Getting Better with Jonathan Van Ness

This week on Getting Curious, Jonathan and David Yi explore the history of beauty beyond the gender binary. Listen in to learn about Neanderthals who used highlighters, Korean warriors who invented three-in-one sticks, ancient Egyptians who relied on anti-aging creams, and more stunning historical figures. David Yi is the co-founder of good light, a gender-inclusive beauty brand, and editor of Very Good Light, a men's and masc-identifying beauty publication. They are the author of the new book PRETTY BOYS, which honors beauty icons past and present who have redefined masculinity and gender expression. You can find David on Twitter and Instagram @seoulcialite; good light is @goodlight.world; and Very Good Light is at @verygoodlight. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Professor Jue Guo returns to Getting Curious, which means we are returning to Early China! She and Jonathan discuss what a week in the life might look like for a royal hairdresser, a performance artist, a regional king, and other figures from this period and place. This episode can be enjoyed on its own, but if you can’t get enough of Early China, make sure to check out Professor Guo’s first appearance on the show, where we ask: Can You Set The Scene For Early China? Jue Guo is an Assistant Professor of Barnard College in New York City. She is a social and cultural historian of Early China (terminus ante quem ca. 3rd century CE), with a geographical focus on southern China. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Put on your ruby red slippers and click your heels three times, because this week’s episode of Getting Curious is taking us to Kansas. Congresswoman Sharice Davids joins Jonathan to discuss her historic election (and re-election!); her experience representing Kansans in Congress; and her new children’s book Sharice’s Big Voice. Sharice Davids is currently serving as the representative for Kansas’ Third District in Congress. Sharice was raised by a single mom and worked her way from Johnson County Community College to Cornell Law School, juggling multiple jobs to put herself through school. In 2018, she became one of the first two Native American women ever to serve in Congress and the first LGBTQ+ person to represent Kansas in the House of Representatives. You can follow Representative Davids on Twitter @sharicedavids and Instagram @shariceforcongress. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are ringing in Pride Month with a very special episode of Getting Curious, recorded live from the set of Netflix’s Queer Eye. Listen in for sit-down interviews with Tan France, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, and Antoni Porowski—and guest appearances from Queer Eye’s stellar production team. You can follow the Fab Five on Instagram @tanfrance, @bobby, @karamo, and @antoni. Keep up with all things Queer Eye on Instagram @queereye. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grab your Ugg boots and mini skirts and give three cheers for each of Carly Patterson's Olympic medals because this week on Getting Curious, 2004 is back in style. As billions of Brood X cicadas start to emerge across the eastern United States after 17 years, we’re re-releasing our episode from last summer with Dr. Jessica Ware, all about these trending insects. Dr. Ware is a curator of Odonata and non-Holometabolous insect orders at the American Museum of Natural History, New York and a professor at the Richard Gilder Graduate School. You can follow Dr. Ware (and her amazing cicada coverage!) on Twitter @JessicaLWareLab and Instagram @jessicaleeware42. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s no secret that we rely on technology in our daily lives. So it shouldn’t be a secret how that technology works, who is developing it, and just how biased it can be. This week on Getting Curious, returning guest Meredith Broussard joins Jonathan to discuss how data rights are civil rights—and how we can all get involved in efforts to defend them. Data journalist Meredith Broussard is an associate professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University, research director at the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology, and the author of “Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World.” Meredith is featured in the documentary Coded Bias, directed by Shalini Kantayya, now available to stream on Netflix. You can follow Meredith on Twitter and Instagram @merbroussard, and keep up with her work at meredithbroussard.com. For more information on Coded Bias, head over to CodedBias.com and follow @codedbias on Instagram and Twitter. Make sure to visit the film’s Take Action page, where you can find more information on resources and groups like the Algorithmic Justice League. