Villa Aurora X Lookout FM Radio - Episode 4 of "if the house could speak"
In January of 2025 the Palisades Fire came within feet of Villa Aurora. Miraculously, the house survived, and with it the radio transmitter that broadcasts from there throughout the Santa Monica Mountains and the beaches below.
This series explores the voices, past and present, that reverberate at Lion and Marta Feuchtwanger’s former home. For the past 30 years, Villa Aurora has been an artist residence, a place where exile and expression meet, where history and contemporary events converge.
During the process of rebuilding and awaiting our artists’ return, we will be broadcasting newly produced, archival and historical footage for you to listen to and maybe wonder: Is this really only a house or, like Carl Jung suggests, can the composition of a room induce the realization of new truths?
Each episode of if the house could speak will be broadcast on a loop for 24 hours with no interruption starting at 12 PM Pacific Daylight Time. For our listeners across the world, that corresponds to 7 PM Coordinated Universal Time and 9 PM Middle European Time.
Episode 4
In this week’s episode of “if the house could speak” we focus on Thomas Mann’s influential speeches in the face of political challenges on both sides of the Atlantic.
Join us in commemorating the 150th birthday of one of the most influential German writers of the 20th century with a timely exploration of his relevance, the challenges for freedom of expression and the power of literature today.
In part 1 actor, writer and educator Renea Brown is reading excerpts from The Coming Victory of Democracy & Listen, Germany!
Part 2 is connecting the dots of Mann’s words and his artistic legacy in the sound artwork by Grammy-nominated musician Kokayi.
Both pieces were part of An Appeal to Reason, a transatlantic event in partnership with the Goethe-Institut Washington, D.C., the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles, USC Libraries, and the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research at the USC Capital Campus in Washington on May 10, 2025.
About LOOKOUT FM
LOOKOUT FM is a West Coast terrestrial radio home for the broadcast of "transmission art:" experimental audio composition, modern serials, data sonification, radio plays, multi-day compositions, and radio-centric performances. Their licensed stations in Burbank, Hollywood, and Pacific Palisades function as FM exhibition spaces where radio art is presented without regard to constraints of time, structure, or commercial consideration.
