The Third Story with Leo Sidran

Leo Sidran

THE THIRD STORY features long-form interviews with creative people of all types, hosted by musician Leo Sidran. Their stories of discovery, loss, ambition, identity, risk, and reward are deeply moving and compelling for all of us as we embark on our own creative journeys.

  1. 325: Ben Sidran - Free In America

    -4 dias

    325: Ben Sidran - Free In America

    A conversation with Ben Sidran, from Greece on America's 250th birthday, about jazz, democracy, identity, and what remains when the scaffolding begins to shake.

    31 min
  2. 324: Heather Aimee O'Neill

    19/06

    324: Heather Aimee O'Neill

    Before The Irish Goodbye became one of the most acclaimed debut novels of 2025, Heather Aimee O'Neill spent years quietly writing it while building a career helping other writers tell their stories. Here, she discusses the vulnerability of ambition, the challenge of living an authentic life, and the strange transition from observer to protagonist when a lifelong dream finally comes true. www.third-story.com www.leosidran.substack.com www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story

    58 min
  3. 323: Lakecia Benjamin

    9/06

    323: Lakecia Benjamin

    Saxophonist and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin has become one of the most dynamic voices in jazz today. Here she talks about hanging up on Clark Terry, finding her way from Washington Heights to the international stage, and how the mentors, heroes, setbacks and aspirations that shaped her journey continue to inform her new album, We Dream. www.third-story.com www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story

    1 h 13 min
  4. 322: Miles Davis

    26/05

    322: Miles Davis

    Miles Davis spent his life searching. He changed the sound of jazz repeatedly, assembling generations of musicians around him and pushing constantly toward something new. Few artists loom so large over the history of the music. To mark what would have been his 100th birthday today, I'm revisiting a rare 1986 conversation between Miles and my dad, Ben Sidran, recorded on the terrace of Miles' Malibu home.  At a time when Miles was reticent about revisiting his past, in this interview he reflected on Kind of Blue, his early musical development and influences, as well as his ideas about creativity, individuality and what it means to make a meaningful artistic contribution. To start the episode, Ben and I had our own conversation about the Miles interview, his memory of doing it, how it resonated at the time and how it resonates today. In the 40 years since it was recorded, the interview has become one of the definitive documents of Miles' thinking during that period. Ben's original interview with Miles Davis was originally made for his NPR program Sidran on Record, and is now part of his Talking Jazz project. The full archive is available at https://talkingjazz.bandcamp.com/album/talking-jazz Today's episode image is borrowed from "Notes from the Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame" produced by Quoted Studios and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

    52 min
  5. 321: Julieta Venegas

    18/05

    321: Julieta Venegas

    Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas on how growing up in Tijuana - a border city suspended between Mexico and the United States - developed an instinct for living "in-between," musically and personally. She traces her path from a musically curious childhood in Tijuana to her move to Mexico City, the emergence as one of Latin music's defining singer-songwriters and her return to her roots through her new album Norteña and memoir, both of which revisit the border identity and intuition that first shaped her artistic life. www.third-story.com www.leosidran.substack.com www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story

    53 min
  6. 320: Dida Pelled

    3/05

    320: Dida Pelled

    Dida Pelled on her latest album I Wish You Would, a blues-focused project recorded with Tony Scherr, Kenny Wollesen, and Sullivan Fortner. Along the way she considers her approach to tradition, identity, and finding a personal voice across genres. And she talks about she discovered the truth about her sexuality, her singing, and the six strings she loves so much. www.third-story.com www.leosidran.substack.com www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story

    1 h 14 min
  7. 319: Emily Cavanagh's Song For You

    21/04

    319: Emily Cavanagh's Song For You

    Singer, songwriter, and founder of Song For You, Emily Cavanagh on music, service, resilience, and finding purpose in uncertain times. In the early days of the pandemic, Emily began calling hospitals with one simple question: "Does anyone need a song?" That question became A Song For You, a nonprofit that has delivered hundreds of personalized songs to patients, families, and healthcare workers. She talks about her Chicago roots, accidentally becoming famous in Ireland, relearning how to walk after a mysterious illness, running away from the altar, and why she says she's never felt lonely or lost. A warm, funny, and moving conversation about what music can do when it matters most. www.third-story.com www.leosidran.substack.com www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story

    1 h 3 min
  8. 318: Michael Leviton and The Tell

    14/04

    318: Michael Leviton and The Tell

    At his monthly series The Tell, writer and storyteller Michael Leviton brings together performers and audiences for an evening where nothing is scripted and no lineup is announced. At The Tell, audiences arrive without knowing who will take the stage. Each night features four storytellers and two musical performances, unfolding over two sets. The result is a dynamic and unscripted experience where stories can be funny, moving, surprising—or all three at once. Leviton created The Tell as an alternative to more formal storytelling formats. Rather than polished, rehearsed narratives, he favors stories that are chronological, unpredictable, and rooted in real experience. As he explains, he's drawn to stories that are "wild rather than relatable," and to storytellers who embrace vulnerability over resolution. Over the past decade, The Tell has grown into something more than a performance series. It has become a community—one where people connect, form relationships, and share experiences in a space built on honesty and curiosity. Despite its success, Leviton resists pressure to expand or commercialize the series. For him, the goal isn't growth—it's maintaining the spirit of the experience itself. Here he explains the philosophy behind The Tell, and what it reveals about the role of storytelling in our lives. www.third-story.com www.leosidran.substack.com www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story

    49 min
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Sobre

THE THIRD STORY features long-form interviews with creative people of all types, hosted by musician Leo Sidran. Their stories of discovery, loss, ambition, identity, risk, and reward are deeply moving and compelling for all of us as we embark on our own creative journeys.

Informação

  • Autoria
    Leo Sidran
  • Anos em atividade
    2014 - 2026
  • Episódios
    344
  • Classificação
    Explícito
  • Copyright
    © Unlimited Media, Ltd.
  • Site do programa
    The Third Story with Leo Sidran

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