Everyone has a different preferred activity to accompany podcast-listening. Whether you’re getting back into the commuter life, looking for inspiration in the studio, or heading out for a summer road trip, Artnet News’s Art Angle podcast has something for you.
In case you need a place to start, we’ve picked out a few of our favorite episodes from our back catalogue of interviews with artists, curators, and industry insiders for your perusal. Enjoy!
How an Artist’s $120,000 Banana Ate the World
Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian, for sale from Perrotin at Art Basel Miami Beach. Photo by Sarah Cascone.
What to know: Remember when the biggest news in art was about a piece of … fruit? In one of our earliest episodes, writers and editors who were on the ground at Art Basel in Miami Beach and watched the drama unfold report back to the Art Angle studio to discuss a truly b-a-n-a-n-a-s experience.
Listen to this for: Ideas about to talk to talk to your family members/first date/new coworker about the crazy art market. (And on that note, also check out our explainer on NFT’s here).
How Photography Is Being Revolutionized in the Coronavirus Era
What to know: In this episode, critic, curator, and newly-minted blue-chip gallery guru Antwaun Sargent spoke to Andrew Goldstein about a new generation of Black image-makers whose work is being spotlighted amid the pandemic—and why it’s been a long time coming.
Listen to this for: Evidence of an unconventional career path that one individual charted by making friends, looking closely, and speaking his mind.
Ai Weiwei on the Coronavirus, China, and Art’s New Role
Ai Weiwei. Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images.
What to know: One of the world’s most famous artists, activist and Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei knows what it’s like to be under government surveillance. Far from letting it hinder his career, Ai has dedicated his practice in recent years to uncovering corruption and other injustices.
Listen to this for: An unfiltered, no-holds-barred conversation about art and activism.
Curator and Author Legacy Russell on Rebuilding Art Institutions From Within
Legacy Russell. Photo by Mina Alyeshmerni. Image courtesy Verso Books.
What to know: The dynamo curator and author spoke to Artnet News’s London editor Naomi Rea about her book Glitch Feminism, carving a career path, and the importance of taking time to log off and tune in to yourself. This episode is part of a miniseries we created called Shattering the Glass Ceiling, including interviews with media exec Catherine Levene, curator Lauren Haynes, and gallerist Mariane Ibrahim as well. They’re all well worth a listen, if we do say so ourselves.
Listen to this for: Inspiration from women who are breaking barriers.
The New Yorker’s Peter Schjeldahl on His Adventures in Life as an Accidental Art Critic
What to know: In 2019, esteemed New Yorker art critic Peter Schjeldahl wrote a moving essay titled “The Art of Dying,” after receiving a devastating lung cancer diagnosis. Then, he didn’t die. It was a true honor for the Artnet News team to have famed critic interviewed by Artnet News’s own critic Ben Davis, discussing art, death, and what happens in between.
Listen to this for: The opportunity to hear how the mind of a writing legend works, in real time.
Four Artists on the Front Lines of the George Floyd Protests
What to know: One year after the murder of George Floyd, this episode serves as a searing reminder of what those first days and weeks were like as one man’s death became the world’s rallying cry against racism.
Listen to this for: The voices of artists literally in the streets, making themselves heard.
Ed Ruscha and Jimmy Iovine on How Art Can Help End the Trump Era
Artist Ed Ruscha at his studio. (Photo by Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
What to know: In the run-up to the 2020 election, conceptual art legend Ed Ruscha and media mogul Jimmy Iovine came on the show to talk about Ruscha’s artwork Our Flag. The election’s may be over, but the rapport between the two and their genuine passion for making a difference through culture remains engrossing.
Listen to this for: To hear Art Angle host Andrew Goldstein have his mind blown meeting a long-time hero. That doesn’t happen every day.