To the lighting designer Lindsey Adelman, light is at once ubiquitous and precious, quotidian yet miraculous; it can be easily overlooked or taken for granted, but it also has the potential to become transformative or even otherworldly. Through her craft-forward approach, Adelman creates pieces that defy strict labels and explore the tensions between organic and industrial forms and materials, combining hand-blown glass with industrial and machine-milled components. Since launching her eponymous company in 2006, she has built a formidable business, perhaps becoming best known for her Branching Bubble chandeliers, a series that consists of glass “bubbles” elegantly mounted on the ends of brass, bronze, or nickel “branches.” Adelman also runs an experimental space called LaLAB as a means of exploring and meditating on illumination through the creation of one-off and limited-edition pieces, as well as private commissions.On the episode, she discusses her recent decision to shift her company away from a large-scale production operation and toward a smaller, more intimate “studio” model; the great surprise of having one of her designs installed in Vice President Kamala Harris’s Washington, D.C., home; and her love of hosting.Special thanks to our Season 10 presenting sponsor, L’École, School of Jewelry Arts.Show notes:Lindsey Adelman[6:05] Ingo Maurer[6:05] Gaetano Pesce[7:55] Burst Chandelier[12:22] “A Realm of Light”[14:55] Isamu Noguchi’s Akari light sculptures[17:20] Yosemite National Park[18:41] James Turrell[18:41] House of Light[20:47] Noguchi’s “Lunar Infant”[24:40] Writings by Agnes Martin[26:52] Hiroshi Sugimoto[27:46] David Lynch[29:08] “Paul McCarthy: WS”[29:08] Matthew Barney[30:54] Haruki Murakami[33:14] “A Cacao Ceremony That Brought Close Friends Even Closer”[48:13] Branching Bubble chandelier[48:13] Buckminster Fuller[52:01] Adelman’s open-source D.I.Y. light project[52:30] David Weeks[52:30] Lunette[52:46] “The Lighting Designer From Everyone’s Dream Brooklyn Brownstone”[52:46] Rich People Problems[52:46] Gwyneth Paltrow

In the eyes of the architecture critic Paul Goldberger, a building is a living, breathing thing, a structure that can have a spirit and even, at its best, a soul. It’s this optimistic perspective that has given Goldberger’s writing a certain ineffable, captivating quality across his prolific career—first at The New York Times, where he served as the paper’s longtime architecture critic, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1984; then as the architecture critic at The New Yorker from 1997 to 2011; and now, as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Goldberger is the author of several books, including Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry (2015), Why Architecture Matters (2009), and Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture (2009). He is also the chair of the advisory board of the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, where we recorded this episode, our third “site-specific” interview on Time Sensitive.On the episode, Goldberger discusses the Glass House’s staying power as it turns 75, the evolution of architecture over the past century, what he’s learned from writing architects’ obituaries, and the Oreo cookie from a design perspective.Special thanks to our Season 10 presenting sponsor, L’École, School of Jewelry Arts.Show notes:Paul Goldberger[05:17] Glass House[05:17] Philip Johnson[07:06] Ludwig Mies van der Rohe[07:06] Farnsworth House[08:42] Brick House[12:37] Gordon Bunshaft[12:37] Lever House[12:37] Frank Lloyd Wright[12:37] Guggenheim Museum[13:18] TWA Flight Center[13:18] Kevin Roche[13:18] Ford Foundation building[13:18] CBS Building[15:17] Noyes House[16:17] U.N. Headquarters[17:50] Centre Pompidou[17:50] I.M. Pei[17:50] Louvre Pyramid[17:50] Frank Gehry[17:50] Guggenheim Bilbao[20:00] Walt Disney Concert Hall[23:20] Stuyvesant Town[24:24] “Oreo, at 75, the World’s Favorite Cookie; Machine Imagery, Homey Decoration”[25:46] “Quick! Before It Crumbles!: An architecture critic looks at cookie architecture”[25:46] Nora Ephron[26:18] “Design Notebook; Commonplace Things Can Be Great Designs”[27:16] Bauhaus[29:10] Fallingwater[29:10] Richard Neutra[29:10] Lovell House[29:10] Gehry House[29:10] Louis Kahn[32:38] “Philip Johnson, Architecture’s Restless Intellect, Dies at 98”[32:38] “Louis I. Kahn Dies; Architect Was 73”[35:30] Paul Rudolph[36:50] Zaha Hadid[37:22] “New Police Building”[38:19] Henry Geldzahler[41:31] Why Architecture Matters[43:21] Chrysler Building[47:28] Vincent Scully[48:18] Lewis Mumford[1:00:47] The City Observed: A Guide to the Architecture of Manhattan[1:00:47] World Trade Center[1:02:49] “Here Is New York” by E.B. White[1:05:33] Design: The Leading Hotels of the World[1:07:25] Ritz Paris[1:07:25] The Dylan Amsterdam[1:09:01] “Why Buildings Grow On Us”

