Will Eisner liked to say he was there at the birth of comics, and he's often called the father of the graphic novel. In honor of Eisner's centennial, Imaginary Worlds host Eric Molinsky looks at how the creator of "The Spirit" and "Contract With God" shaped comics today. Featuring panelists Danny Fingeroth FMR Editor at Marvel Comics, Joan Hilty Comics Editor at Nickelodeon and Comic Artist, Dean Haspiel.​

Imaginary Worlds Live: The Spirit of Will Eisner

Artist and curator Kimia Ferdowsi Kline kicks off the Art Talk series with painter Matt Phillips in a conversation about the process of making art in our consumer-based culture. Listen as they discuss the role of an artist in today’s social media landscape and how artists revel in ideas and feed societies with their observations.
 
In addition to being the art curator at Wythe Hotel, Kimia Ferdowski Kline is a painter who holds an M.F.A. in visual arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. She is represented by Turn Gallery.
 
Matt Phillips is an abstract painter and also a professor at FIT. He is represented by Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects.

Art Talk: The Responsibility of Artists in Today's Society

Jonathan Mitchell, host and producer of The Truth on the Radiotopia podcast network, is known for creating “movies for your ears.” In this hour, he and writer/producers Diana McCorry and Louis Kornfield take us on an immersive performance that blends theater, interactive sound, and freeform radio—exploring how the truth is always more complicated than any first listen. In an emotional segment, follow Diana as she leads us through one of The Truth’s first narratives—an exploration of age, mental illness, and the sub-conscience.
 
Jonathan Mitchell is a triple threat of writer, director, and producer, whose work has ranged from documentary shorts, fictional stories, non-narrated sound collages, and original music. His work has appeared on RadioLab, Studio 360, This American Life, Hearing Voices, Fair Game, The Next Big Thing, and PBS’s Nova, and he has been the recipient of the Peabody Award, The Sarah Lawrence College International Audio Fiction Award, and the Gold Mark Time Award for Best Science Fiction Audio. 
 
Louis Kornfield is a teacher and ensemble member at NYC's Magnet Theater, who regularly performs with improv team The Boss as part of Thursday Night Out, as well as Theory of Everything and MegaLou. 
Diana McCorry is a graduate of The New School University who now produces independent content with Dogfish Pictures and Greyshack Films and pens screenplays.

The Truth Podcast: Movies For Your Ears

Legendary DJ Stretch Armstrong and artist Richard Fleming have a history together, but lost touch for ten years. Listen as they reconnect on air and reveal stories that rewind their own careers and the story of hip hop itself.
 
Adrian Bartos, better known as Stretch Armstrong, of Stretch & Bobbito on WKCR, the seminal show credited with introducing the world to Jay Z, Nas, Notorious B.I.G. and more, more recently, co-published a new art book dedicated to the culture of club flyers. This unique survey represents the roots of NYC club culture as it impacted the hip hop movement today. Listen as Richard plays recorders that Stretch turned him on to, recalling the magic of discovery that is sadly lost in today’s radio landscape.

Clocktower Radio: The Golden Age of Hip Hop

WXW ON AIR is a pop up radio lounge exploring storytelling and creativity in sound. The inaugural sessions at Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn led to the creation of a fully formed culture festival, On Air Fest.

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