Samantha Sanders

Writer, editor and podcast producer.

Portfolio

Essays | Features

Wvxu
The Flea Market As Architectural Journey

Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright may be the Midwest's (and the nation's) most famous architects, but the region has always been a fertile ground for builders master and amateur. In Midwest Architecture Journeys, available Oct.

The Awl
Dillweed (As An Insult)

In 1999, on the Straight Dope message board, a user named HeyHomie posed a question under the header "Dill-based insults in the 1970s," which is a degree of specificity I can appreciate. He asked, "I hear the boys on "That 70's Show" call each other 'Dillweed' and 'Dillhole.'

Artists Network
05/22/2018
Why Donald Judd Brought His Art to Marfa, Texas

The artist Donald Judd collected more than 13,000 books, many of which are now housed in a curated library in Marfa, Texas, the town Judd made his home from 1979 until his death in 1994. Curiously, Judd organized his books not alphabetically or by subject but in order of their authors' birth.

Audiences Everywhere
07/27/2017
Seeing Trump's America in Sidney Lumet's Network

A few weeks ago, we posed a question to the Audiences Everywhere staff: What movie best represents your understanding of America and your experience as an American? The current moment is a complicated moment to live in America, and a bit of introspection and cultural self-evaluation seems in order for everyone.

Artists Network
05/15/2018
Neon Art Puts the Power to Bend Light Into An Artist's Hand

Neon art puts the power to bend light into an artist's hand. Discover an artist on the cusp of breakthroughs in neon and how the phenomenon began. Enjoy! Noticing light at play on an object is an early challenge many artists encounter. Their first furtive trees float in space until shadow grounds them and sunlight offers dimension.

Podcast/Audio

Criticism

Audiences Everywhere
08/07/2017
Detroit Takes A Risk and Falls Short

Overview: Against the backdrop of Detroit's 1967 riots, a small group of young people, nearly all of them black men, are systematically brutalized by police in what would come to be known as the Algiers Motel incident. Annapurna Pictures; 2017; R; 183 minutes. The Story: Detroit opens with a gorgeous animation sequence, neatly summarizing the legacy...

Audiences Everywhere
06/27/2017
In Counterpunch, Boxing Fights for Its Life While Boxers Fight to Define Theirs

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Audiences Everywhere
04/14/2017
'I Called Him Morgan' is a Must-See for Jazz Fans

Overview: Renowned jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan's life and death is examined through intimate interviews and gorgeous archival photography-all to the soundtrack of his music. FilmRise; 2016; Not Rated; 92 minutes. What We Know: I Called Him Morgan begins on an ominous note, as snow is falling in New York City, and unnamed people are discussing that set, that night.

Audiences Everywhere
03/29/2017
Let the Fire Burn is a Sober Look at a Nearly Forgotten Chapter

Overview: Years of conflict between a communal Black Liberation group, its neighbors, and the city of Philadelphia came to a head with disastrous consequences in 1985. Zeitgeist Films; 2013; NR; 88 minutes. Long-Simmering Conflict : America in the 1970s was a particularly movement-driven time, with the idealism of the 60s giving way to a new righteous pragmatism.

Audiences Everywhere
04/17/2017
Jackin' It: Once More with Feeling: Nicholson in 'Five Easy Pieces'

Jack Nicholson celebrates his 80th birthday on April 22. To celebrate, we'll be discussing our favorite Jack Nicholson performances all week in our Jackin' It series, a collection of critical love letters penned to Nicholson's best characters. ...

Audiences Everywhere
03/13/2017
My Scientology Movie Offers An Unexpected Look At A Surreal World

Overview: Filmmaker Louis Theroux sets out to make an objective documentary about Scientology, but when stonewalled by the church, he enlists the help of a former Scientologist and leaves conventional storytelling behind. BBC Films; 2015; Not Rated; 99 minutes.

Audiences Everywhere
03/02/2017
"This is the Zodiac Speaking": Fincher's Film Ten Years On

The story of what came to be known as the Zodiac murders began on December 20, 1968, though no one knew at the time how significant that particular shooting was to become. There's no agreed upon date when the murders ended because the Zodiac-a moniker the killer gave himself-has never been identified.

Interviews | Film

Audiences Everywhere
05/16/2017
These are the Good Old Days: 'One October' Looks at a Moment in New York

One October tells the story of New York City in October of 2008 through the lens of filmmaker Rachel Shuman. New York City is notoriously hard to pin down. Eight and a half million people and a few hundred years of recorded history make it impossible to capture its full scope in one attempt.