Studio 360 With Kurt Andersen

The Peabody Award-winning show from PRI.

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About the Show

Studio 360 is a smart and surprising guide to what’s happening in pop culture and the arts. Each week, Kurt introduces the people who are creating and shaping our culture. Life is busy—so let Studio 360 steer you to the must-see movie this weekend, the next book for your nightstand, or the song that will change your life. Produced in association with Slate.

Host

Wynton Marsalis Goes Classical and a Kate Bush Classic

How Marsalis became immersed in classical music, and why Bush’s Hounds of Love has drawn such wide and diverse admiration.

Extra: BoJack Horseman’s Raphael Bob-Waksberg

How a dark comedy got so dark and so funny.

Images of New York: West Side Story and Garry Winogrand’s “Central Park Zoo”

Two segments from our new series, New York Icons, are both from midcentury and both uptown.

Why Tig Notaro Loves Nickelback

Why Tig Notaro has no use for Nickelback bashing, Ranky Tanky performs live and explains the influence of Gullah music, and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton’s take on performing songs about women that were intended to be sung by men.

Extra: New York Icons: “Central Park Zoo” by Garry Winogrand

The philosophies of a master street photographer and the story of how he took his most controversial picture.

Human Intelligence: A Holiday Tale

A short story turned radio drama by Kurt Andersen.

Jukebox Heroes

How the Brill Building cranked out hits in the late ’50s and early ’60s … and why that era’s “Mugmates” wasn’t one of them.

Raising a Glass … to Glass!

A whole episode about the cultural impact of glass, from Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and Bauhaus-inspired glass skyscrapers to composer Philip Glass and unbroken glass ceilings.

Extra: New York Icons: The Brill Building

How a bunch of teenagers in a midtown Manhattan office building changed pop music.

The Talent Behind The Talented Mr. Ripley

American Icons looks at Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels, perfumer Tanwi Nandini Islam creates a fragrance based on Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and writer Sadie Stein goes to bat for the word moist.

From Aria Code: The Shattered Illusions of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly

The aria “Un bel dì vedremo” captures Butterfly’s unwavering faith in her reunion with her American husband and her unflagging desire for a better life.

Is Knives and Skin Today’s Heathers?

Director Jennifer Reeder on her new film, Knives and Skin.

Extra: The Classical Side of Wynton Marsalis

Wynton Marsalis and the evolution of the swing rhythm, but with a classical twist.

Why Lynda Barry Loves The Family Circus

Lynda Barry’s Guilty Pleasure, giving Willa Cather’s My Ántonia its due, and Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins on why he’s not always trying to paint the prettiest picture.

Extra: New York Icons: West Side Story

This is the show that changed the Broadway musical—and how New York City sees itself.

New York Icons: The Bell Jar and Siembra

What Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and the landmark salsa album Siembra owe to New York City.

Extra: Guilty Pleasure: Comic Sans

The widely loathed font serves a noble purpose.

Mark Morris’ Musical Mind

The choreographer’s musical obsessions, Carmen Maria Machado on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and how Rocky and Bullwinkle was the Simpsons of its time.

Why Should Tenors Have All the Fun?

Jamie Barton puts a bisexual spin on classical music.

American Icons: The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe

These are the stories that introduced America to its dark side.