Episodes

  • Season 7: "The Tina and Andy Show"

    Season 7: "The Tina and Andy Show"
    Aug 21 2025


    Inside this episode with your host, Mitch Hampton

    This episode of my discussion with married couple Tina Stafford and Andy Patterson will be the second episode I have created with a goal of featuring a couple who happen to be in the same or related profession or occupation related to the Arts. With this episode I got to discuss with one married couple the world of acting, live performances on stage involving musical song as much as spoken conversation as well as screens of many sizes.

    Like my conversation with the Cawdreys in Montana I was struck by the genuine love of two people in relationship and the fact of this love as intertwined with work. As an ex New Yorker myself I felt that I was temporarily back in midtown Manhattan during this episode, if only for a time.

    As you watch this episode I hope you feel the sense of hopefulness regarding the possibility and potential of human relationships and that one couple's shared craft and career of the performing arts supports their life together overall and at least one important union of art and life.

    More about Tina

    www.tinastafford.com

    Originally from Northern California, I’ve been living in NYC for 30 years and I’m married to the actor and my long-time best friend Andy Paterson.


    I play multiple instruments, mainly guitar and accordion, but also fiddle, piano and clarinet, and although acting is really my first love, I’m what you’d nowadays call an actor-musician. It is important to me above all to make human contact a pleasant experience, and collaboration a priority.

    Andy and I both remain in New York City helping our community in any way we can. Although theatre work is my passion, I find the work of being a citizen of this great nation a full time job, and one that I’m proud to do. Peace.

    More about Andy

    ANDY PATERSON, ACTOR

    Andy has played extensively across the country and in New York City and is tickled to be part of the RAC. Among the many theaters he has worked with include American Repertory Theater, Yale Rep, McCarter Theatre, La MaMa ETC, New York Classical Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Paper Mill Playhouse, North Shore Music Theatre, Great Lakes Theater, Geva Theatre Center, Virginia Stage Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Pioneer Theatre Company, Florida Studio Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, The Acting Company.

    See you at the theater!

    Upcoming Performances https://www.racnyc.org/performances

    #newyorkcity #theater #broadway #musical #achristmascarol #shakespeare #itsawonderfullife #frankcapra #robertriskin

    #gloriagrahame #community #comedy #ukelele #television #movie #talkback #christmas #dickens #christmascarol #andrewlloydweber #1970s #1980s #1990s #voicemail #2000s #josephandtheamazingtechnicolordreamcoat #equity #payphone
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Season 7: "All About Aesthetics", Ep 3- Isaiah Berlin on Romanticism, its effects on Art and Culture

    Season 7: "All About Aesthetics", Ep 3- Isaiah Berlin on Romanticism, its effects on Art and Culture
    Aug 12 2025
    The material is used for the purpose of education, commentary and criticism, which falls under the fair use doctrine of copyright law. No copyright infringement is intended. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS”#aesthetics #IsaiahBerlin #romanticism #arts #culture In this, the third episode on Isaiah Berlin and Romanticism I focus on a couple of examples of the period from 1779-1830 as well as 1980s and 2010 representations and reflections on this late 18th century and early 19th century period.*Special Correction- in this episode Mitch gives commentary on the wonderful film "Tender Mercies" and the lead actress is Tess Harper, not Kate Mulgrew ( both fabulous ).More on this mini series, here:In this, our new special topic, “All About Aesthetics”, I will begin a miniseries on Isaiah Berlin’s theory of Romanticism, taken from his important lectures in the 1960s at the National Gallery and elsewhere, and starting from his unequivocal assertion that Romanticism was “the single greatest shift in the consciousness of the West that has occurred” I will inquire into the many effects of this shift, most of which are taken for granted and have been indispensable to forming the works of art, both popular and high, that we have most enjoyed or given importance. The series will include discussion of MGM musicals in Hollywood, melodrama films, novels, standup comedy, improvised jazz performances and much more.Learning Links related to this stream: • Romanticism - Isaiah Berlin (1965) https://isaiah-berlin.wolfson.ox.ac.u...#History #literature #movies #love #Hollywood #comedy #tragedy #freedom #liberty #classical #modern #postmodern #religion #spirituality #wordsworth #coleridge #keats #brightstar #lyricalballads #verse #isaiahberlin #russia #germany #France #uk #greatbritain #england #jazz #rock #africanamerican #existentialism #standupcomedy #tradition #thirtyyearswar #communism #fascism #ecology #environmentalism #intellectualhistory #culturalstudies #authenticity #sincerity #annaakhmatova #poetry #brontesisters #lordbyron #painting #caspardavidfriedrich #eletricguitar #powerballad #romance #feminism #democracy #liberalism #immanuelkant #rousseau #diderot #socialcontract #civility #manners #civillization #anarchism
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    38 mins
  • Season 7: Episode 1, New Series, "Travels with the Dark", Featuring Alexandra Carter, "The Substance", "The Last Showgirl"

