Helga
WNYC Studios and Brown Arts Institute
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Top 10 Helga Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Helga episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Helga for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Helga episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
04/16/24 • 62 min
Singer-songwriter Brittany Howard, former lead singer and guitarist of the Grammy Award-winning Alabama Shakes, is now a spectacular and charismatic solo artist. Brittany joins Helga in the studio following the release of her second solo album, What Now, to offer a deep-dive into her personal and artistic life. She discusses her early experiences with grief and its impact on her creative awakening; her stages of self-discovery and the importance of therapy as a critical aspect of mental health; and how she balances her many musical forms with her understanding of authenticity, spirituality and passion.
04/09/24 • 1 min
Get ready for a new season of fearless conversations that reveal the extraordinary in all of us.
Critically acclaimed actress, singer, writer and composer Helga Davis returns for a new season of soulful conversations with artists and thinkers from a variety of disciplines, including Brittany Howard, Whitney White, Tremaine Emory, Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, Suzan-Lori Parks, Noliwe Rooks and Sampha.
In each episode, Davis and her guest share stories of struggle and resilience, challenges and victories along their creative journeys, providing inspiration and hope to listeners. Unique in the audio landscape for the depth of inquiry and emotional vulnerability, HELGA’s thought-provoking conversations offer to expand our collective perspective on the human condition and the daily stressors of the world today. And each episode leaves listeners with something practical and practice-able: an idea for something they can do everyday to help them stay in touch with their own humanity and creativity, whatever form it may take.
Season six is the second season co-produced by WNYC Studios, WQXR and the Brown Arts Institute at Brown University.
02/07/23 • 34 min
Black people know this: There’s a difference between what you say and what you mean. It’s been a matter of survival for us.
For over 30 years, American visual artist and cinematographer Arthur Jafa has captured the histories and experiences of Black Americans with projects that exemplify both the universal and particular facets of Black life.
In the second part of this masterclass in Black thought, Jafa continues his free-from improvisation through his breadth of knowledge and understanding of visual culture — embedded with all the references, rhetorics, and personal reflections of someone who has spent a lifetime dedicated to centralizing the varied experiences of Black Being.
01/31/23 • 47 min
"I don't want to be the prisoner in a box, even if it's a box I made."
For over 30 years, American visual artist and cinematographer Arthur Jafa has captured the histories and experiences of Black Americans with projects that exemplify both the universal and particular facets of Black life.
In this masterclass in Black thought — the first episode in a two-part series — Jafa shares a free-from improvisation through his breadth of knowledge and understanding of visual culture — embedded with all the references, rhetorics, and personal reflections of someone who has spent a lifetime dedicated to centralizing the varied experiences of Black Being.
LANGUAGE ADVISORY: This episode contains some strong language, including the use of a racial slur in the context of summarizing what the speakers have heard, felt, and experienced in their lives. Listener discretion is advised.
If you'd like to learn more about the artists and references in this episode, please see below:
01/24/23 • 52 min
This [term] 'femme' becomes more possible to me as a figure for not just embodiment, but for thought, action, engagement, connection.
Macarena Goméz-Barris is Professor and Chair of Modern Culture and Media at Brown University, founder of the Global South Center at Pratt Institute, an organization which supports artists, activists, and scholars in their efforts to decolonialize local and global communities.
In this episode, Goméz-Barris talks about how one can and must find beauty in the most ambiguous of places, how she uses the word “femme” to escape the embattled histories of the word “female," and how she has—and hasn’t—moved on from a traumatic early swimming lesson with her father.
References:
01/17/23 • 49 min
There are whole histories of African American artists wrestling with stereotypical depictions and minstrelsy - and it seemed worthy anyway to me as an artist to consider them as some kind of artwork.
American painter and silhouettist Kara Walker rose to international acclaim at the age of 28 as one of the youngest-ever recipients of a MacArthur Genius grant. Appearing in exhibitions, museums, and public collections worldwide, Walker’s work wrestles with the ongoing psychological injury caused by the legacy of slavery.
In this episode, Walker shares how she navigates her own inner conflicts, how a curiosity for history led her to the silhouette, and what happens when making use of symbols of Black servitude brings one acclaim.
References:RISD - Rhode Island School of Design
01/10/23 • 56 min
I like to say we're living in a precedent time, not an unprecedented one. How do we understand that? Being at the museum or writing histories both in poetry and in non-fiction are ways of trying to understand that.
“Gatekeepers” hold an essential role in our culture as those in positions of power who determine what we see and hear — and therefore how we understand our world. The poet Kevin Young holds dual gatekeeping roles as both director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture as well as the poetry editor for The New Yorker magazine.
In this episode, Young talks about how he holds these responsibilities and likens reading a poem to entering into a museum. He also shares his belief in the power of unexpected transformations, which songs have brought him comfort, and how it’s always easiest to write about the place you’ve just left.
References:Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture
African American Vernacular English
01/03/23 • 57 min
It’s hard when you try to talk across racial groups about race ... I do believe that there's a better chance of them getting further if we can create spaces of both accountability and connection.
Tricia Rose is a pioneering scholar in the field of hip-hop, Chancellor's Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University, co-host with Cornel West of “The Tight Rope” podcast, and Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.
In this episode, Rose discusses how she balances her love of the early days of hip-hop with the global profit powerhouse it has become, the beauty of chaos, and how essential it is to build safe, stable communities at a time when everything is being done to isolate and separate.
References:
12/13/22 • 50 min
Once I could feel grounded in an East African context and value who I am in an American context - suddenly it was so apparent that music was where I was supposed to be.
The dynamic, ascendant jazz singer Somi has been celebrated for her artistry as much as her activism. She became the first African woman ever nominated in any of the Grammy’s Jazz categories last year, and she has performed at the United Nations’ General Assembly by invitation from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Somi describes herself as a “East African Midwestern girl who loves family, poetry, and freedom” and yet hers is a story of survival, adversity, and transformation. In this episode, she discusses what happens when a teacher steals your joy, the power of a meditative practice that connects her to her ancestors, and how she is still finding her voice.
References:UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
The Babiito and Bunyoro-Batooro people
04/23/24 • 64 min
Whitney White is an actor, singer, Obie Award winner, and winner of the Lilly Award, which recognizes extraordinary women in theater. White has directed productions of James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner; Aleshea Harris’ What to Send Up When It Goes Down, a work about the victims of racialized violence; and Jocelyn Bioh’s Broadway play Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. She also directed productions of Shakespeare’s Richard III and Othello. In this episode, White shares how powerful moments on stage often originate in the body, not the mind. She also talks about how she preserves her inner self amidst the demands of large-scale productions, and what it means to embrace and live in her full self.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Helga have?
Helga currently has 65 episodes available.
What topics does Helga cover?
The podcast is about Sound, Society & Culture, Personal Journals, Design, Classical, Music, Artists, Podcasts, Wnyc, Arts, Interviews and Performing Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Helga?
The episode title 'Singer Brittany Howard on Creative Rebirth and Spirituality' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Helga?
The average episode length on Helga is 45 minutes.
How often are episodes of Helga released?
Episodes of Helga are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Helga?
The first episode of Helga was released on Nov 10, 2016.
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