It's April of the Arts here at the Vortex Podcast where over the next couple of weeks we'll be doing deep dives and interviews with the students and faculty of the UCA Art Department. To kick things off, our guest this week is fellow Vortex staff and ceramics artist Anna Wagner as she sits down to talk with us about the focus of here senior show combining sculpture and poetry to convey the stories of those living with ADHD and mental illness. As a companion piece for this episode, you can actually visit the Vortex website at ucavortex.com and view some of Anna's inspired, emotionally infused ceramic pieces. So sit back. Relax. Let the art be your guide as we dive back into the Vortex.

On this episode, we talk to previous guest Marrissa Childs and new guest Dr. M Shelly Conner. We discuss the importance of Black History Month, how social media can play a role in expectations, and particular social cues.

Here is our Valentine's Day special! It's a long one. We talk with Marrissa Childs and Helen O'Malley about how their identities shape their writing, the evolution of romantic literature, and a secret surprise you'll have to tune in just to find out!

New semester, new host, new episode! In this one, we sit down with Kayla Byrum and Rich Niemeyer of LOCAL and ask them about women in writing, confidence, and freelance writing. Have a listen!

This is not exactly a new episode, just some audio from the Q&A session that was held after the interview with Kathryn Miles. Enjoy!

After a brief break between our episodes, we're back with the interview held between our very own Caleb Patton and Professor of History, Vaughn Scribner. Caleb talks about mermaids, taverns, travel, and life as we learn about another accomplished writer among the faculty of The University of Central Arkansas.

This week our host, Ricky, sits down with a few of the students from the Creative Writing department who specialize in writing horror and appreciate all things spooky. A special thanks to Autumn Harris, Helen O'Malley, and Tink Pendergrass for joining us on this special Halloween episode.

In our latest episode, we hear from Kathryn Miles as she reads from her newest book, Quakeland: On the Road to America's Next Devastating Earthquake.

Today's episode is all about comics with our good friend, Quade! We'll learn a bit about who he is and what his background is like while chatting about comics, representation, and the passions shared through a medium that's been growing for years and years.

Bringing only the best to you all, we're re-uploading our awarding winning Halloween episode from last season to get your all excited for our favorite time of the year! With stories read by Caleb Patton and Tyler Hauth and poetry read by A. VanSickle.