Hosted by Ben Arthur · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 100 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
SongWriter is a storytelling and songwriting podcast where stories become brand new songs. In each episode, a celebrated writer shares a story, and a musician writes and performs a song inspired by it — revealing how narratives turn into music, lyrics, and emotion.Hosted by Ben Arthur, SongWriter features conversations and performances from artists including Questlove, Joyce Carol Oates, George Saunders, Steve Earle, David Sedaris, and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. The show blends the craft of writing, the creative processes of art, and intimate connections between authors and musicians.If you love great stories and great songs — and want a behind-the-scenes look at creativity from some of today’s most influential artists — this is your next listen.
Ben Arthur hosts SongWriter turns stories into songs, a music show with 100 episodes published.
At a live performance at Joe's Pub in New York City, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan shares a chapter from her recent novel The Candy House. NYU’s Dr. Chris Barrie speaks about AI, and tries to disentangle it
Married couple Sonia Khan and Ian Lovatt tell the story of a near-death experience and the long journey of recovery. Caregiving researcher Dr. Brianna Morgan speaks about ageism and giving a voice to people living with c
Filmmaker and actress Isabella Rossellini describes the night she went to see Temple Grandin speak at Hunter College, and ended up enrolling in graduate school to study animal behavior at the age of 60. Isabella’s friend
In this episode Niyonagira Laurence recounts her experience of the Rwandan genocide. She talks about the process of forgiving Mutiribambe Aloys – a neighbor who killed members of her family – after he returned to the vil
At a live performance at The Guild in Charlottesville, Virginia, bestselling novelist and professor Bruce Holsinger reads a short story he wrote about a troublesome cat. Dr. Jennifer McQuiston speaks about the connection
Filmmaker and director Ali Selim shares a story about his complicated relationship with his father. Dr. Emily Gaarder talks about her work in restorative justice, and explains why she sometimes refers to forgiveness as “
Brazilian poet and film editor Maria Rezende reads a poem about a man who could not forgive her. Dr. Rita de Cacia Oenning da Silva and Kurt Shaw speak about how the poem made them think about national issues of reconcil
Director Helen Cho shares a story that she wrote for SongWriter about learning to appreciate her mother’s perspective on caregiving and life. Dr. Komal Patel Murali talks about the burdens and challenges of first generat
Filmmaker and director Silas Howard reads a story about caring for his mother in the years before her death. Dr. Fayron Epps speaks about her research in caregiving, and about caregivers who struggle with complicated and
Bahamian playwright and teacher Patrice Francis performs a dramatic piece about recovering from Hurricane Dorian, live at the Fuze Art Fair at Bahamar. Patrice wrote the piece based on the research of Dr. Stephanie Hutch
At a live show at Metro in Chicago, bestselling author Kaveh Akbar reads a poem about empathy that he wrote for Jamila Woods. Jamila and Kaveh are old friends, and they discuss empathy in a brutal world, and the echo wit
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer) gives a talk about belonging at a live performance at the Litquake Festival. San Francisco State University’s Dr. Russell Jeung speaks about founding Stop
Journalist and bestselling author Beth Macy (Dopesick) reads a piece she wrote to accompany her new memoir Papergirl, about her family's struggle with opposing political views. She describes a slow process of reconnectin
The trailer for season seven includes mention of the themes we'll be working on, and some of the upcoming guests, including Jennifer Egan, Jamila Woods, Kaveh Akbar, Rhett Miller, and others!
Poet, author, and playwright Ben Okri reads his story “A Wrinkle in the Realm,” and talks about music and dream logic. Stanford’s Dr. Tomás Jiménez speaks about polarization, belonging, and empathy. And podcaster and s
At a live performance in London, journalist, filmmaker, and author Sarfraz Manzoor reads a piece he wrote for SongWriter about the things he had to learn for himself. Researcher Dr. Elizabeth Gulliford talks about her wo
Turkish journalist and author Asli Perker shares a story she wrote for SongWriter about a terrible car accident, and how it helped to make her the artist she is today. Scientist and researcher Dr. Itir Erhart talks about
Palestinian poet and clinical psychologist Hala Alyan shares her poem “Dear Gaza,” about guilt, memory, and hope. Scientist Dr. Salma Mousa talks about her research on empathy and polarization, and describes how soccer s
Poet Maggie Smith reads her viral poem Good Bones and reflects on what it means to raise children in a world that is both beautiful and frightening. She also shares What I Carried, a poem about fear and love, and how bot
Filmmaker and author Naz Riahi tells a heartbreaking story she wrote for SongWriter about the loss of a beloved pet, and how her experience of grief was shaped by the war in Gaza. Neuroscientist Dr. Meghan Myer explains
Jennifer Egan
author
2 appearances on this show
Rhett Miller
The Old 97's
2 appearances on this show
Sharon Van Etten
musician
1 appearance on this show
Isabella Rossellini
filmmaker and actress
1 appearance on this show
Solange
1 appearance on this show
Bruce Holsinger
bestselling novelist and professor · University of Virginia
1 appearance on this show
Jamila Woods
singer/songwriter
2 appearances on this show
Eman Abdelhadi
Dr.
1 appearance on this show
Kaveh Akbar
Martyr! author
2 appearances on this show
Russell Jeung
professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University · San Francisco State University
1 appearance on this show
Thao Nguyen
Founder & CEO · Get Down Stay Down
1 appearance on this show
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist
1 appearance on this show
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SongWriter turns stories into songs is hosted by Ben Arthur. The show is categorised under music and has published 100 episodes.
SongWriter turns stories into songs has published 100 episodes.
SongWriter turns stories into songs regularly covers music. It sits in the music category.
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