Articulate (TV series)

Articulate is an American weekly public television documentary series on the creative arts hosted by Irish-American journalist Jim Cotter.

Articulate
Genre	Documentary series
Presented by	Jim Cotter
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	127
Production
Production locations	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Lehigh Valley Public Media
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	2015 (2015) – 2022 (2022)

Background

Articulate profiles artists and how they interact with the world around them, with weekly 30-minute episodes on visual arts, crafts, ceramics, music, dance, photography, literature, and many other forms of art and expression.^[1] Going beyond art history and culture, Articulate takes an interdisciplinary look at the many different forms of human creative expression and delves into philosophical topics such as the nature of human existence.^[2] The television series debuted in 2015, with episodes still currently in production. Articulate’s diverse guests come from around the world; many episodes are filmed on location.

The show's host, Jim Cotter, was born in County Kerry, Ireland.^[2] After working for the BBC, Cotter moved to the United States to pursue a career in journalism and television.^[3][2]

Broadcast history

Articulate first premiered on January 8, 2015, and originally aired on WHYY-TV in Philadelphia.^[2][4] It airs on public television stations across the United States, including New Hampshire,^[1] Illinois,^[5] Colorado,^[6] California,^[7] Arizona,^[8] Texas,^[9] and many other states. It is currently broadcast on more than 110 public television stations.^[2][3]

Articulate is currently produced by Panavista, Inc., a Philadelphia-based independent film company which specializes in producing documentaries.^[10]

Awards

In 2017, Panavista, Inc. won a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards in the Best Historic/Cultural Program Feature/Segment category.^[11][12] The award was for Articulate’s segment, “A Place at the Table,” about woodworker George Nakashima’s daughter, Mira Nakashima.

In 2020, Articulate was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Multiple Camera Editing category, and won the Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Sound Mixing category for the episode “Andrew Bird: Whistling While He Works.”^[13]

In 2021, Articulate was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program category.^[14]

Episodes

Below is a full list of Articulate episodes and featured guests, listed by season.^[15]

Season 1 (2017)

Season 1 episodes and featured guests are:^[16]

Episode no.	Segment no.	Segment title	Featured guests
1	1	Tap into America	n/a
	2	Music with Teeth	Roomful of Teeth
	3	A Place at the Table	Mira Nakashima
2	1	The Nature of Art	Brandon Ballengée
	2	Under Pressure	n/a
	3	The Jazz Sensibilities of Moe Brooker	Moe Brooker
3	1	The Ghetto Potter	Roberto Lugo
	2	Changing Minds About Climate Change	n/a
	3	Gerald Busby’s Lust for Life	Gerald Busby
4	1	Sugar Tongue Slim	Sugar Tongue Slim
	2	Bruce Metcalf	Bruce Metcalf
	3	Fear of the Known	H.P. Lovecraft
5	1	The Charming Incongruities of Kevin Barnes	Kevin Barnes
	2	Pictures of You	n/a
	3	Walé Oyéjidé	Walé Oyéjidé
6	1	Scents and Sensibility	Fabio Luisi
	2	Found in Translation	n/a
	3	Elizabeth Streb: Dancing with Danger	Elizabeth Streb
7	1	Watsky on How to Ruin Everything	Watsky
	2	All the World's A Stage	n/a
	3	Dindga McCannon	Dindga McCannon
8	1	The Cutting Edge of Stained Glass	Judith Schaechter
	2	Bodies of Work	n/a
	3	Eric Owens	Eric Owens
9	1	It Takes Two	n/a
	2	Krimes and Punishment	Jesse Krimes
	3	Stephen Costello's Most Valuable Friend	Stephen Costello
10	1	Orchestrating Hits	Larry Gold
	2	Goldberg Variations; Timeless Virtuosity	n/a
	3	The Illustrious Kevin Cornell	Kevin Cornell
	4	Perceptual Shift	Michael Murphy
11	1	Ellen Harvey	Ellen Harvey
	2	Bharatanatyam: Indian Dance	n/a
	3	Xenia Rubinos	Xenia Rubinos
12	1	Feminist Fatale	Carsie Blanton
	2	Matthew Neenan	Matthew Neenan
	3	Modigliani	Amedeo Modigliani
	4	Luis Cruz Azaceta	Luis Cruz Azaceta

