Raw Material

The sounds of rain, a family kitchen, a song, a late-night conversation—do the moments they encapsulate make us who we are? In this episode, Sayre Quevedo travels through artist Yetunde Olagbaju’s memory via a series of intimate recordings that constitute what they call a “living archive.”

Jazmin Jones is pathologically inept at returning phone calls. In an attempt to clear her conscience (and voice-mail box), the artist decides to make a series of anxiety-inducing phone calls she’s put off for far too long. Listen in as Jazmin painfully catches up with friends, family, and accusatory ex-lovers.

Sayre Quevedo begins Raw Material season six by breaking into his ex-boyfriend’s apartment. His goal is to retrieve twenty-two love letters he wrote to a man who doesn’t deserve them. Join Sayre as he searches for signs, symbols, closure, and perhaps, real connection.

Season 6 Trailer: Six Degrees by SFMOMA

Season 5 of Raw Material takes inspiration from a 41 x 37-foot scale model of the city that was recently unearthed, refurbished, and distributed in pieces to neighborhood libraries. Listen in as residents tell stories of life in this vibrant, diverse, and ever-changing frontier city. Produced by award-winning radio documentarians the Kitchen Sisters, this season examines themes of urban development and identity in a city poised on the edge of the continent and built on landfill, steep hills, and the dreams of immigrants and pioneers. From memories of the luminous Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island to recollections of the freaky fun house at Playland, from North Beach to the Mission, Stories from the Model City brings to life the fascinating and troubled evolution of San Francisco.

Catch a sneak peak of what’s coming this season on Raw Material, from SFMOMA.

A short, holiday bonus episode of Season 4 of Raw Material: Luvvers.

Facing persecution in her native Uganda and unwilling to live an inauthentic life, fierce queer artist Leilah Babirye made a choice. She fled her home to discover a world of sexual and artistic exuberance in a new creative community on Fire Island, New York. Learn more about her extraordinary life and her bold body of work in this episode of Luvvers. Photo: Leilah Babirye

The connection between the art world and the queer scene has not always been as openly discussed as it is today. Delve into the complex relationships between art, activism, and queer identity, and discover the power of making noise through making art. Photo: Douglas Crimp by T.L. Litt, 1990. Interview with Douglas Crimp is courtesy of SFMOMA's Open Space, from a conversation with Claudia La Rocco at the Lab in San Francisco.

Through looking at a variety of relationships, Chelsea investigates the many ways desire can be expressed. Hear the famed love letters Frida Kahlo sent to Diego Rivera, as well as to the lesser-known, though no less poetic answering machine messages left by Chelsea’s husband.

Sex sells. In this episode, Chelsea Beck analyzes the history of persuasive sexual imagery, and imagines a world where titillation fosters compassion rather than divisiveness. Image: Carolee Schneeman, "Interior Scroll," (1975). Courtesy Carolina Nitsch, NY; photography by Anthony McCall.

Nayland Blake doesn’t create art to express who they are, they create art to investigate the possibilities of identity. Hear the artist discuss their explorations of the queer, BDSM, kink, and furry scenes, and learn more about their unique approach to one of art’s oldest subjects—sex. Image © Nayland Blake, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery.

Catch a sneak peak of what’s coming this season on Raw Material, from SFMOMA.

In the long history of portraits of First Ladies of the United States, none has drawn a reaction quite like the painting of Michelle Obama by Baltimore native Amy Sherald. Hear the artist discuss art in the age of Instagram. This episode is produced by WNYC Studios and Note to Self. More episodes at .

Carolee Schneemann and Yoko Ono have created provocative art throughout their careers. Learn how these artists have dedicated their lives to exploring the pleasures and the vulnerabilities of the human body. This episode is produced by WNYC Studios and MoMA. More episodes at https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/pieceofwork.