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s episode of Getting Curious isn’t a snack, it’s a whole meal. Culinary creator, writer, and video host Sohla El-Waylly joins Jonathan to discuss cooking basics, ancient recipes, and their shared affinity for a certain discontinued Taco Bell classic. Sohla El-Waylly can currently be seen starring in The HISTORY® Channel’s online series Ancient Recipes with Sohla. Sohla is also currently one of the first-ever Resident Experts for Food52 with Off Script with Sohla, her curated monthly online column and video series. She is also a contributor to The New York Times Cooking vertical. You can keep up with Sohla’s work on Instagram @sohlae and at www.hellosohla.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, things are looking up: to Canada! Professor Jeffers Lennox joins Jonathan to discuss early Canadian history, including British, French, and Indigenous relations in northeastern North America; Canada’s role in the American Revolution; Canada’s confederation story; and what the deal actually was with Benedict Arnold. Jeffers Lennox is an associate professor of History at Wesleyan University. His current book project is North of America: British Provinces, the Revolution, and Creating the United States (under contract, Yale University Press). You can follow Jeffers on Twitter @jefferslennox, and keep up with his work at www.jefferslennox.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, Jonathan sits down with the creators and cast of Netflix’s new animated musical movie Arlo The Alligator Boy. Joining the discussion is director and writer Ryan Crego; supervising producer Blake Lemons; Mary Lambert, who plays Bertie; Michael J. Woodard, who plays Arlo—and Jonathan, who plays Furlecia! Listen in to learn all about the writing, casting, voiceover, and animation process. You can follow Ryan on Instagram @creegsmamation; Blake @blahlemons; Michael @MichaelJWoodard; and Mary @MaryLambertSing. For more on Arlo The Alligator Boy, and the upcoming Netflix series I ♥ Arlo, follow @NetflixFamily on Instagram. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, multidisciplinary visual artist Lanecia Rouse joins Jonathan to discuss how creative expression can help us make sense of our lives. Lanecia shares how she sources materials—like magazines, bricks, and strings—for her works; how she contends with questions of religion, grief, and joy in her art; and how she became a full-time artist. Lanecia is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Houston, TX and the owner and creator of LAR Art Studio. Her portfolio includes a range of abstract painting, photography, teaching, writing, speaking, and collaborative creative community engagement projects nationally and abroad. You can follow Lanecia on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @larartstudio and keep up with her work at www.laneciarousetinsley.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s Getting Curious is going to the dogs—and the cats and the cows and the crocodiles! Philosopher and writer Eva Meijer joins Jonathan for a conversation about how non-human animals communicate, why humans have often underestimated other species’ capacity for language, and what we can do to build more sustainable, respectful relationships with other species. Among Eva’s books is Animal Languages, recently translated into English by Laura Watkinson and published by MIT University Press. Follow Eva on Facebook and Twitter @meijereva, and on her website www.evameijer.nl. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’re wishing Jonathan many happy returns with an extra special birthday edition of the show. Diana Rose joins Jonathan to discuss astrology, tarot, and other healing practices—complete with Jonathan’s first ever natal chart reading! Diana Rose is an astrologer, tarot reader, & writer based in Los Angeles. Her practice aims to guide others towards cultivating a more compassionate and re-enchanted relationship with themselves & the world around them. Diana is on Instagram @ddamascenaa, on Twitter @ddamascenaa, and on Patreon @ddamascenaa. She’ll be presenting two talks at the Northwest Astrological Conference in May, so make sure to check her out there. She’s also writing the guidebook for the Rosebud Tarot; you can keep up with that project on Instagram @rosebudtarot. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, Professor Beronda Montgomery joins Jonathan to discuss plant behavior, adaptation, and communication—plus, the question on everyone’s minds: will Jonathan’s lantana plants survive the winter?! Beronda L. Montgomery is MSU Foundation Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at Michigan State University. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology, she was named one of Cell’s 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America. Professor Montgomery’s new book Lessons From Plants, published by Harvard University Press, will be released on April 6 and is available for pre-order now. You can keep up with #LessonsFromPlants on Twitter @PlantLessons. Professor Montgomery is on Twitter @BerondaM and Instagram @beronda_m. Harvard University Press is on Twitter at @Harvard_Press and @HarvardUPLondon. