The Secret Lives of Artists

The Museum of Modern Art
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An abstract artist who ran for mayor of New York. A public garden gatekeeper who painted her visions at night. An avant-garde composer who appeared on a game show as a mushroom expert. The Museum of Modern Art brings you a new podcast telling the stories you don’t know about the artists you think you do. Each concise episode explores the secret talents and obsessive pursuits of some of our favorite modern artists. Hosted by content producer Naeem Douglas and featuring special guests, the podcast blends narration, interviews, and archival audio.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 3: Lee Miller

    Model, muse, artist, photojournalist, inventor, mother, chef. Lee Miller had many lives in the 20th century. We are only just now grasping her impact as a photographer in Surrealist Paris in the 1930s and as a photojournalist documenting the toll of war. Miller’s son, Antony Penrose, narrates the discovery of thousands of negatives in the attic, which led to a new understanding of the scope of her work, along with MoMA assistant curator Caitlin Ryan and host Naeem Douglas.   Executive producers: Prudence Peiffer, Alex Halberstadt, Naeem Douglas Writing and research: Prudence Peiffer, Alex Halberstadt, Naeem Douglas, with additional research by Caroline Nieto. Engineered and mixed by Zubin Hensler Original score by Pablo Altar

    Episode 3: Lee Miller

  2. 1d ago

    Episode 2: John Cage

    John Cage is best known as a revolutionary composer who expanded the definition of music to include sound, silence, and chance. But while he was working on his art, Cage couldn’t stop thinking about mushrooms. MoMA assistant curator Alison Burstein, Cage scholars and fellow foragers Howard Risati and Ray Kass, and host Naeem Douglas discuss Cage’s groundbreaking compositions and his obsession with enigmatic fungi, which even led to his appearance on a game show.   Contains excerpts from “I’ve Got a Secret” (1960), Écoute (1992), directed by Miroslav Sebestik and Anna Grange, and John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say, and I Am Saying It (1990), directed by Alan Miller.   Executive producers: Prudence Peiffer, Alex Halberstadt, Naeem Douglas Writing and research: Prudence Peiffer, Alex Halberstadt, Naeem Douglas, with additional research by Caroline Nieto. Engineered and mixed by Zubin Hensler Original score by Pablo Altar

    Episode 2: John Cage

  3. 1d ago

    Episode 1: Marcel Duchamp

    Marcel Duchamp rewrote the rules of modern art, but also happened to be obsessed with one of the most rule-bound games ever invented: chess. MoMA Chief Curator Ann Temkin, Duchamp scholar Francis Naumann, and host Naeem Douglas retrace Duchamp’s journey from a provocative young artist to a devoted chess player and ask whether the strategy he brought to the board also appears in the choices that defined his career.   Contains an excerpt from A Conversation with Marcel Duchamp (1956), directed by Robert D. Graff.   Executive producers: Prudence Peiffer, Alex Halberstadt, Naeem Douglas Writing and research: Prudence Peiffer, Alex Halberstadt, Naeem Douglas, with additional research by Caroline Nieto Engineered and mixed by Zubin Hensler Original score by Pablo Altar

    Episode 1: Marcel Duchamp
  • 3 Episodes

About

An abstract artist who ran for mayor of New York. A public garden gatekeeper who painted her visions at night. An avant-garde composer who appeared on a game show as a mushroom expert. The Museum of Modern Art brings you a new podcast telling the stories you don’t know about the artists you think you do. Each concise episode explores the secret talents and obsessive pursuits of some of our favorite modern artists. Hosted by content producer Naeem Douglas and featuring special guests, the podcast blends narration, interviews, and archival audio.

Information

  • Creator
    The Museum of Modern Art
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Secret Lives of Artists