Fences Podcast

Fences

August Wilson's Fences is part of the Pittsburgh Cycle of ten plays that capture the essence of each decade in the 20th century. Although Fences looks at race relations in the 1950s, it is a message that seems to need repeating as we move into the second decade of a new cycle.

This podcast was written and directed by Jake Sheinman, Kaitlyn Hynson, Leah Kohl, and Rose Defino.

Death and the King's Horseman Podcast

Death and the King's Horseman

CultureCast continues with an in depth look at Wole Soyinka's powerful Death and King's Horseman. This masterpiece of post-colonial drama is just as relevant today as it was in 1975.

This podcast was written and directed by Kendra Hepler, Maria Perez, Marquitta Davis, and Nicolette Crosara.

Bowling for Columbine Podcast

Bowling for Columbine

The controversial documentary Bowling for Columbine gets the CultureCast treatment. In this episode we look at the way the rhetoric of documentary film making is employed to make a statement about violence in the United States.

This podcast was written and directed by: Rachel Hein, Ryan Hercik, Abby London, Lianne Luu, Brian Wertheim, and Tsz Hung Wong.

Tartuffe Podcast

Tartuffe

Culture Cast looks back on Moliere's Tartuffe. This magnificent play's look at hypocrisy is probably even more relevant today than when it was written.

This podcast was written and directed by Antonia Jaramillo, Carolyn Heftka, Heather Derr, Ruda Lee, and Taylor Kellar.

Death of a Salesman Podcast

Death of a Salesman

One of the most famous and one of the most important plays in US history is Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. This week we peel the onion of a play about a man who is not a piece of fruit.

This podcast was written and produced by:Gabriela Cedeno Pernett, Laura Farney, Stephanie Sabu, and Sarah Campo.

I, Rigoberta Menchú Podcast

I, Rigoberta Menchú
 
Welcome to the new season of CultureCast. In this episode we look at the powerful and sometimes controversial testimonio from Rigoberta Menchú.

This podcast was written and produced by Dana Bailets, Samantha Cruz, Evan Luongo, Hugh McGrogran, Michael Susini, and Patrick Tooker.

Welcome to a new season of CultureCast

This season we will be looking at some more great texts including:

Tartuffe

A Doll’s House

The Death of a Salesman

The American Dream

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Master Harold …and the boys

Death and the King’s Horseman

Fences

Ti-Jean and His Brothers

Top Girls

American Buffalo

I Don’t Get Nothin’ From School

Xala

Wide Sargasso Sea

Bowling for Columbine

I, Rigoberta Menchú

Todo sobre mi madre

Handmaid’s Tale

Persepolis (Graphic Novel)

Persepolis (Film)

Birdy

The Raw the Cooked and the Rotten

  

It is a big season. Stay Tuned.

Ubu and the Truth Commission Podcast

Ubu and the Truth Commission

Ubu and the Truth Commission was written by Jane Taylor and first directed by William Kentridge. The play deals with the memories of Apartheid and its aftermath as well as the Truth Commission that was created in an attempt to deal with the traumas of that horrific system. The multi-media spectacle replicates the inner workings of the collective psyche of post-Apartheid Africa.

This podcast was written and produced by: Brittney Mitchell, Connor Lestrange, Emily Francis, Jason Huberman, Kara Wynkoop. 

 

Callejón de los milagros Podcast

Callejón de los milagros

Writer Vicente Leñero and director Jorge Fons teamed up to take Naguib Mahfouz's Midaq Alley and transport this seminal work from the back streets of Cairo to the back streets of Mexico City. The universality of the novel comes to life on screen and when read together the novel and the film make a powerful statement about just how similar we all are.

This podcast was written and produced by: Alexandra Leo, Colton Crockett, Maxwell Mcgrath, Orly Mayer, Peter Blazak.

Midaq Alley (Novel) Podcast

Midaq Alley

This week CultureCast looks at Midaq Alley by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mafouz. The novel gives readers a look into the lives of Egyptians living on a urban back street of Cairo. The street is a microcosm, not only of Egypt, but of any street anywhere in the world. As we will see next time, there can be Midaq Alleys in almost every town as Mexican playwright and screenwriter Vincente Leñero adapts the novel for Jorge Fons who sets it in Mexico City.

This Podcast was written and produced by: Gabriella Mcdannel, Gabrielle Storino, Isaac Futrovsky, Julie Arnold, Jessica Gerstein, and Olivia Ho.

 

Tomboy Podcast

Tomboy

Tomboy (2011) is a French film written and directed by Céline Sciamma who is best known for coming of age films. Tomboy deals with a young trans boy who is trying to understand who he is. This beautiful, poignant, yet painful film gives us insight into what it must be like to be an outsider in your own body.

This podcast was written and directed by: Allyson Bove, Brooke Seidel, Kristen Fisher, Mariana Gonzalez, Sonya Karagelian, and Thomas Ohntrup. 

 

Blackboards Podcast

Blackboards

Blackboards, Samira Makhmalbaf's second film is a poetic meditation on the lives of people who live near the boarder between Iran and Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. The boarder is an artificial divide for these people but comes with real consequences. A pair of Kurdish teachers in search of students fall in with two groups who are trying to cross the border for very different reasons. The teachers, who carry their blackboards on their backs attempt to teach on the move. The importance of education is manifested in the blackboards, which are used for everything from writing instruments, to shields, to stretchers.

This podcast was written and produced by Haley Barbour, Jennifer Doppelt, John Esposito, Jessica Leon, Molly Monaghan, and Maureen Beichert

 

The Little School Podcast

 The Little School

The Little School was a torture facility in Argentina where the junta kept people they had disappeared during the Dirty War. In this episode of CultureCast, we look at Alicia Partnoy's memories of her time in the facility.  This moving portrayal exudes hope even as she recounts beatings and isolation.

This podcast was written and produced by Adam Murry, Colleen Quisenberry, Katie Marchetti, Ian Faber, Shannon Dailey, and Nina Reiser.

If on a winter's night a traveler

If on a winter's night a traveler Podcast

In this episode CultureCast examines Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler. In this complex novel the acts of reading and writing are examined as well as the relationship between author, medium, and reader.

This podcast was written and produced by Alexandra Duca, Natalia García Rodríguez, Alexandra Gold, Andre Kunz, and Sophia Pouget Prieto.

Even the Rain

Even the Rain Podcast

CultureCast returns with Icíar Bollaín's Even the Rain. This multilayered film examines the current treatment of indigenous and poor populations through the lens of the Columbus landing.

This podcast was written and directed by Alexa Prezwodek, Jena Heaton, Kara McCollaum, Moira Smith, Rebecca Febbo, and Tara Mediavillo

 

CultureCast Season 2

Welcome to CultureCast Season 2

This season we will be again analyzing a number of texts from around the world and we may have a few surprises along the way.

Here is a list of what to look forward to:

Even the Rain  dir. Icíar Bollaín (Spain, Bolivia)

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler  by Italo Calvino  (Italy)

The Little School   by Alicia Partnoy (Argentina)

Blackboards  dir. Samira Makhmalbaf (Iran)

Tomboy  dir. Céline Sciamma (French)

The Butcher’s Wife by Li Ang (Taiwan) 

Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt) 

El callejón de los milagros dir. Jorge Fons (Mexico) 

The Secret in Their Eyes  dir. Juan José Campanella (Argentina) 

Ubu and the Truth Commission by Jane Taylor (South Africa)

This season's team looks forward to hearing from you.