Season 2 (2017)

Season 2 episodes and featured guests are:^[17]

Episode no.	Segment no.	Featured guests
1	1	Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)
	2	Lisa Hannigan
	3	Nina Chanel Abney
2	1	Janet Echelman
	2	Arturo Rios
	3	n/a
	4	Justin Bettman
3	1	Ian Brennan
	2	Nina Berman
	3	Leroy Johnson[18]
4	1	Gene Yang
	2	The Struts
	3	n/a
5	1	Reuben Margolin
	2	Jennifer Higdon
	3	Chemi Rosado-Seijo
	4	Sara Rahbar
6	1	Mark Mothersbaugh
	2	Liz Casella
	3	Greg Dunn
7	1	Kyle Abraham
	2	Maggie Nelson
	3	Ruth Slenczynska
	4	Saya Woolfalk
8	1	Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
	2	Tommy Pico
	3	Ron Nagle
	4	Sidney Hutter
9	1	Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla
	2	Doug Balliet
	3	Veruschka Stevens
	4	Daniel Levitin
10	1	Kenny Scharf
	2	Buffy Sainte-Marie
	3	n/a
11	1	Michelle Cuevas
	2	Mason Bates
	3	Antonio Martorell
12	1	Havana Lyceum Orchestra[19]
	2	Peter Shire
	3	n/a
	4	Elizabeth Turk

Season 3 (2018)

Season 3 episodes and featured guests are:^[20]

Episode no.	Segment no.	Segment title	Featured guests
1	1	Andrew W.K.: The Life and Soul of the Party	Andrew W.K.
	2	Lauren Greenfield's Wealth of Ideas	Lauren Greenfield
2	1	Caroline Shaw: Of Carnegie and Kanye	Caroline Shaw
	2	Robert Janz's Disappearing Acts	Robert Janz
	3	Lizzo's Living Large	Lizzo
3	1	The Irrepressible Joyce DiDonato	Joyce DiDonato
	2	The Beautiful Mind of !llmind	!llmind
	3	Context Is The New Content	Kenneth Goldsmith
4	1	Ricky Reed's Good Vibrations	Ricky Reed
	2	Danzy Senna's Life Isn't Black and White	Danzy Senna
	3	Donn T's Inferno	Donn T
5	1	The “Can Do” Lab	Do Lab
	2	The Mother Tongue	Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
	3	An Old Head On Young Shoulders	Julien Baker
6	1	The United States of Lila Downs	Lila Downs
	2	The Information Artist	Heather Dewey-Hagborg
	3	At Home Going Big	Steve Tobin
	4	The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter	Josh Ritter
7	1	The Unsanctioned Art of Jim Garland	Jim Garland
	2	Tank's Soul Pursuit	Tank and the Bangas
	3	Ani DiFranco: Still a Righteous Babe	Ani DiFranco
8	1	The Renaissance Woman	Shara Nova
9	1	Princesses For Boys	Shannon Hale
	2	Wu Han: In Concert and Conversation	Wu Han
	3	Journeys of Mind and Body	Magda Giannikou
10	1	The Recovering	Leslie Jamison
	2	Actor-Writer-Director-Musician	Josh Radnor[21]
	3	The Quiet Truths of Luciana Souza	Luciana Souza
11	1	Dance-able	Heidi Latsky
	2	Mr. Baseman	Gary Baseman
	3	Bang on a Can: Bringing Downtown Uptown	Bang on a Can
12	1	The Antidote to Hopelessness	Jason Reynolds
	2	The Prodigy Daughter	Alisa Weilerstein
	3	Ibeyi	Ibeyi

Season 4 (2018)

Season 4 episodes and featured guests are:^[22]

