Listen: Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks Launches Season 2 of AMERICAN MASTERS PODCAST

Today, THIRTEEN's American Masters series launched Season 2 of the American Masters Podcast with new guest host Anna Drezen, Emmy-nominated Saturday Night Live (SNL) writer, comedian and author (How to Win at Feminism, How May We Hate You?, Reductress) on the American Masters website, iTunes, Soundcloud and Stitcher.

The new season, "Revolutionary Writers," features 10 episodes that look at the artists that challenge and shape our thoughts through the power of the written word: playwrights, comedy writers, horror writers, songwriters and poets. Each writing style will be explored via a new interview with a contemporary artist and a previously unreleased interview from the series' 30+ years of award-winning documentary films.

Episode one (available below!) features a new interview with Pulitzer Prize-winner and MacArthur "Genius" Award recipient Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog, The Red Letter Plays, Venus), who discusses her writing, inspirations and teaching the arts, and performs original music.

Episode two (August 29) features previously unreleased interviews with Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller and actresses Madeleine Sherwood and Oscar- and two-time Emmy-winner Lee Grant, who explore The Crucible's themes and the fear of being blacklisted when McCarthyism struck Hollywood. Future episodes will be released biweekly.

"We are committed to expanding the series' digital presence and reaching new audiences through the podcast and the Inspiring Woman campaign," said Michael Kantor, executive producer of American Masters.

This January, American Masters launched the year-long online campaign, #InspiringWomanPBS, based on themes central to Dr. Maya Angelou's life: artistic expression, academic success, active community engagement and acceptance of difference. People can share stories of inspirational women in their own lives via text, images or videos on the AmericanMasters website (pbs.org/americanmasters) or via Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #InspiringWomanPBS. The campaign is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Launched in 1986, American Masters has earned 28 Emmy Awards - including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special - 12 Peabodys, an Oscar, three Grammys, two Producers Guild Awards and many other honors. The series' 31st season on PBS features new documentaries about filmmaker Richard Linklater (September 1), artist Tyrus Wong (September 8), writer Edgar Allan Poe (October 30), and entertainer Bob Hope (December 29).

Listen to Episode 1 below!

The American Masters Podcast is produced by Joe Skinner. Michael Kantor is executive producer.

To further explore the lives and works of masters past and present, the American Masters website offers streaming video of select films, outtakes, filmmaker interviews, educational resources and In Their Own Words: The American Masters Digital Archive: previously unreleased videos of luminaries discussing America's most enduring artistic and cultural giants. The series is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET and also seen on the WORLD channel.

WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Theater Close-Up, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport.

Pictured, right: Suzan Lori-Parks records the "American Masters Podcast."/ Credit: (c)2017 WNET / Photo by Joseph Sinnott.