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The Short Fuse Podcast

The Short Fuse Podcast

Written by: The Short Fuse
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The Short Fuse Podcasts, hosted by Elizabeth Howard, are conversations with artists, writers, musicians and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change. "Artists are here to disturb the peace." James Baldwin The Short Fuse is produced by the Arts Fuse, the online journal of arts commentary and criticism.The Arts Fuse Art Entertainment & Performing Arts Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ruchira Gupta reflects on her friendship with Gloria Steinem

    Ruchira Gupta reflects on her friendship with Gloria Steinem
    Oct 16 2026
    Gloria Steinem Gloria Steinem was a writer, political activist, and feminist organizer. She was a founder of New York and Ms. magazines, and is the author of An Unexpected Life, The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off, My Life on the Road, Moving Beyond Words, Revolution from Within, and Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, in addition to many collections and essays. She co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Free to Be Foundation, and the Women’s Media Center in the United States. As links to other countries, she helped found Equality Now, Donor Direct Action, and Direct Impact Africa. For her writing, Steinem has received the Penney-Missouri Journalism Award, the Front Page and Clarion awards, the National Magazine Award, the Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Writers Award from the United Nations, and the University of Missouri School of Journalism Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism. In 1993, her concern with child abuse led her to co-produce an Emmy Award–winning TV documentary for HBO, Multiple Personalities: The Search for Deadly Memories. She and Amy Richards co-produced an Emmy nominated series of eight documentaries on violence against women around the world for VICELAND in 2016. She is the subject of Julie Taymor’s biopic, The Glorias, released in Fall 2020 and was featured in Dear Ms., released on HBO in 2025. Among many tributes and honors for her activism, in 2013 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama and in 2019, she received the Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum. For her boundless commitment to feminism, and for including all voices in the name of equality, Gloria was the 2021 recipient of the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. She lives in New York City. Gloria’s home is the heart of Gloria’s Foundation and has become renowned as a magnetic and life-changing center for feminist and activist thinkers from around the world.Ruchira Gupta is the author of I Kick and I Fly and The Freedom Seeker, and a lifelong activist ARuchira Gupta is the author of I Kick and I Fly and The Freedom Seeker, and a lifelong activist is the author of I Kick and I Fly and The Freedom Seeker, and a lifelong activist working to end sex trafficking. She is a Emmy-winning documentatian, she founded Emmy-winning documentarian, she founded Apne Aap with survivors from her film The Selling of Innocents. Her advocacy has shaped global laws and earned her the French Ordre National du Mérite. She advises the UN, teaches human trafficking and migration at NYU, and writes social justice adventure books to inspire change. Through story and action, Ruchira empowers readers and policy makers alike to build a world where every girl is safe, free, and valued.ApneAapApne Aap Women Worldwide is a grassroots Indian organization that empowers marginalized girls and women to resist and end sex trafficking. We organize vulnerable girls and women into small self-empowerment groups, where they work collectively to access legal, social, economic and political rights.Our organization was founded in 2002 by Ruchira Gupta along with 22 courageous women in prostitution who shared her vision of a world where no woman would be bought or sold. A charitable trust registered in India, Apne Aap Women Worldwide continues to strive to turn this vision into reality.Based in New York, Apne Aap’s international office in New York raises funds to support the organization’s grassroots work in India. Apne Aap International, which is registered as a 501(c)(3) charity in the United States, partners with organizations such as NoVo Foundation, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and Equality Now to push for an end to sex trafficking.The Short Fuse Podcast is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that "artists are here to disturb the peace." Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others. Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016). @elizh24 on InstagramGerald KentGerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the ...
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    45 mins
  • Frederick Douglass: Our North Star

