Talkhouse Podcast introduces listeners to the voices of creative minds. Instead of journalists commenting on music and film, why not get the artists themselves to do it? Who better to hear from about music and film than the actual creators?
This approach is the modus operandi of Talkhouse, a digital media development company. It publishes reviews, essays, and columns on its website. They're all written by musicians, actors, and filmmakers.
Equally inspiring as the written content is Talkhouse Podcast. It pairs up two artists and lets them chat about whatever they'd like for anywhere from a half hour to an hour. Usually, the medium discussed is either film or music. The pair might already know each other. Or they might admire one another's work but will be meeting for the first time. And the Talkhouse curation team comes up with some odd-couple matches, too. Often, those make for fascinating episodes.
Alana Haim and Sasha Spielberg came into their taping as friends. They were already close enough that they shared streaming service logins! In contrast, Metal singer Jonathan Davis of Korn and rapper-comedian Danny Brown were strangers. But Talkhouse knew Brown covered a Korn song in his live show, suggesting a pairing might be in order. Sure enough, they hit it off. The two even made tentative plans to collaborate on a new project by the end of their episode.
The show's premise is that artists open up more around one another than when the media questions them. Talkhouse Podcast never steers the conversations in one direction or another. Wherever the show's subjects want to go with their chats is where the show goes.
Talkhouse Podcast has received multiple Webby Award nominations. It won in 2021 for Best Live Podcast Recording for a live conversation between Black Thought from the Roots and actor/comedian Wyatt Cenac. The show does not use a host or mediator. Instead, a Talkhouse editor introduces each guest and provides background on how they chose the artists. And then, with any luck, magic moments and insightful epiphanies materialize.
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