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spring is on its way, the sun is shining, and we want to make sure you’re prepared to bask in the warm weather—even with your masks on! This week on Getting Curious, we’re re-releasing an episode from July 2019 on sun protection with Dr. Emily Newsom. Listen back as Jonathan and Dr. Newsom discuss the science behind sunscreen, tips for managing sun exposure, and more. Dr. Emily Newsom is a board certified dermatologist and assistant professor of dermatology at UCLA Medical Center. You can follow Dr. Newsom on Instagram @derm_chat. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’re traveling back to Early China with Professor Jue Guo. She and Jonathan discuss dynasties, empires, early instances of written language, and so much more. And because curiosity can’t always be contained to 40 minutes—okay, more like an hour and fifteen minutes—we’re planning a follow-up episode with Professor Guo. Make sure to jot down your questions about Early China as you listen, and keep an eye out on our social media accounts for a chance to have them featured in part two! Jue Guo is an Assistant Professor at Barnard College in New York City. She is a social and cultural historian of Early China (terminus ante quem ca. 3rd century CE), with a geographical focus on southern China. For more information on her work, check out www.barnard.academia.edu/JueGuo. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We read your Instagram comments. We saw your clamoring for more information on the stunning painting behind Jonathan’s couch—and the artist behind the work. This week, we’re satisfying your curiosity (and ours!) with a conversation between Jonathan and the abstract expressionist painter and writer A’Driane Nieves. A’Driane shares how she developed her art practice, why she’s partial to acrylic paints and massive canvases, what she sees as a more equitable art world, and so much more. A’Driane Nieves is an interdisciplinary abstract artist, speaker, writer, and the founder of the Tessera Arts Collective and Abstractions Magazine. On Instagram, you can follow A’Driane @adrianenieves_art; Tessera Arts Collective @tesseraartscollective; and Abstractions Magazine @abstractionsmag. For more of A’Driane’s work, make sure to check out www.addyeb.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We love going off script for Getting Curious, but we’re staying on it with this week’s guest: the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated writer, director, actress, and author Emerald Fennell. She and Jonathan discuss her latest project and directorial feature film debut PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, her role as Camilla Parker Bowles on THE CROWN, and so much more. PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, nominated for three Golden Globe awards, is a comedy thriller that centers on a woman, played by Carey Mulligan, who is traumatized by an event in her past and sets out for revenge. There are a few spoilers in the first segment of this episode, but we’ll give you a heads up before each one. And the film, released by Focus Features, is available on demand, so if you want to see it before listening to the episode, we’ll see you back here in 1 hour and 54 minutes. Finally, because this film addresses sexual assault, we want to be clear that we’ll be discussing this topic and, more generally, representations of trauma in popular culture, during this part of the episode. You can follow Emerald on Twitter @EmeraldFennell. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Put on your finest loungewear and raise your favorite coffee mug because this week’s episode of Getting Curious is an EVENT! After six years of incredible work, NASA’s Perseverance rover is now exploring Mars, and Jonathan spoke with Christina Hernandez, an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, all about the mission just before landing day. Listen in to learn more about the Red Planet, the Perseverance mission, and Christina’s advice for the next generation of NASA innovators. Keep up with rover coverage on Twitter @NASAPersevere and Instagram @NASA, and with Christina’s amazing career on Twitter @estrellasycafe. For Spanish-language coverage, make sure to check out @NASA_es on Twitter and Instagram. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’re celebrating 200 episodes and five years of the show with a look back at some of our favorite segments on empowerment, advocacy, and exploration. We’re so grateful to all of our listeners and guests for taking this journey with us, and we’ll be back next week with an all new episode that’s truly out of this world! Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’re learning about three women who shaped the movement for civil rights in the United States—Alberta King, Louise Little, and Berdis Baldwin—but whose stories have too often been footnotes in books about their famous sons. The writer and scholar Anna Malaika Tubbs joins Jonathan to discuss her new group biography The Three Mothers, her work studying Black motherhood as a Gates scholar and Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at Cambridge University, and her approach to public projects like Stockton, California’s Status of Women Report. Follow Anna on Twitter @annas_tea_ and on Instagram @annastea_honesty. Make sure to check out The Three Mothers, published by Flatiron Books, on sale now. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In December 2020, the UK High Court determined that trans, non-binary, and gender diverse young people in the UK must have legal approval before they can start puberty blockers—even if these young people, their families, and their doctors advocate for treatment. This week on Getting Curious, Lui Asquith joins Jonathan to break down what hormone blockers are, why this case is so significant, and how it fits into a broader discussion about trans rights in the UK and beyond. Lui Asquith (pronouns they/them) is Director of Legal, Policy and Operations at Mermaids. Lui is a qualified lawyer, with a background in LGBTI activism. They moved to Mermaids over two years ago to focus on improving the lives of trans, non-binary and gender diverse young people on the front line. Founded in 1995, Mermaids is a UK-wide charity working to support thousands of transgender, non-binary and gender diverse children, young people, and their families. Lui is on Twitter @luiasquith. Mermaids is on Instagram @mermaidsgender, Twitter @Mermaids_Gender, and Facebook @MermaidsGender. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, the writer, activist, and educator Dean Spade joins Jonathan to discuss how we can meet our neighbors’ survival needs through mutual aid, and better understand the systems we live under in the process. Listen in to learn about what mutual aid is, how it differs from charity, and why local wisdom is essential for sweeping change. Dean Spade has been working to build queer and trans liberation based in racial and economic justice for the past two decades. He’s the author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law, the director of the documentary “Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back!,” and the creator of the mutual aid toolkit at BigDoorBrigade.com. His latest book, Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next), was published by Verso Press in October 2020. You can follow Dean on Twitter @deanspade and Instagram @spade.dean. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’re following the money to better understand banking in America and the history of the country’s racial wealth gap. Professor Mehrsa Baradaran joins Jonathan to discuss banking deserts, overdraft fees, home loans, and more. (Like, what are capital gains, even?!) Mehrsa Baradaran is a professor of law and associate dean at UC Irvine School of Law specializing in banking law and financial inequality. She is the author of How the Other Half Banks and The Color of Money. Follow Professor Baradaran on Twitter and Instagram @mehrsabaradaran. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New year, old curiosity: this week on Getting Curious, we’re traveling back in time to ancient Egypt with Dr. Kathryn Howley. She and Jonathan discuss what life might have looked like for ancient Egyptian hairstylists, royalty, and scribes; how ancient Egyptians interacted with neighboring cultures; and what it’s like for Egyptologists to analyze archaeological remains. Professor Howley is the Lila Acheson Wallace Assistant Professor of Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She is interested in how ancient peoples negotiated their interactions with other cultures through art and material culture, particularly Egypt and its southern neighbor Nubia in the first millennium BCE. As part of this interest she directs the Sanam Temple Project, which undertakes fieldwork at the 7th century BCE Egyptian-style temple of the Nubian King Taharqo at Sanam, Sudan. You can follow the Sanam Temple Project team’s latest fieldwork discoveries on Facebook @sanamtempleproject. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re gliding into the new year with the re-release of an episode from February 2019 with figure skating’s finest: Michelle Kwan and Eliot Halverson. Michelle and Eliot join Jonathan to talk all things skating: judging scandals, big coats, tracing figures, and Jonathan’s journey on the ice. Michelle Kwan is an American figure skater, two-time Olympic medalist, five-time world champion, and nine-time US champion. Eliot Halverson is an American figure skater, choreographer, and three-time USFS national champion. Follow Eliot Halverson on Instagram @eliothalverson and Michelle Kwan on Twitter and Instagram @MichelleWKwan. