The Ampersand

So many highlight their winding roads to self-discovery, but we still seem in a rush to get to our end fast. But could a wide curiosity of all of our becoming (i.e., reflecting on how you AND) help you rediscover facets of our being that lived inside us all along? On today's episode, musical artist Monica LaBonte recounts a winding journey of discovering her love of music and performance, becoming a full-time musician, pivoting away to teaching and finding her love of expression through song again. Follow Monica on Instagram. Check out Monica's website for future shows, private music lessons and to buy her most recent album See Through. --- Original music composed by Nelson Walker. Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

ANDers, look at the horizon. Coming fast are an epic lineup of guests making up our fourth season of The Ampersand. Featuring Dan Carlin, Monica Labonte, Marcia Douglas, Sarah Looper, Cleo Washington, Nick Houy, Ed Chuong, Megan Stephenson and Joanna Lambert. Debuting on Radio 1190 AM Boulder, 92.9 FM Denver and coming soon to your favorite podcast platform. Tune in and discover the alchemy of ANDing.

If storytelling is an art, today's guest is a maestro. Jennifer Ho is a professor of ethnic studies and director of the Center for Humanities and the Arts at the University of Colorado Boulder. On today's episode, our finale for season three, Jennifer's ability to convey meaning through compelling narratives is on full display. She discusses growing up in California, navigating cultural differences in the U.S. South, finding joy in hardship, countering racism and the manner art can bring about true reconciliation. --- Learn more about Jennifer's research. Learn more about the Center for Humanities and the Arts. Follow Jennifer on Threads. Original music composed by Nelson Walker. Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Empathy is trending again—we are reminded in venues as wide as SNL sketches and self-improvement podcasts that growing our capacities to step into another’s point of view and feel their perspective brings boons to our interpersonal, professional and emotional lives. The practical work of looking for opportunities to empathize often goes unsaid or appears trickier to realize. Today’s guest, though, is a veritable maestro in building connection points with those fortunate enough to meet him. Charles Eagan in an award-winning academic advisor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences at CU Boulder. On today’s episode, he discusses some of the strategies he employs to create points of connection, even with the most withdrawn students, so that they feel seen, valued and willing to engage with their college experiences again. --- Learn more about Charles. Original music composed by Nelson Walker. Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

After reading a poem out loud, we hope you've had the experience of inexplicably welling with emotion. Be it joy, grief, adoration for beauty or those emotions harder to describe, we've found these literary experiences can dramatically alter our points of view. But why? What in tightly written pieces of prose causes us to shiver with goosebumps, weep or smile ear-to-ear? Julie Carr is an award-winning poet and activist who has authored seventeen books of poetry, prose and translation, and on today's episode she delves into the way poetry and written words can transform their readers. Julie also explores the manner dance has influenced her writing, continues to show up in her art and influenced her most recent collection titled Underscore. --- Buy Julie's newest collection, Underscore. Learn more about Counterpath. Read more about Julie and her work. Original music composed by Nelson Walker. Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Nostalgia can be tricky business. Love of the past can lead to a slowing stasis of the people we are/were or our refusal to let relationships evolve. But remembering places and experiences can fill us with warmth or teach us to live into our respective nexts. Today's guest beautifully threads that balance. Francois Baptiste is co-founder of the company 3DEEP Productions, and he has built a successful career in the music promotion industry. At the same time, he is keenly aware of his past experiences' effect on that path. Today's episode is filled with glorious recollections of Boulder in the early 1990s—the budding Hip Hop scene, shows at The Fox and after-parties with the University of Colorado as the nexus—but Francois notes the lessons he learned that spurred him to stretch beyond these city limits and stay at the forefront of innovation and creativity. --- Learn more about Francois' company, 3DEEP Productions. Original music composed by Nelson Walker. Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Over our years, we've collected quite the stories of A&S students at the University of Colorado Boulder living out the alchemy of ANDing. Their experiences perpetually nudge what we suppose our students can experience—opportunities that reach for the boundaries of the profound and even the obscure. Our guest today, Ava Altenbern (art history, biochemistry '24), puts the unexpected on full display. From an internship at a Colorado morgue to her bubbly optimism while navigating death to searching for her art style to an honors thesis on riboswitches, she delves into the manner these interests wove together and shaped how she views a world she is thrilled to step into. --- More about Ava's current work with NIAID and the Ivanovic Lab. Original music composed by Nelson Walker. Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.