Episode no.	Episode title	Segment no.	Segment title	Featured guests
1	The Outsiders	1	David Sedaris: This American Treasure	David Sedaris[23]
		2	Priscilla Renea: Hits And Misses	Priscilla Renea
		3	Jeffrey Gibson: Icon Maker	Jeffrey Gibson
2	It's All Between Their Ears	1	Olivia Laing: Intimate Knowledge	Olivia Laing
		2	Bill Fontana: Hear, Now	Bill Fontana
		3	Tune-Yards: Private Thoughts, Public Person	Merrill Garbus
3	Redefining “Possible”	1	Anthony Roth Costanzo: The Highs Of Masculinity	Anthony Roth Costanzo[24]
		2	Kory Stamper: Word By Word	Kory Stamper
		3	Robert J. Lang: Know How To Fold ‘Em	Robert J. Lang
4	Roads Less Traveled	1	Tracy K. Smith: Ghost Writing	Tracy K. Smith
		2	David Lang: Vanguard Of The Un-Cool	David Lang
		3	Open Mike Eagle: Hip-Hope	Open Mike Eagle
5	Journeys in Time & Space	1	The Odyssey: 27 Centuries & Counting[25]	n/a
		2	Kaki King: Notes And Colours	Kaki King
		3	Thi Bui: Creative Refuge(e)	Thi Bui
6	As If By Fate	1	Erika Sanchez: Perfectly Imperfect	Erika Sánchez
		2	Masatoshi Izumi: The Soul Of Stones	Masatoshi Izumi
		3	Shawn Colvin: Home From A Mission	Shawn Colvin
7	The Wildest Dreamers	1	Taylor Mac: Incorporating Calamity	Taylor Mac
		2	Holly Black: Architect Of Magical Worlds	Holly Black[26]
		3	Vieux Farka Touré: The Fortunate Son	Vieux Farka Touré[8]
8	Articulate in San Francisco	1	Marc Bamuthi Joseph: Stage, Page, Body, Mind	Marc Bamuthi Joseph
9	Unique Perspectives	1	Unique, Nézet-Séguin	Yannick Nézet-Séguin
		2	Tobias Frere-Jones: A Man Of Letters	Tobias Frere-Jones
		3	Hayley Kiyoko: High Expectations	Hayley Kiyoko[23]
10	Experiments Gone Right	1	Balkrishna Doshi: Building Compassion	Balkrishna Doshi
		2	Radnor & Lee: A Beautiful Bro-Mance	Josh Radnor and Ben Lee
		3	Amy Seiwert: Ballet’S Mad Scientist	Amy Seiwert
11	The Seekers	1	They Might Be Giants: Cultivated Eccentricity	n/a
		2	Sylvia Plath: The Iconic Sad Girl	Sylvia Plath
		3	Oliver Jeffers: Principled Uncertainty	Oliver Jeffers
12	The Pursuit of New Truths	1	Hélène Grimaud: The Keys To Life	Hélène Grimaud
		2	Sarah Williams Goldhagen: Welcome To Your World	Sarah Williams Goldhagen
		3	Scott Mccloud: Constructive Rage	Scott McCloud
13	Articulate in Philadelphia	1	David Finckel: The Chamber Music Maestro	David Finckel
14	Halloween Special	1	Gothic Truth & Fiction	n/a
		2	Fear Of The Known	H. P. Lovecraft
		3	Our Greatest Fear	n/a
15	Black History Month	1	Sugar Tongue Slim	Sugar Tongue Slim
		2	Moe Brooker	Moe Brooker
		3	Dindga Mccannon	Dindga McCannon
16	Valentine's Day	1	Floriography	n/a
		2	Rip Romance?	n/a
		3	It Takes Two	n/a
17	Earth Day	1	Changing Minds About Climate Change	n/a
		2	The Nature Of Art	Brandon Ballengée
		3	A Place At The Table	Mira Nakashima

Season 5 (2019)

Season 5 episodes and featured guests are:^[27]