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This holiday break, we’re re-releasing two of our favorite episodes, with three of our favorite experts, about one of our favorite topics: figure skating. First up is an episode from April 2018 with Olympic figure skater Mirai Nagasu, who was the first American female figure skater to land a triple Axel at the Olympics, earning her a bronze medal in PyeongChang in 2018. Jonathan and Mirai jump right into the technical, artistic, and political aspects of figure skating—and discuss what it was like for Mirai to take her prowess off ice to compete in Dancing with the Stars: Athletes. Find Mirai on Instagram @mirainagasu, on Twitter @mirai_nagasu, and at www.mirainagasu.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you know that if you want to represent your block in Brooklyn as a local elected official, you have to mark a gender designation—and the only options are “male” and “female”? This week on Getting Curious, Jonathan is speaking with Jesse Pierce and Samy Nemir Olivares, both elected District Leaders in Brooklyn, all about this gender rule: how it came into existence, why it’s exclusionary, and how we can work to make local seats across Brooklyn and the country more inclusive and equitable. Jesse Pierce is a non-binary queer elected Democratic District Leader in Brooklyn's 52nd Assembly District. They focus on hyper local political grassroots organizing as a means to transform our politics both locally and nationally. Samy Nemir Olivares (he/they) is a Puerto Rican-Dominican, queer activist, writer, communicator and District Leader in Brooklyn. Samy advocates for gender, racial and social justice through politics, media and education. Samy works for a national nonprofit for LGBTQ civil rights and produced a documentary about TGNC rights in New York: Stonewall With a T. You can follow Jesse on Twitter @jessepiercebk and Instagram @jessepierce07. You can follow Samy on Twitter @SamyNemir and Instagram @SamyforBrooklyn. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’re a close listener of Getting Curious, you’ll know that today’s conversation with Professor Saleema Snow, all about the practice known as civil asset forfeiture, is a long time coming. Civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to seize and often keep any property they suspect is involved in a crime. Jonathan wants to learn more about this practice: how deep its roots are, how it came to exist across the United States, what it reveals about discriminatory policing, and what it would look like to dismantle this system. Professor Snow is a Professor of Law at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law where she teaches appellate advocacy and critical race theory. Her scholarship focuses on religious profiling, poverty law, and the intersection of poverty, gender, and access to justice. You can follow Professor Snow on Twitter @SaleemaSnow. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know when you have a song stuck in your head and the only way you can get it out is to play it? Well, Jonathan has a similar feeling: he can’t shake the idea that he needs to sing a song. Like, literally, any song, preferably one with pleasing harmony. And he’s reaching out to the Grammy Award-winning artist Meghan Trainor for guidance. Meghan joins Jonathan to discuss singing and songwriting fundamentals, her musical influences, and her new holiday album A Very Trainor Christmas. Follow Meghan on Instagram and Twitter @meghan_trainor, and check out A Very Trainor Christmas—out now! Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’re re-releasing an episode from June 2019 that we hold dear, with the performance artist and writer ALOK. ALOK and Jonathan discuss their experiences embracing life beyond the gender binary, the historical precedents for gender fluidity, and the power of “emotional alchemy” in the face of discrimination. Follow ALOK on Instagram @alokvmenon, and make sure to check out their book Beyond The Gender Binary. You can keep up with all of their incredible work at www.alokvmenon.com. Once you’ve listened to the episode, head over to Jonathan’s Instagram @JVN for a July 2020 follow-up conversation with ALOK. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’re getting the down low on what’s up in the sky with Professor Kristen Rasmussen, an Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University and an expert on clouds. She and Jonathan break down cloud types, extreme weather, and the lasting impact that the 1996 movie Twister had on both of their lives—and one of their careers. You can keep up with Professor Rasmussen on Twitter @KRasmusWx, and follow her research group at Colorado State University. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Election Day is behind us, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t more work ahead. Consider this week’s Getting Curious a chance to reflect and recharge, as Jonathan speaks with the writer, editor, activist, and social justice facilitator adrienne maree brown. The two discuss adrienne’s work around emergent strategy and pleasure activism, consider what authentic community engagement looks like, and explore how science fiction can be an invaluable resource for shaping a more equitable future. adrienne maree brown is the author of Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good and Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, and the co-editor of Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements. Her forthcoming book We Will Not Cancel Us: And Other Dreams of Transformative Justice is now available for pre-order. Follow adrienne on Twitter @adriennemaree and Instagram @adriennemareebrown, and keep up with her work at www.adriennemareebrown.net. Once you’ve finished the episode, make sure to check out adrienne’s podcasts How To Survive The End of the World and Octavia’s Parables. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Look, we already know the answer to this question. But we can dream! We’re sending you into Election Day with an early release of this week’s Getting Curious, featuring a conversation with the iconic comedian, writer, and producer Samantha Bee. She and Jonathan talk political humor, the Golden Girls, Canadian health care, and so much more. Take a listen when you’re in line to vote, when you need a break from refreshing last-minute polling numbers, or on the other side of Election Day—whatever happens, we’re here for you. Samantha Bee is the host and Executive Producer of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on TBS and the podcast Full Release with Samantha Bee on Earwolf. Follow her on Twitter @iamsambee, and keep up with Full Frontal on Twitter and Instagram @FullFrontalSamB. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Check out all new Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you phone banking, leafleting, and heading to the polls early this election season and still feeling like you need a boost? Then it might be time to introduce deep canvassing to your routine. The activist, community organizer, and director of People’s Action George Goehl joins Jonathan to share this go-to practice for building a more progressive nation—and explains why rural America needs to be central to any discussion of the electorate. Follow George on Twitter @GeorgeGoehl, and People’s Action on Twitter and Instagram @pplsaction. Once you’ve finished the episode, make sure to check out George’s podcast To See Each Other. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are more than 2.5 million care workers, nannies, and house cleaners across the United States. They are skilled professionals. Their labor is essential. So are their rights. Alicia Garza, who is the Director of Strategy & Partnerships for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, joins Jonathan to discuss the history of domestic work in the United States, why domestic workers are some of the least protected, most vulnerable individuals—without access to health care, paid sick days, or a living wage—and what a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights could offer these workers in the way of proper compensation, labor protections, and dignity. Beyond her work with the NDWA, Alicia Garza is the co-creator of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, the principal at the Black Futures Lab, a writer, and a podcast host. Her new book The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart is out now. Once you’ve had a chance to listen to this episode of Getting Curious, make sure to check out Alicia’s first appearance on the show, and her podcasts Lady Don’t Take No and Sunstorm. Follow Alicia on Twitter @aliciagarza and Instagram @chasinggarza. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week’s Getting Curious, Dr. Elizabeth Rule joins Jonathan to discuss contemporary Native American rights and representation. She and Jonathan cover reproductive justice, tribal sovereignty, and the incredible work that Dr. Rule is doing to illuminate the relationship between Native history and contemporary Native Americans’ experiences and realities. Dr. Rule is the Director of the AT&T Center for Indigenous Politics & Policy, an Assistant Professor of Professional Studies and Faculty in Residence at George Washington University, and an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. Follow Dr. Rule on Twitter @ERuleDC, download the Guide to Indigenous DC, and check out more of her work at www.elizabethrule.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raise a glass (or an amphora!) to this week’s episode of Getting Curious, all about ancient Mediterranean drinking cultures. Associate Professor of History at the University of Iowa Dr. Sarah E. Bond speaks with Jonathan about ancient Egyptians who loved beer, ancient Greeks who sipped the night away at symposia, and ancient Romans who went bar hopping. There’s truly so much to imbibe here, and thankfully, knowledge pairs well with whatever you’re already drinking. Follow Dr. Bond on Twitter @SarahEBond, and make sure to check out her writing in Hyperallergic, The New York Times, Forbes, and beyond. Her 2016 book Trade and Taboo: Disreputable Professionals in the Roman Mediterranean is published by the University of Michigan Press. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’ve got numbers coming out of our ears. For instance: two. Two? Yeah. That’s how many times the clean water activist and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich has now appeared on the show. How about this for a number? One. That’s how many people it takes to start a movement advocating for safe drinking water. And we’re guessing zero is the amount of hesitation you’ll have before hitting play on this iconic conversation between Jonathan and Erin, all about what’s in our water, who’s currently regulating it, and how we can take charge of the water supply in our communities. Follow Erin on Instagram @the_real_erin_brockovich and Twitter @ErinBrockovich. Check out her new book Superman’s Not Coming and her podcast of the same name. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, we’re carrying ourselves with confidence, our heads are held high, and we’re comfortable in our environment—we’re feeling big time cat parent mojo! Jackson Galaxy, the cat behavior and wellness expert, host of Animal Planet’s My Cat From Hell, and co-creator of Jackson Galaxy’s Cat Camp joins Jonathan to talk all about cats. He shares how we can better understand and care for our favorite felines, what the deal is with “cat mojo,” and why cat rescue and TNR efforts are most successful when everyone gets involved. Follow Jackson Galaxy on Twitter @JacksonGalaxy and Instagram @thecatdaddy, and keep up with Jackson Galaxy’s Cat Camp on Instagram @CatCampUSA. This year’s Cat Camp will take place virtually on Saturday, September 26. Get more information on the free event, and reserve your spot, at www.CatCamp.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are fewer than 50 days until the 2020 United States elections, and over at Getting Curious, we’re feeling a little… shaky. To lay the foundation for this final stretch of election season, Jonathan’s calling on an expert in strong leadership, intersectional policies, and enduring hope: Sec. Julián Castro. Sec. Castro has served as Mayor of San Antonio, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama, and a 2020 Presidential candidate. He just launched his new podcast Our America with Julián Castro on Lemonada Media. You can find Sec. Castro on Twitter @JulianCastro and Instagram @juliancastrotx. Learn more about his podcast Our America with Julián Castro on Twitter and Instagram @LemonadaMedia. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the lessons in Dr. Edith Eger’s latest book The Gift is that love equals time. And on this week’s Getting Curious, Dr. Eger is joining Jonathan for an hour of love, compassion, and life lessons. Dr. Eger is a bestselling author, psychologist, and Holocaust survivor. Her first book The Choice, released in 2018, details her story of courage and resilience as a survivor of Auschwitz. In her new book The Gift she shares some of her best advice for confronting life’s challenges and building a meaningful existence. Learn more about Dr. Eger on Twitter @DrEdithEger1, on Instagram @dr.editheger, and at www.DrEdithEger.com. And make sure to check out Dr. Eger's books The Choice and The Gift. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the lead-up to Labor Day, Getting Curious is working it! We're re-releasing an episode from 2018 with Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations at Rutgers University, all about trade unions. She and Jonathan discuss what unions are, how they operate, and why collective bargaining can be such a powerful tool. Follow Professor Givan on Twitter @rkgwork. She’s also the co-editor of the forthcoming essay collection Strike for the Common Good, which follows teacher walkouts across the US in the last few years. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since Stockton, California, Mayor Michael Tubbs was elected in November 2016, he’s launched an innovative Guaranteed Income pilot program and created a runway for his city’s success. Mayor Tubbs joins Jonathan to discuss the program, how cities across the country are implementing similar initiatives, and why it’s so important for local governments to invest in their communities. Mayor Tubbs is the co-founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, and the subject of the new HBO documentary “Stockton On My Mind.” Follow Mayor Tubbs on Twitter @MichaelDTubbs and Instagram @michaeldtubbs. Stream Stockton on My Mind on HBO and HBO Max. Learn more about Stockton’s Guaranteed Income pilot program at www.StocktonDemonstration.org. And keep up with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income at www.mayorsforagi.org and on Twitter @mayorsforagi. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, Jonathan is learning about the power of clean energy with a clean energy powerhouse: Massachusetts representative and co-author of the Green New Deal bill, Senator Ed Markey. Senator Markey explains what a Green New Deal can offer in the way of environmental protections, job opportunities, pandemic recovery, and more. Senator Markey is also running for re-election in the upcoming Massachusetts primary, and he and Jonathan discuss his four decades as a progressive leader, what the stakes are for his keeping his seat (they're JVN endorsement-level major!), and how he's planning to turn out the vote on September 1. Follow Senator Markey on Twitter @EdMarkey, and on Facebook @EdMarkeyforMA. Learn more about his work at www.markey.senate.gov and his re-election campaign at www.edmarkey.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earth to listeners! This week’s Getting Curious is serving an adventure like no other, because Jonathan is talking with astronaut, oceanographer, and geologist Kathy Sullivan. She’s the first US woman to complete a spacewalk, the first woman to reach the deepest known point in the ocean, and the first person to travel to both space and deep sea. She tells Jonathan all about space tools, the Challenger Deep, and what it’s like to feel the force of gravity during a shuttle landing. Follow Kathy on Twitter @AstroKDS, learn more about her at www.kathysullivanastronaut.com, and check out her book Handprints on Hubble. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you know where your donor dollars and time are actually going? Activist, thought leader, and founder of the social impact campaign YouAreEssential Ashlee Marie Preston joins Jonathan to discuss the trillion-dollar industry that is the US non-profit sector, the ways in which non-profit organizations can undercut to the aims of grassroots political movements, and how we can work to dismantle a system that doesn’t always serve the communities it claims to protect. Follow Ashlee Marie Preston on Instagram @ashleemariepreston and Twitter @AshleeMPreston. Learn more about YouAreEssential at YouAreEssential.org, or on Instagram and Twitter @YAEOrg. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is an All-Around winner, because Jonathan is talking with six-time Olympic medalist and captain of the Fierce Five and Final Five gymnastics teams, Aly Raisman. This isn’t a Level 10 conversation about gymnastics, gardening, and more—it’s certified Elite. Follow Aly on Instagram @alyraisman and Twitter @aly_raisman, and learn more about her book Fierce. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's Getting Curious is a show like no other, since Jonathan is joined by the iconic Tony, Grammy, and Emmy award winner Audra McDonald. She and Jonathan discuss the critical work she's doing as the co-founder of Black Theatre United, an organization that is advocating for equity in the theater world and the nation. They also discuss how theatergoers can continue to support the performing arts community, during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. (And stick around for the third act to hear Audra's recommendations for what to watch and listen to once you're done with the episode!) Follow Audra on Instagram @audramcdonald and Twitter @AudraEqualityMc, and learn more about Black Theatre United at www.blacktheatreunited.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2020 election season has been anything but routine. To coach us through all the ways we can help flip seats, add balance to any check on our democracy, and win big on election day, Jonathan is turning to political strategist Ben O'Keefe. Ben is a human rights activist, progressive strategist, and founder of the impact entertainment company Give A Damn. He is a former Senior Aide to Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign, and currently the Impact Producer on the forthcoming Untitled Stacey Abrams documentary from Amazon Studios. Follow Ben on Twitter and Instagram at @benjaminokeefe and at www.benjaminokeefe.com. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Getting Curious, Dr. Kira Thurman and Ashleigh Gordon join Jonathan to discuss the remarkable work of Black classical composers and musicians through history and today. Dr. Thurman is an assistant professor of History and Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan. Ashleigh Gordon is the co-founder, Artistic and Executive Director, and violist of Castle of our Skins, a Boston-based concert and educational series devoted to celebrating Black Artistry through music. Follow Dr. Thurman on Twitter @kira_thurman, and follow Ashleigh on Instagram @violashe and at www.violashe.com. Keep up with Castle of our Skins on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @castleskins, and at www.castleskins.org. Castle of our Skins has an incredible resources page with organizations, ensembles, composers, and more. Find out what today’s guest and former guests are up to by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN. Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com. Check out Getting Curious merch at PodSwag.com. Listen to more music from Quiñ by heading over to TheQuinCat.com. Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices