I’m the founding producer of the Public Song Project for WNYC. Since 2023, listeners of all skill levels are invited to explore the public domain’s trove of artistic material and create new work from it.

Participants record their own original takes on work in the public domain — from straight covers to creative reimaginings, and even original compositions inspired by novels, short stories, and poetry. A few winners are selected, but all songs are added to a free-to-stream public playlist on our website. The project has been covered in the New York Times, BroadwayWorld, and Open Culture, and by Morning Edition and The Brian Lehrer Show.

The project’s judges have included Lincoln Center’s chief artistic officer Shanta Thake, copyright activist Cory Doctorow, Duke University public domain expert Jennifer Jenkins, musicians Lara Downes and DJ Rekha, Joe’s Pub associate director Isabel Kim, my colleagues at WNYC’s Soundcheck, and more music industry professionals and journalists.

I’ve hosted concerts for the project at the Brooklyn Public Library, Joe’s Pub, and Lincoln Center, which was covered in the New York Times! I hosted an hourlong radio special celebrating the project, which aired on WNYC.

I am also the producer of the Public Song Project album, featuring songs from They Might Be Giants, Rhiannon Giddens, Rosanne Cash, Bela Fleck, The Lemon Twigs, and Oddisee, Terre Roche, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jake Blount, and more. You can stream it for free on Bandcamp and get it on vinyl.