Vanessa Finney
News Host / ProducerVanessa Finney is JPR's Arts Reporter, All Things Considered host, and the award-winning host of My Better Half - exploring how people are thriving in the second half of their lives - and The Creative Way, which profiles regional artists. 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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The literary magazine that published early work by Ken Kesey and George Saunders is back, with students helping find and publish a new generation of writers. -
Lisa Langford and Stephanie Fybel discuss how family history, grief and ordinary people inspire their plays at the Ashland New Plays Festival. -
Curator Beca Blake and artist Abby Lazerow discuss the work in Womankind, the challenges local artists face and the exhibit’s hygiene product collection. -
Rogue Gallery's WomanKind Biennial spotlights women artists and tackles period poverty. -
The Montague gallery has expanded beyond its original focus on incarcerated artists and their families. -
Open Sky Gallery began by showcasing work connected to incarceration. Director Snow Thorner explains why the Montague gallery is expanding its focus. -
After a statewide listening tour, MusicOregon plans to connect musicians, venues and music businesses beyond the Portland area. -
Musicians told MusicOregon they need stronger regional connections, a statewide directory and more training in marketing, accounting and management. -
Oregon born guitarist and composer Tye Austin, named one of the world’s top 10 composers of guitar chamber music in Classical Guitar Magazine took a break from his state wide tour performing in Oregon state parks to sit down with Vanessa Finney and play a few works. -
Ashland storyteller Ruth Halpern explains how examining the stories we tell about ourselves can provide perspective during retirement, divorce and career changes. -
The literary magazine that published early work by Ken Kesey and George Saunders is back, with students helping find and publish a new generation of writers.
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The all-human circus also supports emerging performers, partners with local aerial groups and works to make circus arts more accessible in rural communities.