Episode no.	Episode title	Segment no.	Segment title	Featured guests
1	Idealistic Icons	1	Jeff Tweedy: A Romantic Misanthrope?	Jeff Tweedy
		2	Frank Lloyd Wright: Wright and Wrong	Frank Lloyd Wright
2	Living Legacies	1	Milton Glaser: Designing the Truth	Milton Glaser
		2	Camille Brown: The Past is Present	Camille Brown
		3	Julia Wolfe Finds Her Place	Julia Wolfe
3	No Frontiers	1	The Carthys: Non-Traditional Folk	Martin Carthy Eliza Carthy
		2	Dessa's Dauntless	Dessa Darling
		3	Oded Hirsch: At the Borders	Oded Hirsch
4	Transformers	1	Daniel Barenboim: Conducting Change	Daniel Barenboim
		2	Tift Merritt's Transformations	Tift Merritt
		3	Vivek Shraya: Changing for Good	Vivek Shraya
5	Pioneering Spirits	1	Daniel Libeskind Doesn't Hear No	Daniel Libeskind
		2	Missy Mazzoli Keeps It Surreal	Missy Mazzoli
		3	Elliot Erwitt's Moments In Time	Elliot Erwitt
6	The Standouts	1	Ani Liu: Daughter of Invention	Ani Liu
		2	Howard Jacobson: Senescence and Sensibility	Howard Jacobson
		3	Edgar Meyer: Beyond the Bass-ics	Edgar Meyer
7	Andrew Bird Concert Show	1	Andrew Bird: Whistling While He Works	Andrew Bird
8	The Right Left Turns	1	Arthur Yorinks: The Creative Engine	Arthur Yorinks
		2	Karen Russell's Un-Realities	Karen Russell
		3	Jason deCaires Taylor: Underwater Museaums	Jason deCaires Taylor
9	Seeking Deeper Truths	1	Gregory Pardlo: Far From The Tree	Gregory Pardlo
		2	The Tireless Sonya Tayeh	Sonya Tayeh
10	Staying the Course	1	Bill T'Last	Bill T. Jones
		2	Lily Allen the Agitator	Lily Allen
		3	Michael Bierut: Maverick Brander	Michael Bierut
11	Self Inventors	1	Thomas Heatherwick's Everyday Magic	Thomas Heatherwick
		2	Alice McDermott: Of Saints and Scholars	Alice McDermott
		3	Dean Friedman: Ariel, Fries, Synthesize	Dean Friedman
12	Of Page and Stage	1	Sarah Ruhl: She Ruhls	Sarah Ruhl
		2	Michelle Dorrance: Step By Step	Michelle Dorrance
		3	Ralph Steadman: Godfather of Gonzo	Ralph Steadman
13	Patricia Racette Concert Show	1	Patricia Racette: Enchanting the Muse	Patricia Racette
14	What Matters Most	1	Marina Benjamin Goes All In	Marina Benjamin
		2	Stefan Sagmeister: The Pursuit of Happiness and Beauty	Stefan Sagmeister
		3	Donald Nally: Voice of Reason	Donald Nally
15	Self, Aside	1	Stephanie Blythe: Uncaged	Stephanie Blythe
		2	Diana al-Hadid: Excavating the Muse	Diana al-Hadid
		3	What's So Funny About Nick Lowe?	Nick Lowe
16	Through the fire	1	KT Tunstall: From the Ashes	KT Tunstall
		2	Pam Tanowitz: Out of the Shadows	Pam Tanowitz
		3	Natasha Trethewey's Redemption	Natasha Trethewey
17	The Incomparable	1	Caroline Shaw in Concert	Caroline Shaw
18	The Headliners	1	Aaron Sorkin's Second Act	Aaron Sorkin
		2	Rhiannon Giddens' Living History	Rhiannon Giddens
19	Power Through Purpose	1	John Darnielle: From Self-Destruction to Self-Construction	John Darnielle
		2	Elizabeth Acevedo's Literary Realizations	Elizabeth Acevedo
		3	Meg Saligman: The Big Picture	Meg Saligman
20	From the Top	1	Jonathan Safran Foer: Illuminating Everything	Jonathan Safran Foer
		2	Nate Powell: Drawing on Experience	Nate Powell
		3	Gustavo Dudamel: Playing Nicely	Gustavo Dudamel
21	Life's Work	1	Perpetual Andrew Motion	Andrew Motion
		2	Vijay Iyer: Key Changes	Vijay Iyer
		3	Susan Choi: Interrogator of Truth	Susan Choi
22	The Exceptionals	1	Billy Collins: The People's Poet	Billy Collins
		2	Gemma New: In Name and Nature	Gemma New
		3	Ming Peiffer: Not a "Usual" Girl	Ming Peiffer
23	Beyond the Status Quo	1	Esperanza Spalding's Discipline(s)	Esperanza Spalding
		2	Lee Child: Not "The Man"	Lee Child
		3	Nick Phan: Forging Connection	Nicholas Phan
24	By the Horns	1	Tod Williams and Billie Tsien: Made to Last	Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
		2	Carmen Maria Machado: Claiming Her Space	Carmen Maria Machado
25	Wayfinders	1	Elizabeth Strout: Steady as She Goes	Elizabeth Strout
		2	Pamela Frank: Fit as a Fiddle	Pamela Frank
		3	The Very Moving Rennie Harris	Rennie Harris
26	The Roots of Creativity	1	Maaza Mengiste: Writing Home	Maaza Mengiste
		2	Dick Boak's Eclectic Adventures	Dick Boak
		3	Nicola Benedetti: A Great Scot	Nicola Benedetti