    Season 7: Episode 1, New Series, "Travels with the Dark", Featuring Alexandra Carter, "The Substance", "The Last Showgirl"
    Jul 30 2025
    #thesubstance #thelastshowgirl #truecrimecommunity #newseries Treat Mitch to a Coffee buymeacoffee.com/aesthetepodcastFor this inaugural edition of our new series “Travels With The Dark” we are blessed to have a return guest, painter Alexandra Carter. We will do a joyous deepest dive into the movie s“The Last Showgirl” and "The Substance" more on this episode. More on this special , new series we are offering, here:The nature of art and culture reception and evaluation can be as volatile and powerful as the IPO or the stock market. Here at “Journey of An Aesthete Podcast” we are more interested in appreciation and understanding than anything else.It is always the most joyous occasion when I have the fortune to discuss movies - or anything else - with our guest painter Alexandra Carter. We were both so impressed and enriched by two releases from last year, Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, that we devoted two hours in this episode to discussing them. As is inevitably the case we covered many topics, including personal travels and the Burlesque community in Las Vegas, as well as political and social matters. We hope you enjoy this one as much as we did.Alexandra’s notes on this episode:These two films explore aging, identity, and societal expectations of women in strikingly different but complementary ways. The Last Showgirl spoke to me personally, having spent time in Las Vegas—especially within the burlesque and showgirl community during an artist residency. Its characters and setting felt deeply authentic, with Las Vegas itself becoming a living, breathing presence. Both films touch on themes of loss, delusion, and the erasure of women as they age. While The Substance delivers a visceral, maximalist critique through body horror, The Last Showgirl offers a more intimate, melancholic take on similar ideas.Alexandra’s Bio Alexandra Carter (b. 1985, Boston, MA) is a San Diego–based artist whose paintings explore themes of fertility, maternity, and transformation, often drawing on her upbringing on a cranberry farm in Massachusetts. She holds an MFA from Goldsmiths, University of London (2015), and a BA from Rhodes College (2009). Her recent solo exhibitions include the Middle Room and Luna Anaïs Gallery (both Los Angeles), Rogers Gallery (Las Vegas), the University of Minnesota (St. Paul), and Oolong Gallery (San Diego), with additional solo shows at Fusion Gallery (Turin, Italy), Southfork (Memphis), Proyecto’ace Foundation (Buenos Aires), and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Carter has participated in numerous residencies, including the Kone Foundation’s Saari Residence (Finland), KulturKontakt Austria (Vienna), Rogers Art Loft (Las Vegas), Qwatz (Rome), Vice~Versa Foundation (Goa, India), the Kentucky Foundation for Women (Prospect, KY), and Graniti Murales (Sicily).Alexandra’s Socialswww.alexandra-carter.com@alexandracarterstudio#giacoppola #demimoore #pamelaanderson #feminism #biology #reproduction #sexuality #wellness #health #bodyhorror #gothic #horror #fitness #aerobics #exercise #nature #culture #media #internet #socialmedia #internet #politics #jamieleecurtis #playboy #cinema #theatre #panting #portraitpainting #mother #children #maternity Series title: Travels With the Dark: Stories from humans in the “Limit- Experience”This “special” episode is the first in what promises to be a series concerning real occurrences of human beings when they are brought into or more aptly, up against “limit-experience”, a phrase from French and German philosophers that attempts to describe in the most general way what human beings undergo when they are thrust into situations that push them to their limits and conditions of maximum intensity. While originally this was intended to be a series in the “True Crime” genre I wondered to myself if subject and theme could extended outward.It might not even only encompass the most negative aspect of human experience.
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    1 hr and 47 mins
  • Season 7: "Book Lunch": Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, Episode 2

