The Truth In This Art: Stories That Matter
The Truth In This Art with Rob Lee is an interview podcast about arts and culture. Each episode features a conversation with an artist, creative, or figure in the culture industry—how they work, what shaped them, and the choices behind their projects. Listeners hear stories that matter and stories connecting arts, culture, and community: from studio routines to community roots and the ideas that drive the work.
Episodes
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, artist Santos Shelton returns!
Who is Santos Shelton: Bay Area–based artist and storyteller. Santos blends science fiction and fantasy with vibrant color and dynamic texture, using his work to explore vulnerability, healing, and lived experience through a lens shaped by being biracial—Black and Mexican.
In our conversation, Santos talks about using art to translate personal a...
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is returning filmmaker Tristian “TrisRex” Johnson!
Who is TrisRex: A filmmaker, monster maker, and practical FX artist whose work blends sci-fi and horror with hand-built creatures and DIY craft.
In our conversation, TrisRex digs into his latest project, Aliens Resurgence (for the Hive). He talks through post-production—“doing a bid”—and how the edit sets pacing and ten...
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Jonene Lee!
Who is Jonene Lee: Philadelphia-based curator and owner of NoName Gallery, with roots in photography, dance, and deep ties across the city’s music and arts community.
In our conversation, Jonene lays out how photography—documenting friends, parties, and performances—shaped her curatorial eye. She talks about organizing Philly DJ Day, uniting around 300 Philad...
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Dr. Lawrence T. Brown!
Who is Dr. Lawrence T. Brown: Research scientist at Morgan State University’s Center for Urban Health Equity and author of The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space in America.
In our conversation, Dr. Brown traces a line from West Memphis, Arkansas, to Baltimore’s neighborhoods, explaining how a racial dot map led him to say,...
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Rolando Reid!
Who is Rolando Reid: A 2016 Morgan State graduate and two-time Olympian with Jamaica’s four-man bobsled team—Beijing 2022 and the current 2026 Winter Olympics—making him the first Morgan athlete to compete in the Winter Games.
In our conversation, Reid looks back on winning gold with Morgan State’s 1,600-meter relay at the 2015 MEAC championships, then ...
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Gianna Brooke!
Who is Gianna Brooke: Gianna Brooke is an entertainment reporter with a fun and friendly vibe. Her natural charm and enthusiasm make every story engaging, turning even the simplest topics into something exciting. When she’s not busy covering the latest lifestyle trends, she’s flexing her creative muscles as an actor and model. Gianna enjoys diving into ne...
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Danielle De Jesus!
Who is Danielle De Jesus: Danielle De Jesus is a Nuyorican painter and photographer born and raised in Bushwick, Brooklyn, whose works tell the story of growing up in New York City amidst gentrification and displacement. De Jesus draws from her experience growing up in the diaspora as a native of Bushwick, New York to document her home neighborhood wh...
In this new episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest on this episode is me, Rob Lee!
Who is Rob Lee: Rob Lee, veteran podcaster, cultural critic and educator, is the host of The Truth In This Art, a podcast rooted in human connection in a world dominated by self-promotion and rankings. Through intimate, authentic, and conversational interviews, Rob invites listeners to connect deeply with the city of Baltimore while gain...
In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Phaan Howng!
Who is Phaan Howng: Phaan Howng is a Taiwanese American multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland. Howng creates lush, vegetal paintings and installations that examine the various historical perplexities within human-plant relationships, particularly humans' desire to control and tame nature. Her work, Big Ass Snakes on a Plane, is...
In this premiere of The Truth In This Art, the guest on this episode is Lonnie Millsap!
Who is Lonnie Millsap: Lonnie Millsap is an award-nominated (Thurber Prize, Reuben Award nominee) Los Angeles-based cartoonist. He is known for his work in the New Yorker Magazine, where he's word has been pushlished over 90 times, his synicated cartoon 'bacön' and over publishing over 13 books including his most recent, 'My Pockets Are...
