Arts Calling

About Arts Calling

Arts Calling brings you down to earth conversations with artists in the literary, visual, and performing arts. Your host Jaime Alejandro catches up with friends and artists across disciplines and cultural backgrounds to learn their origin story, how to overcome real-world hardships, and why it is essential to remain true to an artistic calling. Stop by artscalling.com for the latest episodes!

Publisher

Jaime Alejandro Cruz

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 May 2021

Latest episode

19 Dec 2025

Latest episodes

177 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   19 Dec 2025

   176. Anne Mason | New chapters, Relative Theatrics, and the arts in Wyoming

   Read Anne's essay at Howlround: https://howlround.com/senses-are-present-boycotts-endurance-art-series (https://howlround.com/senses-are-present-boycotts-endurance-art-series) and her latest at Coalitionist: https://coalitionist.substack.com/p/anne-mason-the-catasterism (https://coalitionist.substack.com/p/anne-mason-the-catasterism)! -- Hi there, Today I am delighted to be arts calling writer and theater artist Anne Mason! (www.acmcreativeconsulting.com (https://www.acmcreativeconsulting.com/)) About our guest: To be more precise, Anne is a life writer, theatre artist, and creative consultant who is passionate about transforming skills and lessons from within the theatre sphere into tools for all facets of community, industry, and humanity. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014 and strives to turn her experience into lessons of hope and resiliency. When Anne isn’t at the theatre, she can be found reading, enjoying the outdoors, communing at coffee shops, or solving (and creating!) crossword puzzles. Anne lives in Laramie with her cat, Orange Julius Caesar. Connect with Anne: @annecatharine89 (https://www.instagram.com/annecatharine89/) – acmcreativeconsulting.com (https://www.acmcreativeconsulting.com/) Thanks for this amazing conversation, Anne! All the best! -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro (https://cruzfolio.com). HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. THANKS FOR LISTENING! Much love, j artscalling.com (https://artscalling.com/)

2. 

   18 Dec 2025

   175. Scott Macklin | Now Defunkt, Jamcation!, and a creative collective sets the table

   Hi there, Today I am delighted to be arts calling Scott Macklin, of the musical collective Now Defunkt! (www.nowdefunkt.com (http://www.nowdefunkt.com)) About our guest: Scott Macklin is a highly accomplished and innovative leader in higher education with extensive experience developing and implementing transformative programs and strategies. His work focuses on developing narrative-based learning systems and comprehensive strategies to improve education and the ways we can reach and engage our students and constituents. He is dedicated to addressing racial and identity inequity in his research and is deeply committed to creating systems that benefit everyone. Central to his work is the notion of storytelling where stories are forged in the process of deep hanging out; where a story is made in collaboration with a community of practice, where one engages in the act of making the story "with" people from a particular community not just "about" them.  You can see his work in action at:  www.scottmacklin.com (http://www.scottmacklin.com) JAMCATION! A new album, now available to stream! nowdefunkt.bandcamp.com (https://nowdefunkt.bandcamp.com/) JAMCATION! VINYL NOW AVAILABLE FROM WASHINGTONES RECORDS! https://washingtonesrecords.myshopify.com/products/jamcation-12-eco-friendly-lp-presale (https://washingtonesrecords.myshopify.com/products/jamcation-12-eco-friendly-lp-presale) About Now Defunkt: Built on bold love, groovy grooves and a fierce sense of interdependence, Now Defunkt emerged out of lock-down as a creative collective of family and friends producing primordial sound-box of the soul shifts with a twist of lemon. Now Defunkt’s vibe is like a grooving vinyl record spinning round in a raucous room and sometimes it skips like it’s trying to tell you something. It’s got the crackle of time, the echoes of stories left unsaid, and a rhythm that dances like it’s fighting the dark. It’s messy, it’s groovy, and moves like it means it. It’s a music that travels, shifting from one place to the next, without ever truly settling, but always feeling at home wherever it is. Now Defunkt is more than just a band; it's a vibrant collection of individuals—family, friends, and a diverse group of unique personalities—who've found a way to create music together. Bringing together members from different generations, perspectives, and locations.  Our collaboration is a testament to the power of diverse voices and experiences. The older members contribute their seasoned wisdom and the younger members inject a potent burst of energy, resulting in a dynamic and surprisingly effective musical synergy. Now Defunkt's music is a vibrant tapestry woven from diverse voices and perspectives. The music speaks with a gentle, heartfelt sincerity, celebrating the richness and complexity of the human experience. It's a journey, a shared exploration of creative flow and collaborative energy, where differences are celebrated, and harmonies emerge from seemingly disparate strands. Thanks for this amazing conversation, Scott! All the best! -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro (https://cruzfolio.com). HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. THANKS FOR LISTENING! Much love, j artscalling.com (https://artscalling.com/)

3. 

   17 Dec 2025

   174. A.M. Sosa | And I'll Take Out Your Eyes: A new novel

   Hi there, Today I am delighted to be arts calling author A.M. Sosa! (amsosa.net (https://amsosa.net/about)) About our guest: A. M. Sosa (they/them) is a queer Mexican-American writer from Stockton, CA, and a graduate of UC Irvine's MFA Programs in Writing where they were awarded the 2022 Henfield Prize. They have received support from Tin House, Community of Writers, and the Carolyn Moore Writing Residency. Their debut novel, And I'll Take Out Your Eyes, is being published by Algonquin, and their fiction has been published in Zyzzyva and the Santa Monica Review. Instagram: @unapinchebruja (https://www.instagram.com/unapinchebruja/) About AND I'LL TAKE OUT YOUR EYES, now available from Algonquin Books! BUY NOW AT: BOOKSHOP (https://bookshop.org/p/books/and-i-ll-take-out-your-eyes-a-m-sosa/083f8863c8f15525) | TERTULIA (https://tertulia.com/book/and-i-ll-take-out-your-eyes-a-m-sosa/9781643756912) | BARNES & NOBLE (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/and-ill-take-out-your-eyes-a-m-sosa/1146931898) | AMAZON (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1643756915) Cría cuervos y te sacaran los ojos: Raise crows and they will take out your eyes. A boy wakes up with a knife in his hand. It's the early '90s in Stockton, CA, when Christian is caught sleepwalking in the kitchen by his family--the beginning of a curse unleashed by an aunt. To save Christian and the family from the curse, the family seeks out a curandero who promises salvation, but at a price Christian wishes he didn't have to pay. As Christian grows up the curse follows him. His father emotionally and physically torments him, his mother's health spirals, his relationship with his brother deteriorates; nothing goes his way. Christian finds solace in a group of friends, bonded together by the sufferings that plague their community. As the childhood chaos of ripping and running in order to survive breaks way to an adolescence beyond his local neighborhood and a lifeline in the form of writing, Christian must decide: be consumed and enact the same violence that has plagued him, or break the cycle, once and for all. And I'll Take Out Your Eyes is a kaleidoscopic exploration of the power of memory and the curses we inherit from our family, and how to overcome them. Told in a voice that is clear and unflinching, this is ultimately a story of redemption. PRAISE FOR AND I'LL TAKE OUT YOUR EYES: > And I'll Take Out Your Eyes is a kaleidoscopic wonder of a debut. Never boring, A.M. Sosa seems somehow capable of pulling off any form or point of view. Any sentence might be as explosive, as tender, as breathless, as surprising as life. And there is so much life in this book. If nothing else, it is rare to find a novel as alive as this one. Sosa has arrived with a cannon shot.— Matthew Salesses, author of Craft in the Real World and The Sense of Wonder Thanks for this amazing conversation, A.M.! All the best! -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro (https://cruzfolio.com). HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. THANKS FOR LISTENING! Much love, j artscalling.com (https://artscalling.com/)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

954

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 67 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

79

Social presence

0

YouTube

66

Engagement

71

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.