Across the Margin: The Podcast

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with internationally-acclaimed pianist and cultural visionary Lara Downes. Recently honored as Classical Woman of the Year by NPR’s Performance Today, Lara is a visionary trailblazer who occupies a unique position of visibility through her dynamic work as a sought-after soloist, a Billboard Chart-topping recording artist, beloved NPR personality as creator and host of the video series Amplify with Lara Downes, and host of “Evening Music” on Classical California. In 2024, Lara launched The Declaration Project, a national initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the United States by gathering together American communities to find common ground in exploring the core essence of our founding promise: the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Recently, Lara releases Hold These Truths, a new album that carries the same larger idea through American music past and present, which features music stretching from before the nation’s founding to works by composers shaping the sound of America now, with each track introduced by reflections Lara gathered on the road. In this episode you can learn about all this, and more.

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Vincent Doumeizel, Senior Adviser on the oceans to the United Nations Global Compact as well as director of the Food Programme at the Lloyd’s Register Foundation. A self-described optimist and global citizen, Vincent has devoted himself to promoting environmental solutions based on sea resources, especially seaweed. Vincent is the author of The Seaweed Revolution which argues that seaweed is a vital, underutilized resource with the potential to solve major global crises, from Climate Change and food security to plastic pollution. His latest book — The Power of Plankton : How Plankton Made Life on Earth Possible and Why It’s The Key to our Future — is the focus of this episode. The Power of Plankton uncovers the hidden connections between these microscopic organisms and the survival of our planet. Plankton, many will be surprised to learn, represents 90% of ocean biomass and is the source of life on our planet. It is responsible for oxygen, our rains, the rocks, our cliffs, our food, as well as our climate. In The Power of Plankton readers will encounter unforgettable stories such as a scientist who survived 65 days crossing the Atlantic eating only plankton, and the truth behind ancient myths of “blood rain” traced back to plankton blooms. The Power of Plankton is a timely exploration of the smallest life forms with the largest impact — and why the future of our planet may depend on them.

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Bill Morrison who has been called the poet laureate of lost films (New York Times, 9/21/2021), as he often makes films that re-frame long-forgotten moving images. He has premiered feature-length documentary films at the New York, Sundance, Telluride and Venice film festivals. In 2021 Morrison became a member of the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. His found footage opus Decasia (2002) was the first film of the 21st century to be named to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) was included on over 100 critics' lists of the best films of the year and was later listed as one of the best films of its decade by the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, and Vanity Fair, among others. His most recent film, Incident (2023) won the Best Short Film Award from International Documentary Association in 2023, the Cinema Eye Honors for Outstanding Nonfiction Short, and was nominated for an Academy Award in Documentary Short in 2025. His film, The Great Flood (2013) — the focus of this episode — was recognized with the Smithsonian Ingenuity Award for historical scholarship.The Mississippi River Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in American history. In the spring of 1927, the river broke out of its banks in 145 places and inundated 27,000 square miles to a depth of up to 30 feet. Part of its enduring legacy was the mass exodus of displaced sharecroppers. Musically, the “Great Migration” of rural southern blacks to Northern cities saw the Delta Blues electrified and reinterpreted as the Chicago Blues, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock and Roll. Using minimal text and no spoken dialog, filmmaker Bill Morrison and composer / guitarist Bill Frisell have created with The Great Flood a powerful portrait of a seminal moment in American history through a collection of silent images matched to a searing original soundtrack. 

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with pioneering saxophonist and composer Skerik. Over three decades, Skerik has built a devout following through his often contrarian, outsider approach to jazz, funk, and rock music. A founding member of Critters Buggin, Garage A Trois, The Dead Kenny Gs, and DRKWAV, among others, he has also become an essential contributor to several Les Claypool projects and has collaborated with artists including Pearl Jam, Mad Season, and Roger Waters. This episode focuses in on Skerik’s latest endeavor, his first fully fledged ambient album in a 30-plus-year career, SKERIK 061725, Ambient music elements have long appeared throughout Skerik’s work, but here he fully embraces the approach across six tracks, using multi-dimensional, layered “saxophonics,” shaped by electronic effects, to create a dreamlike state of sonic texture and sound. In this episode host Michael Shields and Skerik discuss how SKERIK 061725 (Loosegroove Records) was stitched together in one day and the influences and stories behind the enthralling album. They discuss forthcoming albums from other Skerik projects including ones from DRKWAV and Garage a Trois. They also talk about the reissue and birthing of Critters Buggin’s debut album Guest, and so much more. 

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with renowned pianist and composer Kimball Gallagher. Gallagher’s journey as a pianist has carried him far beyond the traditional concert hall. A Boston-raised musician trained at Juilliard, he began questioning the narrow path often available to concert pianists early in his career. That curiosity led him to launch an ambitious 88-concert tour across seven continents, funded by 88 supporters who each sponsored one key of the piano. These intimate, community-hosted performances brought classical music out of formal halls and into living rooms, cultural centers, and gathering spaces worldwide. Along the way he encountered communities where music served as a tool for leadership, inspiring him to found 88 International, a nonprofit that now runs youth-led music initiatives in Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, The Gambia, Myanmar, and Taiwan. Its flagship program, Tunisia88, established student-led music clubs in all 592 public high schools in Tunisia, giving students space to write songs, organize concerts, and lead creative projects in their communities. Just weeks ago, that work came to life in the U.S. as the Tunisia88 Alumni Choir completed its first U.S. tour — a two-week East Coast journey where young musicians performed original songs, collaborated with university choirs, and shared how a post-revolution experiment in student voice grew into a global youth movement.

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Pat Kelly. Pat recently released his fifth album, and his first for Glamour Gowns Records, entitled Hook, an enticing and cathartic set of songs that evokes self-doubt, delusional ambition, anger, and wistfulness. Pat’s lyrical prowess is exceptional. His wordplay and delivery brings to mind some of the greatest, from David Berman of the Silver Jews, to Bill Callahan and Leonard Cohen. In this interview host Michael Shields and Pat discuss some of the meaningful themes that manifest themselves throughout Hook, the tremendous musicians who helped Pat bring the album to life, the unique inspirations behind the songs on Hook, and more.Find Pat Kelly’s Hook here.