    Season 7: "Book Lunch": Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, Episode 2
    Jul 28 2025

    #JoanDidion #BookLunch #JohnGreogoryDunne #BlueNights

    In this, the second episode of a series on Joan Didion's Blue Nights, John Gregory Dunne's Vegas, and other books, I do the deepest dive into Joan Didion's prose style, how it works and what the meanings, effects and values are the consequence of her style.
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    1 hr
  • Season 7: "The Dom Flemons Show"

    Season 7: "The Dom Flemons Show"
    Jul 17 2025
    #DonFlemons #mitchhampton #blackcowboys #music #podcast #mitchhampton Inside this episode with host, Mitch Hampton:I always love to feature fellow musicians as guest on our podcast and Dom Flemons is no exception. This guest is one from whom I have learned a lot about different traditions in music and history more generally. I have to thank Laurie, our producer, for introducing me to his music and his immense talent. He is a wonderful singer and instrumentalist and his work with the Black Cowboys and others is among the most exciting music being done today, a large part of which is the commitment musical diversity and many traditions.Meet Dr. Dom FlemonsDr. Dom Flemons “The American Songster" received an Honorary Doctorate from Northern Arizona University and he's a GRAMMY Award Winner with four GRAMMY nominations, Two-Time EMMY Nominee, International Acoustic Music Award Grand Prize Winner, and was a United States Artists Fellow. He is a musician based in the Chicago area and he is famously known as "The American Songster®" since his repertoire covers over one hundred years of American roots music; including country, folk, bluegrass, Americana, and the blues. Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music scholar, historian, actor, narrator, host, slam poet, record collector, podcaster, and the creator, host, and producer of the American Songster Radio Show on WSM in Nashville, TN. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife and rhythm bones. He is the Co-Founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the Founder of American Songster Productions. FUN FACT: Dom Flemons competed and WON a Merengue Dance Competition in the Dominican Republic during an Artist Excursion on the Cayamo Cruise. Links to Dom’s works, socials, website:*Note- Dom has a gorgeous website full of wonderful information so please check it our for his full bio and journey!Website: https://www.theamericansongster.com/Music: https://www.theamericansongster.com/m...Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/domflemons/...You Tube: / domflemons_theamericansongster Twitter:https://x.com/domflemonsFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/DomFlemonsMu...Link’d In: / domflemons Merch: stores.portmerch.com/domflemons#africanamerican #americanwest #cowboy #blackcowboy #western #guitar #song #singersongwrtier #folkmusic #countrymusic #bobdylan #merlehaggard #waylonjennings #slystone #jamesbrown #soulmusic #arethafranklin #raycharles #impressions #slavenarratives #fiddle #reconstruction #civilwar #mali #griot #civilrights #highcourt #courtmusic #musicofthegambia #northcarolina #carolinachocolatedrops #bigbillbroonzy #muddywalters #charliepatton #1930s #stuffsmith #claudewilliams #neworleansjazz #minstrelsy #billmonroe #alanlomax #segregation #integration #19thcentury #1860s #jimcroce #jackiewilson #samcooke #harrychapin #song #vocalcontortionsim #vaudeville #burlesque #acting #verawardhall #fieldrecordings #ethnomusicology #blues #deltablues #tintypephotography #arizona #oklahoma #arkansas #tennessee #amarillo #sanantonio #tulsa #oklahomacity #nashville #memphis #cotton #mexico #folklore #mariachi #ballad #jimmyreed #lightninhopkins Our podcast is a comprehensive examination of all matters aesthetic, all the arts and humanities, how they connect us, a celebration of the creative process across all of the arts and most of all, what it means to be human. Your host Mitch Hampton is a neurodivergent journalist and pianist who composes for film, television, commercials, live concerts. He is a lover of life, 70's scholar, journalist, writer, thinker, an aesthete. Mitch takes us on a journey, opening doors and taking us inside the lives and minds of brilliant creatives, makers and humans, exploring creativity across genres, mediums and what it means to be human.
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Season 7: Performance ,live composing at piano, Season 7 kickoff!