Season 6 (2020)

Season 6 episodes and featured guests are:^[28]

Episode no.	Episode title	Segment no.	Segment title	Featured guests
1	The Mirror of Time	1	The Mayor of Harmontown	Dan Harmon
		2	Stepping Up	Liz Lerman
2	Larger than Life	1	Ellen Reid Packs a Punch	Ellen Reid
		2	Vikram Paralkar's Universe	Vikram Paralkar
3	Finding	1	The Multitudes of Gish Jen	Gish Jen
		2	Becoming a Newman	Thomas Newman
4	Daniel Hope's Lands of Glory	1	n/a	Daniel Hope
5	Their Way	1	Of Broadway	Jason Robert Brown
		2	The Lady in the Light	Angel Blue
6	From the Mouths of Poets	1	n/a	n/a
7	Drawing Meaning from Life	1	n/a	n/a
8	From Isolation to Ovation	1	A Norwegian, wielding hammers...and strings.	Leif Ove Andsnes
		2	Forthright at the Opera	Royce Vavrek
9	The Monument Man	1	n/a	Zenos Frudakis
10	Paying it Forward	1	No Longer a One Woman Show	Marin Alsop
		2	Musical Wanderer	Ian Bostridge
11	Mario Lanza at 100	1	n/a	Stephen Costello
12	Jets vs. Sharks	1	n/a	n/a
13	Written from Life, Itself	1	Learning from Yearning	Rufus Wainwright
		2	The Solo Composer	David Serkin Ludwig

Season 7 (2021)

Season 7 episodes and featured guests are:^[29]

Episode no.	Episode title	Segment no.	Segment title	Featured guests
1	Seeing and Being Seen	1	Taking Kenny Leon Wherever He Goes	Kenny Leon
		2	Drawing the World 'Round	Sophie Blackall
2	Facing Forward	1	The Indomitable Optimist	Claire Chase
		2	Democratizer of Design	Mónica Ponce de León
3	Walk a Mile With Me	1	n/a	n/a
4	Breaking Boundaries	1	Her/Herself/She	Joan Armatrading
		2	The Trailblazer	Horace Pippin
5	Teddy Abrams in Concert and Conversation	1	n/a	Teddy Abrams
6	Breaking Ground	1	The Skin Is In	Doris Sung
		2	Faithfully, Yuna	Yuna
7	Pain and Patience	1	Pain is Inevitable, Suffering Optional	n/a
		2	Gil Shaham: A Great Violin for a Great Violinist	Gil Shaham
8	Lateral Visions	1	Dystopian Romances	Veronica Roth
		2	A Vision of Music	Amy Yang
9	In the Eye of the Beholder	1	n/a	n/a
10	Finding Meaning	1	Songs of Redemption and Hope	Timothy Showalter
		2	Acting Out	John Jarboe
11	Joseph Conyers in Concert and Conversation	1	n/a	Joseph Conyers
12	The Neverending Story	1	The Science of Story	n/a
		2	To the Future and Beyond	n/a
13	Finding Their Own Way	1	A Young Life in Song	Phoebe Bridgers
		2	A Moving Iconoclast	Brian Sanders

