Aesthetic Arrest Podcast Season 3 Premiere! Elizabeth Taylor, Meshell Ndegeocello, Pat Barker, Toumani Diabaté & We Are Lady Parts!

“The aesthetic experience is a simple beholding of the object . . . you experience a radiance. You are held in aesthetic arrest.” - Joseph Campbell

Aesthetic Arrest is our weekly dip into the Epicurean pleasures we’ve been enjoying lately. Cheers to that!

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This Week’s Apéritif: Moschofilero from En Fiala Wines & Spirits in Athens, Greece

1 Liter of Moschofilero from En Fiali Wines & Spirits [Photo by Ryan Wildstar]

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Ryan Wildstar’s Recommendations:

Reading: The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

Purchase here.

• The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker Review – A Feminist Iliad (via The Guardian)

• Pat Barker and Benjamin Myers in conversation: ‘I’m absolutely intolerable when I’m not writing’ (via The Guardian)

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Listening: The Music of Toumani Diabaté (August 10, 1965 — July 19, 2024)

Purchase via Discogs

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

• Click here for Toumani Diabaté’s full discography

• Toumani Diabaté Obituary (via The Guardian)

• Toumani Diabaté Plucked the Kora's 21 Strings. The World Fell in Love with His Music (via NPR)

• Oumou Sangaré, Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita and Others Pay Tribute to Toumani Diabaté (via Songlines)

• Derek Gripper’s Tribute to Toumani Diabaté on Instagram

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Looking: The Art of Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1885-1931)

1) Démasquée; 2) Shepherd Boy from Paanajärvi; 3) Mäntykoski Waterfall; 4) Life and Death; 5) Ad Astra; 6) Sibelius as the Composer of En Saga; 7) The Defense of the Sampo; 8) By the River of Tuonela, Study for the Jusélius Mausoleum Frescos; 9) Lemminkäinen's Mother [All Photos Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons]

Aino Myth, Triptych [Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons]

1) Conceptio Artis; 2) Hippos in the Tana River; 3) Kikuyu Woman; 4) Portrait of Kenosua; 5) Rhinoceros and Euphorbia Trees; 6) Homo Victor (Victorious Man); 7) The Indian Sia Ohutaa; 8) Our Home in Taos; 9) Indian Chief Clear Water [All Photos Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons]

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Viewing: Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (2024) directed by Nanette Burstein (HBO & HBO Max)

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Tasting: Dinner at ParkBench Gastro Pub in Athens, Greece

1) Potato Salad with Hot Dog Tuna Tataki; 2) Stuffed Zucchini; 3) Sea Bass Carpaccio with Strawberries [All Photos by Lauren Greenwald}

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• ParkBench: Hidden Treasure (via Culinary Backstreets)

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Ryan Elston’s Recommendations:

Reading: Ransom by David Malouf

Purchase here.

• An Ancient Tale Of War, An Ode To Epic Mythology (via NPR)

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Listening: No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin by Meshell Ndegeocello

Purchase or Stream (multiple platforms)

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Looking: The Art of Simphiwe Mbunyuza

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• Check out the current exhibition, Simphiwe Mbunyuza: INTLOMBE, at the David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles! (on view until August 24, 2024!)

• Simphiwe Mbunyuza on Instagram / Works for Sale (via Artsy)

• Simphiwe Mbunyuza’s Vibrant Ceramics Evoke His South African Ancestry (via Artsy)

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Viewing: We Are Lady Parts — TV series created, written & directed by Nida Manzoor, starring Anjana Vasan, Sarah Kameela Impey, Juliette Motamed, Faith Omole & Lucie Shorthouse (Peacock & Channel 4)

We’re also obsessed with the amazing soundtrack:

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Tasting: Dinner at ParkBench Gastro Pub in Athens, Greece

1) Paloma Cocktails; 2) Sea Bass Ceviche with Fermented Fennel, Buckwheat & Grapefruit 3) Seared Sea Bass with Soba Noodles, Pumpkin, Shiitake, Buttermilk, Fish Stock & Dashi [All Photos by Ryan Wildstar]

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• ParkBench: Hidden Treasure (via Culinary Backstreets)

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So that’s it for this week! But we want the dinner party to continue!

So here is this week's question for the table:

For Season 3, we want to know which of our weekly recommendations resonate with YOU, our beloved listeners and readers!

Out of everything we talked about on this week's podcast, which of our recommendations are most interesting to YOU?

What piques your interest? What are you excited to check out? Or maybe we discussed something that you've already read (or seen or heard or tasted) and enjoyed as we much as we do? Tell us about it in the comments!

And thank you for joining us for the premiere of Season 3 of the Aesthetic Arrest Podcast!

Cheers to that!