    Season 7: Performance ,live composing at piano, Season 7 kickoff!
    Jul 14 2025

    #mitchhampton #seasonseven #piano #creativity #history #artisticprocess #podcast #podcasting

    On this launch of our seventh season I discuss the nature of commitment, creativity, and the so-called "writer's block" in the context of composing a piece of music live and in time.Thank you all for being with us these past seasons and we look forward to our journey into Season 7 with you all!

    #jazz #poetry #history #podcast

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    1 hr and 26 mins
  • Season 7: All About Aesthetics: Isaiah Berlin on Romanticism and its Effects Art and Culture Ep. 2

    Season 7: All About Aesthetics: Isaiah Berlin on Romanticism and its Effects Art and Culture Ep. 2
    Jul 9 2025
    #romanticism #podcast #mitchhampton #aesthetics In this, the second episode of my series on Isaiah Berlin and his scholarship and theories of Romanticism, I enter into a definition of Romanticism and begin my regular usage of visual film and textual examples.More on this special series, here:In this, the 22st episode of “All About Aesthetics” I will begin a miniseries on Isaiah Berlin’s theory of Romanticism, taken from his important lectures in the 1960s at the National Gallery and elsewhere, and starting from his unequivocal assertion that Romanticism was “the single greatest shift in the consciousness of the West that has occurred”.I will inquire into the many effects of this shift, most of which are taken for granted and have been indispensable to forming the works of art, both popular and high, that we have most enjoyed or given importance. The series will include discussion of MGM musicals in Hollywood, melodrama films, novels, standup comedy, improvised jazz performances and much more.Learning Links related to this stream: • Romanticism - Isaiah Berlin (1965) https://isaiah-berlin.wolfson.ox.ac.u...#History #literature #movies #love #Hollywood #comedy #tragedy #freedom #liberty #classical #modern #postmodern #religion #spirituality #wordsworth #coleridge #keats #brightstar #lyricalballads #verse #isaiahberlin #russia #germany #France #uk #greatbritain #england #jazz #rock #africanamerican #existentialism #standupcomedy #tradition #thirtyyearswar #communism #fascism #ecology #environmentalism #intellectualhistory #culturalstudies #authenticity #sincerity #annaakhmatova #poetry #brontesisters #lordbyron #painting #caspardavidfriedrich #eletricguitar #powerballad #romance #feminism #democracy #liberalism #immanuelkant #rousseau #diderot #socialcontract #civility #manners #civillization #anarchism
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    1 hr
  • Season 6: Trio Summer Jazz Concert!

    Season 6: Trio Summer Jazz Concert!
    Jul 3 2025

    #jazzconcert #livestream #livestreamconcert #piano #MitchHamptonTrio Tip the trio here: https://buymeacoffee.com/aesthetepodcastI performed a Summer themed jazz concert with Zack Page on bass and Justin Watt on drums, featuring both original and standard music.#jazz #haroldarlen #yipharburg #piano #steinway #trio #pianotrio #kennybarron #busterwilliams ##steelydan #blackfriday #donaldfagen #walterbecker #concerto #classical #funk #drums #bass #wizardofoz #cedarwalton theloniousmonk #sphere #blues #r&b #judygarland #celebrityseriesboston#jazz #music #piano #bass #drums #percussion #improvisation #composer #song #swing #rock #r&b #blues #classicalmusic #trio #1940s #1950s #1960s #1970s $1980s #1990s

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    1 hr and 37 mins