages on iTunes alone, spanning every topic from society and culture to business and economics, podcasts are one of the fastest growing forms of media. Although Apple was for a long time the only mainstream distributor since it first added podcast support to iTunes in 2005, podcasts are now widely available across several platforms such as Stitcher, Google and Spotify. In fact, Spotify recently made podcasting history with its acquisitions of Gimlet Media, the podcasting studio behind hit shows such as Homecoming and Reply All, and Anchor, a podcast creation and monetization platform, signaling a potential new road ahead for content creators.

Arts and culture podcasts represent a small but growing niche in the field as an engaging channel for sharing stories, exploring industry trends, and offering a behind-the-scenes perspective into the different arts disciplines. For managers keen on adding more arts and culture content to their playlists and seeing how other arts organizations are leveraging the podcast medium, here’s a list of shows to check out.

CI to Eye
Best for:
Arts marketers wanting to keep up with industry-wide trends
What to expect:
Capacity Interactive’s president Erik Gensler discusses marketing, management and innovation with leaders within and outside the arts.
Find it on: iTunes, SoundCloud, Google

Aria Code
Best for:
Opera enthusiasts looking for deep-dives into the field’s most famous arias
What to expect:
MacArthur Genius Fellow and Grammy award-winning singer Rhiannon Giddens teams up with artists and experts to discuss the twists and turns of opera’s most famous arias, with full performances recorded onstage at the Metropolitan Opera.
Find it on:
iTunes, Stitcher
More like this:
The Metropolitan Opera Guild Podcast, The Opera Cheat Sheet

Pointes of View
Best for:
Ballet-goers wanting a behind-the-scenes perspective
What to expect:
A pre-show lecture series from the San Francisco Ballet featuring dancers from the company, guest artists, choreographers, and scholars who discuss and share key insights about the creative processes and historical context behind the season’s performances.
Find it on:
iTunes, Stitcher
More like this: Balancing Pointe

The Modern Art Notes
Best for:
Art nerds, or anyone who wants to be one
What to expect:
Engaging, in-depth interviews by host and producer Tyler Green with artists, historians, authors, curators, and conservators discussing the latest issues in the world of visual arts.
Find it on:
iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google, Spotify
More like this: Bad at Sports, Suggested Donation

Museum Archipelago
Best for:
Museum managers with short morning commutes
What to expect:
As the host Ian Elsner puts it: “a tiny show guiding you through the rocky landscape of museums.” Each episode is a short 15-minute vignette exploring issues facing museums today through interviews with museum administrators from around the world.
Find it on:
iTunes, Google, Spotify

99% Invisible
Best for: Design geeks
What to expect: One of the most popular podcasts on iTunes, 99% Invisible explores the peripheral design processes and architectures that shape our world.
Find it on:
iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Spotify
More like this: The Urbanist

Art Works
Best for:
Artists and administrators from across the visual and performing arts
What to expect:
Thoughtful, well-researched conversations with the best and brightest in the industry.
Find it on:
iTunes

Last Seen
Best for: Conspiracy theorists and anyone who got into podcasts by listening to Serial
What to expect: A gripping investigation of the unsolved mystery behind the theft of 13 artworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1998.
Find it on: iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify

A Piece of Work
Best for:
Anyone who ever walked into a gallery and wondered what is or isn’t art
What to expect:
A ten-episode podcast series hosted by Broad City’s Abbi Jacobsen featuring hilarious yet informative conversations about everything you’ve ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask about modern and contemporary art.
Find it on:
iTunes, Stitcher, Google
More like this: The Jealous Curator

HowlRound Theatre Commons
Best for: Theatre practitioners in search of open dialogue
What to expect: Progressive conversations with artists and scholars from the theater community, as well as explorations of the history of theater and performance.
Find it on: iTunes

Switched on Pop
Best for: Classically trained musicians tired of explaining to people that all pop music is a rip-off
What to expect: Musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding break down pop hits and show their roots in classical music in fun, accessible segments.
Find it on: iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify

AMT Lab
Best for: Arts managers exploring emerging technologies
What to expect: Interviews with industry movers and shakers examining the ways managers of arts institutions can leverage technology.
Find it on: iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher