Season 2 of the American Masters Podcast, “Revolutionary Writers,” features new guest host Anna Drezen, Emmy-nominated Saturday Night Live (SNL) writer, comedian and author (How to Win at Feminism, How May We Hate You?, Reductress), and includes 10 episodes that look at the artists that challenge and shape our thoughts through the power of the written word: playwrights, comedy writers, horror writers, songwriters and poets. Each writing style will be explored via a new interview with a contemporary artist and a previously unreleased interview from the series’ 30+ years of award-winning documentary films.
Episode one features a new interview with Pulitzer Prize-winner and MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog, The Red Letter Plays, Venus), who discusses her writing, inspirations and teaching the arts, and performs original music. Episode two features previously unreleased interviews with Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller and actresses Madeleine Sherwood and Oscar- and two-time Emmy-winner Lee Grant, who explore The Crucible’s themes and the fear of being blacklisted when McCarthyism struck Hollywood. Future episodes will be released biweekly.
“We are committed to expanding the series’ digital presence and reaching new audiences through the podcast and the Inspiring Woman campaign,” said Michael Kantor, executive producer of American Masters.
This January, American Masters launched the year-long online campaign, #InspiringWomanPBS, based on themes central to Dr. Maya Angelou’s life: artistic expression, academic success, active community engagement and acceptance of difference. People can share stories of inspirational women in their own lives via text, images or videos here on our website or via Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #InspiringWomanPBS. The campaign is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Launched in 1986, American Masters has earned 28 Emmy Awards — including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special — 12 Peabodys, an Oscar, three Grammys, two Producers Guild Awards and many other honors. The series’ 31st season on PBS features new documentaries about filmmaker Richard Linklater (September 1), artist Tyrus Wong (September 8), writer Edgar Allan Poe (October 30), and entertainer Bob Hope (December 29).
To further explore the lives and works of masters past and present, the American Masters website (http://pbs.org/americanmasters) offers streaming video of select films, outtakes, filmmaker interviews, educational resources and In Their Own Words: The American Masters Digital Archive: previously unreleased videos of luminaries discussing America’s most enduring artistic and cultural giants. The series is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET and also seen on the WORLD channel.
The American Masters Podcast is produced by Joe Skinner. Michael Kantor is executive producer.