New School: Arts & Culture

The Merchant's House Museum, which from 1835-1933 was a residential home for a wealthy family, now exists as a historic house museum in the heart of the East Village. The museum is furnished almost exactly as it was when it was a residence and with nearly all of the family's original furniture and belongings. Not only does it preserve over a thousand historic artifacts, it also exists as a preservation of the Rococo Revival architecture style and acts as a portal to a pivotal time period in Manhattan.

The museum is now threatened by development, and this feature, which includes ghost stories and passionate accounts from staff and volunteers, establishes why the Museum’s preservation isn't just important, it's necessary.

Producer Credits: Eleanor Kagan, Liliana Green, Kieran Pfaffinger

Music: Played and recorded at The Merchant's House on the museums Pianoforte

Producers Andrea Tlacuilo and Alisha Mess tell the story of how Michael Jackson overcame MTV’s racial barrier with his smash hit music video “Billie Jean.”

We’d love to give a special thanks to Raul Tlacuilo, Tricia White, Marc Plotkin, and Marlon Saunders.

 Our Sources: MTV News: David Bowie interviewed by Mark Goodman (Youtube), MTV Theme Song: Man On The Moon (YouTube), and Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean song.

Picture Credits: YouTube (Billie Jean music video) 

Since the development of the Disney company in 1923, Disney has grown to be a staple of North American culture, but with its popularity came something unexpected — the cultural phenomenon of “Disney Adults.”

Produced By: M Shimek, Emily Wampold, Lillian Heckler, Gabriella Bottomley, Jordan Jainlett

In a post-Covid society where community is hard to come across The Gaia Music Collective is here to save the day. A New York City based music collective that hosts a variety of singing events, Gaia prides itself with creating special experiences for everyone. Matt Goldstein, Gaia's founder talks about what exactly they are about.

Produced by: Caroline Capuano, Mackenzie Peluso, MJ McDonald, Alisha Mess, Paola Trinh 

Producer Maddy Burger interviews her former professor Bureen Ruffin, who teaches first-year writing at The New School. They discuss their individual and collective journeys, while asking deep and reflective questions about education and humanity.

The Village Halloween Parade celebrated its 50th anniversary this week, with performance artist Laurie Anderson as the Grand Marshall. WNSR’s Sarah Montague attended. She says is was both ghostly and gleeful.

Going to summer campis almost a rite of passage for many Jewish tweens and teens nationwide. With puberty hormones raging, unspoken (and spoken) peer pressure, and the inherent design of these camps, it is no wonder that they producelots and lotsof couples. In this feature, producers AudreyDouglass & Ramona Saft interview couples who have met at camps, the founder of a dating app for summercampalumni, and former counselors who are now working to reform consent culture at camp.

The average New Yorker or tourist whovisits the Empire State Building may not notice Legends Sports Bar, one of many which are opposite this iconic landmark. From the outside, there areno clues that this is the home of undergroundfootball culture in the city - literally. The basement of this bar is known as The Football Factory and is a hub for football fans from all over theworld. Thebar is the home ofmore than thirty supporters groups who gather together weekly to celebrate and commiserate thehighs and lows of their team's live matches, despite the five-hour time difference between the UK and the East Coast.Producer Tamara Kormornick gives us the play by play.

The annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade returned in person this year with a wide array of colorful costumes and a great deal of merry noise. Reporter Jean-Luc Mountady stopped by to catch a few minutes of the action.

Producer Violette Hedo reflects on the nature and cultural significance of this iconic New York food.