Vanessa Finney
News Host / ProducerVanessa Finney is JPR's Arts Reporter, All Things Considered host, and the award-winning host of My Better Half - a podcast and Jefferson Exchange segment that explores how people are thriving in the second half of their lives. Outside of JPR, Vanessa sings Jazz & Bossa Nova and produces The Work of Art for Southern Oregon PBS. Originally from California, she graduated from UCLA with a BA in Literature then earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Antioch University Los Angeles.
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Ashland New Plays Festival offers space for writers to experiment, connect and grow, both on and off the stage. -
JPR’s Vanessa Finney recently spoke with three artists creating a song cycle about survivors of the 2020 Almeda Fire. Composer Jesse Sanchez, director Dalia Ashurina and lyricist Sami Horneff describe their collaboration on “Letters from Almeda." -
TV favorites Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery reunite for a night of classic pop, quick laughs, and vintage cabaret charm in Medford. -
The milestone concert was conceived to be more inclusive of the Spanish-speaking community. JPR’s Vanessa Finney talks with three people at the heart of the process: Rachel Jones, Diana Ramos, and Victoria Bencomo. -
JPR's Vanessa Finney interviews Emily Hartlerode, Director of the Oregon Folklife Network, about the organization's mission to support traditional arts and cultural heritage in Oregon. -
As a young immigrant to the U.S., Karen Zacarías was moved by the classic Western novel "Shane." Now an accomplished playwright, she has adapted the story for the stage, reimagining the coming-of-age tale with more cultural accuracy. Zacarías joins director Blake Robison in a conversation with JPR’s Vanessa Finney to discuss the creative and collaborative process behind the adaptation. -
Martin Majkut has conducted and studied music around the world, but in Oregon, he’s been known since 2010 as the adventurous, growth-oriented music director of the Rogue Valley Symphony. He also has a long-standing collaboration with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Now, he's adding another title -- music director of the Oregon Coast Music Festival. He recently shared his packed performance calendar with JPR’s Vanessa Finney. -
Pianist Hunter Noack combines two of his passions, music and nature, to present unique outdoor concerts. He spoke with JPR’s Vanessa Finney on location, during his tour with “In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild", which since 2016 has presented 305 concerts in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, California, New York and Canada to over 75,000 people. His current tour has stops in Oregon and California. -
The new documentary out on KEET-TV, the PBS station based in Eureka, explores how young local artists are using their creativity for civic engagement, identity, expression and social change. JPR's Vanessa Finney speaks with the producer/director of the film, Jack Lucido and Grayson Johansen, one of its featured artists. -
JPR's Vanessa Finney spoke with AIFF co-director of programming, Richard Herskowitz, plus filmmakers Richard Green and Gary Lundgren, about the curated slate of films. -
Filmmakers Jessica Plumb and Jeremy Monroe join KS Wild's Allee Gustafson to talk with JPR's Vanessa Finney about inspiring environmental activism and a love for nature. -
Roy Sutton passed away in March while in the middle of three projects. JPR revisits his 2024 conversation with "My Better Half" host Vanessa Finney.
