The MoMA Magazine Podcast momamagazine

Hear how this popular crop is helping craft a more sustainable future in Mexico.
What do corn, craft, and Mexico have in common? The answer to this question comes in the form of Totomoxtle, a project and materials created by designer Fernando Laposse in collaboration with the village of Tonohuixtla. On view through July 7 in the exhibition Life Cycles: The Materials of Contemporary Design, Totomoxtle is an example of how good design can do more than please the eye—it can offer new pathways to preserving cultures, supporting local communities, and bringing balance to an ecosystem that has been exploited for far too long. 
For this Earth Month edition of the Magazine podcast, we sat down with Laposse to discuss the origins of his Totomoxtle project and how corn is helping build a more sustainable future for people and planet.
Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/1062

Is art the secret to everlasting love?
It’s no secret that some of the most powerful art has been inspired by love, that singular, indescribable feeling that, as it turns out, we are all capable of experiencing. “We all have the 12 brain areas that are critical for love,” says Dr. Stephanie Cacioppo, a leading figure in the neuroscience of social connections. It doesn’t matter if that love we feel is for our friends, our community, or our romantic partners, the only thing that changes between these relationships is the intensity we feel and see in the brain. What’s more, when we embrace that love, amazing things can happen and our brains become stronger.
In this Valentine’s Day episode of the Magazine Podcast, we’re exploring the science of love and how art can help foster it. We’ll hear from Dr. Cacioppo about her research, and from a couple who met at MoMA more than 50 years ago. Together, they’ll teach us that we don’t need to look far for love—sometimes we’ll find it where we least expect.
Access a transcript of the conversation here: moma.org/magazine/articles/1027

Join meditation artist Dora Kamau for an eight-minute guided audio meditation that explores the spectrum of emotions and energies associated with each color.
We’ll delve into color theory and the psychological and emotional effects colors can have on us. Composer James Pratley Watson, who created the soundscape for this meditation, aligned each color with its respective sonic “healing frequency,” in an attempt to infuse it with a deeper vibrational resonance. As Kamau leads you through this immersive meditation, allow the interplay of sound and color to guide you through a calming exploration of your own consciousness.

A neuroscientist discusses how smell influences everything from emotions and relationships to identity and wellbeing.
Our sense of smell is something many of us take for granted, but this sensation is more powerful than you may think. “It literally filters through all aspects of our existence,” explains neuroscientist Rachel Herz, “and the more we deliberately use our sense of smell…the better our brain health is, and even the general health of our bodies.” Smell also plays an important role in art, with many artists using scent as a way to prompt questions. These artworks encourage us to slow down and engage our senses. As Herz reminds us, when we stop and smell the metaphorical roses, “it can really ground us and bring us into that moment.”
For this month’s Ten Minutes podcast, we dig into the complex process that takes beans to bars, and the real-world impact chocolate has on the people who make it.
Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/1017

The founder of Harlem Chocolate Factory reflects on her lifelong journey with chocolate—and why you should never buy it at a low price.
Inspired by artists’ inventive uses of chocolate, we interviewed Jessica Spaulding, local chocolatier and cofounder of Harlem Chocolate Factory. For Spaulding, chocolate offers endless opportunity: “I think that being a chocolatier is that space where you get to get into your Willy Wonka greatness and just let your imagination run wild.”
For this month’s Ten Minutes podcast, we dig into the complex process that takes beans to bars, and the real-world impact chocolate has on the people who make it.
Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/980

Beekeepers reflect on how fear transformed into love after they realized the huge impact of these tiny creatures.
In 2016, Tim Jackson and Nicole Lindsey founded Detroit Hives, a local organization dedicated to transforming vacant lots into urban bee farms, where they not only produce honey for their communities but also host educational programs about the crucial role of bees.
This month’s Ten Minutes podcast is all about bees—what they do, how they’re organized, and why we need them. Bees do more than just produce honey—they help our ecosystem grow and keep the produce sections of our supermarkets plentiful. Even more importantly, they can teach us about living and thriving in community.
Access a transcript of the conversation here: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/965