Live Wire with Luke Burbank

PRX
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Dec 11, 2020 • 52min

Ijeoma Oluo, Jill Lepore, and The Bengsons

Host Luke Burbank and Elena Passarello make some small wishes for the future; Jill Lepore, historian and staffer at The New Yorker, tells us about the first American company to predict voter behavior through the use of computers; writer Ijeoma Oluo envisions a future free from racism and sexism in her book Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America; and indie folk duo The Bengsons spread a little hope with their viral hit "The Keep Going Song."
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Dec 4, 2020 • 52min

Abbi Jacobson, Nicole Chung, and The Dip

Host Luke Burbank and Elena Passarello dream up their post-pandemic travels; star and co-creator of Broad City Abbi Jacobson recounts the highs and lows her solo cross-country road trip, as illustrated in her New York Times bestselling essay collection I Might Regret This; writer Nicole Chung discusses her journey to discover the difficult truth behind her own adoption, which formed the basis of her debut book All You Can Ever Know; and seven-piece soul ensemble The Dip perform their single “Atlas.”
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Nov 27, 2020 • 52min

Rachel Bloom, Natalie Diaz, and Kevin Morby

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello give gratitude to some of their favorite things; Emmy Award-winning entertainer Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) makes the case against inside jokes in her new collection of essays I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are; MacArthur Fellow and poet Natalie Diaz explores the connection between poetry and basketball; and singer-songwriter Kevin Morby performs "Campfire" from his latest album Sundowner.
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Nov 20, 2020 • 52min

Phoebe Robinson, Thomas Page McBee, and Sammy Brue

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello describe the small things they've recently accepted; memoirist Thomas Page McBee shares what he learned about masculinity while training to become the first transgender man to box at Madison Square Garden; Dope Queen Phoebe Robinson reflects on managing debt and embracing "trash" culture; and Americana wunderkind Sammy Brue performs "Our Garden" from his EP Down with Desperation.
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Nov 14, 2020 • 52min

Lindy West, Kirsten Johnson, and Leyla McCalla

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello chat about the movies they've watched countless times; New York Times opinion writer and bestselling author Lindy West unpacks why she's known as the official hater of Love, Actually; filmmaker Kirsten Johnson comes to terms with the life, death, and legacy of her father through her Netflix documentary Dick Johnson is Dead; and folk singer Leyla McCalla brings the musicality of Langston Hughes' poetry to life with "Song for a Dark Girl" from her recently re-released album Vari-Colored Songs.
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Nov 6, 2020 • 52min

Jose Antonio Vargas, Danez Smith, and Angelica Garcia

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share their most effective coping mechanisms during stressful times; journalist and activist Jose Antonio Vargas recounts coming out as an undocumented immigrant with the publication of his memoir Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen; poet Danez Smith praises personal heroes in their poem “My President;” and singer-songwriter Angelica Garcia performs the one-woman version of her song "It Don't Hinder Me."
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Oct 30, 2020 • 52min

Cristina Costantini & Kareem Tabsch, and Anaïs Mitchell

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello reminisce about their most memorable Halloween costumes; filmmakers Cristina Costantini & Kareem Tabsch reveal the man behind the cape in their Netflix documentary Mucho Mucho Amor about famed Puerto Rican astrologer Walter Mercado; and singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell takes us to the underworld of Greek mythology to discuss her Tony Award-winning folk opera Hadestown, before performing one of its hit tracks "Wedding Song."
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Oct 23, 2020 • 52min

Tommy Pico, Eli Saslow, Emily Heller, and The Helio Sequence

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello get rid of some unnecessary things; poet Tommy Pico explains how writing as his alter ego "Teebs" allows him to be less self-censoring in his work; journalist Eli Saslow discusses Derek Black – the subject of his book Rising Out of Hatred – and how the once-heir to the white nationalist movement made a stunning transformation; comedian Emily Heller spins gut-busting analogies to online dating; and indie rock duo The Helio Sequence performs “Lately” from their album Keep Your Eyes Ahead.
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Oct 16, 2020 • 52min

Lulu Miller, Sopan Deb, and Moorea Masa

Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share the small things that fascinate them; writer and Radiolab co-host Lulu Miller unpacks the problematic practices of turn-of-the-century taxonomist David Starr Jordan; comedian and New York Times contributor Sopan Deb discusses his memoir Missed Translations about reconnecting with his immigrant parents; and Moorea Masa performs her latest single "Honey."
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Oct 9, 2020 • 56min

Tessa Fontaine, Abdi Nor Iftin, Moses Storm, and Laura Veirs

Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello relive some of their greatest escapes; writer and former sideshow performer Tessa Fontaine explains how learning to eat fire helped mend her broken heart; comedian and actor Moses Storm riffs on why he and his mom once had the same platinum blonde hairdo; memoirist and green card lottery winner Abdi Nor Iftin recounts his journey from war-torn Somalia to rural Maine; and singer-songwriter Laura Veirs performs “Margaret Sands” from her album The Lookout.

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