All Of It

Sean Mason is a North Carolina-based composer and pianist who, after beginning his career in New York, decided to return home to discover a new creative path. So it's fitting that his new album is called A Breath of Fresh Air. The album is also accompanied by a short documentary film, photo essay, and video series. Mason discusses the inspiration behind the new album, and performs live ahead of his concert at Miller Theatre at Columbia University on November 15 at 7:30pm.

Filmmaker Elizabeth Lo talks about her new documentary "Mistress Dispeller," in which a woman hires a professional to break up her husband's affair. 'Mistress Dispeller' is featured at this year's DOC NYC festival.

Photographer Steve Schapiro was often at the scene. Schapiro photographed historical Civil Rights marches, public figures like Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, and Robert Kennedy, and was also called to photograph films like "Taxi Driver" and "The Godfather." Before Schapiro died in 2022 at the age of 88, he sat down for interviews to reflect on his life and career. The result of those interviews is a new documentary, "Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere," in theaters November 14th and showing for a week at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema. Director Maura Smith, who also happens to be Schapiro's wife, reflects on her husbands legacy with the camera.

The new book Unabridged: The Thrill of and Threat to the Modern Dictionary, tackles the history of the dictionary, dives into the process of choosing words to be included in the dictionary, and evaluates the value of the dictionary in our 21st century world. Author Stefan Fatsis discusses the book, out now.

"The Ecology of Quilts" is the current exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum. It examines the history of quilting through the lens of the industry's environmental impact and the growth of the textile industry as a whole. The museum's deputy director and exhibition curator Dr. Emelie Gevalt talks about the exhibit and listeners call in to share their connection to quilting.

A new exhibition at the MoMA celebrates the career of Cuban artist Wifredo Lam, an artist who helped push the boundaries of modernism. Curators Christophe Cherix and Beverly Adams join to discuss "Wifredo Lam: When I Don't Sleep, I Dream," up now through April 11 2026. Image credit: Wifredo Lam. La jungla (The Jungle), 1942-43. Oil and charcoal on paper mounted on canvas, 7'10 ¼” × 7'6 ½” (239.4 × 229.9 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York © Succession Wifredo Lam, ADAGP, Paris / ARS, New York 2025

Actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, one-time co-stars in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," have reunited on stage in Jamie Lloyd's production of "Waiting for Godot" on Broadway. They discuss the show, which is running now through January 4.

The new revival of Rajiv Joseph's play "Gruesome Playground Injuries" charts the lives and relationships of two childhood best friends, played by Tony winner Kara Young and "Succession" star Nicholas Braun. Joseph, Young, and Braun discuss the show, which is running at the Lucille Lortel Theatre through December 28.

[REBROADCAST FROM August 6, 2025] Rachael & Vilray perform in our studio from West of Broadway, their new album of original songs inspired by the American songbook, classic Broadway showtunes and West Coast jazz.

The new documentary "Santacon" tracks the growth of the phenomenon of drunken and delinquent Santas taking over New York City, and other cities and towns around the country. Director Seth Porges joins us to discuss the film, which has a world premiere at DOC NYC on Thursday, November 13.

Eat drink and be merry has a different meaning for those who are sober, especially during the holiday season. Cat Greenleaf, the original host of Talk Stoop, shares tips and mindsets as someone who has been sober for more than 10 years. Her new podcast Soberness investigates the challenges of sobriety in 2025.

Financial therapy sits at the intersection of psychology and money management, helping people not only understand what they spend, but why. Aja Evans is a financial therapist in private practice, the author of the book Feel Good Finance: Untangle Your Relationship with Money for Better Mental, Emotional, and Financial Well Being and the president of the Financial Therapy Association. She talks about what financial therapy is, how it works, and takes listeners' calls and questions.

[REBROADCAST FROM November 21, 2024] The new documentary, "Drop Dead City: New York on the Brink in 1975," tells the history of New York City's fiscal crisis in 1975. Directors Peter Yost and Michael Rohatyn discuss the film, which is closing out the DOC NYC film festival.

[REBROADCAST FROM October 27, 2025] Photo journalist Brent Renaud became the first American on assignment to be killed while covering the war in Ukraine after he was shot by Russian forces in 2022. In the new documentary short "Armed With Only a Camera," Renaud's brother Craig Renaud puts together footage shot over his career in combat zones to tell the story of his life and work. Craig Renaud discusses the film, along with producer Juan Arredondo who was with Arredondo was with Renaud when he was shot, and was injured in the attack. "Armed With Only a Camera" is streaming now on HBO Max.

