Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson

“Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features conversations between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and special guests on WESU Middletown 88.1FM. Each program is available to stream from WESU's show archives for two weeks following the initial broadcast. Please check our website for upcoming episode airdates.

“Since the early ‘80s, I’ve dreamed of...having a radio show in the middle of the night” said Laurie Anderson. “When time slows down, where the lines between sleeping and waking, between dreams and reality, are getting blurred, and when people’s defenses drop away, and logic just seems to be very limiting.”

“Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” brings listeners into intimate conversations between Anderson and her close friends and colleagues—artists, writers, and thinkers who share Anderson’s zeal to ask questions, explore, and understand the world. “Party in the Bardo” was created for this moment in time, when our global and local communities are grappling with the new reality of COVID-19. In Tibetan tradition, the “Bardo” is the in-between: a state of existence after death and before one’s next birth, when consciousness is not connected to a physical body. By design, each episode premiered on Friday at 4am, when thoughts drift and new connections become possible —and a time, in 2020, when many of us are awake and wondering at the moment we are living though. (For those who sleep well, “Party in the Bardo” also aired again the same day at 4pm.)

“Party in the Bardo” was created and hosted by Laurie Anderson as part of her 2019-2020 artist residence at Wesleyan University, and is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Philip J. '71 and Lynn Rauch Fund for Innovation, with support from Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts and WESU Middletown 88.1 FM.

Image of Laurie Anderson by Ebru Yildiz.
2021
May April March February
2020
November October September August July June

2021

May

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Eleven
Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The eleventh and final episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation about love between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and the return of her first guest, writer Jonathan Cott on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.

April

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Ten
Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The tenth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and bassist and composer Christian McBride on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Nine
Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The ninth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn from the multi-platinum selling band Barenaked Ladies.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Eight
Thursday, April 15, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The eighth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and pianist, composer, and artist Jason Moran on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Seven
Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The seventh episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and iconic singer and visual artist ANOHNI on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Six
Thursday, April 1, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The sixth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation about ecstatic music between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and writer, therapist, and pleasure activist Don Shewey on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.

March

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Intermission
Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
This intermission following the first five episodes of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features two hours of long durational works curated by writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Five
Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The fifth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and artist Marina Abramović on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Four
Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The fourth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and musician and artist Arto Lindsay on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Three
Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The third episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and poet Paul Muldoon on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.

February

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Two
Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The second episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and composer and sound artist Bruce Odland on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode One
Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 10:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The first episode of writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson's radio show, “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson,” features a conversation with writer Jonathan Cott on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.

2020

November

After Party in the Bardo: A Conversation with Laurie Anderson
Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 7:00pm
YouTube Live
Writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson has spent the last five months of this extraordinary year creating extended radio conversations with musicians, artists, writers, and poets on “Party in the Bardo,” which aired on WESU Middletown 88.1FM. As a coda to her journey, Anderson offers a free, virtual conversation about the nature of time and the intimate art of listening.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Eleven
Friday, November 6, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The eleventh and final episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation about love between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and the return of her first guest, writer Jonathan Cott on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Eleven
Friday, November 6, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The eleventh and final episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation about love between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and the return of her first guest, writer Jonathan Cott on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.

October

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Ten
Friday, October 23, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The tenth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and bassist and composer Christian McBride on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Ten
Friday, October 23, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The tenth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and bassist and composer Christian McBride on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Nine
Friday, October 9, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The ninth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn from the multi-platinum selling band Barenaked Ladies.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Nine
Friday, October 9, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The ninth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn from the multi-platinum selling band Barenaked Ladies.

September

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Eight
Friday, September 25, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The eighth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and pianist, composer, and artist Jason Moran on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Eight
Friday, September 25, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The eighth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and pianist, composer, and artist Jason Moran on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Seven
Friday, September 11, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The seventh episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and iconic singer and visual artist ANOHNI on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Seven
Friday, September 11, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The seventh episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and iconic singer and visual artist ANOHNI on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.

August

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Six
Friday, August 28, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The sixth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation about ecstatic music between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and writer, therapist, and pleasure activist Don Shewey on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Six
Friday, August 28, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The sixth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation about ecstatic music between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and writer, therapist, and pleasure activist Don Shewey on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Intermission
Friday, August 14, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
This intermission following the first five episodes of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features two hours of long durational works curated by writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Intermission
Friday, August 14, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
This intermission following the first five episodes of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features two hours of long durational works curated by writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.

July

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Five
Friday, July 31, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The fifth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and artist Marina Abramović on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Five
Friday, July 31, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The fifth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and artist Marina Abramović on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Four
Friday, July 17, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The fourth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and musician and artist Arto Lindsay on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Four
Friday, July 17, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The fourth episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and musician and artist Arto Lindsay on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Three
Friday, July 3, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The third episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and poet Paul Muldoon on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Three
Friday, July 3, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The third episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and poet Paul Muldoon on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.

June

Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Two
Friday, June 19, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The second episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and composer and sound artist Bruce Odland on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode Two
Friday, June 19, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The second episode of “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson” features a conversation between writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson and composer and sound artist Bruce Odland on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode One
Friday, June 5, 2020 at 4:00pm
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The first episode of writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson's radio show, “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson,” features a conversation with writer Jonathan Cott on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.
Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson—Episode One
Friday, June 5, 2020 at 4:00am
WESU Middletown 88.1FM
The first episode of writer, director, visual artist, and vocalist Laurie Anderson's radio show, “Party in the Bardo: Conversations with Laurie Anderson,” features a conversation with writer Jonathan Cott on WESU Middletown 88.1FM.