I often say that why I love working with fresh flowers is because they are not forever, and to enjoy their full potential and their full beauty, you have to be present.

On this very special live episode of The Quarantine Tapes, Paul Holdengräber speaks with artist EJ Hill. This episode is part of a partnership with OXY ARTS. EJ and Paul are in conversation about EJ’s latest exhibition, Wherever we will to root, on view through April 22nd at OXY ARTS. This episode was recorded live on March 3rd, 2022. EJ and Paul have an incredible, deeply reflective conversation about EJ’s art practice. They discuss his reluctance to speak about his work, how his demanding performance work of previous years has affected him, and the challenges of visibility. EJ tells Paul about teaching, learning to play the piano, and how he is trying to take care of himself in this moment in a moving and fascinating episode. Wherever we will to root: https://oxyarts.oxy.edu/exhibitions/wherever-we-will-root

“The music that [my teachers] would make would always amplify the struggle, but it would also amplify the joy. My teachers did not shy away from these kinds of tough conversations and they laid it into their music. I’ve only been taught by musicians who did that.”

“Suddenly, I couldn’t hear my work. I couldn’t hear all the tiny moves I made or the tiny pushes or reductions in volume. It suddenly became something else.”

“I’ve realized recently that unexpected tears are maybe the highest response that I can hope to elicit from an audience member, because it means that it doesn’t come in a predictable way, it comes in a way that kind of levels you from a side you perhaps haven’t touched in a while or didn’t even know you had.”

"There’s a kind of archaic quality to us, for as much as we might think that we’re these brights new things with these new toys and off we go into the future to sort things out, no. We’re riveted to a past that we do not really even begin to understand."

“How can you be nostalgic when you know too much about the world? It’s not moral, really, to be nostalgic for a time when so many people were not given certain privileges and certain comforts.”

“When I went to New York, I did feel that there might be something wrong with me, that I was in love with a machine.”

"Gonzo reporting is really interesting because it’s allowing you to tell stories that are kind of outside of the mainstream, that fall into the cracks. That are maybe undocumented or under-documented, misunderstood, stories about the freaks and the margins and liminality, which ends up actually not being liminal at all but often the first places where important ideas and discussions hit before they kind of enter the mainstream."

“Bad writing can often make us think that the words themselves are the problem, and it’s not. I think that any word, if used at the right time and in the right context, can create a moment of intense illumination.”

“I was giving a talk digitally to MFA students and at the end of it one of them asked, “How do you… How can you write…How is it possible even to write fiction now?”

On episode 215 of The Quarantine Tapes, guest host Lena Herzog is joined by Oliver Stone. In this special episode, Lena and Oliver talk about Oliver’s experience of the return to the movies at Cannes Film Festival, where Oliver showed his newest documentary, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Lena and Oliver go on to discuss Oliver’s incredible book, Chasing the Light, published last year in July 2020. They dig deep into Oliver’s personal history, from his first job to his experiences in Vietnam to his film career. Lena and Oliver offer a thoughtful examination of the many lies that run rampant in American history in their fascinating and engaging conversation.

On episode 213 of The Quarantine Tapes, guest host Jacqueline Novogratz is joined by Maria Popova. A writer and the creator of The Marginalian, formerly Brain Pickings, Maria talks with Jacqueline about her perspective on this moment and how we move through the world in both ordinary and extraordinary times. Maria and Jacqueline spend this special episode digging into poetry, the importance of beauty, the meaning of hope, and much more. Maria tells Jacqueline about her childhood memories growing up in Bulgaria. They break down the relationship between hope and cynicism and discuss Maria’s new children’s book, The Snail with the Right Heart.

On episode 212 of The Quarantine Tapes, Paul Holdengräber is joined by writer Hari Kunzru. Hari’s most recent novel is the fascinating Red Pill. Paul and Hari dig deep into the inspirations for this novel, talking philosophy, Hari’s time in Germany, and much more in their thoughtful and engaging conversation. Hari unpacks the striking cover of Red Pill and talks to Paul about the themes of identity and the self that permeate the novel. Paul and Hari discuss how Hari had to try to hold back his fascination with Heinrich von Kleist in writing the novel. They talk Metzinger, Sartre, and much more, jumping from German romanticism to Hari’s brand-new Instagram account.

On episode 210 of The Quarantine Tapes, guest host Alex Vitale is joined by the brilliant Derecka Purnell. Derecka is the author of the newly-released Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom. Derecka and Alex have an incredible conversation about abolition and organizing. Derecka talks about her own background and how she came to the abolition movement. She celebrates the many incredible campaigns working for abolition and justice in her hometown of St. Louis. Derecka and Alex discuss the rhetoric of dehumanization, the myth of a progressive prosecutor and their frustrations with some criticisms of the abolition movement in a fascinating and deeply informative episode.

On episode 209 of The Quarantine Tapes, Paul Holdengräber is joined by Forrest Gander. A poet with an incredible body of work, Forrest talks with Paul about grief, translation, and the challenge and importance of being able to share joy in times of suffering. Paul and Forrest have a beautiful discussion on poetry, the environment, and much more, touching on the work of Barry Lopez, Jack Gilbert, and Bertolt Brecht. Forrest reads poems from his recent books, Be With and Twice Alive and explains his fascination with lichen and his work as a translator, including the moving experience of working on his upcoming translation of Carol Bracho’s poetry.

On episode 207 of The Quarantine Tapes, guest host Lena Herzog is joined by journalist Chris Hedges. Author of War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning and America: The Farewell Tour, Chris joins Lena to discuss the pandemic and the other challenges of this moment in history. Chris and Lena break down the ultimatum given to us by the pandemic. They dig deep into the history of war, the current state of the media, and the threats facing us from a collapsing environment. Their conversation is steeped in historical context and offers a thoughtful reflection on our moment and what it will take to move forward out of this time.

Paul Holdengräber is joined by the brilliant Melvin Gibbs on this episode of The Quarantine Tapes.

Paul Holdengräber is joined by Lisa Fancher on episode 205 of The Quarantine Tapes

On episode 203 of The Quarantine Tapes, guest host Jacqueline Novogratz is joined by Tim Brown. Tim is the chair of the design company IDEO.