Joan of Art - podcast cover

Joan of Art

Joan of Art is Joan Juliet Buck’s new Radio Free Rhinecliff podcast devoted to human expression in the age of tentpoles and bots, at the dawn of AI. It's about culture in all its forms. Joan of Art is a weapon in the fight against the machines Joan of Art is the flag waving over the battlefield where institutional interests try to crush the people who make what’s called either 'Product" , or 'Content'. Product? Content? No: Art. Movies. Books. Plays. Exhibitions. Poems. Murals. Museums. Streamers. Essays. Concepts. Joan Of Art is reviews --but also interviews with people who write, think, paint, direct, dance, perform, who use the arts to enhance, elevate, and question our lives. It's not a show about solutions, it's a show about questions. As a critic, Joan Juliet Buck crisply and coherently shares her enthusiasms. Today there's more at stake than when she wrote for the classic primary pollinators of culture, the arts pages, features sections, and magazines. Today, the newsstands are closed, many of the magazines have become the living dead. What's left, on paper : Harper's , The Atlantic, New York Magazine, The New Yorker. The LRB. Guardian weekly. Online: Flying headlines. Trending information. Aggregated opinions. Rotten slimy tomatoes. Joan Of Art is a guide through what’s out there. It will feed your soul, and provide the jolt of insights with the thrill of the new.
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Episodes

Laura Day explains how to grow a backbone

Laura Day, a down-to-earth intuitive who spent her youth being lab-tested by academic researchers into ESP, tells Joan Juliet Buck how she turned her neurodiversity into an excellent career-- predicting the future for large companies and private clients, and training more intuitives . In a long, fizzy interview, she claims it’s her severe ADHD that keeps her away from the pitfalls of interpretation. with the poised delivery and charm of a 1930s movie star. She has written seven books, two bestse...

Jun 08, 20251 hrEp. 28

Ruth Zaporah, taught me to not think

This Joan of Art is taken from my Substack ‘Every Day Until I Die’, in which I wrote about Ruth Zaporah, who died on May 12. What this dancer who wanted to use words discovered , devised, and taught about direct expression, about the stage, about improvisation, influenced generations of performers and changed the way I wrote. Buddhist, shaman, breaker of conventions, she ushered us all to another place. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck...

May 31, 202512 minEp. 27

Life under the Boot: I'm Still Here and Seed of The Sacred Fig:

Walter Salles' 'I'm Still Here', about an engineer disappeared from his home by an oppressive regime in 1971, won the Oscar for best not-American film. Mohammad Rasoulof's 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig', is about a judge in Iran's Revolutionary Court during the 2022 protests that followed the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested for not wearing her hijab correctly. Brazil: how to survive as a human being after your husband is kidnapped by the regime. Iran: can you survive as a a human being w...

Apr 12, 202513 minEp. 26

Renée Martin-Nagle explains Water

Joan Juliet Buck interviews Renée Martin-Nagle, who after being the US counsel for french aerospace companies, became an environmental lawyer, founded and runs A Ripple Effect , and is the freshwater expert at Accenture. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments to comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org or call (845) 307-7446‬

Apr 07, 202543 minEp. 25

Emilia Perez is a masterpiece.

Juan Juliet Buck reviews Jacques Audiard’s violent musical masterpiece and explains how a drama about a drug lord who changes sex brings the shock of the new. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments to comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org or call (845) 307-7446‬

Jan 04, 202513 minEp. 24

Nick Quested explains Political Division in America

Do grievances constitute an ideology? No one can get a handle on today, except maybe Nick Quested, producer, director, and maker of documentaries, who embedded with the Proud Boys in the summer of 2020 and followed the plot to the storming of the capitol. We saw him testify before the January 6 committee . With his film '64 Days' just out, he gives a wide ranging interview to Joan Juliet Buck. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofr...

Oct 10, 202447 minEp. 23

Griffin Dunne explains how to honor your father

The actor Griffin Dunne, born rich and fame-adjacent in Hollywood, tells a family story wilder than any miniseries. His mother was an heiress, his aunt was Joan Didion , his uncle John’s Gregory Dunne. After his sister Dominique was murdered, his fatherr Dominick Dunne— a failed and alcoholic producer— wrote about the trial and was launched as a world famous chronicler of true crimes. In a wildly candid interview, Dunne honors the bravery of his closeted father and explains his own brush with or...

Sep 13, 202442 minEp. 22

Michael J Gelb explains how to walk well.

Michael J Gelb teaches normal humans how to walk, CEOs how to access genius levels of creativity, and also juggles. He began studying the Alexander Technique in London 43 years ago , became a teacher, expanded the mind-body connection to encompass the higher reaches of creativity. His new book 'Walking Well ', written with Bruce Fertman, another Alexander Technique alumnus and teacher, come out September 3, and he's teaching a vital workshop at the Omega Institute this August 16-17-18. Produced ...

Aug 09, 202436 minEp. 21

Carolyn Pfeiffer explains the Dolce Vita, Swinging London, and net points

Carolyn Pfeiffer's unerring flair took her from North Carolina to Rome at 21 with a one way boat ticket, and straight into La Dolce Vita. As the assistant to Claudia Cardinale, she watched two masterpieces being made-- Fellini's 8 1/2 and Visconti 's The Leopard, and two movie stars later, went to England to become the best PR in--and for--Swinging London. She returned to America to produce such films as Koyaanisqatsi, Kiss of The Spider Woman, and the films of Alan Rudolph. Her incomparable adv...

Jun 10, 202433 minEp. 20

Howard Korder explains how much of a trickster, and how charming, Benjamin Franklin was

Joan Juliet Buck interviews Howard Korder, co-writer and co-producer of “Franklin”, the 8-part marvel from the team that brought you "The Sopranos". “Franklin”, streaming on Apple TV+ , is as lavish and candlelit as “Barry Lyndon” but more fun, and explodes the myth of fundamental American purity. Watch Benjamin Franklin manipulate to steer bewigged and rouged French aristos into funding the American Revolution to piss off their arch enemies, the British. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, ...

Jun 04, 20240Ep. 19

Expats and The Curse

Joan Juliet Buck explains two terrific, upsetting, unconventional, genre-defying new series , one from the brilliant Lulu Wang and set in Hong Kong, the other a satire written by and starring the provocative Benny Safdie and the cringe-master Nathan Fielder, who directed and also plays Emma Stone's husband Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments to comments@radiofreerhinecliff...

May 10, 20240Ep. 18

George Green explains how he founded The Moth, and what makes a good story

The inside story of how, back in 1997, George Dawes Green founded The Moth, the storytelling entity that gave you-- and you and you-- permission to get up on stage and tell your story. The author of bestselling, award-winning thrillers (The Juror, Ravens, The Kingdoms of Savannah), George Green is candid, charming, and full of stories. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments t...

Apr 11, 20240Ep. 17

John Patrick Shanley explains how he writes plays

This winter John Patrick Shanley had three plays running simultaneously in New York; the newest, Brooklyn Laundry, is a wrenching and ecstatic 80 minute ride through attraction, grief, love, giddiness, reality check, responsibility, to adulthood. He talks to Joan Juliet Buck about life, death, the meaning of both, and invokes the possibilities of a blonde wig. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg and Joan Juliet Buck, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph...

Apr 07, 20240Ep. 16

Capote's Swans: cliff notes and field guide

Words that hurt: It's 1975 and Truman Capote , one of the most famous writers in the world, publishes an extract of his unfinished novel in Esquire. It's the dirty secrets his beloved rich lady friends have been telling him for years. Shit ensues. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments to comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org or call (845) 307-7446‬

Mar 21, 20240Ep. 15

All of Us Strangers: Love, Death, Andrew Scott Naked.

If truth, emotion and love counted with the academy, this film would be nominated for best actor, (Andrew Scott) best supporting actor (Paul Mescal) , best adapted screenplay, best director, (Andrew Haigh) and best film. Andrew Haigh brings the dead back to life, and explores the truth of intimacy , desire, comfort, and love. He tells the impossible story with such ease and confidence that you believe it all. Andrew Scott plays Adam, a lonely screenwriter living in a high rise so new it seems em...

Mar 21, 20240Ep. 14

Joan Tewkesbury, who wrote Altman’s masterpiece ‘Nashville’, explains how to make ideas flow

Afraid of losing your story? The great screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury, who wrote Altman's game-changing masterpiece 'Nashville', is also a director who has been teaching at Robert Redford's Sundance Institute Labs since 1992. Sundance is where she evolved the way for filmmakers to get at the truth of the story they are trying to tell. She explains to Joan Juliet Buck how to dive deep into the seemingly random to go beyond personal concerns. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Je...

Feb 05, 20240Ep. 13

Maestro : the coolest adults in the room

Here’s why Maestro, Bradley, Cooper’s second movie set in the world of ShowBusiness, is both deeply affecting and insufficient Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments to comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org or call (845) 307-7446‬

Feb 01, 20240Ep. 12

Killers of the Flower Moon

Why is Martin Scorsese's masterful epic so deliberately lacking in color , so uninflected? It's a choice to reflect the spirit of the main character, a greedy doughboy returned to America, living on his rich uncle's ranch, who becomes a pawn in the uncle's play for control of the oil money that belongs to the Osage. Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, William Belleau, Leonardo Di Caprio meet at the intersection of Osage nation and Roaring Twenties. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced...

Dec 19, 20230Ep. 11

Actually, The Crown Rules

Peter Morgan's series The CROWN , now in its 6th and final season, gives us a Lady Di we can relate to in escapist surroundings that turn to hell. Elizabeth Debicki (who was compelling in the 2016 series The Night Manager, stunning in the film Widows in 2018) makes Diana come alive . It's great acting, a wonderful cast, a lapidary script that makes sense of the madness, and you cry. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhineclif...

Dec 08, 20230Ep. 10

Claire Chase and Winsome Brown explain the music of family secrets

How do you give voice to your late mother, how do you turn your grandmother’s secret words into music? Music is the universal language , our first art. In a vivid conversation that mirrors the creative process, Claire Chase and Winsome Brown bring the listener into the work they are performing November 3 and 4– next Friday and next Saturday - at Chatham’s PS21. It’s called FROM BEING WHERE YOU WERE and is composed of Claire’s ‘INTENSITY 20.15:GRACE CHASE “ and Winsome’s THIS IS MARY BROWN. Into ...

Oct 31, 20230Ep. 9

Edwina von Gal explains Perfect Earth

The great garden designer Edwina von Gal shares some of her exceptional insights about what happens in the earth, and on the earth. She's a force of nature who grew up in the Hudson Valley. She applies what the plants themselves have told her over her forty years of creating inspired and beautiful gardens for artists, titans of industry, kings and queens of fashion. It was while working to restore the Panamanian rain forest, that she knew she had to set up the Perfect Earth project. Her exceptio...

Oct 27, 20230Ep. 8

Dead Ringers and the force of Bitch writing

Dead Ringers, a six part Amazon show isn't just a retread of the 1988 David Cronenberg film. It's a triumph of sharp female wit from the 37 year old British writer Alice Birch, award winning performances from Rachel Weisz, and a critique of the medical system through female matters, disguised as a blood & gore thriller. Produced and edited by Matty Rosenberg, co-produced by Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments to comments@r...

Oct 25, 20230Ep. 7

Alice Carrière explains dissociative disorder, the fallout of the Satanic Panic , and surviving zealous shrinks

The memoir Alice Carrière has written about her childhood is the most shocking and uplifting book of the decade . The brilliant only child of the famous American painter Jennifer Bartlett and an intellectual European movie star, Alice Carrière had to find her own self on the far side of her dissociative disorder, despite the brutal coercions of the mental health establishment, medication-induced psychotic breaks, and the damage wrought on her family by the satanic panic of the 1980s. With immens...

Sep 15, 20230Ep. 6

How To Write What You Don’t Know, explained by Allegra Huston

Allegra Huston, one of the great book editors and the author of the acclaimed memoir “Love Child” , conducts incisive and effective memoir writing workshops. Joan Juliet Buck interviews her for Joan of Art as she launches the online version of the Imaginative Storm writing program that she devised with James Navé. Allegra explains why the Imaginative Storm is based on the principle outlined in their book, “Write What You Don’t Know”, writing as a practice, and how the notion of ‘good writing’ ki...

Sep 09, 20230Ep. 5

Doctor Culture and Mister Pain

In this episode of Joan Of Art on Radio Free Rhinecliff, Joan Juliet Buck reviews two offerings about the Opioid Crisis: Painkiller, an uneven but necessary fiction-based-on-fact series dramatizes how the false marketing of Oxycontin by the Sackler family and their company,Purdue Pharma, hooked millions of Americans and killed hundreds of thousands. Painkiller lags in the middle but packs a punch at the end, and the story is not yet over. (Starring Udo Azuba, Taylor Kitsch, Matthew Broderick, We...

Aug 30, 202318 minEp. 4

Ian Buruma explains the roots of Woke

In this thought-provoking Joan of Art podcast, we explore the intricate web of ideas that shape our world today. Joan Juliet Buck engages in a riveting conversation with Ian Buruma, author of some 20 books ranging from politics and history to culture, currently professor of Human Rights and Journalism at Bard College. Ian's recent cover essay in Harper's Magazine, "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Wokeness ", is the foundation for their conversation. Ian dives into how Woke comes from Prot...

Aug 24, 20230Ep. 3

Barbie Oppenheimer

For the debut episode of Joan of Art, cultural critic Joan Juliet Buck reviews the summer’s two biggest movies . One male, one female, one grey, one pink, one solemn, one ebullient. Oppenheimer and Barbie turn out to both be about the meaning of life. Produced by Matty Rosenberg, Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments to comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org or call (845) 307-7446‬

Aug 11, 20230Ep. 2

Trailer

Films, books, tv shows, foreign streamers, magazine essays— Joan Juliet Buck will share what impressed her every week. Produced by Matty Rosenberg, Jennifer Hammoud, and Joan Juliet Buck @ radiofreerhinecliff.org Graphics by Joseph Maresca Send comments to comments@radiofreerhinecliff.org or call (845) 307-7446‬

Aug 11, 20230Ep. 1
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