Advertise on podcast: Many Lumens with Maori Karmael Holmes

Maori talks with filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, the brilliant co-creator and showrunner of FX’s breakout hit Reservation Dogs. Filmed in this home state of Oklahoma, the sitcom follows the lives of four Native teenagers living on a reservation who are on a mission to head to California while dealing with the death of their friend. He is also the director of the short films Goodnight, Irene (2005) and Four Sheets to the Wind (2007), which premiered at Sundance. Maori and Sterlin discuss working in Oklahoma, how he runs his sets, and which “Rez Dog” character he most identifies with.  Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

In this episode, Maori talks with critically-acclaimed director, writer, and actor Cherien Dabis. Cherien is known for directing episodes of Only Murders In the Building, Ozark, and Ramy. In addition to her work in television, Cherien has had a prolific career as an independent filmmaker with her films May in Summer and her groundbreaking 2009 debut feature, Amreeka, which depicted the life of a Palestinian single mother in small-town Indiana. In their discussion, Cherien talks about her directing style, what she learned from the actors she has worked with, and how her experiences as the child of immigrants and an Arab woman lends a much-needed perspective to American popular media.  Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

In this episode, Maori talks with her  friend, D’Lo, a Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor and writer who uses humor to discuss family, gender, and sexuality. Beyond his stand-up and multi-character solo shows, D’Lo has appeared on popular TV shows like Looking, Mr. Robot, Sense 8, and the new Quantum Leap. Most recently, he appeared in the feature film Bros. D’Lo shares how being trans was his first training in performance, how 1990s hip hop taught him to be outspoken, and why we should talk about what beautiful masculinity can look like.  Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Maori talks with LA-based curator and writer Meg Onli, whose work attends to the intricacies of race and the production of space. She is the co-curator of the 2024 Whitney Biennial, previously served as the director and curator of the now-shuttered The Underground Museum in Los Angeles, and was prior to that the Associate Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. Meg tells Maori about growing up in LA, what exhibits transformed her, the curators that inspire her, and what pop culture she turns to at the end of a long day.  Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Maori chats with cinematographer Michael "Cambio" Fernandez. Cambio's credits as a DP include the award-winning projects The Burial of Kojo, directed by Blitz Bazawule; Beyoncé's Black Is King; Walter Thompson-Hernandez's If I Go Will They Miss Me;  and most recently, Sing J. Lee's The Accidental Getaway Driver. In this episode Cambio talks about his non-traditional path to working in film, how his spirituality is reflected on set, and what he learned touring with an indie hip-hop collective in the early aughts. Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Maori talks with award-winning producer/director Lisa Cortés and model and advocate turned filmmaker Bethann Hardison, who worked together on the documentary Invisible Beauty, about Bethann’s life. In the episode we hear how they both got their start and navigated their trailblazing careers without roadmaps. Maori also finds out how they met in “a New York that doesn’t exist anymore” and how Bethann, a “reluctant hero,” became both the subject and co-director of the film, after decades of advocating for more diversity in the fashion world. Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Bonus episode! This special episode was recorded live this summer at the 2023 BlackStar Film Festival. Maori and guest co-host, multimedia artist, Rashid Zakat interview New York Times Magazine writer and community care worker J Wortham. The three discuss technology beyond screens and devices, the safe space created at Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, and J’s forthcoming book, Work of Body. And get ready for lots of astrology talk! Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Maori chats with multidisciplinary artist and author Fariha Roísín (Like a Bird, Who Is Wellness For?). Fariha talks about growing up Bangladeshi in Australia, what it’s like to have a Marxist parent, and her journey towards becoming more connected to her name. We also hear why poetry helps her express herself more freely––and more precisely,  how she moves past fear when sharing very personal work, her definition of beauty, and why her new book (Survival Takes A Wild Imagination) is more playful than her previous writing. A content warning to listeners, this episode mentions childhood sexual abuse and trauma.  Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Maori chats with award-winning actor and multimedia artist Danielle Deadwyler (The Harder They Fall, Till, Station Eleven). The two discuss Danielle’s experience growing up in Atlanta, her mother’s determination to give her access to the arts, and how the experiences of Black women’s labor have influenced her art and practice. Danielle also shares why theater is her favorite medium and what it’s been like to take on iconic roles on screen— including in Till and the upcoming film adaptation of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Maori talks with multi-talented musician, composer, and artist Jason Moran. Jason shares his early influences growing up as a young musician in Houston—the John T. Biggers’ painting hanging in his parent’s home, Public Enemy on the radio, and Thelonious Monk’s hit song “‘Round Midnight”. We learn why he prefers to call what he does Soul Music rather than Jazz and how the destruction of Black cultural spaces pushed him to preserve that history through his art installations. Plus, Maori and Jason discuss what “mid-life” means to them. Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Maori talks with Omar Tate and Cybille St. Aude-Tate, renowned chefs and founders of Honeysuckle Provisions, an Afro-centric grocery and cafe in West Philadelphia. In this conversation, Omar reflects on the food surrounding his childhood neighborhoods and how Black foodways brought him back to Philadelphia, while Cybille talks about growing up Haitian on Long Island. The duo also discuss their favorite dishes, the courage it took to open up their business, their mentors, and how family history grounds their work.  Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.

Everyone's talking about Season 3 of Many Lumens! Get excited for the return of the podcast — premiering  April 19, 2023 — and 10 new conversations between host Maori Karmael Holmes and the most groundbreaking artists, change makers, and cultural workers.  BlackStar Projects, home of Many Lumens and the BlackStar Film Festival, creates the spaces and resources needed to uplift the work of Black, Brown and Indigenous artists working outside the confines of genre. Learn more at blackstarfest.org. Subscribe to Many Lumens wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @manylumens for the latest. All episode transcripts and show notes are available at manylumens.com. Many Lumens is brought to you by the Open Society Foundations.