Short Fuse Podcast #66: Let’s Get “Authentic”
By Elizabeth Howard
Episode Summary
As we slide down into the final hours of 2023, Elizabeth Howard, host and producer of the Short Fuse, and Alex Waters, technical editor of the podcast, reflect on the year in an informal exchange at the Dell’Aria Cafe in East Harlem. They also bring in a few moments from earlier Short Fuse conversations, reflections that to them seem particularly meaningful and “authentic” — the Merriam-Webster word of the year. The year has been filled with “disruptions,” which makes it Elizabeth’s word of the year. The color of 2023: Pantone Viva Magenta.
Episode Notes
Short Fuse host Elizabeth Howard.
Elizabeth Howard began hosting and producing the Short Fuse during the pandemic years. Those days when we were shuttered in our rooms. Displaced. Disoriented. Since then she has hosted 33 conversations, created a YouTube channel for online Short Fuse reading groups, and held live events at P&T Knitwear in New York, the Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, and at the Portsmouth Athenaeum in New Hampshire. You can find all of the Short Fuse conversations on the Short Fuse website.
Dell’Aria Cafe is at 232 East 111th Street in East Harlem. An authentic cafe that serves roasted Italian coffee … and conversation.
Jasmine Rice LaBeija is a Drag Queen, who can often be found performing in New York City.
Rev. Michael Curry is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. He spoke at the memorial held for Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.
Ann Kjellberg is the founder of Book Post.
Bill Marx is the founder and Editor of the Arts Fuse, the online journal of arts commentary and criticism.
Kyle Dacuyan is a poet and the director of the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery.
Valena Beety is the author of Manifesting Justice and works with Tasha Shelby.
Frank Young is the artist who created the collage for this episode.
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The Short Fuse Podcast is hosted and produced by Elizabeth Howard. Learn more at Elizabeth Howard.
The Short Fuse is distributed through The Arts Fuse, an online journal of arts criticism and commentary.
Alex Waters
The Arts Fuse was established in June 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication’s over 60 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. Our core belief: that there is a robust readership for arts coverage that believes that culture matters.
Alex Waters is the technical producer, audio editor, and engineer for The Short Fuse Podcast. He is a music producer and a student at Berklee College of Music. He has written and produced music and edited for podcasts including The Faith, Chai Podcast, and Con Confianza. He writes, produces, and records music for independent artists, including The Living. He lives in Brooklyn and can be reached at alexwatersmusic12@gmail.com with inquiries.