Season 8 (2021)

Season 8 episodes and featured guests are:^[30]

Episode no.	Episode title	Segment no.	Segment title	Featured guests
1	Resilience	1	The Wit and Wisdom of Garry Trudeau	Garry Trudeau
		2	The Purposeful Life of Joyce Carol Oates	Joyce Carol Oates
2	Making Her Way	1	n/a	Natalie Merchant
3	Taking Time	1	Darin Strauss: A Present Passed	Darin Strauss
		2	Steven Mackey: The Purposeful Life of Joyce Carol Oates	Steven Mackey
4	Indefatigables	1	Valerie June: Sometimes Down, Never Out	Valerie June
		2	Stephen Petronio Tells It From a Mountain	Stephen Petronio
5	Worlds of Words	1	Tochi Onyebuchi: The Search for Better Worlds	Tochi Onyebuchi
		2	Stephen Powers: Thoroughly Modern Cave Painter	Stephen Powers
6	A Place of Their Own	1	Sarah Gancher: The Funny Thing About Grief	Sarah Gancher
		2	Jay Ungar & Molly Mason: A Sense of Place	Jay Ungar & Molly Mason
7	Singular Purpose	1	The Rhymes and Reason of Terrance Hayes	Terrance Hayes
		2	Anthony McGill: Blowing It Up	Anthony McGill
8	Triumph Over Affliction	1	Deborah Eisenberg: Love Without Haste	Deborah Eisenberg
		2	Shira Erlichman: Be/Hold	Shira Erlichman
9	Displacement	1	David Gray's Life in Slow Motion	David Gray
		2	Nowhere Man	Aleksandar Hemon
10	Self Realization	1	Yiyun Li: From Her Life to Ours	Yiyun Li
		2	Miguel Gutierrez: Age and Beauty	Miguel Gutierrez
11	Virtuous Reality	1	Yusef Komunyakaa: War and Peace	Yusef Komunyakaa
		2	Jennifer Weiner: Mrs. Everything	Jennifer Weiner
12	Reflexive Cognition	1	The Frolics and Detours of Paul Muldoon	Paul Muldoon
		2	Daniel Arsham: Connecting Time	Daniel Arsham
13	What Might Be	1	The Visions of Chip	Samuel R. Delany
		2	The Explorations of Orkhan Telhan	Orkan Telhan

Season 9 (2022)

Season 9 episodes and featured guests are:^[31]

Episode no.	Episode title	Segment no.	Segment title	Featured guests
1	From Prodigies to Paragons	1	Wonderings and Wanderings	Yaa Gyasi
		2	A Soon-To-Be-Former Child Prodigy	Sarah Jarosz
2	Unremitting	1	The Persistence of Reverie	Kate DiCamillo
		2	Intents and Purposes	Ping Chong
3	Fearless Pursuits	1	Adventures in Time and Space	Michael Cunningham
		2	Speaking Their Language	Joan Naviyuk Kane
4	By Their Stars	1	The Pressure Machine	The Killers
		2	A Man For All Seasons	Mark Morris
		3	Finding Connection	Augustin Hadelich
5	Long and Winding Roads	1	The Slow Road	Anaïs Mitchell
		2	The High Road	Douglas Stuart
6	The Insatiables	1	An Inquiring Heart and Mind	Stephen Schwartz
		2	Intensely Inquistive	Susan Orlean
7	Conscientious Evolution	1	Knowing His Place	Ben Folds
		2	Nurturing Nature	Jeanne Gang
8	Crossing Cultures	1	Music Without Boundaries	Time for Three
		2	Classically Contemporary	Akram Khan
9	Home and Away	1	What She Wants From Herself	Aoife O'Donovan
		2	A Natural Collaboration	Sara Zewde