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There are certain works of art I actively try to avoid. It’s not because I don’t like them, quite the opposite. They’re so meaningful to me that I’m wary of over-exposure, afraid of somehow diluting the way they make me feel.
The Bach Cello Suite No. 1 is, by far, the hardest to escape. It’s become a shorthand for sophistication in movies and ad campaigns– so much so that I've started smashing the skip button on every commercial that features this piece. But when that same melody appeared in a recent episode of TED Radio Hour, it was so moving, so perfectly placed, that it made me stop to consider the ways that art can take something broken and make it whole again.
That feeling is at the center of host Manoush Zomorodi’s conversation with Joshua Roman, a world-class cellist who lost the ability to perform. Joshua grew up in a religious family, and he was brought up to believe that music is a service to God. Talk about a tough listener to please!
Joshua left the church when he was a teenager, but the all-consuming drive to attain mastery remained. He joined the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and eventually became a soloist on the move, always traveling to the next big concert. During the early months of the pandemic Joshua got long COVID, and it left him so weak that he was forced to put away the cello. His career — and identity — crashed:
“Doubts that had been lurking for years came to the surface. I'd been stuck in a gig mentality for much of my career, waiting for the phone to ring, afraid to say no to any opportunity and completely unaware of the exhaustion that ran through my body and spirit.”
Ultimately, Joshua’s story is one of profound creative reinvention. The cellist who lived by the brutal mantra that "practice makes perfect" had to embrace improvisation. What pulled him back to the cello wasn't ambition, but simple, unfiltered joy.
When the Bach suite slides into the episode, it carries an unexpected vibration. A ubiquitous classic suddenly sounds like a fresh, raw testament to starting over.
💥 Luis
The week’s best episodes
…to share with the music snob in your life or that friend who’s starting over
🛟 It’s still not safe to go in the water Jaws turned 50! To celebrate, WBUR’s Andrea Shea went back to Martha’s Vineyard, where it was originally filmed. Her delightfully quirky series Jaws Island explores the enduring fascination with the mechanical shark that created the summer blockbuster.
⚠️ The “check engine” light for your brain
Racing thoughts and sweaty palms? Psychotherapist Britt Frank tells Life Kitthat anxiety is a warning signal, and she shares tips for grounding yourself when it starts flashing.
🥭 Under the mango tree
NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge is back. High school student Alvani Yaltho won the grand prize with a poetic story about her grandparents' life in Kerala, India, and the mango trees that marked the landscape of their youth.
➕ Magical Thinking Redux
This bonus episode of Fresh Airresurfaces Terry Gross’s conversation with Joan Didion after the release of her memoir, "The Year of Magical Thinking". It features a stunning, unscripted moment: Didion, overwhelmed by her husband’s sudden passing, asks for a pause. Gross breaks the silence with some surprising news…
One to Watch
ICYMI, Pod Club writers Julia Carney and Lauren Gonzalez hung out with hosts of How to Do Everything and Wild Card.
Lauren asked Mike Danforth and Ian Chillog how to find enough time capsules to start a museum, and Julia asked Rachel Martin how she comes up with questions for the Wild Card deck.
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