Matt came to Studio 360 in 2014 from Louisville, Kentucky, where he was a features reporter for the Courier-Journal. There, he wrote about celebrity chefs, the world’s largest collection of poisonous snakes, and a former monk turned furniture maker to the presidents. He also taught courses on literary journalism, feature writing, and arts and culture reporting at Bellarmine University. Although he lived for four years in Louisville, he still doesn’t know how to bet on a horse race. His writing has appeared in Salon, The New York Observer, USA Today, the Detroit Free Press, The Rumpus and elsewhere. A former Studio 360 intern, Matt’s first piece for the show was on the design of that quintessential 1970s mode of transportation, the moped.
Cinematographer Roger Deakins doesn’t just shoot pretty pictures
One of the most celebrated cinematographers working today on beauty, night shoots and why he holds his own camera.
American Icons: The tales of Edgar Allan Poe
Touring Edgar Allan Poe’s Baltimore with Laura Lippman
Guilty Pleasure: Christian rock, for a nonbeliever
Every picture tells a story
Bestselling authors write short stories based on this painter’s haunting pictures.
Annie Baker’s agonies of small talk
Annie Baker writes plays that are full of awkward silences. Is that why some people love them, while others walk out?
Going to laughter yoga (part one)
Kurt Andersen and Mary Harris, the host of Only Human, check out something called laughter yoga.
This is your brain on laughter
The neuroscientist Sophie Scott says modern science is missing a big part of human experience by ignoring laughter.
Chris Gethard gets serious
Comedian Chris Gethard says comedy helped him when he was suffering from depression—but it wasn’t until he got help that his career took off.
Going to laughter yoga (part two)
How does laughter yoga make you feel? And can laughing improve your health?
Dancing with the scientists
The annual Dance Your PhD contest challenges doctoral candidates to take their research from the lab bench to the barre.
High school reunion
Kurt Andersen always remembered being inspired by his 11th grade English teacher, Gary Sedlacek. So he decided to give him a call.
Jenny Slate comes out of her shell
Jenny Slate’s character Marcel the Shell is half an inch long. But she’s getting very big these days, starring in movies and TV and writing children’s books.
Claudia Rankine’s 'Citizen' shows what racism really feels like
Kurt Andersen’s talks with the award-winning author about her groundbreaking work of poetry.