[REBROADCAST FROM April 8, 2025] The film "Warfare" draws directly on the memories of director Ray Mendoza, an Iraq war veteran and former Navy Seal who was a part of a mission that went very wrong. Co-directed with Alex Garland, "Warfare" presents a dramatized version of that mission. Mendoza and Garland discuss the film.

[REBROADCAST FROM October 3, 2025] Director Kim A. Snyder discusses her new documentary called "The Librarians," which explores the role of libraries and the people who run them in today's politically fraught atmosphere. Focusing on librarians in Texas, responding to efforts to ban books about race and the LGBTQIA+ experience, the film illuminates a key angle in the conflict over access to information and art, and library patrons' so-called 'freedom to read.' Plus, New Jersey librarian Martha Hickson, who is featured in the film, shares her experiences and insights.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author Quiara Alegría Hudes discusses her new novel, The White Hot. The novel is written in the form of a letter from a mother to her daughter, explaining why, for a brief period, she decided to leave. Hudes is speaking with Lin Manuel Miranda on November 11 at St. Ann's Church with Books Are Magic, and at Joe's Pub on November 24.

Our November Get Lit with All Of It book club selection is the novel Flashlight by Susan Choi. The novel is a finalist for the Booker Prize, and tells the story of a family reeling after the strange disappearance of their father and husband. Click here to find more information about our Get Lit event, and to find out how to borrow your e-copy courtesy of our partners at the New York Public Library.

November 12 kicks off the start of DOC NYC, a film festival dedicated to exclusively featuring documentary films. All month All Of It will spotlight documentaries featured in the festival. The festival's artistic director Jaie Leplante provides a preview of the exciting slate of films featured at this year's DOC NYC. The festival runs through November 30.

Alex Rodriguez was known as one of the best baseball players of his generation. But his career with the New York Yankees was mired in scandal, and he served a lengthy suspension from baseball for using performance enhancing drugs. ARod sits down to discuss his life and career in the new three-part documentary, "Alex vs. ARod." Director Gotham Chopra discusses the documentary, which airs Thursdays on HBO Max.

The new film "Sentimental Value" stars Renate Reinsve as Nora, a stage actor and the child of a famous and celebrated director, played by Stellan Skarsgård. Nora is semi-estranged from her father, but when she learns that he has written a film specifically for her, their relationship gets even more complicated. Reinsve discusses the film, which is in theaters now.

Laurie Metcalf stars as a sharp-tongued Aunt Sarah in the new Broadway family drama "Little Bear, Ridge Road." The show follows Sarah as she and her long-estranged nephew Ethan, played by Micah Stock re-connect over the sale of a family home, and the unraveling of that family's history. Metcalf, Stocck and playwright Samuel D. Hunter discuss the play.

In December 1974, the writer Linda Rosenkrantz recorded a conversation with the influential downtown photographer Peter Hujar, to hear how he spent a day over a 24 hour period. The tape of the conversation has been lost, but a transcript was recently discovered at The Morgan Library & Museum. The transcript has been adapted almost word for word in a new movie adaptation, "Peter Hujar's Day" starring Ben Whishaw playing Hujar and Rebecca Hall as Rosenkrantz. Director Ira Sachs talks about the film, which premieres in theaters on November 7.

The new play 'Queens' follows a group of women spanning multiple generations, living in an illegal basement apartment as they hustle for the American dream, until a young Ukrainian woman looking for her mother forces them to face the difficult choices they made to survive. Actors Anna Chlumsky and Marin Ireland talk about the show, alongside playwright Martyna Majok.

Filmmaker Noah Baumbach talks about his new coming-of-age dramedy "Jay Kelly," in which an internationally recognized actor, played by George Clooney, encroaches on his daughter's Eurotrip with the help of his "friend" and manager, played by Adam Sandler. The film opens in select theaters Nov. 14 and streams on Netflix Dec. 5.

All Of It producers Jordan Lauf, Luke Green and L. Malik Anderson all have big opinions about the acceptable cadence for autumn and winter holiday decorations. Do you have to wait until after Thanksgiving to get a Christmas tree? How long after Halloween is it OK to leave your spookies up? They, and listeners, share their Small Stakes, Big Opinions on the matter. 

Gen Z loves "little treats," the routine of rewarding yourself with smaller, cheaper snacks throughout the day that provide little moments of joy. Nikita Richardson, editor in the Food section of The New York Times, discusses a new article her team has put together, "New York City Loves a Little Treat. Here Are Our 46 Favorites." She brings us inside "little treat culture" and listeners share their favorite "little treat" in New York.

Conflict zone photographer Lynsey Addario is the subject of a new documentary premiering on the National Geographic Channel tonight called "Love & War," about balancing her home life with her demanding and often dangerous career. She talks about her life and work.