Ben Passmore closes out this season of The Truth in This Art.
Ben Passmore (DAYGLOAYHOLE, Your Black Friend, Sports Is Hell, BTTM FDRS; contributor to The Nib) joins Rob Lee to discuss his new book, Black Arms to Hold You Up: A History of Black Resistance.
An award-winning cartoonist whose work ranges from the fantastical to the autobiographical, Passmore brings sharp, often humorous social commentary on politics, activi...
Kayla E. joins The Truth In This Art to discuss Precious Rubbish.
Kayla E. (award-winning artist, Creative Director at Fantagraphics, 2023–2024 Princeton Hotter Fellow) joins Rob Lee to discuss her debut full-length graphic memoir, Precious Rubbish.
An award-winning artist whose practice spans comics and fine art—textiles, sculpture, video performance art, painting, and drawing—Kayla E. brings candid, instinct-driven sto...
Professional film curator and educator KJ Mohr returns to The Truth In This Art to talk about the Maryland Film Festival (MdFF) and Baltimore’s indie film scene at the SNF Parkway!
In the conversation we explore the 2025 Maryland Film Festival (MdFF)—what’s new, including the amazing new website and Festival Journeys—what still matters, and how a festival can truly feel like home. As director of the Festival and year-round ...
Chill or Be Chilled. Let's Watch It Again is back!
Rob Lee is joined by Lea Anderson to discuss the 1995 cult classic Tales from the Hood!
Tales from the Hood (1995) is a Black horror anthology directed by Rusty Cundieff, framed by a late-night visit to a funeral home where a mortician guides three men through four supernatural morality tales addressing police brutality, domestic abuse, racism, and gang violence.
Genesis Rodriguez joins The Truth in This Art for her first public deep-dive into her work and process.
A Philadelphia-area Latina mixed media artist known for blending bold color with striking realism, Genesis explores themes of femininity, natural beauty, and identity while bringing a thoughtful “emotional IQ” to both her visual art and emerging music practice.
In this episode, Genesis discusses her current “building era” ...
Sean 'SK' Kinsey returns for his second appearance on The Truth in This Art!
A Philadelphian visual artist known for blending a fine art sensibility with a street art aesthetic, Kinsey shares his thoughts on the power of art to reflect identity, honor community roots, and connect cultures in Philadelphia, the city that has shaped much of his work.
In this episode, Kinsey discusses how his North and Uptown Philadelphia upbrin...
Ernest Shaw returns for his second appearance on The Truth in This Art!
A renowned muralist and educator, Shaw shares his thoughts on the power of art to reflect identity, preserve community history, and connect generations in Baltimore, the city that has shaped much of his work.
In this episode, Shaw discusses how his West Baltimore upbringing influences his art, the lessons he carries from his family, and the role murals ...
Zina Verduzco joins The Truth in This Art to explore how AI and digital innovation are transforming community and entrepreneurship for small businesses in Baltimore and beyond.
With deep expertise across marketing, branding, and emerging technologies, Verduzco shares her journey from museum work to leading-edge digital marketing and AI development. She offers practical insights into helping local businesses adapt to the evo...
Bmore Transform and Baltimore’s Graphic Novel Festival take center stage in this episode of The Truth in This Art. Guests Gab Sussman and Victoria Lebrón share how they are reshaping education and community through Bmore Transform’s abolitionist, decolonizing approach and the city’s premier Graphic Novel Fest—celebrating sequential art, uplifting Queer and BIPOC creators, and advancing arts and literacy education across Ba...
Baltimore artist Akio Evans returns to The Truth in This Art for his second appearance, tracing his evolution from hobbyist customizer to full-time artist and self-defined shoe muralist. Evans shares how he moved beyond “customs” into shoe murals—wearable art that tells stories, carries meaning, and can move people to tears—by centering intention, integrity, and community in every piece.
Evans breaks down what changed in hi...
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