The artist Francesco Clemente may have been born and raised in Naples, but—having lived and worked around the world, including in Rome, India, New York City, and New Mexico—he considers himself a citizen of no place. Widely known for his work across mediums, from drawings and frescoes to mosaics, oils, and sculptures, Clemente makes art that evokes his mystical perspective, with his paintings often featuring spiritual subjects or dreamlike symbols. Beyond exhibiting in galleries and museums, over the years Clemente has also made works for a variety of other venues, including a nightclub, a hotel, a Hollywood film, and the Metropolitan Opera. This fall, his work (and name) will be central to his latest unusual project: the soon-to-open Clemente Bar at chef Daniel Humm’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park.On the episode, Clemente discusses his collaboration with Humm, frescoes as the most luminous artistic medium, his deep affinity with India, and the certain timeworn quality to his art.Special thanks to our Season 10 presenting sponsor, L’École, School of Jewelry Arts.Show notes:Francesco Clemente[3:55] Clemente Bar[3:55] Eleven Madison Park[3:55] Daniel Humm[3:55] Alba Clemente[7:50] Murals for the Palladium nightclub[7:50] Hudson Hotel[7:50] Ian Schrager[8:43] Arata Isozaki[8:43] Philippe Starck[8:43] Kenny Scharf[8:43] Keith Haring[8:43] Jean-Michel Basquiat[8:43] Steve Rubell[9:43] Works for Great Expectations (1998)[9:43] “The Sopranos” series[9:43] Portrait of Fran Lebowitz[11:37] Portrait of Toni Morrison[23:12] Jiddu Krishnamurti[23:12] Theosophical Society[24:49] Álvaro Siza[24:49] Museo Madre[32:48] Cy Twombly[32:48] Joseph Beuys’s exhibition “We Are the Revolution” (1972)[35:30] Rudolf Steiner[36:56] Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke[37:57] Swami Vivekananda[39:20] Salman Rushdie[41:31] Nisargadatta Maharaj[46:51] Andy Warhol[46:51] Allen Ginsberg[48:13] William Blake[48:54] Raymond Foye[48:54] Hanuman Books[50:04] “The Four Corners” (1985)[53:36] Saint Francis

In her new book, The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America (Harvard University Press), the historian and Harvard professor Sarah Lewis unpacks a major part of United States history that until now wasn’t just brushed over, but was intentionally buried: how the ​​Caucasian War and the end of the Civil War were conflated by P.T. Barnum, former President Woodrow Wilson, and others to shape how we see race in America. Long overdue, The Unseen Truth is a watershed book about photography and visuality that calls to mind works by history-shaping authors such as James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and bell hooks. Lewis is also the founder of the Vision & Justice initiative, which strives to educate the public about the importance of art and culture for equity and justice in the U.S., and is launching a new publishing venture with Aperture this fall.On the episode, she discusses the tension between pedagogy and propaganda; the deep influence of Frederick Douglass’s 1861 “Pictures and Progress” lecture on her work; how a near-death car crash altered the course of her life and The Unseen Truth; and the special ability of certain photographs to stop time.Special thanks to our Season 10 presenting sponsor, L’École, School of Jewelry Arts.Show notes:Sarah Lewis[04:01] The Unseen Truth[05:24] Woodrow Wilson[05:24] Frederick Douglass[05:24] P.T. Barnum[06:51] Toni Morrison[06:51] Angela Davis[06:51] Mathew Brady[51:14] Vision & Justice[11:35] Caucasus[14:02] Imam Shamil[17:38] Caucasian War[19:31] MFA Boston[19:31] The Metropolitan Museum[22:30] “Pictures and Progress”[28:41] “A Circassian”[28:41] “Slave Ship”[28:41] “The Gulf Stream”[35:13] Frances Benjamin Johnston[39:20] Jarvis Givens[39:20] Fugitive Pedagogy[44:05] The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search of Mastery[49:08] Montserrat[49:08] Under the Volcano[51:36] Aperture[52:26] Maurice Berger[52:26] Coreen Simpson[52:26] Doug Harris[52:26] Deborah Willis[52:26] Leigh Raiford[52:57] Hal Foster[56:01] Hank Willis Thomas[56:01] Theaster Gates[56:01] Mark Bradford[56:01] Amy Sherald[57:58] Wynton Marsalis[57:58] Charles Black, Jr.[57:58] Louis Armstrong[57:58] Brown v. Board of Education

For Rita Sodi, cooking isn’t so much an art or a science, but rather an intuitive way for her to channel her Tuscan roots and provide a profound sense of home. Following a 15-year career in the world of fashion as a self-described “denim guru” for Calvin Klein Jeans, Sodi transitioned into the realm of restaurants in 2008, when she moved to New York City from Bagno a Ripoli, Italy, and opened the West Village establishment I Sodi. Soon after, Sodi serendipitously met her life and work partner, Jody Williams—the chef-owner of the French bistro Buvette—and the two went on to found the restaurant group Officina 1397. Now, in addition to I Sodi and Buvette, they also operate Via Carota, The Commerce Inn, and Bar Pisellino. Across all of Sodi’s undertakings, her motive is clear: to create dishes she loves with great care and rigor, and, at least in the cases of I Sodi and Via Carota, to share an abiding passion for Tuscan cooking.On the episode, Sodi discusses learning to cook from her mother, her atypical journey from fashion to food, and some of the stringent rules she follows in the kitchen and in life.Special thanks to our Season 10 presenting sponsor, L’École, School of Jewelry Arts.Show notes:Rita Sodi[25:50] Tuscany[4:50] West Village[5:58] I Sodi[6:47] Calvin Klein Jeans[8:31] Jody Williams[8:31] Via Carota[8:31] Officina 1397[8:31] Bar Pisellino[8:31] The Commerce Inn[8:31] Buvette[20:29] Pete Wells[23:22] “An Ode to I Sodi”[23:22] “The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City 2024”[23:22] “When I Want to Be Alone, I Eat Dinner at the Bar at I Sodi”[25:50] Bagno a Ripoli[29:35] “The Laws of Tuscan Eating at I Sodi in the West Village”[48:26] Emilia-Romagna[53:53] Jeff Gordinier