Ariana DeBose talks about the tangled romances and French-inspired music of Stephen Schwartz and Joseph Stein's 1976 musical "The Bakers Wife," which is getting an off-Broadway revival at Classic Stage Company. DeBose stars in the titular role.

[REBROADCAST FROM September 19, 2025] The new FX series "The Lowdown" stars Ethan Hawke as an amateur sleuth who becomes obsessed with getting to the bottom of a mysterious death in Tulsa. The show's creator, writer, director, and executive producer Sterlin Harjo discusses the series, which aired its season finale yesterday.

A new, musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder's "The Skin Of Our Teeth" called "The Seat Of Our Pants" follows the existential dreads and absurdist twists of the 5,000-year old Antrobus family. Ethan Lipton adapted the show and wrote the music. He talks about the new musical, along with members of the cast. "The Seat Of Our Pants" is playing at The Public until Nov. 30.

Sociologist Gretchen Sisson has spent a decade interviewing women who gave up their parental rights. She discusses her new book, Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.

New Jersey's new governor-elect is Mikie Sherrill. New York City's mayor-elect is Zohran Mamdani. Not to mention the ballot initiatives. WNYC/Gothamist reporters Liz Kim & Karen Yi recap Election Day, and listeners call in to react to the Election Night results.

Paste Magazine calls Hannah Frances's new album Nestled in Tangles one of "proggy, jazzy, natural abundance" that is "snared with familial trauma." She shares its story, explains its abundance, and plays live in our studio.

The latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Megha Majumdar, A Guardian and a Thief, follows an Indian mother whose plans to immigrate to the U.S. are stalled by the theft of her identification documents. Majumdar discusses the book.

Lily Allen is the latest musician to work out her private heartbreak in a public way. We talk about the music you want to listen to when you aren't okay, with Matthew Schnipper, the culture editor for WNYC and Gothamist. Hear some music, prepare your tissues tissues on air, and call in with your picks for best breakup songs.

The public bench has long been a staple of New York life, in the city's parks, waterfronts, cemeteries, or bus stops. But the New York City Bench may be disappearing, according to reporting from Anna Kodé, reporter for the Real Estate section of The New York Times, and author of the article, "The Slow Death of the New York City Public Bench." Kodé discusses what she found, and listeners share their favorite bench in the city to sit and scroll their phone, read a book, or ponder life's deepest questions.

In 2000, photographer Deborah Willis released her book, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers - 1840 to the Present. Twenty five years later, Willis, who is also an NYU professor and Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts, is releasing an updated anniversary edition of the book. Plus, Willis has also organized a companion exhibit, "Reflections in Black: A Reframing," on view at Tisch through December 21. Deborah Willis reflects on the anniversary and talks more about preserving Black photography is important.

Our Get Lit with All Of It October book club selection is the novel King of Ashes by thriller and crime writer S.A. Cosby. It follows a man named Roman Carruthers who returns home to a small town in Virginia to discover that his family is the crosshairs of a local gang. Cosby discusses the novel, live from our Get Lit event. Missed the event? Watch it in full here.

Testosterone treatments have been shown to increase sex drive in middle-aged women with low libido. But the FDA has not approved any such treatments, and doctors are reluctant to prescribe them. Susan Dominus, staff writer at the New York Times Magazine, shares her reporting on the subject, and talks about medical priorities and women's health.

America's fascination with true crime seems endless, from hit podcasts and documentaries to bestselling books and Netflix binges. But what's behind our collective obsession with murder and mayhem? Matt DeLisi, a forensic consultant and Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Iowa State University, joins us to unpack the cultural, psychological, and even political reasons we're drawn to stories about crime.

This weekend, Flushing Town Hall hosts MexFest, a Día de los Muertos celebration honoring those who have passed and those separated from loved ones through immigration. Artists and co-curators Xtian Ávila and Arantxa Araujo explore the holiday through a participatory altar, storytelling, and performances.

Once upon a midday talkshow, 'fore we hear Sean Carlson read Poe — Halloween tradition, you know, if you have tuned in before — hear about the works enduring, of bleak Edgar, dark and churning; how he set the tone for wording tales that chill us to the core. Dr. Amy Branam Armiento, former president of the Poe Studies Association for the USA and editor of the essay collection Poe and Women: Recognition and Revision, shares her scholarly insights on Edgar Allan Poe.

Reports of paranormal encounters are not uncommon in our area. A new series from New 12 called 'Haunted Tri-State' explores some of the most prominent nearby places that are known for spooky, unexplained experiences. Host Kristie Reeter, anchor/reporter for News12 The Bronx, discusses her experiences from the series. Plus, listeners share their local encounters with ghosts, apparitions and other visitations from the spirit world.