The Blue Room with MaryAnn McKibben Dana

During 2021, I hosted a series of online conversations looking at various works of art and pop culture, with an eye toward what these works have to teach us about hope. What does hope look like during a global pandemic? What tools do we need as we find our way? How do we find the strength to persevere? I called these conversations Hope Notes.Today, a reflection on tick, tick...BOOM!, last year’s biopic of composer Jonathan Larson. The film was directed by Lin Manuel Miranda and stars Andrew

During 2021, I hosted a series of online conversations looking at various works of art and pop culture, with an eye toward what these works have to teach us about hope. What does hope look like during a global pandemic? What tools do we need as we find our way? How do we find the strength to persevere? I called these conversations Hope Notes.Today, we revisit a conversation with my brother Matthew McKibben about the Lord of the Rings trilogy and make connections between the themes of that story and

During 2021, I hosted a series of online conversations looking at various works of art and pop culture, with an eye toward what these works have to teach us about hope. What does hope look like during a global pandemic? What tools do we need as we find our way? How do we find the strength to persevere? I called these conversations Hope Notes.Today we're doing things a little differently! This is an all-in-one-take set of reflections about the movie Free Guy, and what it has to say about the

During 2021, I hosted a series of online conversations looking at various works of art and pop culture, with an eye toward what these works have to teach us about hope. What does hope look like during a global pandemic? What tools do we need as we find our way? How do we find the strength to persevere? I called these conversations Hope Notes.Today, we bring you part 2 of my conversation with my friend Derrick Weston about the film Black Panther. Derrick is a writer, podcaster, and filmmaker working

During 2021, I hosted a series of online conversations looking at various works of art and pop culture, with an eye toward what these works have to teach us about hope. What does hope look like during a global pandemic? What tools do we need as we find our way? How do we find the strength to persevere? I called these conversations Hope Notes.Today, we bring you part 1 of a conversation with my friend Derrick Weston about the film Black Panther. Derrick is a writer, podcaster, and filmmaker working

During 2021, I hosted a series of online conversations looking at various works of art and pop culture, with an eye toward what these works have to teach us about hope. What does hope look like during a global pandemic? What tools do we need as we find our way? How do we find the strength to persevere? I called these conversations Hope Notes.Here's an excerpt from the first Hope Notes, looking at Laura Ingalls Wilder's novel The Long Winter.This is our inaugural podcast! We're