    Frederick Douglass: Our North Star
    Jul 7 2026
    Kwame Daniels is a creative director, DJ, broadcaster and founder of Bounce Culture. He has spent his career using music and creativity to connect people and create opportunities. He is the founder of Solab, connecting artists and producers across Africa and the diaspora through collaboration and innovation. Kwame is the creative force behind North Star, an immersive live music performance inspired by Frederick Douglass' historic 1845 speech in Belfast, bringing history, music, and storytelling together in a powerful new way. North StarCo-commissioned by Irish Arts Center and Lyric Theatre, BelfastCreated and directed by Kwame Daniels North Star is a live music and spoken word performance inspired by the speeches of abolitionist Frederick Douglass during his historic visit to Belfast in 1845. Conceived and developed by Kwame Daniels, this collaborative, immersive standing-room show fuses artistic responses to Douglass’s experience by an eclectic range of contemporary artists—including hip-hop, jazz, gospel, electronic, and classical music and poetry—with commissioned writing from young people from Belfast and New York in a groundbreaking collaboration of music and spoken word rooted in Black cultures, and inspired by Douglass’s story, philosophy, and deep connection with Belfast. The music included in this podcast along with the poem read is taken straight from North Star. Naziha Tarannum 5th Grader: Poem entitled "NEW YORK IS HOME, HOME, AND HOME!" Irish Arts center Founded in 1972 and located in New York City's Hell's Kitchen, Irish Arts Center is a vibrant cultural hub that welcomes artists and audiences from all backgrounds who are interested in the rich and evolving arts and culture of Ireland and the Irish American experience. The Center supports both established and emerging artists by presenting, developing, and celebrating innovative work that inspires and engages audiences. Alongside its artistic programming, Irish Arts Center is committed to community outreach through educational initiatives and accessible arts programs that serve people of all ages and diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The Short Fuse Podcast is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that "artists are here to disturb the peace." Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others. Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016). @elizh24 on Instagram Jessica Khan Jessica Khan is a Bronx native and a rising senior at the University of Richmond, where she has a double major in journalism and political science with a minor in leadership studies. As the current music director of one of the university's a cappella groups, Jessica continues to pursue her passion for singing while developing her skills as a journalist. She is driven by a commitment to uncovering the truth and telling stories that often go untold, using storytelling to bridge divides, spark conversation, and bring overlooked voices into the spotlight. Gerald Kent Gerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing through full-scale production. The Arts Fuse Bill Marx, is the editor in chief of The Arts Fuse. For over four decades, he has written about arts and culture for print, broadcast, and online. He has regularly reviewed theater for National Public Radio Station WBUR and The Boston Globe.He created and edited WBUR Online Arts, a cultural webzine that in 2004 won an Online Journalism Award for Specialty Journalism. In 2007 he created The Arts Fuse, an online magazine dedicated to covering arts and culture in Boston and throughout New England The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication’s over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. There is a robust readership for arts coverage that believes that culture matters. The goal of The Arts Fuse is to treat the arts seriously, to write about them in the same way that other publications cover...
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    47 mins
  • "Can the arts create a ruckus?"

    "Can the arts create a ruckus?"
    Jun 18 2026
    Can the arts provoke, reflect, and sustain cultural dialogue in a period of disruption? How can the arts continue to provoke, reflect, and sustain cultural dialogue as technology pulls us through a liminal space, defined by disruption and transition? Moderator: Elizabeth Howard The Short Fuse National Center of Afro-American Artists Akiba Abaka, Interim Executive Director, National Center of Afro-American Artists; arts leader, producer, and educator advancing cultural equity. The Arts Fuse Bill Marx, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Arts Fuse; veteran arts critic across print, broadcast, and digital media. Lux Studio Anthony J. Piermarini, AIA, CPHD, Architect, co-founding principal of Studio Luz Architects and BR-A-CE, focused on socially engaged design. Associate professor, Wentworth Institute of Technology SpeakEasy Stage Company Dawn Simmons, Artistic Director, SpeakEasy Stage Company; Elliott Norton Award–winning director, producer, writer and educator. The Short Fuse Podcast is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that "artists are here to disturb the peace." Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others. Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015) and Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016). @elizh24 on Instagram Jessica Khan Jessica Khan is a Bronx native and a rising senior at the University of Richmond, where she has a double major in journalism and political science with a minor in leadership studies. As the current music director of one of the university's a cappella groups, Jessica continues to pursue her passion for singing while developing her skills as a journalist. She is driven by a commitment to uncovering the truth and telling stories that often go untold, using storytelling to bridge divides, spark conversation, and bring overlooked voices into the spotlight. Gerald Kent Gerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerald is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing through full-scale production. The Arts Fuse Bill Marx, is the editor in chief of The Arts Fuse. For over four decades, he has written about arts and culture for print, broadcast, and online. He has regularly reviewed theater for National Public Radio Station WBUR and The Boston Globe.He created and edited WBUR Online Arts, a cultural webzine that in 2004 won an Online Journalism Award for Specialty Journalism. In 2007 he created The Arts Fuse, an online magazine dedicated to covering arts and culture in Boston and throughout New England The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication’s over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. There is a robust readership for arts coverage that believes that culture matters. The goal of The Arts Fuse is to treat the arts seriously, to write about them in the same way that other publications cover politics, sports, and business — with professionalism, thoughtfulness, and considerable attitude. The magazine’s motto, from Jonathan Swift, sums up our editorial stance: “Use the point of your pen … not the feather.” The Arts Fuse has published over 10, 000 articles and receives 80,000+ visits a month. This year the magazine is celebrating its 18th birthday - a milestone for a small, independent magazine dedicated to covering the arts. Assist Arts Fuse in its mission: keep arts and culture hale and hearty through dialogue, and not just marketing. Serious criticism, by talking about the strengths, weaknesses, and contributions of the arts, plays an indispensable role in the cultural ecology. Smaller, newer organizations need a response. When they are ignored as they are by the mainstream media, they fail to gain an audience. And without an audience, they fold, further weakening the entire ecosystem. SUBSCRIBE to the weekly e-newsletter LIKE The Arts Fuse on Facebook, FOLLOW on Twitter HELP The Arts Fuse thrive by providing underwriting for the magazine. Even better — make a tax deductible donation.
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    48 mins
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