{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Stop & Talk","title":"Erin Harkey: Arts, Culture, and a Healthy Democracy ","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3420,"description":"Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded in April 2026, before the City of San Diego released its initial FY27 budget proposal. That proposal has since raised urgent questions about the future of public arts funding in San Diego, making this conversation with Erin Harkey especially timely. \nErin Harkey is the President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing arts and culture. She helps shape the national conversation about public arts funding, creative workers, cultural policy, and the future of the arts ecosystem. Before joining Americans for the Arts, Erin held major arts and civic leadership roles in Chicago, including serving as Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Her career also includes work in Los Angeles and Long Beach, giving her a perspective that spans local practice, regional systems, and national advocacy. \nThis Episode: \nHow do arts and culture help build a healthy society? \nErin and Grant explore the arts as both a reflection of community health and a force that helps create it. Erin points to a striking statistic: 76% of Americans say the arts are personally important to them. That shared value matters, especially at a time when artists and cultural organizations are facing real pressure from shifting funding, policy uncertainty, and broader instability. \nErin reminds us that culture is everywhere: in museums and theaters, state fairs, classrooms, community centers, faith spaces, neighborhood traditions, and the things people do together every Saturday. Seeing the arts this way helps communities recognize the creative life already around them and understand why public funding matters. \nThey discuss how arts and culture are “both an indicator and facilitator” of a healthy society, shaping quality of life, economic vitality, mental health, civic dialogue, democracy, and the ways communities express who they are. \nAt a moment when San Diego is weighing the future...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/E50UwUZbhBWosolTVbD7jMIdqqQxUsyZGfLc3NjRiXE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ1MTAwLzE3MDg5/ODY0MTQtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}