Critical Minded

Welcome to the Critical Minded podcast! 
This inaugural season of the Critical Minded podcast looks at the organization’s new report, "Topdogs and Underdogs: Critics of Color and the Theatrical Landscape,” which explores the challenges facing theater critics of color. Hosted by Steven Vargas, an LA-based theater and dance critic.

Arts & culture criticism in the U.S. has never seemed as endangered as it does now. This is especially true for critics of color. Join host Steven Vargas, Washington Post theater critic Naveen Kumar and BIPOC Critics Lab founder Jose Solís as they explore the challenges facing theater critics of color in today's climate & unpack Critical Minded's new report, "Topdogs and Underdogs: Critics of Color and the Theatrical Landscape."

Culture criticism may sound glamorous, but being a critic takes resilience, a lot of writing and (in most cases) a day job.
Host Steven Vargas speaks with freelancer Brittani Samuel, educator Cristina Pla-Guzman, Playbill Editor-in-Chief Diep Tran, and Washington Post critic Naveen Kumar for this episode of the Critical Minded podcast. Together, they’ll share an authentic look into a typical workday for a critic of color today, and discuss the common challenges they face.

Entering a career as a critic today takes more than a good resume. The next generation of writers faces the aftermath of a global pandemic, a volatile job market and low pay rates.
With personal accounts of navigating publications and industry constraints, host Steven Vargas unpacks the current criticism landscape for new writers of color with Washington D.C. critic Nathan Pugh, New York critic Brittani Samuel, and Miami critic and educator Cristina Pla-Guzman. 

With some guidance from our report, “Topdogs and Underdogs,” today’s critics offer some insight into how we can work to create a more diverse landscape.
Host Steven Vargas speaks with BIPOC Critics Lab founder Jose Solís, 3Views co-editor Brittani Samuel & Gate co-owner Adlan Jackson about their crucial efforts to reform the critical ecosystem.
To read the full 'Topdogs & Underdogs' report, visit https://criticalminded.org/

In this final episode, host Steven Vargas brings playwright Larissa Fasthorse, Latino Theatre Company Artistic Director José Luis Valenzuela, playwright & critic Amanda L. Andrei, and critic Martín Hernández together for a roundtable discussion about the importance of building community between critics and theater artists of color.

Welcome to the second season of the Critical Minded podcast, as we welcome the latest Critical Minded report, Beautiful Struggles: Pop Music Critics of Color and the Critical Landscape. Hosted by report co-author Oliver Wang (longtime music writer, former co-host of the Heat Rocks podcast) and report researcher Reanna Cruz (music writer, producer of the Switched On Pop podcast), this season explores the state of criticism at a moment of profound transitions, pitfalls, and possibilities.
It has never been easier to publish ideas and opinions about music, yet it feels like criticism as a field has never been less sustainable. For the first of five episodes, through interviews with journalists, creators, and academics alike, we ask: what does it mean to be a music critic today?
This episode, Oliver and Reanna talk to Sharon Mizota, rashid shabazz, John Morrison, and Crystal Alejandro, to reflect on how music criticism is being challenged by the changing worlds of publishing and multimedia industries. From the era of zines and alt-weeklies to the rise of influencers, podcasts, and video essays, we trace how criticism has evolved and what those changes mean for critics of color navigating the field today.