The Ampersand

The Ampersand

On The Ampersand, we interview guests who think of and as a verb—who imagine and create by colliding their interests. Hosted by Erika Randall, a dancer, professor, mother, filmmaker and writer, we will explore stories of people who lean into ANDing as a full sensory verb about experiencing and possibility. Join us and discover the alchemy of ANDing. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Episodes

June 22, 2025 38 mins

Can we trust what we see on social? In the case of today's guest, the answer is adamantly the affirmative. Sarah Looper is a gifted sommelier and wine educator who has worked in the food and wine world for over twenty-five years. She is also the beloved personality behind Loopersomm, an online presence that democratizes wine with content that rapidly switches between hysterical and informative. That presence and personality is auth...

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Erika and Producer Tim discuss Erika's debut novel, Music for Leaving, its origin story, what makes the story grand and how Erika and Tim navigate feeling like imposters, even with a gorgeous book in-hand.

Buy Music for Leaving on IngramSpark, our preferred vendor.

Music for Leaving is also available, often by request, from your favorite bookstore or online service.

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Original music composed by Nelson Walker.

Recorded at Interpla...

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An encounter with the smallest material can spark nostalgia: the first bite of saltfish and home, the texture of satin and standing onstage, just the right weight of rain. While these unexpected free-falls into memory can be a lovely surprise, today's guest reaches intentionally into her imagination and shapes memories into gorgeous narratives of fiction and nonfiction. Marcia Douglas is an author, artist and professor of creative ...

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So many highlight their winding roads to self-discovery, but we still seem in a rush to get to our end fast. But could a wide curiosity of all of our becoming (i.e., reflecting on how you AND) help you rediscover facets of our being that lived inside us all along? On today's episode, musical artist Monica LaBonte recounts a winding journey of discovering her love of music and performance, becoming a full-time musician, pivoting awa...

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In an era marked by impatience and shortened attention spans — Hang on ... I forgot where I was going with that. — Anyway, today's guest is Dan Carlin, whose podcast, Hardcore History, is one of our medium's gold standards for narrative storytelling. On today's episode, we dig into Dan's past, discover the music that defined his counter-cultural posture and learn how deep, detailed descriptions of our past are their own kind of pun...

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ANDers, look at the horizon. Coming fast are an epic lineup of guests making up our fourth season of The Ampersand. Featuring Dan Carlin, Monica Labonte, Marcia Douglas, Sarah Looper, Cleo Washington, Nick Houy, Ed Chuong, Megan Stephenson and Joanna Lambert. Debuting on Radio 1190 AM Boulder, 92.9 FM Denver and coming soon to your favorite podcast platform. Tune in and discover the alchemy of ANDing.

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What we love about ANDing is synthesizing our interests, personalities, cultures and experiences into a swirling, gorgeous human that is you. But does that variety implicitly encourage overdoing it? We've heard from many ANDing-curious listeners that they worry an emphasis on ANDing encourages busyness and maxing out the calendar with an ever-growing list of to-dos.

So, does it?

Erika and Producer Tim sat down to talk through that ...

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If storytelling is an art, today's guest is a maestro. Jennifer Ho is a professor of ethnic studies and director of the Center for Humanities and the Arts at the University of Colorado Boulder. On today's episode, our finale for season three, Jennifer's ability to convey meaning through compelling narratives is on full display. She discusses growing up in California, navigating cultural differences in the U.S. South, finding joy in...

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Beyond a wild ride of an interview, Eric Small gifted us a new favorite word that describes his hydrological research on water, energy and carbon budgets of the Earth's surface—ground-truthing. On today's episode, Eric explosively (i.e., like a Muppet) walks us through the practice of matching on-the-ground maps with satellite data. Beyond the sheer hilarity of his and Erika's conversation, what makes this such a fun interview is h...

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Empathy is trending again—we are reminded in venues as wide as SNL sketches and self-improvement podcasts that growing our capacities to step into another’s point of view and feel their perspective brings boons to our interpersonal, professional and emotional lives. The practical work of looking for opportunities to empathize often goes unsaid or appears trickier to realize. Today’s guest, though, is a veritable maestro in building...

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Activists have expressed that the work of changing oppressive structures requires tirelessness and strength. When we consider how this looks lived out, striking photos and stories of campus protests, marches and sit-ins focused on a given issue come to mind, but how do communities come together to advocate for change? Today's guest, Eswari Duggarala (she, they), is the co-founder of Students Against Campus Sexual Assault at the Uni...

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October 1, 2024 31 mins

After reading a poem out loud, we hope you've had the experience of inexplicably welling with emotion. Be it joy, grief, adoration for beauty or those emotions harder to describe, we've found these literary experiences can dramatically alter our points of view. But why? What in tightly written pieces of prose causes us to shiver with goosebumps, weep or smile ear-to-ear? Julie Carr is an award-winning poet and activist who has auth...

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The Ampersand is bringing ANDing to the Big Apple! Join Erika and Producer Tim for an evening of networking and nostalgia at the first roadtrip version of Arts & Sciences CU After Work. We're busy in our ANDer's Workshop whittling experiences and games to complement our keynote discussion (with mystery guests) about the essence of ANDing.

Save your spot!

Details:

Oct. 22, 2024 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. Peoplehood's Flagship 109 W. 17th ...

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Nostalgia can be tricky business. Love of the past can lead to a slowing stasis of the people we are/were or our refusal to let relationships evolve. But remembering places and experiences can fill us with warmth or teach us to live into our respective nexts. Today's guest beautifully threads that balance. Francois Baptiste is co-founder of the company 3DEEP Productions, and he has built a successful career in the music promotion i...

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Today's guest owns that dance. Tin Tin Su is an intellectual force, whose research on tiny fruit flies led to fresh discoveries and innovative approaches to radiation therapy for those living with head and neck cancers. While she offers us a snippet of her work in the lab, Su spends today's episode discussing the childhood experiences in Burma and India that shaped her worldview, her interest in the U.S. and a leadership style that...

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August 19, 2024 28 mins

Over our years, we've collected quite the stories of A&S students at the University of Colorado Boulder living out the alchemy of ANDing. Their experiences perpetually nudge what we suppose our students can experience—opportunities that reach for the boundaries of the profound and even the obscure. Our guest today, Ava Altenbern (art history, biochemistry '24), puts the unexpected on full display. From an internship at a Colora...

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Tenacity is often portrayed as acting with a confident, if insensible inevitability. Characters like Creed's Donnie Johnson, Selena and even Jack Sparrow of The Pirates of the Caribbean barrel into adventures filled with long odds and only slightly wavering determination. While their stories are wrapped within a film's tidy two-ish hours, how can we maintain the same level of drive when our plot lines extend out months, years and e...

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Coming as soon as that tantalizing ice cream truck jingle, we are deep in production of The Ampersand's third season. So that you need not waste time deciding between your favorite desserts, we've pulled together this season's novelties in a singular menu that offers a taste of each interview. We hope you'll love what you hear and come back for more when we debut season three later this summer.

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Original music composed by Nelson...

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Yes, this trailer for season two of The Ampersand is nine months late. But, like the Scotch that inspired Erika and Producer Tim to match the guests to their ideal labels, this one is worth the wait.

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Original music composed by Nelson Walker.

Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia.

Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley.

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For The Ampersand’s final episode of season two, we have the joy of interviewing Dr. Reiland Rabaka, professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder and director of the Center for African and African American Studies. Dr. Rabaka is a creative and scholarly hurricane who has authored more than 17 books that span his wide interests. Like his research, today’s interview covers unbelievable and unexpected ground—from ...

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