New W&L Podcast Episode Features Lenfest Director Rob Mish In the latest episode of the Lifelong Learning podcast, Mish talks about his passion for theater, how musicals can be reinvented to account for changing times, and his experiences connecting students and alumni.

By Lindsey Nair
March 10, 2021

Washington and Lee University invites listeners to tune into a new episode of “W&L After Class: The Lifelong Learning Podcast” featuring Rob Mish, a Lexington native, W&L alumnus and director of the university’s Lenfest Center for the Arts. In this episode, “All the World’s a Stage: The Love of Musical Theater,” Mish shares his infectious love of musical theater and how musicals have been reinvented over time to correct their flaws.

According to Mish, who has participated in countless productions over his lifetime, he knew he had a passion for theater when he was a young boy. “Being drawn to theater was something that always had been in my brain and my blood, I guess, and once you catch that bug, that bug is going to be with you. You can’t get rid of it,” he said.

In the second episode of the podcast’s second season, Mish and podcast host Ruth Candler, assistant director of Lifelong Learning, also discuss his time spent in Alumni Engagement and his experiences connecting current students with alumni. Listen to the full episode here.

The “After Class” podcast series began in spring 2020. Every episode invites listeners to join conversations with W&L’s expert faculty, giving them a walk down the Colonnade from the comfort of their home. Listeners hear from W&L faculty members about topics they know and love, meet new professors and learn about their research. Some of the topics include poetry, beer, tea, witches, poverty, politics and art.

To date, the series includes 13 episodes with more planned for the future. The first episode of season two featured Brian Murchison, director of the Roger Mudd Center for Ethics at Washington and Lee University and Rowe Professor of Law at the W&L School of Law.

The community is invited to listen to archived episodes for free here or wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g., iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher). Other recent episodes include:

• “Can They Say That!? Free Speech in a Crowded Theater: A Look at the First Amendment” with Law Professor, Brian Murchison
• “When You’re a Statistical Improbability” with Assistant Professor of Mathematics Sybil Prince Nelson (‘01)
• “Let’s Get Real… About Surrealism” with Associate Profess of Art History Elliott King
• “Not to Get Political But…” with the Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Professor of Politics and Law Mark Rush
• “Which Witch?” with Associate Professor of History Mikki Brock
• “Real Opportunity for All” with Director of the Shepherd Program, Assistant Professor of Ethics and Poverty Studies and Adjunct Professor of Law Howard Pickett
• “Your Implicit Bias is Showing…” with the Abigail Grigsby Urquhart Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science Julie Woodzicka
• “The Pursuit of Happiness” with Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science Karla Murdock
• “Enter the Clearing the Mind Abode” with Professor of Japanese Janet Ikeda
• “Beer, Bacteria, and Bison” with Biology Professor Bill Hamilton
• “The New Social (Justice) Network” with W&L Law’s Sydney and Frances Lewis Professor of Law, Johanna Bond
• “Ralph Ellison Walks Into a Jazz Bar” with Marc Conner, former W&L provost and English professor

“W&L After Class” is a collaboration of W&L’s Office of Lifelong Learning, Alumni Engagement and the Office of Communications.