Episode 457
with Quiara Alegría Hudes, Lauren Hough, and Black Violin
Host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello consider some dream careers; playright Quiara Alegría Hudes explains her love of the human voice and how eavesdropping has inspired her writing; essayist Lauren Hough recounts the various hats she's worn – including airman, cable installer, and cult member; and instrumental duo Black Violin ponder the balance they strike between hip hop and classical music.
Quiara Alegría Hudes
Playwright & Writer
Quiara Alegría Hudes is the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Water By the Spoonful and the writer of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical In the Heights, along with other plays and musicals that have been produced around the world. Hudes is a native of West Philly and now lives with her family in Washington Heights, New York, on unceded Munsee Lenape land. In opposition of the carceral state, Hudes co-founded Emancipated Stories, a platform where people behind bars can share one page of their life story with the world. As a barrio feminist and joyous mischief-maker, Quiara y su hermana created the Latinx Casting Manifesto. Her memoir, My Broken Language, was released in April 2021. Website • Twitter
Lauren Hough
Author
Lauren Hough is an author and essayist. She was born in Berlin, Germany and raised in seven countries, as well as in Amarillo, Texas. She’s been an Air Force Airman, a green-aproned barista, a bouncer, a bartender, and a cable guy. Hough is best known for her viral essay, “I Was A Cable Guy. I Saw the Worst of America.” She lives in Austin with an akita named Teddy. Her essay collection, Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing, will be released by Vintage Knopf on April 13, 2021. Website • Twitter
Black Violin
Hip-Hop Duo
Black Violin is the name of hip-hop duo Wil B. and Kev Marcus. Both are classically-trained string instrumentalists – Wil B. plays viola,and Kev Marcus plays violin – who met when they were students at Dillard High School of Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The two began performing string covers of hip-hop songs under the name Black Violin in 2004 and have since toured with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, composed music for the Fox television show Pitch, opened for the Wu-Tang Clan, and collaborated with 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, and Alessia Cara, among others. They released two independent and self-financed albums before releasing their major label debut, Stereotypes, in 2015. Their latest album, Take the Stairs, was released in November 2019. Website • Twitter
