Mandy Patinkin was on The Economist's The Economist Asks podcast. He talks with host Anne McElvoy about his performing career, being an activist, and his becoming a social media sensation at home with his family during lockdown. "The difference between working with a gifted person and working with a genius. A genius opens the doors to everyone else's thoughts and opinions, asks questions," Patinkin says of working with Stephen Sondheim. "What he did, similar to Shakespeare in my opinion, is he turned darkness into light," You can hear their conversation here.

Chris Thile, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Rhiannon Giddens, Jeremy Denk, Mandy Patinkin, Gaby Moreno, and Nico Muhly will take part in NY PopsUp, a festival featuring hundreds of pop-up performances—many of which are free of charge and all open to the public—throughout New York City and State. Additionally, Thile and Salvant are on a council of artistic advisors partnering with curator Zack Winokur to program the series. NYPopsUp, which will run from Saturday, February 20, through Labor Day, will make stages out of existing landscapes, including iconic transit stations, parks, subway platforms, museums, skate parks, street corners, fire escapes, parking lots, storefronts, and upstate venues. The festival is being coordinated with state public health officials and will strictly adhere to Department of Health COVID-19 protocols.